Chloe's Vegan Brownies

Recipe from Chloe's Vegan Desserts, by Chloe Coscarelli

My new go-to brownie recipe is the one from Chloe's Vegan Desserts. These brownies are fudgy on the inside and crackly on the outside. My mother (not veg) was shocked that these brownies were vegan, because of the crackly-on-top marvel that is usually only found in non-vegan brownies. She asked for the recipe, which always makes me happy.

The first time I made these, I wasn't that impressed. Until the next day, when I was like "What was I thinking?" I think brownies are always better the second day. So I like to make them at night, so they're available whenever I want them the next day.

The odd thing about this recipe is that Chloe tells you to cut the hard edges off the brownies before cutting and serving. I do that, because I don't like the hard edges, but it's an odd thing to have a recipe tell you to throw away quite a bit of the finished product.

I've made these a few times, and they're a hit every time. These photos show the brownies a couple days after cooking (the only reason there were any left was because we had several sweets on hand that week). Chloe suggests storing the brownies in the fridge until serving... I keep them on the counter in a covered tupperware instead, and they keep fine for a couple days. I've never had them go bad, because they don't last long.

Warning: These brownies will make your house smell like heaven while they're cooking. I'm not even kidding.

Chloe's Vegan Desserts

Vegan Chocolate Pudding Pie

Pudding recipe from Garden of Vegan, by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer

To make this pie, I use "The Most Amazing Chocolate Pudding" recipe from The Garden of Vegan, and pour it into a ready-made-thank-the-lord-it's-vegan Oreo Pie Crust. Just flip the plastic over and it becomes a dome cover that you keep closed with the foil edges.

The pudding sets perfectly in the fridge, and when you cut the pie, it keeps its shape. Even after a couple days in the fridge. Amazing. Delicious. Easy.

The Garden of Vegan: How It All Vegan Again!

Vegan Grilled Cheese: Provolone & Peach

Recipe from: lunchboxbunch.com

When I heard last year that Daiya was coming out with new vegan Swiss and Provolone slices, I could barely contain my excitement. Daiya is the only vegan cheese that I have enjoyed. And Provolone was something I had really been missing. When I finally tasted it, I was in heaven. It was as good as I was hoping... even better!

Before the Daiya provolone was available in my area, I had found the recipe for this amazing sandwich from lunchboxbunch.com. I bookmarked it and as soon as I was able to purchase the provolone, I made it. And now I make it ALL THE TIME. In fact, I have one cooking on the stove right now, while typing this out.

I like to make mine on Alpicella's round sourdough slices, because the bread is the perfect size, it fits the round slices of cheese like they were designed for each other. Vegan kismet.

Most of the time, I just use regular peaches because they're cheaper, and when I tried the white peach, it didn't taste any different. And in the winter, when there were no peaches available, I'd make it without peaches and it's still totally delicious.

It's ooey and gooey and messy and totally worth it! Get the recipe here.

Vegan English Toffee

Recipe from Vegan Junk Food, by Lane Gold

The recipe for English Toffee in Lane Gold's Vegan Junk Food is to die for. Seriously. It's so perfect. I don't know what else to say about it. You want to eat this.

I do have a warning for you though.  It cooks to perfection in 9-10 minutes. Tops. On every stove I've made this on (and I've made it on three), it's always been done in 9 minutes. The recipe says to cook for 15-20 minutes. (!!!)   It can go from perfect to burnt in seconds, so that's a crazy difference in time. I learned this the hard way the first time I cooked it according to the directions, and burnt it. I don't know why I ever tried again, but I'm so glad I did, because when cooked for the right amount of time, it's divine!  You need to watch the color like a hawk, while stirring relentlessly. The second it changes color from yellowish to light toffee, take it off the heat!

The book says to let it harden for an hour, but I find that it needs a bit more time for the chocolate to set, and I set mine in the fridge.

Also, I add a bit of almond extract to mine.

Seriously addictive.

 Vegan Junk Food: 225 Sinful Snacks that are Good for the Soul

Vegan Barbecue Chip-Crusted Tofu Bites

This is a recipe I'd been wanting to try for awhile. I'm not a huge tofu fan. There are only a handful of tofu recipes that I enjoy. The texture has to be just right for me. My kids are much more tofu-tolerant. But this was one that I liked too. It reminded me of some kind of chicken that I can't put my finger on, since it's been 20 years since I've eaten meat.

The weird thing about this recipe is that although the tofu cubes are covered with crushed BBQ chips, they lose all BBQ flavor. The crunchiness is there, but the flavor is gone. So you definitely need something to dip these in because they taste like crunchy nothingness. Which is great, really, because you get the fabulous crunch, and you can make them taste like whatever you want. Which works out for my family because we all wanted something different to dip ours in. So we had sides of both ketchup and barbecue sauce (to get that BBQ flavor back!). Next time, I'll make the ranch dip suggested with the recipe. I'll definitely be making these again.

Oh, and heads up...I needed a LOT more barbecue chips than are asked for in the recipe to cover all the tofu cubes.

 Vegan Junk Food: 225 Sinful Snacks that are Good for the Soul

Vegan White Chocolate Lemon Brownies

Recipe from Vegan Junk Food, by Lane Gold

Vegan Junk Food is my all-time favorite vegan cookbook! So far, I have made 28 recipes from the book, which I think is probably the most I've ever made from a single book. And of those 28 recipes we've tried, my kids and I have only unanimously disliked one, which is pretty amazing.

Vegan white chocolate chips are impossible to find in stores. I recently ordered a 4-pack from Amazon of the King David brand, so now I am scouring all my cookbooks looking for recipes that feature white chocolate.

Yesterday I decided to make these White Chocolate Lemon Brownies, which are actually Blondies, since the have no brown chocolate or cocoa in them.

They came out great, so I was slightly devastated to come to the end of the recipe instructions to find out that they needed to be refrigerated overnight. Waiting for sweets is not really my thing. But I did as I was told.

So this morning, before breakfast, I took them out of the fridge, cut them up and passed everyone a bite. Good mommy.

They're very sweet, very lemony, and have a thick fudge-like consistency. The only one who didn't like these was my youngest daughter, who doesn't like lemony things. She's crazy.

Vegan Junk Food: 225 Sinful Snacks that are Good for the Soul

First Post!

Welcome to Vegan Dame!

I'm a mother of three kidlets, all of us vegan. I own a ton of vegan cookbooks and get really excited when I make a new recipe that is all kinds of awesome. Most of the time the recipes I want to make from a cookbook are ones that don't have accompanying photos, so I like to share what they look like for people interested in buying the books.

I'll be cooking from lots of different vegan cookbooks and recipes online, sharing my photos and thoughts here. I have a major sweet tooth, so the ratio of desserts to meals probably won't be very even.

If I share photos from a recipe I made from a cookbook, I won't reveal the recipe because they're copyrighted, and I'm too lazy to contact each publisher for permission. You should just buy the books and support these awesome vegan cooks who come up with all these amazing recipes.

If I share photos from a recipe that I found online, I will always link to the recipe for ya.

And occasionally I'll share one of my own recipes.

All recipes tested on humans, not animals! :)