Chocolate Chocolate Chip Carrot Muffins

The people in my family, they really enjoy a muffin, so I find myself making muffins more often then any other baked good. This is fine by me because muffins are pretty easy to whip up and the flavor choices are endless.

This past batch of muffins were for the purpose of a dessert like treat so I made them chocolate and because it’s spring and carrots go hand in hand (right?) they needed to have carrots too. And sure some might question the flavor combination of chocolate and carrot but let me just stop you right there and say that nothing but good things happen when you pair the flavors. Would a 15 year old girl stuff her face with these muffins otherwise?

No, no she would not.

And so I declare this another winner for delicious muffins that the people in my family will now bug me to make them. Oh the burden of being an awesome baker. It is hard sometimes. 😂. But for real.

Now to the muffins!

The stuff. Carrots, cocoa, flour, baking powder and soda. Salt, cinnamon, brown and white sugar, plant milk, oil, chocolate chips, and some walnuts,

First you need to prepare the carrots so chop them up into chunks.

Place the chopped carrots into a pot with some water and steam until tender. Once tender, blend them up into a smooth puree.

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

And dump the carrot puree, milk, sugars, and oil into a big bowl and mix until completely combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until the dry is incorporated into the wet then fold in the chopped walnuts and chocolate chips.

Scoop batter into greased or lined muffin tins and pop into preheated oven.

Baked muffins.

When baked and all nice pop them out if the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

Then you got yourself muffins to eat at your pleasure. Share if you want. No pressure.

-C

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Chocolate Chocolate Chip Carrot Muffins

makes 16 muffins

• 1 1/4 all purpose flour

• 2/3 whole wheat flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 1/2 baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup neutral oil

• 1 cup plant milk

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup carrot puree (about 4 large carrots and 1/3-1/2 cup water)

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

preheat oven 350

Take whole carrots and cut into small chunks. Place into a pot with enough water to just cover them and place on medium heat and cover. Cook for about 8 minutes, checking after 4 or 5 minutes, unitl tender. If water completely evaporates before, just add more.

Once carrots are tender, place in a blender with about 1/3 cup cool water and blend until smooth. Add a little more water if needed to get the carrots to a smooth puree.

In a medium bowl mix together the flours, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl mix together the oil, carrot puree, milk, and sugars until completely combined. Add in the dry and minx until everything is just incorporated (don’t over mix), then fold in the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

Scoop batter into well greased or line muffins pans, filling each well up about 3/4 of the way, then pop the pans into preheated oven. Bake for about 17 -20 minutes or until a poke test comes out clean.

Once baked remove from oven and pop muffins from pan. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Eat. Store muffins in a airtight container at room temapture for up to 5 days. They also freeze great as well.

Maple glazed sweet potato cookies

If you are not making cookies right now then what are you even doing?

But seriously, I think that December is basically a month long cookie baking marathon and we all should be participating by baking up a least one batch of cookies. If not for yourself (although you really should be doing it for yourself) then for others. What better way to say something nice without saying anything at all then with homemade cookies? Cookie sharing is a language all on it’s own.

These here cookies are of the sweet potato kind, almost like pumpkin cookie, just a little less cakey and a little more sweet potatoy and are drizzled all over with a nice thick maple glaze that really just ties the hole cookie experience together. They are pretty simple to make, no extra steps or difficult anything. Just a spoon a scoop and the want and or need for a delicious cookie situation.

This cookie is going back into my baking marathon rotation next week when I go all out and bake like 6 batches of cookies .They were a hit and even requested so, you know, got to make the people happy. More like I have a couple extra sweet potatoes. HA!

Now to the cookies!

The stuff. Mashed sweet potato, flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, plant milk, powdered sugar, and last but not least, maple syrup.

Start by mixing the dry ingredients together into a big bowl, Then mix the sweet potato, oil, sugar, vanilla, and oh the milk in a separate bowl. Once mixed and completely combined, dump the wet into the dry and gently mix until a combined and dough has formed.

Now scoop equal sizes amounts of dough onto a cookie sheet the pop them into a preheated oven.

