Da Bomb Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies!
I’d like to preface this post by stating I am not a dessert person. Bakeries? BLAH! I know, weird. Hated them my whole life. I have room in my dessert heart for about 3 things: cheesecake, brownies, and of course, the “Da Bomb Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies!” Or any chocolate chip cookies with some PB in there, too. If you offered me an everything bagel or a piece of cake, to me it’s a no-brainer. The bagel! LOL. So, I am sharing this recipe because I’m convinced it’s that good – meaning, I’d pass on the bagel. Say whaaa?!
To make me an even pickier cookie participant, I only like them when they’re soft or semi-soft. Okay, get your mind outta the gutter. We are talking about cookies, friends. If you don’t know me, you can clearly guess the kind of folk I surround myself with, as that response was me hearing their voices as soon as I wrote that. To my friends, this is why I love you. Ride or die, bitches. MWAH!
Badass, moist, scrumptious, easy, and a fave for making with the kid. Enjoy the “Da Bomb Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies!” And on a last note, keep your kitchen clean, but not your mind. FGG’s words to live by. 😉
For your cooking pleasure… AND FOR ALL OF YOU KILLA TEACHERS OUT THERE RIGHT NOW!…
Da Bomb Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Makes approximately 12-24 cookies depending on you!
Ingredients-
3 Tbl unsweetened oat milk (or any dairy-free milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C vegan butter
1 1/2 C flour (you can use whole wheat flour, just know they’ll taste different)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 – 1 1/4 C vegan chocolate chips
Directions-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Brush your cookie sheet with oil or use parchment paper to cover
In a bowl, add flour, baking soda, and salt
In a separate bowl, add butter, sugar, and blend until consistency is creamy
Add oat milk and vanilla extract, and beat until creamy
Slowly add the flour and mix well
Stir in chocolate chips
Make 1 1/2 – 2 Tbl sized balls of cookie dough and place them about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet (I made them bigger so I yielded 12)
Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes
Move to baking/wire racks to cool after about 2-3 minutes
Vanilla & Peanut Butter Kid’s Cake-Vegan
Vanilla & Peanut Butter Kid’s Cake-Vegan is insanely easy and delicious. Personally, I am not a dessert person, as I am sure you can tell by the serious lack of desserts I have on this blog. For Father’s Day, we made a cake for my boyfriend. We used this recipe and it was awesome! We made a coconut whipped frosting and used white flour. For this particular cake, we used whole wheat flour (quite a different taste FYI) and homemade peanut butter for the frosting. Honestly, they were amazing. The cake is fluffy and moist… aaaannnd, there is no egg replacer! Every ingredient is a pantry staple.
Greyson (my kiddo) wanted to make homemade peanut butter about 2 months ago. We’ve been making our own ever since. Literally all you have to do is blend peanuts in a high-powered blender – no added ingredients. I use my Vitamix and a 365 brand bag of roasted & salted peanuts. It looks dry when you first blend, but the oils quickly release and it becomes creamy and delicious in seconds. We used this for our frosting, as per Grey’s request. I was opposed at first; however, it was delish!
I was having my weekly Wednesday “Cobras” happy hour (just another reason why COVID has improved my life – trying to look at the bright side, people) on Zoom the other day and I was talking about my Vitamix and my Dyson. I’d decided that if I could choose 2 inanimate objects to be my best friends, it would be my Vitamix and my Dyson. I use them daily. My Dyson gets used at least 3 times/day. Yeah, I’m a clean freak but I ALSO have a 5 YO – enough said. I am a walking advertisement for these two products. 😉 Actually, I recently published an article in “The Haven” about COVID and how my inanimate objects are becoming my best friends. You can find it here:
https://medium.com/the-haven/dear-diary-im-officially-over-it-8ab5db75a765?source=friends_link&sk=c71ae00d2d22c69f499dc522627e4548
(my links aren’t embedding at the moment – just one of the many annoyances on the blog right now)
Anyway, if you have kiddos, Vanilla & Peanut Butter Kid’s Cake-Vegan, is so fun to make together, super easy and delish, and of course, it’s always awesome to instill a love and understanding for cooking at a young age!
