really good cookies and a really bad haiku

oh s’mores bar so sweet

gooey, marshmallow-y love

needs no description

Gooey S’mores Bars (Vegan option)

adapted from Lickin’ the Beaters 2: Vegan Chocolate and Candy

makes 9 pieces/1 8” pan

• 1/3 c margarine, softened
• ¾ c brown sugar
• 1 T ground flaxseed mixed w/ 6 T water
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 ½ c whole wheat pastry flour (or ¾ c AP and ¾ c whole wheat flour)
• 1 t baking soda
• ½ t salt
• ¾ c chocolate chips
• 1 ½ c marshmallow Fluff OR Ricemellow crème

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8” square baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar. Mix in flax mixture and vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, mix flour(s), baking soda, and salt. Add to margarine mixture and stir until combined.
4. Spread ½ of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Spread marshmallow Fluff over batter, and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Pat pieces of dough on top. (Don’t try to cover completely; it’s pretty with marshmallow peeking out!)
5. Bake for approx. 25 min. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

vegan pumpkin pancakes for one

Woke up craving chocolate chips…with a half-eaten can of pumpkin in the fridge….what’s a domestic goddess to do? Make chocolate chip pumpkin pancakes, duh.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes for One (Vegan)

adapted from BitterSweet blog

Makes 4 small or 3 large pancakes

• ½ c whole wheat flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 T brown sugar
• ½ t cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• ½ c soymilk
• 2 T pumpkin puree
• 1 t oil

1. Lightly grease a skillet and preheat over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, stir together all dry ingredients in a bowl, and all the wet in another. Add the wet into the dry and stir just to combine.
3. Ladle about ¼ cups of batter onto preheated skillet and cook for 2-3 min. or until bubbles form along the top and edges are firm. Flip and cook for another 2-3 min.
4. Serve warm.

Notes:

• This makes a rather large serving of pancakes and would be delicious shared as well J
• They are so moist, fluffy, and chocolatey, you really don’t need syrup (or even chocolate chips…they’re great plain, although chocolate for breakfast is always a win in my book!)

vegan pumpkin pancakes for one, originally uploaded by monpetitchoufleur.

red velvet whoopie pies

When it comes to cooking, I’m definitely a believer in making things from scratch.
So my expectations for this recipe weren’t very high, considering it is based on boxed cake mix and canned frosting.
But after baking, I’m a believer–these whoopie pies are out-of this world–the cookies are crispy on the outside, crackly on top, moist and fudgy on the inside, so rich. Sandwiched with cream cheese frosting, they’re the ultimate indulgence. Move over, red velvet cake!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
Adapted from Let’s Dish

Makes 8 very large cookie sandwiches, or about 20 medium ones

• 1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
• 2 large eggs
• ½ c canola oil
• 1 can cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 2 cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, and oil.
3. Roll heaping tablespoons (or teaspoons) of dough into balls and place 2” apart on cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 10 min (6-7 min for smaller size), or until tops are crackled.
5. Cool completely before sandwiching together with frosting.
6. Enjoy!

P.S.: I’m all into portion control and such, but really, I recommend going all out and making the big ones. Bigger is better!

Edited: The recipe is now linked to Lisa’s Sweet’s For a Saturday link party. Check it out!

Black Bean –Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Kale Chips

Black Bean –Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Kale Chips

Kale chips.

Have you heard of these?

They’ve been somewhat of a sensation in the food blogosphere lately, or perhaps a while back (food trends move fast!).

I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but being a fan of all things green and leafy, and all things oven-roasted, decided to give it a try.

The verdict?

Delicious! I think what surprised me the most (aside from the fact that even a particular diehard veggie-hating frat boy ate them) was that they were, in fact, crispy, not just oven-roasted greens. Like shatter-in-your-mouth crisp. Mmm.

Kale Chips

Inspired by Honest Fare

• 2 bunches kale
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Paprika
• Cayenne pepper
• Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Wash kale and tear into chip-sized pieces, removing tough and bitter stems.
3. Toss with olive oil, salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
4. Spread onto a greased baking sheet and bake for approx. 12 min, or until crisp and starting to brown (but be careful not to burn, or it will taste bitter).
5. (Repeat with remaining kale. I used one very large bunch, and it yielded 3(!) pans.)
6. Sprinkle with sugar while hot.

Notes:

• Feel free to change up spices, or go simple with just salt, pepper, and olive oil. A sprinkle of sugar helps cut the bitter veggie taste. Amounts are inexact; the huge bunch of kale I used yielded 3 pans!
• I served them with this easy recipe from Eating Well (so good and so easy! I <3 sweet potatoes)

Now that’s alotta kale.

P.S.: this is a shout-out to you, seester. Now go and make kale chips!

Extreme Dorm Cooking: Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Hello Kitty Waffle Edition

This is a post to prove that you don’t need a kitchen to cook.

You don’t need eggs, butter, or milk either.

Hells, you don’t even need an intact waffle maker.

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Hello Kitty Waffles

Makes 2 batches of four small waffles

Ingredients:

•One semi-functional Hello Kitty Waffle Maker, that you spent 3 months trying to find on ebay, only to have it arrive half-broken, which leads you to leave a negative review on the seller’s feedback, which results in threatening ALL CAPS email from said seller, which results in you fearing for your life and resolving that Hello Kitty Waffle Makers are nothing but trouble (but so damn cute!)