Some minutes later they are done. Nic ans golden brown and slightly domed. A little trick I do is once they come out of the oven I right away take two fingers and just slightly push he dome down a bit. It makes the cookies a little less pillowy and more chewy.

And then place them on a wire rack to cool.

In the meantime make the maple glaze. Mix maple and powdered sugar together until completely combined and is thick put still pourable.

Once cookies have cooled, drizzle on the maple glaze. And if you are feeling like it, add a little sprinkle situation. I added gold sparkly granulated sugar. It was a good idea.

As for the rest, you know what to do. Eat. share, eat some more. Do you.

-C

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Maple glazed sweet potato cookies

maskes about 20

• 2 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 reason baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup sweet potato mash

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/3 cup melted but cooled coconut oil

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (real shit please )

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

• 1-2 teaspoons plant milk

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl mix together the sweet potato mash, brown sugar, and coconut oil. Once completely combined add in the vanilla and milk and mix.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined and a dough forms. Scoop equal sized ball of dough and place on a baking sheet. The cookies will expand but not a lot. When the sheet is full, place into preheated oven and bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or unit they have puffed and turned a nice golden brown. Remove cookies from oven and very gently give each cookie a little smoosh, just to get rid of the dome. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

While cookies are cooling make glaze. Mix powdered sugar maple, and 1 teaspoon milk together until completely combined and glaze forms into a thick yet pourable consistency. If it is too thick add in a splash more of milk.

Once cookies are cooled, drizzle on maple glaze. And if you want, add a sprinkle situation before the glaze sets and hardens .

Eat.

Cookies will be good for about a week in an airtight container at room temperature. They also freeze amazingly.

Earl Grey Chocolate Chip Scones

Just about every Mother’s Day I make my mom blueberry scones. And if I don’t she is up my butt about it so yeah I just do it. She is my mom after all. Anyways, I forgot blueberries the last time I went to the grocery store. Sooooo yeah. These are different scones. Earl grey chocolate chip scones.

I figured earl grey is a delicious tea so it would make for a delicious scone and chocolate chips because everyone liked them their chocolate. Is my mom going to like these? Probably not because I don’t think she likes tea but that is actually a moot point because this batch was already gobbled up by the mr and Barb. They loved them. But hey, I made scones so that counts t towards Mother’s Day right? (I know I know. I have to go back to the grocery store for the blueberries)

If you or the people you bake for like a good cup of earl grey, well these here sones are for you.

To the scones!

The stuff. Flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, earl grey tea, plant butter, plant milk, vanilla extract, and orange, a little raw sugar, and chocolate chips.

To start dough first mix the flour together with the salt, baking powder, sugar, tea, and orange zest. Next grate the butter into the flour mixture and gently toss around until evenly incorporated. Then add in the milk and the juice if half the orange and gently mix until dough starts to come together and then finally, add in the chocolate chips and finish mixing. Don’t overly mix, the dough should look kind of shaggy.

Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball.

Squash dough into a round flat disk about an inch thick then cut into 8 equal pieces.

Place scones on a lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk and then sprinkle with raw sugar.

Pop into the oven bake.

Baked and ready.. You should be too. Ready that is and baked if that is how you roll. Ha.

Place hot scones on a wire rack to cool a bit.

Now grab a plate, a hot cup of something, and enjoy.

-C

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Earl Grey Chocolate Chip Scones

makes 8 scones

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3 earl grey tea bags (or 2 tablespoons loose leaf) finely ground in a spice mill of food processor

• 6 tablespoons vegan butter (very cold or frozen)

• 2/3 cup plant based milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• an orange

• 1/4 cup small chocolate chips

• 2 tablespoons raw sugar (can use graduated if you don’t have it)

Preheat oven to 375.

Grab a large bowl and add in the flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, earl grey tea, and the zest of the orange. Mix together. Next grate the cold or frozen butter directly into bowl. Gently mix into the flour mixture with a fork until the pieces are covered in flour. Add in the milk, along with juice of half the orange. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Add in chocolate chips and lightly mix again until they are evenly dispersed in dough.