PS- I decorated it to say “G ‘heart’ in'” – meaning “G-Lovin'” – and then some other easy designs.
For your cooking and musical pleasure…
Vanilla & Peanut Butter Kid’s Cake-Vegan
Ingredients-
1 3/4 C flour – white or wheat (just know they’ll taste very different – we used wheat)
1 C white Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 C non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)
1/3 C vegetable oil (could sub for canola, too)
1 Tbl white vinegar
Frosting- Creamy peanut butter
Directions–
Preheat oven to 350°F
Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together
Add non-dairy milk, vanilla, oil, and vinegar – whisk together
Grease an 8″ round pan and pour the batter
Bake for 30 minutes
Remove from pan. Allow cake to cool for at least 15 minutes and then spread peanut evenly on top of cake. Feel free to decorate!
The Sexiest Blackberry Syrup Ever!
The Sexiest Blackberry Syrup Ever! is the best thing that happened to my shitty sparkling wine, pancakes, and vanilla ice cream all year. I literally use this stuff in or on anything I possibly can, hence why I make about 4 cups of it at one time – you can’t ever have enough. If there’s a new syrup in town, this babe is the sexiest syrup around.
BLACKBERRY PICKING:
I sometimes go up to the old property I used to live at the first time I lived in OR. Once called and forever known as, the house on the hill. We had 30 acres but were only responsible for 3. It had a barn, a bunk house (with a dilapidated old piano to make it extra fucking cool), an old & unused chicken coop (where my roommate would write like a madman on my grandpa’s old typewriter I had given him – downing cheap beers and lighting the next cigarette with the last… ahhh the good old days ;)), a huge garage where we shot darts daily, played super unsafe drinking games almost nightly (this involved axes, chinese stars, nails, and flying hammers, all whilst pounding AMAZING IPA’s and yes, PBR – our stock for beer pong – ’cause yeah, we had that in there, too), HUGE veggie and flower gardens that thankfully one member of the household could actually be responsible enough to water, an old boat that someone had started to build but never finished (drinking and smoking happened here, and was a viewing point for the horseshoe pit that we built, and the turkey vultures circling above), a homemade forge where my other roommate made some suh-weet stuff, and how the rest of us thought we’d die in a fire one day due to lack of safety (naturally, we didn’t do anything about it), a fire pit where some (hehe) fell asleep in the wee hours of the morn, and woke up to a sunburnt back at 9:00 AM face first in the grass (and only because the painter who was painting the exterior of the house told a roommate, “those 2 girls are gonna fry, wake ’em up,” and then that same dude never missed a chance to comment on her sunburnt back’s “racing stripe” in the creepiest of ways), and of course, the house, that had an old western style piano (compliments of the 2 awesome and crazy hippies next door who frequently rode up drunk on their ride-on mower) where I could rock out on some old Bob Dylan (Keep it with Mine, anyone?), 2 fireplaces, and a ton of crazy cats (pun intended, both the animal and people). Damn! Now that I’ve written all of this, I am, for the very first time, acknowledging how incredibly dope my life was! The crazy days… and they were most definitely cah-raaaaaazzzyyyyy! And shit… I just realized I have SOOO many more insane stories about this house that this could be its own book! Hey! Maybe one day!
