Avocado Chocolate Pudding (Vegan)

I was extremely skeptical about this recipe. Vegan chocolate pudding? No, I told myself, that should not work. That won't work. I tried it anyway. It worked. Ridiculously well, actually.

You can blend this up in about 5 minutes and it is ready to eat immediately. No chilling and no stove required. All you need is a food processor. Simple as dump, blend, eat.

The original recipe (found here) called for regular non fat milk. I used almond milk instead to make it vegan-friendly.
This was my first time using agave nectar, and I am very happy with it. I will probably still use regular sugar in most of my recipes, simply because of the cost difference, however.

This recipe was a huge hit with my friends, and I will be adding it to the keep file :)

Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

1 medium ripe avocado
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup raw agave nectar
1/4 cup almond milk

Blend all ingredients into a blender until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more agave nectar depending on the size of your avocado. It's ready to eat immediately or you can also refrigerate.

Butternut Squash Whole Wheat Crackers

Crackers are one of the best snacks, in my opinion. They are basically little pieces of crunchy bread, so what's not to like?
That being said, buying crackers is expensive. Stupidly so, actually. Now that I've discovered how beautifully easy making your own crackers is, I probably won't be buying crackers from the store much from here on out.
The recipe I found originally called for sweet potato to be used, but I didn't have any sweet potatoes, but I did have a butternut squash. The only difference that really made was the flavor is milder, and I had to use more flour because butternut squash has a higher water content when cooked than sweet potato does.
You could make these with all-purpose flour, but you shouldn't because whole wheat is healthier.
Make sure you roll the dough out very thin, otherwise they will stay kind of gummy in the center, which will result in the crackers tasting stale within a day. If you get them nice and thin, they will brown up nicely and be deliciously crunchy, as crackers should be.
I sprinkled the crackers with paprika and sesame seeds before baking, but I found the sesame seeds didn't stick very well, even though I pressed them down before I put them in the oven.

Butternut Squash Whole Wheat Crackers
Adapted from Fuss Free Cooking

1 cup cooked butternut squash, mashed
2 cups whole wheat flour (more as needed)
2 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp cold butter, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
ground paprika (optional)
sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine the milk and squash mash and set aside.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cold butter in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the squash and process until it forms a dough that is only slightly sticky, adding more flour as you need to.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead about 80 turns. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each out very thin (about 1/16 inch). Cut into whatever shape you want and place onto the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with paprika and sesame seeds if desired.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly browned. Turn the crackers over and bake for 4-5 minutes longer.
Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

Poppy Seed Bread

    I really don't know why I have not put this recipe on my blog yet. This is my all time favorite bread. Ever. In all the evers. You can have this bread for all the meals of the day, (even elevenses!). There has been more than one occasion where I have made this bread in the morning, ate a piece (or two) fresh from the oven, packed it for my lunch for work, and then had it for my light dinner after coming home from work. Yes, I may have a problem. But it's a delicious problem, so just shush.

   Quick note: this bread can be made with almond milk for a still amazingly yummy, but slightly less sweet flavor.
 
   My mom used to make this bread for my siblings and I when we were growing up, and I used to hate having to share because it was so tasty. Now that I'm an adult and one of my most favorite things to do is to share food that I make, I love this recipe because 1 batch makes two loaves. So I always keep one loaf for myself and share the other. It's really almost too perfect.

  So, without further ado, I give you the recipe for the most awesome bread ever.

Poppy Seed Bread (makes 2 loaves)

3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbs poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cup milk or almond milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp butter extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
Pour into 2 well-greased standard size loaf pans and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan before removing. Cool completely before slicing.


Devour voraciously and with wild abandon. Or sit down and calmly eat a slice. Whatever.

Diary & Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies shouldn't work. No flour? No butter? There is only peanut butter, sugar and an egg? Seriously? They just shouldn't work. But oh boy, do they ever! They have become my new favorite cookie for several reasons, the most important of which is how completely and utterly delicious they are. The second is they are so incredibly easy. About 3x easier than cookies with flour and butter, actually.

I got this recipe from Leanne Bakes. There isn't a terribly huge amount I can say about these cookies, except for they are incredibly simple and way too delicious.

Something I will mention is I used Enjoy Life dairy free mini chocolate chips, and 1 1/2 cups was way too much for a single batch, so I had to double the "dough" to even out the ratio of chips to dough. But that just meant more cookies, so I wasn't complaining. But if you want just a single batch of cookies, and if you are using the same type of chocolate chip, only use about 3/4 of a cup.

Enjoy!

Dairy and Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dairy free chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheet with parchment paper, or a baking mats.

Mix all ingredients until well combined.

Shape into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheets. Flatten with a fork.

Bake for 10-13 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

Consume with reckless abandon. Waiting until they are cool is purely optional, and not recommended.