Tag: chocolate

Chocolate Almond Vegan Cookies

No picnic is complete without dessert, and we love to take these vegan chocolate almond cookies! I adapted the recipe from pick up limes. The original recipe can be found on this link: https://www.pickuplimes.com/recipe/almond-brownie-cookies-44. A lot of the quantities remain the same, but I used different methods and slightly different quantities for the wet ingredients.

The recipe is competent vegan and has a very strong chocolate flavor. Almonds provide a nice crunch to the cookies. The texture of the cookies is a cross between a cookie and a scone. Since these do not have eggs, the extra baking powder I added helps with the rise. It was completely by accident, but I prefer them this way. 😅

Servings: 8 cookies, Prep time: 40 minutes, Cooking time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients

  • Ground flaxseeds 1 tbsp
  • Water 2 tbsp
  • Vegan chocolate 2.6 oz
  • Coconut oil (solid) 1 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp
  • Brown sugar lightly packed 1/4 cup
  • Chopped almonds 2 tbsp plus more for garnish
  • Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp
  • Baking powder 1/2 tsp
  • Salt 1/4 tsp
  • All purpose flour 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp
  • Plant based milk (I used oat) 2-3 tsp

Instructions

  1. Mix the ground flaxseeds with water in a small bowl and set aside for at least 10 minutes to gel
  2. Finely chop the chocolate. Add the chocolate and coconut oil to a large microwave safe bowl, then melt in 10 second intervals. Stir between each interval so chocolate melts evenly
  3. Add the brown sugar and mix well. Then add the vanilla and baking powder, and mix.
  4. Add the gelled flaxseed, chopped almonds and salt and mix till well combined.
  5. Mix in the all purpose flour. Add the milk 1 tsp at a time until the mixture holds together when squeezed in the palm. Rest the mixture for 15 minutes
  6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop to take the cookie mixture onto your hand and make a ball of it using your palms. Place on the baking sheet and press lightly. Press a few pieces of almond on the cookie surface for decoration.
  7. Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350 F preheated oven. Cool for a few minutes on a wire rack, then enjoy!

Tips

  • Add the milk 1 tsp at a time so the mixture does not become too loose. If you add all the milk before, the cookies will not bake right since they will be too wet
  • Since the cookies are brown, it’s easy to over bake these. Check the cookies after 8 minutes, then every 2 minutes. This will ensure that they cook perfectly
  • It’s tempting to put the chocolate in the microwave for longer intervals. However, chocolate burns very fast and it can also seize due to the smallest amount of moisture. So make sure you only melt in with 10 second intervals and stir after each one.
  • Make sure to transfer the cookies to a wire rack for cooling. This will ensure air circulation around the bottom of the cookies.

The cookies stay good at room temperature for 3 days in an air tight container. If you need to store them for longer, it might be better to freeze the raw mixture. Portion and shape the cookies, then freeze in a single layer on a baking tray. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure they will turn out fine if baked from frozen for 12-15 minutes. If you freeze them, let me know how they came out in the comments. I hope you try these and as always let me know how it went!😬

Vegan Chocolate Cake

New Years was quite subdued everywhere this year, but we brightened ours up with this amazing cake! I’d been dying to try baking Pick up Lime’s chocolate cake since I saw it online. If you haven’t seen their recipes, please check them out! They’re completely vegan and always work out. Here’s a link to their chocolate cake: https://www.pickuplimes.com/single-post/2020/02/27/easy-vegan-chocolate-cake.

This recipe is uses a combination of vinegar, baking powder and soda for leavening, which is very common in depression cakes. During the Great Depression, common cake ingredients were not available easily or were too expensive. Therefore, depression cakes use very little or no dairy and eggs. Most depression cake recipes are vegan, and work out quite well.

I baked the cake in a sheet pan and then cut it up to the desired size for easy layering. I also halved the recipe and it worked fine! A word of warning though, the cake doesn’t hold together as well as traditional cakes do. It’s a bit crumbly since it only has applesauce as the binder. The frosting holds the cake together for you, so this isn’t really an issue. Also, the cake is delicious even if it crumbles. I’ve included my recipe for whipped coconut cream below, so feel free to use it on this or any other cake!

The cake was fluffy and moist on the inside!

Yield: about 2 cups of frosting Preparation Time: 24 hours for chilling plus 3-4 minutes for whipping

Ingredients

  • Coconut cream 1 can
  • Granulated sugar 2 tbsp or according to taste
  • Vanilla Essence 1/4 tsp

Instructions

  1. Place the coconut cream can in the fridge for 24 hours or at least overnight undisturbed
  2. Carefully open the top of the can and scoop out the solidified cream on the top into a bowl. Reserve the liquid at the bottom in the can
  3. Add the other ingredients to the cream and whip for 3-4 minutes using an electric mixer.
  4. Add 1 tbsp of the reserved liquid at a time if the cream is too thick to whip.
  5. Place in the fridge till needed. Simply reshiyo the cream for a minute of so before using after pulling it out and it’s ready to go!

Tips

  • Use the left over liquid in the can for smoothies or add it to stews etc. Its full of flavor!
  • Coconut milk can also be used, but it will yield less frosting since it’s more diluted than coconut cream
  • The amount of sugar can vary depending on your preference. We generally prefer less sugar, so 2 tbsp was enough for us
  • This whipped cream goes with anything, so use it on pancakes, waffles, crepes or just eat it with a spoon!
  • You can use honey instead of sugar, but the flavor will be milder
  • You can add other flavorings like coco powder, freeze dried strawberry powder or instant coffee to this recipe as well!
  • This also pipes well, but it needs to chill in the fridge for an hour or so first

I hope this whipped cream will make Sunday brunches and frosting a cake a breeze. I hope you give give this a try and let me know how it goes!