Okay, I digress, a lot, however, the property stills exists (as of recently sans house, and is being turned into a park soon – most of it has already turned into a park – hey, at least they didn’t pave paradise!). I go up there to pick blackberries and all kinds of fruits and nuts still. Reminds me of good times and shit. Free, fresh, and organic goods! Hell yeah! I came home with bags, I mean bags of blackberries, stained sneakers, and torn up arms. It was a great day. 😉 I knew I wanted to make blackberry syrup. It wasn’t until I was in the midst of making it that I realized how versatile it could be. All of the photos below will show you a few of the ways I used this sexy deliciousness. Crazy easy, crazy tasty, and crazy quick. Enjoy this babe! 😉
Please leave a comment below and let me know how you use yours! -FGG
For this recipe, nothing but the Led Zeppelin tune that is most fitting for the sexiest of syrups… 😉
The Sexiest Blackberry Syrup Ever! (Makes approximately 4 cups)
Ingredients:
8 cups fresh blackberries
2 1/4 C sugar
1/4 C honey or agave
1 Tbl fresh lemon juice
2 tsp pectin – add a bit more for a syrup that is a bit thicker
Directions:
In a pot, bring the blackberries to a boil over medium to medium high heat.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes – should be very soft
Mash the berries
Put the blackberries in a sieve and strain the juice
Scoop out the puree (I save the scooped berries for toppings on ice cream etc)
Put the blackberry juice back into the pot and add the sugar and lemon juice
Boil for approximately 3 minutes
Add the pectin and stir for a minute or two more
Done!
Vegan Easter Bunny Waffles!
Vegan Easter Bunny Waffles! were SO fun to make with my little dude this morning! It’s my spring break (woo-hoo!!!) and today G didn’t go to his nanny’s. We declared it a day of Easter fun! Easter bunny waffles, egg dying, and nail painting… was totally awesome! These waffles were super easy to make and crazy cute! They were almost too cute to eat! As you all know, I’m a sucker for any kind of holiday/event decor, so the food styling for this post was incredibly fun. I’ve also included the link and picture to last year’s Easter Bunny cake, and pics of my table’s decor (and my new and fabulous plants). I’m gonna keep this post short and sweet because the little man and I are headed to the Audubon Society for a suh-weet hike! Happy early Easter! Love, FGG
PS- Beware! Picture heavy post! 😉
- Waffle mix (I used Krusteaz)
- 1/4 C coconut milk
- 1 egg substitute (I used Follow Your Heart OR you can use apple sauce)
- Food coloring (colors of your choice)
- 3 jelly beans
- 6 chocolate chips
- Fruit leather cut into 6 thin strips
- 2 Tbl shredded coconut
- 2 chocolate circle (I used Choco-nono's -vegan)
- Follow the waffle directions to make 3 Belgian waffles - sub out egg for substitute and instead of 2/3 water - replace a 1/4 of it with coconut milk - mix all ingredients required for your box mix
- Using 3 bowls, divide the waffle mix evenly into each bowl and dye each bowl your preferred colors
- Cook waffles and design them like the picture! You will have a remaining colored waffle
- Done!
Alice in Wonderland Themed Party for Adults & Vegan Party Platter Spreads!
Alice in Wonderland Themed Party for Adults & Vegan Party Platter Spreads! is a post that comes from my AMAZING 37th birthday party a few weeks ago. If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I am a girl who not only loves a good party, but loves to host and throw a great soiree. Entertaining has always been a love of mine and I’ve been doing it since my early 20’s. Actually, since I was a kid! I planned an incredibly dope Clue themed party for my sister, Danella, and a hippie party for myself when I was in elementary and middle school. If I don’t have a specific reason to throw an awesome bash, you can bet I’ll make one up!
This year, I decided to throw an Alice in Wonderland themed party… adult style. Now, mind you, there were children there. However, they were doin’ their own thang, but I did accommodate for them as well. I strive to be the hostess with the mostest (yeah, yeah, I know that’s crazy cheesy, but I really do)! I am an avid decorator for parties. I go BIG. Amazon was my best friend this year, as I could find things there that I could not find anywhere else. Also, Pinterest seriously rocks for decor ideas and inspirations. I have an Alice in Wonderland themed board on my Foodgalleygab Pinterest page if you want to check it out! My one request for my guests was that they came dressed in costume. I did my invite on Facebook and used a picture from Alice in Wonderland (AIW) for the face of the event page. Here is a list of what I did to decorate and some:
Vegan Banana Coconut Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream!
