November 4, 2015
CHOCOLATE!
People are coo coo for cocoa.
Me? I like it. Sure.
But I wouldn’t consider selling my offspring for the last bar on earth as some people I know might. It’s good. I enjoy a quality piece of dark chocolate or a chocolatey dessert as much as the next girl, but when I like chocolate best is when it’s paired with something else, for example, peanut butter, raspberry, or in this case PUMPKIN!
If you’ve never had chocolate and pumpkin together, you’ve been missing out! The warm spices we associate with pumpkin taste great with the rich chocolate. This recipe calls for healthy whole foods like black beans and pumpkin, uses very little flour, and no refined sugar or oil, and no eggs or dairy of course. The only not-so-healthy part is the chocolate chips but we only use 1/4 cup. I really like to use the Wonderslim cocoa powder as it’s lower in fat and caffeine than typical cocoa powder.
Go ahead, make these.
And try not to eat the whole pan.
I dare ya.
Pumpkin-Spice Cupcakes. Vegan. Gluten-free. Oil-free*
I know. It’s getting a little ridiculous. Another pumpkin recipe. I can’t help it! I told you I love all things pumpkin. The season is short – I must embrace it!
So, I made a pumpkin-spice cake for my sister’s birthday this past week. It was really good. The next day I tweaked the recipe just a bit and made delicious cupcakes. The next day I tweaked it even more, making them gluten-free, and a sharable recipe was born!
If you don’t care to make these cupcakes gluten-free, whole wheat pastry flour is fine. Also, use 1 TBS pumpkin pie spice if you’d rather not bother measuring out the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves.
I don’t generally make or eat things that are frosted due to the high fat content of frosting, even if it is vegan, but I’ve managed to keep the fat pretty low on these by only using no more than 1 tablespoon of frosting per cupcake, which is plenty and just right. Still, these are a treat and not something I’d recommend be eaten regularly. 🙂
*Oil-free if left unfrosted. The cupcake itself is oil/fat-free but Tofutti Cream Cheese is made with oil.
Winter Spice Cookies
These cookies have the flavor of a gingersnap, and the texture similar to a molasses chew. Usually I make things a few times after I create them before posting the recipe but not this time. I’m just that eager to share.
I’ve been asked several times lately if whole wheat flour can be used in place of oat flour in my recipes similar to this one. My answer is yes, however I’d use whole wheat pastry flour since it’s finer than regular whole wheat, which may be too coarse. Using all whole wheat in this recipe, as opposed to half oat and half wheat, would probably result in a less dense cookie, which may or may not be your thing. Personally, I’m all about dense. As I’ve mentioned before, light and airy makes me feel like I ate just that – AIR! The reason I use oat flour in so many recipes is not because I have anything against wheat. I don’t. It’s just that wheat is everywhere, in so many forms. I just like to sub other types of flour, and stay away from wheat when easily doable so that I’m eating more variety, and not so much wheat. As well, many people eat gluten-free diets so I try to incorporate as many suitable recipes as I can into my repertoire.
One more thing. The batter for these babies is SO good. I may or may not have eaten an entire cookie’s worth of batter. 🙂
I had never made pumpkin soup before. Shocking, I know, considering what a pumpkin freak I am. Well, I gave it a go recently. As per normal, I was determined to listen to my culinary instincts rather than follow a recipe…not sure if that’s big ego or just a can-do attitude talking :). Either way, my instincts paid off, big time!!! This soup rivaled any pumpkin soup I’d ever had, including the non-vegan, really fattening varieties I’d had in years past. Try it! As you know, I don’t cook with oil as a rule, but the small amount of truffle oil stirred in just prior to serving MAKES this soup, in my opinion.
I created these muffins using the nervous energy I had yesterday, election day. I find elections, and politics in general, very stressful! Creating recipes and cooking is therapeutic for me. Combine that with the fact that I LOVE gingerbread, and you have these moist, delicious muffins.
UPDATE 11/11/12: I made these again but added a little holiday twist this time around. I sprinkled crushed peppermint candy on top before placing muffins in the oven. The combination of peppermint and gingerbread was a real treat!
I’m all about the pumpkin. It’s one of the many things I adore about fall. I love the look of those orange beauties, and the flavor of anything pumpkin. I only wish the pumpkin bread, scones and pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks were healthy! Oh well, these little treats, along with my Pumpkin Pancakes (see Recipes), and Pumpkin Pie Minis (recipe coming soon) will suffice. They do contain chocolate chips, taking the healthy factor down a notch, but it’s a small amount and just enough to make you feel like you’ve been treated.
I needed to make a dessert for company recently and I knew I wanted something sort of summery, but warm since evenings are still cool here. Wasn’t in the mood for cake, pie or the Chocolate-Banana Muffin Cakes I always make. I decided a peach crisp was definitely in order since peaches are abundant and delicious right now. Unfortunately, most recipes for any kind of crisp are laden with sugar and butter. This version does contain some Earth Balance, so it’s best for special occasions, but it’s definitely less fattening than standard recipes – and every bit as good!
