Life is like a box of chocolates

…you never know what you’re gonna get. Unfortunately, ‘what you’re gonna get’ with your store-bought box is a most likely a belly full of corn starch, high fructose corn syrup, dehydrated milk powder, and preservatives.  Heck, you may even have a box of Halloween candy slapped into a new heart shaped box!

So maybe it’s better to imagine that life is like a box of vegan chocolates.  I like the idea of uncompromising quality and controlling my own destiny much better than just accepting whatever society doles out as the norm.  Besides, how impressed will your Valentine be that you made these yourself?!  Making homemade gifts is one of my genuine pleasures and these chocolates would even be fun to make together!

This recipe makes about three dozen mini-cupcake sized chocolates—that’s pretty big, so this is perfect for dividing between friends or just keeping a little extra for yourself!  I started making the fillings based on two good fats, nut butter and coconut oil, and just added brown rice syrup and other flavors little by little.  In the end I came up with a luscious vegan peanut butter, raspberry almond, cherry-coconut, and Kahlua cocoa filling.  I fullheartedly recommend tweaking these flavors to your preference—maybe a chopped pistachio filling instead of coconut or Grand Marnier instead of Kahlua!  Let the vegan creative juices flow!

Vegan Box of Chocolates

For all:

• two 10 oz bags of vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 3 cups
• 2 tbsp canola oil

For the peanut butter cups:

• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 3 tbsp brown rice syrup
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the almond raspberry cups:

• 1/4 cup natural almond butter
• 2 tbsp organic raspberry jam
• 1/4 tsp almond extract

For the cherry coconut cups:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp chopped natural maraschino cherries, about 7 cherries
• 1/2 cup sweetened coconut, chopped fine
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Kahlua cocoa cups:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp natural almond butter
• 1 tbsp brown rice syrup
• 1 tbsp Kahlua or strong brewed coffee
• 1 tbsp extra dark unsweetened cocoa powder

For each filling, stir the ingredients together.  Because nut butters vary in flavor, add a pinch of salt to each filling to taste.  Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, the coconut oil may need to be melted first in the microwave in order to mix smoothly.  Place the fillings in the fridge while you work on the chocolate cups.

Line a mini cupcake tin with mini papers and spray thoroughly with cooking spray, taking care to get the sides of the cups.  Combine 1 bag of chocolate chips with 1 tbsp of the canola oil and place in the microwave for 40 seconds.  Remove and stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds.  You can do the next bag of chocolate and oil the same way when you run out, it’s just easier to keep warm by doing it twice.

Spoon a about 1 tsp of chocolate into the bottom of each cup.  Use the back of a spoon or a small spatula to push the chocolate up the sides of each cup.  It’s ok if it’s not perfect because more chocolate will be poured in later.

Refrigerate the cups for about 10 minutes.  When the chocolate is hard, add a small amount of filling to each cup using a mini ice cream scoop or melon baller.  You want the filling to be lower than the level of the cup so that the tops will be smooth.

Spoon chocolate over the fillings and spread smooth.  If your chocolate is too cold, just stick it back in the microwave.  If you’d like, add different colored sprinkles to the tops to help you identify the fillings.  Do this while the chocolate is still wet.

Refrigerate the chocolates for 10 more minutes or until firm.  Keep the chocolates in the fridge until you are ready to serve them, then let come to room temperature.

And that is how you make a kick-ass vegan box of chocolates!  These are honestly so amazingly rich and delicious.  They the perfect decadent treat to celebrate Valentine’s day; that is, if you can even make it to Sunday without polishing them off first!  Come to think of it, these would be excellent paired with my vegan merlot-berry sorbet—what a romantic combination!

Hope you have a lovely snowy weekend!

XOXO Christine

The post Sweet-Tooth Friday: Vegan Box of Chocolates appeared first on No Meat Athlete.

Out of darkness comes light

Well, that’s what the Mayans said, but they probably didn’t know they were predicting the future of my vegan brownies.  When I posted my recipe for Vegan Black Bean Brownies, I knew how much I loved them but had no idea how much you would enjoy them too!  The response to that recipe alone has been overwhelming and has provided me with a lot of encouragement to keep up with my vegan baking experiments.

Naturally, my next step was to explore the brownie’s lighter half, the blondie.  But I’ve been nervous about blondies from the beginning— could the beans taste good without the disguise of chocolate?   I think the exact words to describe my first trial run of white bean blondies were this: they totally sucked.

I had simply veganized a full-fat-butter-and-eggs version of blondies; after all, that had worked for the Black Bean Brownies.  What went wrong then?  Well, I hadn’t thought about what the true flavor of a blondie is.  See, a brownie’s flavor is deep chocolate along with richness from butter and eggs.  In the black bean version, the cocoa powder provides the same amount of chocolate, and the addition of coffee and hazelnuts brings the richness.

But what’s the flavor of a blondie?  The answer is more than just “not chocolate.”  I thought about it, and decided that blondies should have all the sweetness and saltiness of a chocolate chip cookie but with a denser, gooey-butterscotch flair. I analyzed my black bean brownie recipe and came up with some changes.

First, I knew I needed to add some more structure to the blondies to make up for the cocoa I was removing.  I chose to use dates for their thickness and to add a sense of dimension to the sweet flavor.  For the rest of the warm-sweetness I was imagining, I added brown sugar.  I also relied on the flavor of good quality dark rum to achieve some of the butterscotch tones, along with some extra salt to trick the tongue.  Finally, for that buttermilk-style tang, I threw in a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.

I had a tough time deciding on the stir-ins for the blondies— pecans?  coconut?  chocolate chips?  Pretty much anything goes, but after serious contemplation in the grocery store, I chose chopped macadmia nuts for their light buttery flavor, and a small amount of cacao nibs.  The sharp earthiness and crunch of the cacao nibs is a nice complement to the smooth and sweet blondie.

So, after many months in the making, Behold!  I give you Vegan White Bean Blondies!

Vegan White Bean Blondies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 15 oz can or 2 cups cooked white beans
• 1 cup or about 10 large chopped dates
• 1/4 cup dark rum, such as Myers’s
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chopped macadmia nuts
• 1/2 cup cacao nibs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar; set aside.

Rinse and drain the can of beans.  Process in a food processor with the chopped dates and rum.  Add the water and vinegar and process until a smooth puree forms.

Fold the bean puree into the dry ingredients.  Stir in the macadamia nuts and cacao nibs.

Grease a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray and spread the batter evenly into the pan.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes, turning the pan around in the oven halfway through.  A knife stuck in the center should come out clean.  Mine took 28 minutes to get nice and  brown along the edges and golden on top.

Let cool, then slice into 24 squares.

These vegan white bean blondies are just DELISH!  They are everything I want out of a blondie, minus the guilt of eating empty carbs and animal products.  You’ll never believe how good your beans can taste until you try this recipe!  And if you haven’t yet, be sure to give the Vegan Black Bean Brownies a whirl too!

Thanks again for all your encouragement, feedback, and requests!  As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

See you next Sweet-Tooth Friday with a new healthy vegan treat!

xoxo Christine

The post Sweet-Tooth Friday: Vegan White Bean Blondies appeared first on No Meat Athlete.