Vegan Banana Coconut Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream! Is literally the best ice cream ever! And, it’s done in 5 minutes. On top of the fact that it’s caaa-rrrraaazzzzyyy delicious, it is also healthy and beyond simple to make. Score! My sister, Jessica, was saying that she had been blending frozen bananas for ice cream and that gave me the ever-so-delicious idea for this glorious treat. Thanks, J-Ru! Frozen bananas, coconut milk, dark chocolate, peanut butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract: blend in high powered blender (I used my Vitamix), and done!
My mom had an ice cream maker when we were little. I LOVED making ice cream recipes over the summer. I also totally remember making the vanilla and chocolate Jello pudding frozen bars which were my absolute favorite! Especially, the vanilla. Okay, this has definitely triggered a craving. It’s also reminded me of a camp my mother sent me to in Old Bethpage, Long Island when I was about 8; very interesting memories… I remember having to wear a bonnet and a long hand-sewn dress, high boots, and a metal can tied to a rope that wrapped around my waste so we could have birch beer on tap at the end of the day (let me tell you, this was the HIGHLIGHT of my afternoons). It was about 95f one day and I took off my bonnet, only to promptly be told to “put it back on, as the children back-in-the day could not remove their bonnets.” Yeah, I was living in olden times… just in 1989… sigh… We played with wooden circles and sticks, wrote with feather pens in old classrooms, made pickles, churned ice cream, and sang songs of the old. This is just one of the many strange camps I attended in my childhood… In hindsight, I can now appreciate these experiences. The key word there being “hindsight.” 😉 I’ll have to share a pic of myself from this time. Anyway, enjoy the delicious Vegan Banana Coconut Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream! I hope, you too, can reflect upon any old camp or ice cream churning memories from your possible crazy youth! 😉
- 3 frozen bananas (I froze mine chopped up)
- 3 Tbl creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 C coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- Approximately 1.75 Oz (50 grams) of dark chocolate OR 2 Tbl cocoa powder (I used chocolate)
- Place all ingredients in a blender (I use my Vitamix)
- Blend until smooth and creamy
- Done!
Vegan Valentine’s Day Cake!
Vegan Valentine’s Day Cake! was the easiest thing ever. I really had my mind set on buying a heart shaped bundt cake mold this year, so when I found one at Target I snatched that sh#$ up asap! It’s SO cute and makes the perfect heart shaped cake for your ‘lova’ or day of celebration… whatever that may be or look like to you. Now, I love any excuse to cook, especially for a holiday of sorts, however, a secret for you: I don’t particularly enjoy baking! I don’t like measuring things and not having the freedom to create on my own. Plus, I don’t have a sweet tooth, I have the sharpest and fiercest carb tooth you’ve ever seen! Seriously… it’s deliciously awful, just ask my thighs. Anyway, for Valentine’s Day I always feel the need to bake. This year, I cut some serious corners. I’ve recently found out that a lot of cake mixes and frostings are naturally vegan! This was AWESOME news for my lazy baking self. I used Trader Joe’s Vanilla Cake Mix and a pink frosting specifically for V-day with heart confetti and red and white sprinkles. I replaced the egg with Follow Your Heart Vegan Eggs, cow’s milk for almond milk, and replaced the butter with Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread. Done!
My little man “helped” me as usual. So cute, yet so hindering. 😉 As you can tell from the pics below, clearly he decided to do some form of ‘push-up’ off the couch next to my ingredients, lick and eat half of the batter, and drip cake everywhere, but alas, we had a badass time together… as always! My little stud muffin! Happy Valentine’s Day! Love, FGG
- 1 heart shaped bundt cake mold (spray mold with cooking oil)
- 1 box of vegan vanilla cake mix (most cakes are - I used Trader Joe's)
- Vegan egg substitute (or apple sauce) - # varies based on your box of cake
- Non-dairy milk unsweetened OR vanilla - I used almond milk - amount varies based on your box of cake
- Vegan butter - I used Earth Balance - Amount varies based on your box of cake
- 1 container of valentine's day frosting mix with sprinkles/confetti - I used a pink one with red & white sprinkles
- Preheat oven according to temperature on box of cake
- Follow the directions on your box of cake and replace the non-vegan items with the vegan items on the ingredient list
- Pour cake mix into the bundt pan and cook for amount of time stated - be sure to check its readiness with a toothpick before removing from the oven
- Let sit for at least 10 minutes before frosting
- Done!