Dump dough (it will be slightly shaggy) on a lightly floured surface. Gather into a ball and squash into a round flat disk about an inch thick. With knife or dough knife cut in 8 even slices (like a pie). Place each piece on a lined baking sheet and brush tops with a little milk and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Place into preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or unit bottoms are browned and tops are alight golden brown. One baked, remove from oven and transfer to a wire rake to cool.

Eat warm or room temperature. Store left overs completely cooled in an air tight container for a few days.

Black Bean Burgers

It had been a while since I had made any type of bean burgers. Why? I don’t know. It is probably because I am like a little who plays with one toy for too long and get stick of it. But if I rotate the toys (the food), maybe take a few away for a while (eat what is in season), once I get back to it, well it is just the best. So yeah, just like a little. Huh?

Black bean burgers. These are super simple with not a whole heck of a lot going into them. I used to make these with a lot more veggies but the mr really seems to like them more with less. I’ve got it down to just beans, onion, oats, and spices. Simple but very effective in both taste and in texture. One of the things thatI love about these burgers is that they don’t completely crumble apart when you bite into them so if that is an issue you have with your burgers, welp, hopefully this recipe will solve that. And will solve any food boredom rut you might be in. And solve the issue of being hungry because obviously you are going to be at some point. Hence the bean burgers.

Now to the burgers!

The stuff. Black beans, oats, an onion and a couple cloves or garlic. Then there is ground flax seeds. cumin, chili powder, and paprika, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, and salt and pepper.

Start by cutting up onion and rough chopping garlic.

Place it into a hot skillet with the spices and some water or oil. Cook on medium heat.

While the onions are sweating, blend up oats into a course oat flour.

And once onions and spices are fragrant and soften a bit, add in beans, tomato paste, and vinegar. Stir around and cook for a few minutes or until everything has melded together.

Dump the bean mixture and flax seed into food processor with oat flour and pulse until everything is incorporated and smooth(ish).

Scoop into a bowl and refrigerate so mixture has time to set up.

Once mixture is set, divided into 6 equal portions and place on a baking sheet (lined or greased). With wet fingers, pat down into patties then pop them into hot oven. Bake until browned and crispy.

And that is it. Now get to eating cause that is why you made them!

-C

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Black Bean Burgers

makes 6 burgers

• 2 cups cooked and strained black beans

• 1 small onion

• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon cumin (higher amount if you really like cumin… ME!)

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1/2 heaping cup of old fashion oats

• 1 tablespoon flax meal

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 2 tablespoon tomato puree or paste

• salt and pepper

• Serving suggestions are Avocado, salsa, pickled onion on cornbread or regular bread or whatever!

Start by chopping up the onion into small pieces and slicing up the garlic (don’t mince) into a few small pieces. Place into a good sized skillet with the cumin, paprika, and chili powder, and a good splash or water or a little oil (I used water) and place on medium heat. Cook for a few minutes or until fragrant and onion has started to soften a bit.. Add a splash more water if it start to dry out to fast. Once slightly cooked, dump in beans, add tomato paste and vinegar and mix around. Keep on heat and cook for another 5 or so minutes until everything had melded together. Remove form heat and let cool for a few minutes.

In the meantime, place oats into a food processor and blend unit until it forms a course flour. It doesn’t need to be super fine and a few whole pieces is fine. Once bean mixture has cooled just a bit, dump into the food preocessor on top of oat flour. Add in the flax and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse until completely incorporated, stoping to scrap down sides if needed. Some chunks are fine and don’t blend more then it needs to be.

Once blended , scrap mixture into a bowl and place in fridge for 15 miutes- /2 hour so the mixture has time to set. (Can also be left in fridge (covered, for a few days)

Preheat oven to 400.

Once the mixture has been set up, scoop into 6 equal sized portionsl and place on a pan with parchment, a mat, or has been ightly oiled. With wet fingers, smoosh each ball into a patty. Place burgers into hot oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, flipping half way through. They are done when they are nice and brown and crunchy on both sides.

