Chocolate Covered Butterscotch Brownies!

Late recipe post! I made these Chocolate Covered Butterscotch Blondies earlier today so that delayed me in posting the recipe in the morning! This recipe is a three part one because you have to make the chocolate, butterscotch sauce and blondie cake part separately but they're not very time intensive. Also, just in case someone thinks I made a mistake, there are not supposed to be any leavening agents in the brownie so the lack of baking powder and soda is on purpose! If any of you don't know what a blondie, it's basically a brownie without the chocolate. Give it a try! I hope you like it!

- Alexis ♥

Chocolate Covered  Butterscotch Blondies

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup vegan butter
• ¼ cup applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon salt

Butterscotch Sauce

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• ¼ cup organic brown sugar
• ¼ cup vegan milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

Mel t the butter over a medium flame and then whisk in the brown sugar, milk and salt until well combined. Bring to a mild boil and whisk for five minutes. Remove from the heat and add in the vanilla. Set aside to cool before adding to the brownies, let it thicken before soaking the blondies in it.

Chocolate

• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup vegan butter
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Put the cocoa powder, sugar and butter in a small pot and melt over a low flame until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Whisk in the vanilla extract and spread evenly in parchment sheet lined container and refrigerate until it thickens. Make sure to spread it out thin enough so you can lay it flat on the blondies.

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350°F

Cream together the butter and brown sugar and the whisk in the applesauce and vanilla extract.

Beat in the flour and salt until well combined.

Pour it into a greased baking dish and spread evenly.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top has formed and the middle has cooked and set aside.

Cool the blondies completely and then pour a thin layer of the butterscotch sauce over the blondies so they can soak it in. Let sit in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes until they cool and then spread the chocolate over it in a thin layer. The chocolate will be like a thick paste but it will spread out over the blondies. After the layers are done refrigerate it until the chocolate sets again and enjoy! Keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator or else the chocolate will melt.

Double Chocolate Cherry Brownies with Cherry Frosting!

Day three of the Vegan Valentine’s Day Challenge features Double Chocolate Cherry Brownies with Cherry Frosting! The frosting is of course optional but tastes delicious. I will have some healthier Valentine’s Day treats coming up soon; even I get tired of all the sugar! Plus, it’s okay to indulge sometimes but not all of them!

I've been hard at work endlessly baking for this fourteen day Valentine’s Day Challenge and of all things doing my own little crafts for the day as well. Sometimes it’s so much better to create something special and meaningful to give to someone rather than just buying some store bought hallmark card and candy. I’m sure there are more than a few people out there that don’t agree with the whole commercially exploited Valentine’s Day (which I agree that it is) but there’s nothing wrong with showing your significant other how much you love them on this particular day as long as you show them on other days as well!

I hope you’re all having an amazing week! :)

- Alexis ♥

Double Chocolate Cherry Brownies with Cherry Frosting

• 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons flax meal + 6 tablespoons warm water)
• ¾ cup flour
• ½ cup Vegan Chocolate Chips, melted
• ½ cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup chopped maraschino cherries
• ½ cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/3 cup vegan butter
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 ½ teaspoons cherry juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Frosting

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• ½ cup vegan butter
• 10 teaspoons cherry juice (if you have cherry extract use 1 teaspoon or more and vegan food coloring for color)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Whisk together your flax meal and water and set aside to thicken.

Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in the flax eggs, vanilla extract, melted chocolate and cherry juice.

Sift together all of your dry ingredients and then add them into the wet ingredients, a cup at a time, until everything becomes well combined (this will be a thick and sticky batter). Fold in the cherries and chopped nuts and beat in the three tablespoons of water if the batter is especially thick.

Transfer your batter to a greased pan and bake for 30 – 45 minutes or until the brownies set.

Let them cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:

Beat together the powdered sugar, butter and cherry juice until well combined. If you feel the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Challenge Day 1: Strawberry Almond Shortbread Cookies!

The Vegan Valentine’s Day Challenge begins with Strawberry Almond Shortbread Cookies! If you love marzipan you are going to LOVE these cookies and they’ll make great homemade gifts! I also love the fact that there are only six ingredients and they’re all easily accessible and most people already have lying around. You should definitely try these out and if there's any sweets you want me to try out let me know!

- Alexis ♥

 Strawberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Filling

• 1 cup strawberry jam
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350°F

Beat together the butter, sugar and almond extract until light and fluffy and then add in the dry ingredients a cup at a time until fully incorporated and starts to form a ball. Chill for an hour or until firm.

After letting the dough chill, flour your work surface and roll out until it’s a ¼” inch thick. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter cut out as many cookies as you want, re-rolling out the dough as needed.

When you’re done cutting out the cookies, using any utensil you can draw with that’s not sharp (I used the rounded end of metal chopsticks) create an outline of a heart and then use your fingers to create a deep enough hole to fill it with the jam. Using a ziplock bag with the edge cut off, pipe the jam in the heart wells you created, making sure not to overfill it.

Bake the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15-18 or until the edges start to turn a golden brown.

Let cool on a wire rack and enjoy!