Chocolate Covered Fruit – Vegan!
So there’s no trick to making the easiest thing in the world. I thought I’d post my pics of my chocolate covered fruit because they were delicious and made me feel better about giving my kid sweets. I have this thing about sugar. Especially about giving sugar to my almost 3 year old. Outside of soda, I think it’s the worst thing in the world for your body. Anything in moderation? Sure! I’m not that crazy, but I don’t get down with loads of sugar for the soul. Have some soup. I am a savory girl, not a sweet girl. If you offered me a gigantic Belgian chocolate bar or an everything bagel, I’d choose the bagel every time. Nothing gets in the way of me and a good carb! Just ask my wardrobe that hangs so beautifully in my closet wondering when their owner will get her growing rear to the gym so that they may make an appearance in the outside world again. Sigh… winter is coming, I have loads of amazing pants but let’s just say they’re not lookin’ so fly. Of course, I write this as I am promoting a delicious dessert. 😉
My kiddo has been asking for donuts like crazy. Obviously, I’m not going to satisfy that hunger every time he begs, so I wanted to make him something different to get his mind out of the donut gutter. As you all know, I hate to waste food! I looked in my fridge and fruit bowl, and noticed I had a ton of good fruit about to go south. This is when the chocolate covered fruit lightbulb went on. The rest is delicious history. Start melting your sugars away…
- 1 vegan chocolate bar
- 1 handful of honey roasted peanuts - crushed
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- A variety of fruits - I used bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and 1 peach
- Melt your chocolate
- Dip fruits in chocolate and scatter coconut and peanuts on top
- Let cool for a few minutes
- Done!
- Sparkling Rose
- Red Zinfandel
- Port
Banana Carrot Coconut Breakfast Muffins
Banana Carrot Coconut Breakfast Muffins are delicious, easy, and vegan! Looking for a healthy and easy way to start your day? Take a quick muffin to go! Now, at the end of mixing together all of these ingredients, I opted to make them vegetarian instead because I discovered some left over chocolate chips from Easter. However, typically, I would keep them vegan just to make them extra healthy! Of course, something this delicious can easily be scarfed down as a dessert. They are specifically stated as breakfast muffins because they are not light and fluffy, but rather dense and filling like a good breakfast should be.
I have no idea what’s happened to me with age, well, that’s not entirely true at all. A big.fat.sigh. to that on many accounts, however, regarding breakfast, what used to be my most favorite meal of the day, I no longer have an appetite in the early hours of the day and I struggle to get down anything too large. Being that I fully understand and support the importance of a dope bfast I force myself to eat something. These Banana Carrot Coconut Breakfast Muffins are perfect for me right now because they’re quick to eat, healthy, dense enough, but doesn’t leave me feeling like I’ve just eaten a mountain of food. Not to mention, getting both the wee dude and myself ready in the morn leaves little time to chow down on gigantic homemade delicatessens. I make a tray of these bad boys and I’m good for the week! If not, freeze them and enjoy their deliciousness at a later date. On that note, happy easy, healthy, vegan, and delicious morning to you! Love, Foodgalleygab.
- 2 C oats
- 2 bananas
- 1 C shredded carrot
- 2/3 C shredded coconut
- 1/2 C whole wheat flour
- 3 Tbl flax seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 heaping Tbl cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/2 C water
- 1 C unsweetened almond milk
- 2 Tbl agave (substitute honey if you'd like)
- 2 Tbl vegetable oil
- Optional: chocolate chips
- muffin pan (12 muffins)
- blender
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- Place all ingredients in a blender (I used my Vitamix) and blend until smooth (if using chocolate chips, don't blend them in. Put them in after blending and stir them into the mix well)
- Spray your muffin pan and fill each muffin to the top rim
- Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes
- Let cool and then enjoy!