Once baked, remove form oven and eat them like you want. I suggest eating with salsa, avocado , pickled onions and if you want a bun, do a bun. I served mine with cornbread cause that is what I had and it was not hated at all.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

A cake. Do you really need a reason to make a cake other then you want to a) make a cake, b) eat cake, or c) make a cake for other people to eat. Sure it is the holiday season and we want pies and desserts and blah blah blah, but it is also do whatever feels right to you in the kitchen season and if cake feels right, well then cake so be it.

I was option c), wanting to make a cake for other people to eat, mostly for the mr to eat. I haven’t really baked much of anything the past few weeks (besides a lot of bread) and basically just wanted to make him something that I knew he would really like. (I know, I know, I am the best!)

Cranberries. Very appropriate this time of year and plus I just bought 5 lbs (to freeze and eat in handfuls frozen or to add to soup) and the mr really likes tart things so cranberry coffee cake it was. A dang good cake if I do say so myself. Dense and moist and rich and covered in crumble and drizzled with lemon glaze. Looks good and smells good and tastes better then that.

The mr. was glad for the cake, so glad in fact he ate almost half of it in a day. Then the other 1/4 the next day even after I yelled at him to not eat all but I think by now, it is gone. He really, really liked it. (He kept telling me how “freaking GOOOOD” it was. I know dude, I know.)

Now to the cake!

The stuff. All purpose and white whole wheat flour, baking powder and soda, salt, ground ginger, brown and white sugar, oil, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, plant milk, and cranberries. Also more flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and vegan butter for crumble and a lemon and powdered sugar for glaze.

Start with the wet. Add both brown and white sugar to a big bowl along with the oil, vanilla, vinegar, and half the milk. Mix together until completely incorporated. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and soda, salt, ginger, and the zest of a lemon. Dump the dry into the wet, add the rest of the milk, and mix until everything is completely incorporated. But don’t over mix or the batter will get tough.

Lastly, fold in the cranberries. So Pretty!

Real fast make the crumble topping. Just mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, pinch of salt, and mix with a fork until completely combined and is kind of crumbly.

Batter gets dumped and leveled into a well greased tube pan and the crumble gets crumbled all over the top of the batter.

And into the oven it goes, 50-60 minutes or until a tester poked into the middle parts comes out clean.

Cake is done. Now pop it from pan and let it cool.

While cake is cooling, mix up the powdered sugar and lemon juice to drizzle.

Cake is cool enough to drizzle so drizzle that drizzle.

You now have your cake go on and eat it.

-C

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Cranberry Coffee Cake

Makes one tube cake (can also be baked in a 9x9 pan)

• For the Cake

• 1 cups all purpose flour

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour (or sub AP)

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon each baking powder and soda

• 1 teaspoon gound ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• zest from a lemon

• 1 cup plant based milk

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 cup neutral oil

• 1 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen and thawed) cranberries

• For the Crumb Topping

• 2/3 cup brown sugar

• 2/3 cup flour

• 3 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1 teaspoon cinnanon

• pinch of salt

• For the Glaze

• Juice form 1/2 a lemon

• 1/2 of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl mix together the brown and white sugar, oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Add in about 1/2 the milk and mix. Then In a separate bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder and soda, salt, ginger, and the zest of a lemon. Dump the dry into the wet and mix, adding the rest of the milk to the batter. Once batter in cohesive, dump in the cranberries and fold them in. Dump (it is a thick batter) into a well greased tube or burnt pan and level out.

Place all the stuff for the crumb topping into a bowl. Mix together with a fork until completely incorporated. With your fingers evenly crumble the mixture onto the top of the cake batter.

Place cake into preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until poked with a tester and it comes out clean.

Once baked, remove cake from oven and carefully remove from pan. Place on metal rack and let cool.

While cake is cooling, mix up glaze. Powdered sugar and juice of half a lemon get mixed until smooth and runny, but not to runny. If it is to runny, add a teaspoon or so more sugar to thicken up or if to thick, a touch more lemon. Think drizzle-able.

Once cake is cool enough, drizzle the lemon glaze all over.

And then that is it. You now eat it. For breakfast of dessert and any time in between.

Cake can be left, covered, on counter at room temp for 3-4 days. You can also freeze pieces of it but really, just eat it all and make a new one when the mood strikes for cranberry cake.