Took My Own Advice
- Desserts & Sweets
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31 Dec 2011
Remember when I posted the peanut butter truffles recipe and said that somebody had to make them?
I took my own advice. I would say that these are the best things I’ve ever made, if I hadn’t already said that about the donuts.
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4: Nom.
Posted: December 31, 2011 at 8:36 am
{Tags: chocolate, peanut butter}
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Easy Turtles
- Desserts & Sweets
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20 Dec 2011
Last week, my mother suggested to me that I get some turtles candies for my grandmother this holiday season. Mmmm, turtles! I loves me some chocolate and caramel.
Seeing as I’m on Christmas break (and have waaaaaay too much time on my hands!), I thought, why not try to make my own turtles? Coming up with no good reasons, I took a stab at it.
* whips out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle weapons *
Well, not really. But these were super easy to make and super delicious. I used walnuts, because I didn’t have any pecans on hand, but I will be making future batches with pecans. Yum!
Posted: December 20, 2011 at 3:07 pmEasy Vegan Turtles

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 30
Keywords: chill sweets vegetarian vegan chocolate nuts
Ingredients (12 turtles)
- 2 tbsp Earth Balance
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla soymilk
- 3/4 – 1 cup sweet or semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips (or 4 oz. vegan baking chocolate)
- 2 cups pecan halves or walnut pieces
Instructions
Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment and make room in the fridge.
In a small saucepan, melt Earth Balance over medium-low heat and add brown sugar one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly. Add 1 tbsp of soymilk to help dissolve the sugar, if necessary. Continue to add brown sugar until the mixture looks like caramel.
Remove from heat. Allow to cool. (Place your caramel mixture briefly in the fridge or freezer if you can. This will help thicken it).
Melt chocolate, either in the microwave (stirring every 15-30 seconds until smooth) or in a double boiler.
On the lined baking sheet, make little clumps of a few pecans or walnuts.
Spoon a bit of melted chocolate onto each clump of nuts. Then, spoon some caramel onto each. Lastly, spoon one more coat of chocolate on top.
Transfer to the fridge to firm up, about 30 minutes.
Store in the refrigerator.
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{Tags: caramel, chocolate, pecan, walnut}
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The One Where I Made Donuts
- Baked Goods, Breakfast, Desserts & Sweets
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20 Dec 2011
This may be the most delicious baked good I’ve ever made in my life.
No joke, people.
Donuts!
Some backstory: my favorite food bloggers have been taunting me with baked donut recipes for ages. There’s this apple cider donut recipe from Peas & Thank You. Then, there’s this mini donut recipe from Vegan Yum Yum. I loved donuts as a kid, but have avoided them like the plague for the last few years (because, well, I can only run off so many calories, people!) Baked donuts – and homemade ones, particularly – don’t have to be so evil.
Upon deciding that I might be able to find some homemade donut wiggle-room in my diet, I set out to find donut baking pans – which were surprisingly hard to find! I eventually snagged this 6-donut pan at Bed Bath and Beyond, but don’t get too excited if you’re seeking your own; they’ve been out of stock for a while. Unfortunately, I only bought one. I should have bought at least 2 – maybe 4!
Armed with my one 6-donut pan, I knew someday I’d make some donuts.
It wasn’t until this glorious beast graced my kitchen counter that I found myself inspired to embark on donut-making:
I got a really great deal at Costco – $269! This is the KitchenAid Pro 550HD 5.5 quart stand mixer. It’s got the commercial-style bowl lift (instead of the tilt-head, like the Artisan models). I’ve wanted a stand mixer pretty much my whole life, but could never justify spending the money. My plan was to get married and put it on my Gift Registry. As it turns out, I could be waiting a very long time for a stand mixer… so, Merry Christmas to Me!
Using this mixer gives me flashbacks to standing on a chair in my grandma’s kitchen, helping her bake cookies. I’ve got memories of her mixer that I haven’t recalled for 30 years – but in a deja-vu moment, raising the lever that lifts the mixer bowl brought me straight back to gram’s kitchen. It was pretty wild!
Now properly armed, I got to work making the donut recipe from Vegan Yum Yum. I was reading it out of the cookbook, but the one on the web site is the same.
I was also simultaneously working on a cookie recipe and a bread recipe. Ahhh, the happy disaster known as my kitchen! I love my kitchen! I especially like that lift-up cabinet door. Turns out, it’s really convenient! I just leave it open while I’m working, and my spices and gadgets are easy to get to but out of the way. I wish the cabinet above it was easier to reach. I’m too short.
But check out the view of the mountains in the background! Love love love. Virginia is beautiful.
Getting back to the baking. OK, don’t shoot me for the Splenda/sugar mix. I know Splenda is evil, but so are junk food calories – and I bought this bag of Splenda baking mix before I went whole-foods organic, and couldn’t bear to throw it away when I was cleaning out my cabinets of processed crap. So I still bake with it sometimes… and when it’s gone, it’s gone. I swear.
/end confession
The important thing is that these donuts are insanely delicious and absolutely perfect in their flavors. I can’t even begin to describe how heavenly tasty they are. You must make them. Now.
Even if you totally fail at drizzling chocolate on top, like I did:
They still taste amazing.
Posted: December 20, 2011 at 2:01 pm
{Tags: chocolate, donut}
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Somebody Needs to Make These
- Desserts & Sweets
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20 Dec 2011
So I came across this recipe for peanut butter cookie dough truffles, and I want to make it so bad! But if I do, well, I’ll have a bunch of peanut butter cookie dough truffles staring me in the face, and I will end up screaming, “GET IN MAH BELLY!” That can only lead to bad, bad things.
I veganized the original recipe (though you non-vegan folks could just as easily use the original). Either way, SOMEBODY needs to make these!
Posted: December 20, 2011 at 12:32 pmPeanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles
Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 90
Adapted from (veganized!) HowSweetEats.com
Ingredients (50-60 truffles)
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter (optional: additional 1/2 cup for garnish)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons Earth balance, softened to room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup crisped rice cereal
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups vegan chocolate chips or equivalent dark chocolate
Instructions
Beat peanut butter and Earth Balance in a mixer until smooth and creamy.
Slowly add vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix until doughy consistency is achieved, adding powdered sugar by the tablespoon if necessary.
Fold in rice krispies cereal.
Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls.
Place dough balls on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
Refrigerate for 60-90 minutes.
Melt chocolate in the microwave (stir every 15-30 seconds until melted) or double boiler.
Dip each dough ball in the chocolate until fully coated. Return to baking sheet.
Refrigerate 30 minutes, then serve.
Optional
Melt an additional 1/2 cup of peanut butter and drizzle over truffles before final refrigeration.
Note
Store in refrigerator.
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{Tags: chocolate, peanut butter}
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Chocolate Cherry Green Smoothie
- Recipes, Smoothies
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08 Jun 2010
Here’s my first attempt at a green smoothie with workout recovery benefits
[recipe-show recipe="chocolate-cherry-green-smoothie"]
Posted: June 8, 2010 at 10:39 am
{Tags: cherry, chocolate, Recipes, Smoothies, spinach, tomato}
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