Chocolate Covered Raspberry Filled Brownies!

Super yummy and chocolaty Chocolate Covered Raspberry Filled Brownies! These are a chocolate lovers heaven! A quick note that if they fall just a little white cooling that is completely normal and once you put on the chocolate frosting they will even out and be just as delicious! These are refined sugar free and sweetened with coconut sugar and applesauce and comes together with a few simple ingredients and just a 1/2 cup of flour! Definitely give these yummy treats a try.

- Alexis ♥

Chocolate Covered Raspberry Filled Brownies

• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ½ cup vegan butter
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon espresso powder

Filling

• 2 cups frozen raspberries or fresh!
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch or flour
• 2 tablespoons water

Chocolate

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

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F.

Combine the raspberries and sugar in a pot and heat over a medium low flame until the raspberries break down and the sugar dissolves and then whisk together the cornstarch and water in a separate container before whisking it into the raspberries. Add in the cornstarch and stir occasionally until it thickens, remove from the heat and let cool.

For the chocolate topping, combine the butter, cocoa powder and sugar in a pot and cook over a low flame until everything melts together then turn off the heat and transfer to a container to cool in the refrigerator until the brownies are done.

In a small pot, melt the butter over a low flame and then set aside to cool slightly.

Sift together all of your dry ingredients, including the sugar, in a medium sized bowl and then pour in the melted butter and applesauce, whisk to combine.

Pour half of the batter in a 8x8 baking dish sprayed with oil and gently top that layer with the cooled raspberry filled and then proceed to top that layer with the leftover batter. This is a very small amount of batter so if you think there isn’t enough, there is! Some raspberry filling will mix in with the top batter and that’s okay.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick placed near the center comes out clean.

LET COOL COMPLETELY before layering with the chocolate topping. If your chocolate is not spreadable, let it come to room temperature and start to melted a bit and then spread it on. It will solidify again in the refrigerator over the brownies.

Enjoy!

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!

Vegan Chocolate Cranberry Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches!

I haven’t had ice cream sandwiches in years before I made these because I could never bring myself to buy vegan ice creams. I had tried So Delicious soy milk ice cream before but it always had this weird aftertaste but I remember the coconut milk based one tasting better. These ice cream sandwiches are so chocolately and the cranberries actually taste like cherries in this, they’re like little brownie ice cream bits of goodness! You can make any sized cookie you like but I went for the traditional size ice cream sandwich cookies. Also, the ice cream doubles as chocolate pudding! Don't freeze it and eat it just like it is and it's delicious!

Yesterday I went on an amazing 10 mile walk around Far Rockaway in Queens and it’s sad to see so many stores still closed and recovering from Hurricane Sandy but at least they’re still working towards it. It was refreshing to go outside in the cool breeze and get some exercise in! Winter is the hardest time of the year to convince yourself to exercise but yesterday was a surprisingly warm day and me and my boyfriend took the opportunity to go and walk around and it was great! The views of the sunset and the ocean were beautiful. More people should take the effort to walk to more places, not even for the exercise, but for the experience. I've walked from one end of the city to the next and you see so many things you wouldn't by just taking the train. I’m looking forward to our walk to Brooklyn on Wednesday!

 -  Alexis ♥

Chocolate Cranberry Brownie Cookies

• 2 Flaxseed Eggs (2 tablespoons Ground Flaxseed + 6 tablespoons water)
• 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 ½ cups Brown Sugar
• ½ cup Vegan Butter
• ½ cup Dried Cranberries
• ½ cup Vegan Chocolate Chips
• ½ cup Unsweetened Dutch Processed Cocoa
• 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Instant Coffee
• ½ teaspoon Salt

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350° F.

Mix together ground flaxseed and water and set aside until it thickens.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in the flaxseed eggs, instant coffee and vanilla extract. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, a half a cup to a cup at a time until well incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

Wrap your cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a half hour just so it’s more manageable to work with.  After refrigerating, drop spoonfuls of dough (the size is up to you, I clearly made larger cookies) 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes or until the cookies are set.

Chocolate Ice Cream

• 1 Avocado
• ½ cup Unsweetened Dutch Processed Cocoa
• ½ cup Non-dairy milk (I used coconut milk)
• ¼ cup Agave (or more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ teaspoon Instant Coffee
• ¼ teaspoon Salt

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Freeze overnight or until firm.

*For Ice Cream Sandwiches: Let the cookies cool and then freeze them  so they are firm enough to withstand squishing the ice cream between them. After they’re frozen, place a scoop of ice cream between them and squish the two cookies together and you have ice cream sandwiches! If you let the cookies and ice cream meld together in the freezer for a bit of time, they’ll taste even better!

You can serve them plain with the ice cream or add chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.