Coconut Double-Chocolate Cookies (Vegan)

Cookies, specifically chocolate chip cookies, are my first, true baking love. They are the first treats I ever learned to bake myself, and they hold a special place near and dear to my heart. 

These particular cookies are by no means a traditional chocolate chip cookie (that recipe can be found HERE), but man are they addictively tasty! These cookies come together really quickly, and their chewy texture and rich flavor will leave you and your taste-testers questioning how on Earth these are vegan (seriously). 

The coconut oil adds a coconut flavor that is subtle enough not to overpower the cookie, but deepens the overall taste of it in an intriguing manner. Make sure you have a glass on milk on hand (be it cow, soy, almond, etc.), because these babies are ULTRA chocolatey, in the best possible way.

Coconut Double-Chocolate Cookies (Vegan)

recipe from here

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil, not in liquid form
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 8 ounces semi-sweet (vegan) chocolate, chips or chopped
• 3 tbsp ground flax
• 6 tbsp warm water
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and coconut oil and beat well.
4. Combine the water and flax and set aside to gel.
5. Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave in 30-second-intervals until melted; allow to cool for a minute.
6. Add the gelled flax and melted chocolate to the coconut oil/sugar and beat until incorporated.
7. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Stir in the chocolate.
8. Scoop 1-2 tablespoon-sized mounts onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a bit before transferring to a wire baking rack to cool further.

Maple, Vanilla Bean, Flax-Almond Butter

Growing up, I was one of very few children who despised peanut butter (what the heck, right?). When I hit middle school, I went from hating the stuff, to being full-blown obsessed. And I seriously mean obsessed. To the point that my best friend, Alana, and I would have competitions to see who could build the largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich, using as little jelly as possible, and as much peanut butter as possible. I'll say that things got a bit out of hand with quadruple deckers and the such with just a minute smear of jam and probably about 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Good thing we were growing kids or I could have easily weighed 800lbs!

Years later, I discovered that peanut butter wasn't the only nut butter out there, and almond butter was introduced to my life. Since then I have tried all of the nut butters that I can find, and have recently been trying my hand at making my own!

You won't believe how easy making your own nut butters is (and, most of the time, cheaper), and it allows for worlds more customization! This almond butter comes from Ashley at Edible Perspective, and my oh my, of the dozens of nut butters I have tried, I think this one holds top spot. It is positively AMAZING! It's ultra creamy, slightly sweet, and satisfyingly salty.
It is hard to get away from eating it by the finger-full, but if you can manage, it makes KILLER PB&Js (technically AB&Js) :). I cannot recommend this recipe any higher; really guys, try this one ASAP!

Maple, Vanilla Bean, Flax-Almond Butter

recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1/3 cup whole flax seeds
• 3 tbsp maple syrup, divided
• 1/2 whole vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 1tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, toss together the almonds, flax, and 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Spread out on the sheet tray and bake for 30 minutes, stirring after 15.
3. Pour the baked nuts into your food processor and process for around 10 minutes, until nice and creamy, scraping the sides about a dozen times.
4. Add in the salt, vanilla bean, vanilla extract, and remaining maple syrup. Process for about 5 minutes longer, drizzling in the oil at the end.
5. Store in an airtight jar.

Salty-Sweet Granola "Clusters"

Tastespotting didn't like the "composition" of this photo :(

Yes, I had originally set out to make granola bars. Some tasty, easily portable, better-than-the-store-bought snack bars (by the way I just mistakenly typed "bras" which is definitely not the same, ha ha). Well, things didn't go exactly to plan, though, to be fair, I don't think it was the recipes fault (although many others who tried the recipe complained of the same thing). You see, I was supposed to wait until the baked bars were completely cooled before cutting them. I assumed, like the others who had this little mishap I'm sure, that cooled for 45 minutes to slightly warmed was equivalent to "completely cooled." -Sigh- And so I am sure this was my mistake, and had I waited longer these would have cut without shattering.
Well anyways, despite my "issues," this granola was soooo good! I LOVED the honey/peanut butter binding mixture. These bars were also pretty salty which complemented the naturally sweet dried fruit extremely well.
I highly recommend making these bars, only, unlike me, be sure to wait until they are COMPLETELY cooled. I would wait a couple of hours at least; it's better to be safe than sorry.

As you can see, they are somewhat bar shaped, but there was a lot of crumbling.

Salty-Sweet Granola Bars... or "Clusters"

recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut, unsweetened
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup whole cashews
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup dried currants

Before and after roasting!

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line both a baking sheet and an 8 or 9 inch square baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Combine the oats, coconut, seeds, and nuts and spread out evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. 
3. In a small sauce pan, combine the sugar, salt, honey and peanut butter over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and then reduce the heat to low until the nuts/seeds are done toasting.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the toasted nuts/seeds/coconut, the dried fruit, and the honey/peanut butter mixture with a wooden spoon.
5. Spread the mixture into the square baking dish. With a piece of wax paper, press down on the granola to create a smooth, even surface.
6. Bake the granola for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool COMPLETELY. Cut with a very sharp knife and store in an airtight container.

 Makes 16 bars at 195 calories each.