Easter Bunny Cake
This Easter Bunny Cake is a long standing tradition in my mother’s household. We had this cake every single year throughout my entire childhood, and now it’s time for a resurrection! Perfect word of course for such a holiday if you get down with that. Either way, this Easter Bunny Cake is uber adorable, edible, and fantastic, especially when you consider serving it after arranging the cake in the midst of the absolute cutest of Easter decorations (see pics below). Your guests will be more than impressed and may follow up with a few of these: “Awe!!” “Adorable, absolutely brilliant!” “How cute!” “Can your wife make a cake like this?” I kid, I kid, but one can only hope. 😉
I specifically remember my mother making, yes making me wear an Easter bunny costume on several Easters. That’s not the embarrassing part. I had to stand on the front lawn with an Easter basket and greet my neighbors, after getting my face painted and losing all sense of self dignity. I was fifteen years old. Amen. This happened.
My family killed it in the holiday department… every year, every holiday. We went holiday decor bananas and ate like professional food champs. If you didn’t feel like your clothing was about to hurt your soul because you were so full, you’d not eaten enough. It only got better as we neared adulthood because we could at least sneak in some spiked libations when the real adults weren’t looking. On that note, as I made this Easter Bunny Cake I sipped on a sparkling rose, okay, I totally drank half the bottle. I suppose I should’ve included a picture of that as well.
I wish you all an absolutely fabulous Easter Sunday and only hope you can recreate the love that came along with this Easter Bunny Cake, and for that matter, every fabulous holiday this year. Cheers to Springtime and Summer en route! Sip with champagne, sparkling wine, or any delightful drink for that matter. Happy Easter!!!
- 1 box of cake mix (I used carrot cake but you could easily use vanilla)
- Jelly beans
- Licorice strands
- Shredded coconut
- Vanilla frosting
- Chocolate chips
- Food coloring
- Two 8-inch pans
- Mix the cake ingredients and put the 8 inch pans in the oven
- While the cake is cooking, dye some of your coconut green and pink
- When the cake is done cooking, let it cool completely
- Once the cake has completely cooled, cut one of the cakes into the two ears and bowtie as shown in the picture
- Arrange your bunny on a tray and frost it, cover it with coconut, add the colored coconut to the ears and bowtie as shown in the pictures
- Add the chocolate chips, jelly beans, and licorice strands as shown in pictures
3 Minute, 4 Ingredient Hot Chocolate Mini-Mug Cake!
Mug Cakes. These seem to be the new fad, similar to the one pot pasta fad. Just like my recent one pot pasta post (super delicious by the way!), I decided to try my hand at a mug cake. Curiosity struck, creativity was abound, and kitchen craziness soon ensued! After a few go arounds, I landed on this amazingly easy and delicious “3 Minute, 4 Ingredient Hot Chocolate Mini-Mug Cake!” recipe. I was inspired by my “Warm & Delicious Spiked Choco-Coffee” recipe (which also made it onto Food Gawker last week!) that uses hot cocoa. I guess I am going through a hot chocolate phase at the moment. Typically, I’d choose a bagel, a potato chip, a slice of pizza, anything that is uber carb-o-licious over any sort of sweet, as I’m a carb lover to the extreme. I am just going to assume this is a new phase for me. Hopefully, for my hips, a fleeting phase! This cake is a perfectly adorable and beautiful little individual cake (presents itself in the shape of a mini molten lava cake!) that would make a quick & easy dessert for an impromptu or preplanned gathering of your friends. I shredded some coconut flakes, and sprinkled some chocolate chips & powdered sugar over the cake for a beautiful and tasty garnish. I did this all in a mere 4 minutes! So my friends, pick a mug, any standard favorite mug, and get mixin’! Your tastebuds await!
- 1 individual sized packet of hot chocolate
- 1 egg
- Dash of vanilla extract
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1 mug
- In your mug, mix all the ingredients together - stir well
- Put the mug in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes
- Remove from mug and put in small bowl
- Serve warm
- I garnished this with coconut flakes, chocolate chips, and a sprinkling of powdered sugar for my guests. Beautiful & delicious!
- Optional: If your texture is not as desired, simply add some water to the mix!
