Vegan Midnight Brownies

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Cocoa or Cacao Powder

1 1/4 cup Sugar

1 tablespoon Baking Soda

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 cup Coconut Milk (or alternative milk of your choice, excluding Rice)

1/3 cup Coconut Oil (melted) or Sunflower Oil

1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (optional, but highly recommended)

• Fortunately, these tasty treats are easy so our first step is to preheat the oven to 350.
• Next in a large bowl combine all dry ingredients, and in a smaller bowl combine all wet ingredients. Stir together the dry ingredients. This step is mainly to ensure that the baking soda is evenly distributed.
• Combine all ingredients and mix LIGHTLY. The idea is to mix only until incorporated, more folding than stirring. 
• Grease, line or spray a glass pan of your choice. I used a pie pan, which worked excellent.
• Pour your mixture into the pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips and coarsely crushed salt, and bake!
• Bake time should be around 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean from the middle.
• Let cool, and enjoy!

It's feeling a little more like winter every day! This is a comforting classic, that always tastes better when it's cold outside. These brownies are extra dark chocolate, as you might have noticed by the 1:1 ratio of cacao to flour. They are not too sweet, but the salt and chocolate chips adds a refreshing little palette cleansing and a nice sweet surprise. They are cakey, but also melt in your mouth, and so so moist! These are my go-to for a quick treat to bring for dinner parties. 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

8 ounces (1 cup) Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1 cup Flour

1 cup Almond Meal

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 cup Chocolate Chips

A dash of Salt

2 tablespoons Coconut Milk

1/2 cup Flour (folded in)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and prep a cookie tray with Parchment Paper.
• Begin with Coconut Oil, vanilla and sugar in a large bowl. I like to use a KitchenAide on level 4 for about 30 seconds. Take it down to 3 and mix until coconut oil is completely broken down and incorporated into the sugar.
• Gradually mix in the flour, almond meal, salt, and baking soda. Mix only until incorporated.
• Add chocolate chips.
• Mix in the coconut milk until the batter is sticky.
• Lastly, in three stages fold in the last 1/2 cup of flour, mixing lightly only until the powder is no longer visible, and the batter is doughy.
• Use a one inch cookie scoop and dose out your cookies! 
• Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until they start to gold. 
• Let cool, and enjoy!

I'm really happy with how these cookies turned out! I'm always on the hunt for a delicious and satisfying Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, especially vegan! Chocolate Chip Cookies are a house favorite, so I've tried so many variations and taken some of my favorite parts from each of them. These cookies incorporate a few of my personal favorite aspects of a classic cookie. For one thing, I started doubling the vanilla in my cookies a few years ago, and never went back! Also, the flavor combination of coconut oil, salt and almond meal is a million times better than butter to me. It's nutty, creamy, salty, fatty. It's divine. But, then—I've never been a fan of butter. Generally, I use less sugar than this in my recipes, but I was in the mood for a simple classic, and the extra sugar works as a binder so that the egg isn't missed, and you don't need anything too healthy like, ground flax in your cookies, that might change the flavor. 'Cause who would want that. The best thing to remember in vegan baking is that you're only replacing and re-balancing the fats and proteins, without animal products. So despite popular opinion, you usually don't have to go too crazy to get a great result. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! And if you try the recipe, please let me know your thoughts, and how it worked for you!

Raw Cacao Morning Energy Bars

1 c. Coconut Oil

3/4 c. Coconut Milk

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 c. Cacao Powder

1 c. Coconut flakes

1/4 c. Chia Seeds

1 1/2 c. Raw shelled Hemp Seeds

1 c. Dates

1-2 tblsp. Coconut Sugar

1/2 c. Unsweetened Melting Cacao Chips (optional)

1 tsp. Crushed Himalayan Pink Salt

• Soak the chia seeds in the coconut milk for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to check consistency and break up clumps (I like to use a small whisk), set aside.
   
• Next, in a small food processor pit your dates about 10 at a time, and then top with coconut flakes. Process until it becomes clumpy, repeat.
   
• Then, In a large bowl combine the melted coconut oil, vanilla, cacao powder, hemp hearts, processed dates & coconut, soaked chia seeds and a tblsp. of coconut sugar. Mix with a spatula or your hands! until well incorporated.
   
• You will need a large, flat glass pan, or my personal favorite, a cheesecake pan, with removable sides. If you use a glass pan, coat the bottom with a thin layer of coconut oil, for easy removal. If you use a cheesecake pan, remove the bottom circle, wet with faucet, then place waxed paper over it and flatten until smooth, fold the corners under and place back within the edges of the pan. 
   
• You can also roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet or plate in the ‘fridge to cool, then dip in cacao & roll in coconut, or sprinkle coconut sugar & salt on top! If you do this, you may need to cool the mixture slightly until the coconut oil has a chance to solidify a bit.
   
• Pour your mixture into the pan of your choice and place in refrigerator.
   
• Fill a small pot with about two inches of water, then place another small pot or small heatable metal bowl atop that, (it should be floating on the water). Place your melting chips in the small bowl, and stir frequently. Heat on high until the water boils, then turn down to medium or low until all cacao is completely melted.
   
• Take your bars out of the refrigerator and drizzle your melted cacao on top, then while cacao is still melty, sprinkle coconut sugar and crushed salt on top. Place back in refrigerator.
   
• Refrigerate overnight, or until solid. Cut, and enjoy! 

These bars are raw, gluten free, soy free, vegan, sugar free and energy packed! Personally, I am not a huge “breakfast in the morning” person, especially when my mornings start before 6 a.m., but I know how important it is to eat (& drink water!!) in the mornings to jump start your digestion, so I developed these bars as a great pairing with my black coffee in the mornings to keep the jitters away, before I’m ready to eat a full breakfast. They are also great grab and go’s for hikes, adventures, road trips, or daily life. They are packed full of omega 3 fatty acids, complete vegan proteins, soluble and insoluble fibers, antioxidants, and they help balance your blood sugar, providing hours of energy. Hemp seeds also contain all 10 essential amino acids your body needs, as well as a specific omega-6 fatty acid (GLA) not found in any other food! They are also rich in minerals, including iron, magnesium, zinc and potassium. So you can feel great about having these first thing in the morning to get your metabolism going. It’s important to drink water with these as chia seeds can be dehydrating because of their detoxifying properties. 

*I prefer to use all organic ingredients whenever I can, which is easy and affordable now that Costco offers most of these ingredients! Yay!