• ¾ c all-purpose flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 T sugar
• 1 T oil
• ¾ c water
• Dash of cinnamon
• 2 handfuls chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. In a plastic cup stolen borrowed from the dining hall, mix flour and baking powder.

2. In a cleaned takeout container large bowl, mix sugar, oil, and water. Dump the flour mixture in, add cinnamon and throw in chocolate. Mix until smooth.

3. Spoon into Hello Kitty Waffle Maker, risking burning fingers on exposed wires of broken lid, and subsequently setting dorm on fire.

4. Cook for five minutes, cautiously open burning hot lid sans handle, and gently lift waffles out with a fork.

5. Enjoy aka try to eat them before your floormates devour them all.

6. Repeat and share to win friends and influence people.

I’m pretty sure there’s nothing sadder than a broken hello kitty wafflemaker.

Pumpkin Pie, Part I: The Untraditional

no-bake pumpkin cheesecake, originally uploaded by monpetitchoufleur.

Don’t go in expecting your normal Philly cheesecake! This is a subtly sweet and tangy dessert, with a mellow pumpkin taste and strong hint of nutmeg. It has a creamy and smooth mouth feel and is a lot lighter and less sugary than your standard dense cake, almost mousse-like, but plenty rich (aka plenty of cream cheese and butter involved). It’s dead easy to make, especially if you buy a pre-made crust, and requires no baking. It may not be the best kid-pleaser, but an interesting and impressive dish, geared for more refined palates.

Easy Spiced Pumpkin Refrigerator Cheesecake

Recipe from Whole Foods

Serves 8

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (4 tablespoons melted, 4 tablespoons softened)
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Use a long, thin rectangle of parchment paper or foil to line the inside edge of a 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan and about 1/4-inch up the sides. Bake until golden brown and toasted, 7 to 8 minutes; set aside to let cool completely.
3. In a medium bowl, beat pumpkin purée, remaining softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla, nutmeg and salt with an electric mixer until smooth. Reduce speed to medium low and add sugar 1/4 cup at a time; beat until smooth. Transfer pumpkin mixture to prepared pan, spreading it out evenly over the crust. Cover and chill until set, about 6 hours, or overnight. Remove outer ring of pan and peel off parchment paper. Cut into slices and serve.

Notes:

• The recipe I used was from Whole Foods, but I have seen different renditions all over the web, even a vegan-friendly version!

 

 

pancake friday!

peanutella and bananas on toast

peanutella and bananas on toast, originally uploaded by monpetitchoufleur.

Hi all! It’s been awhile, but the blog is back up and running*…expect vacation snapshots soon!

Here’s a little recipe to get you acclimated again:

Peanutella  (loosely based on Celine’s “Altella”)

Yield: approx. ½ cup

• ¼ c granulated sugar**
• ¼ c chocolate chips
• ¼ c vanilla soymilk
• ¼ c natural peanut butter

Mix sugar, chocolate chips, and soymilk in a medium sized microwavable bowl. Microwave about 1 min, or until chocolate and sugar are melted together, stirring occasionally. (You could also do this on the stovetop in a small saucepan.) Drizzle into the peanut butter, stirring until smooth and combined. When cool, store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (not that it will last that long!) in an airtight container.

Notes:

• Serve on toast (with bananas!), stir into a glass of soymilk for a great chocolate pb drink, warm it up and pour on ice cream, use as frosting, filling, or whatever lights your fancy…
• You could even make these
• Or how about stir some into mini chocolate cupcakes? But that’s another story…
• True to Celine’s word, this spread is usable straight out of the fridge!
• It has a great texture—it’s silky and smooth
• 100% vegan!

 

*although unfortunately, the blog may face more obstacles in the near future…but we will cross that bridge when we come to it

**or you could make your life easier and use powdered sugar, which dissolves much more quickly and smoothly

Vanilla Pudding

This pudding is the shit.

I don’t say that lightly. I’ve been eating Kozy Shack rice pudding cups almost everyday since summer started, and those are full of eggs and milk and other good artery-clogging stuff. This pudding, on the other hand, is egg-free, and can easily be vegan if you wish.

It’s a soft, silky pudding (not as thick as some egg-based ones). I swear it tastes like vanilla bean ice cream. I bet it would make a good pudding pop.

Sorry for the lack of photos, but I ate it all…

Vanilla Pudding

makes 4 servings

recipe adapted from about.com

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups whole or soy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large saucepan. Gradually blend in the soy milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.

Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, stirring now and then.

Remove the pudding from the heat and add the vanilla. Let cool for ten minutes, stirring now and then. Pour the pudding into a large serving dish or individual serving dishes and chill until firm, about 2 to 3 hours.

Enjoy!

chocolate mousse pie with pb crust

this is probably the best pie ever, has only 5 ingredients, involves no baking or cooking, and takes all of 10 minutes to prepare (minus refrigeration time).

for the crust I used pb instead of margarine, so it was nutty and healthier to boot.

P.S.: yesterday I shared a chocolate mousse from Le Pain Quotidien with my friend… and i have to say it tasted eerily similar, and perhaps mine was even better!

P.P.S.: it’s vegan.