It's Friday in mid-December, so it's only right that we celebrate with a holiday-ish dessert recipe, am I right? I am pretty excited about this recipe my friends! I have been mildly obsessed with the combination of chocolate + mint all year long, but it's gone into overdrive over the past month. Mint is a holiday season favorite, and let's be honest: chocolate is a favorite every damn day. I'm also psyched about this recipe because I've been craving brownies for awhile now, and when I finally came up with a brownie recipe, it was a yummy success... a vegan success at that! There are no eggs or dairy in this recipe whatsoever. Although I eat dairy sometimes, I wanted to challenge myself with coming up with a vegan brownie recipe. And this is my first EVER brownie recipe posted on ... [Read More]
dessert recipes
Single Serving S’mores Cake [Vegan]
Happy Friday friends! Any fun plans for the weekend? An East coast girlfriend of mine will be in town staying at my house, and we have a lot of fun things planned. I'm excited! Isn't it crazy that Halloween is rapidly approaching? I feel like this month is just flying by. Since Halloween obviously reminds me of sweets and the weekends seem to get me in the mood for baking something to satisfy my sweet tooth (or in this case microwaving something deeeelicious), today I have a very yummy single serving dessert recipe to share. (PS - Did you notice my reflection in the spoon? Ha.) I hadn't eaten marshmallows in years since finding out all about gelatin and the foods that it's hidden in... that is until I discovered that vegan marshmallows existed and bought a package of ... [Read More]
Chocolate Greek Yogurt Fruit Dip + Labor Day Weekend Recap
Oh, how I love 3-day weekends! It seems like there's so much more time to have fun, relax, and also get a couple of productive things done than during a regular weekend. That extra day really makes a difference, don't you agree? I spent a ton of time outside over the weekend -- just how Labor Day weekend should be. Inspired from watching all of the U.S. Open action, I kicked my long weekend off with a tennis session with my hubby... ...and then we headed over to the beach for a sunset picnic: We also had a chance to stroll around the farmers' market and pick up some local goodness.... ...grill a margherita pizza for dinner one night... ...and go on a hike with our dingo at our nearby favorite park: Something we spent a lot of time doing over Labor Day weekend was ... [Read More]
Chocolate Covered Cherry “Nice” Cream
A recent study found that America's favorite dessert is beloved, creamy, dreamy ice cream. Taking it one step further, this Yahoo study also found the overall favorite ice cream flavor to be chocolate... and I for one cannot argue these findings. Fro yo, protein ice cream, banana "nice" cream, gelato, soft serve, the regular real thing - I love it all. Last week I was surprised with not one, but two birthday ice cream cakes (along with a chocolate cake as well as a slice of cheesecake - all on separate occasions with different family members and friends!), both of which I enjoyed a piece of. Clearly I indulge in the real thing sometimes, but then there are lots of times when I want a frozen treat, but I also want it to be nice and healthy...and that's when my food processor comes ... [Read More]
Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookie Dough Pretzel Dip
Hi friends! Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of my readers in the U.S.! I am really looking forward to a couple of days home with my hubby. We don't have too much on the agenda, which is great since last weekend we were away in Palm Springs, and next weekend I'll be in Miami celebrating my best friend's bachelorette party (can't wait!), so I'm hoping to have some fun out and about in San Diego and a pretty low-key holiday weekend. I had planned on doing a last recap of my DietBet today, but then I realized that it's almost Memorial Day and I had shot a recipe on red, white & blue dishware earlier this week that would be great to whip up for a small holiday gathering... ...so, this deliciousness seemed more appropriate today instead! Plus, Fridays seem like the best days ... [Read More]
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Banana Bread Cookies {vegan}
Earlier this week I deemed my hubby and me to be Mr. and Mrs. "Cookie Monster" Crane after we ate an entire batch of these cinnamon brown sugar chocolate chip banana bread cookies in just a couple of days. We both dig banana bread, which is why I make it at least once every few months. But last Saturday, when I was in full kitchen experimentation mode, I decided to get a little creative and make banana bread cookies instead of a regular old banana bread loaf. I decided to play around with using brown sugar as the primary sweetener, and then I went heavy duty on the cinnamon (which is partly the reason for the cookies' dark color) because yummmm, it's my favorite thing to sprinkle on top of nearly everything I eat. I thought about excluding chocolate chips, but then I thought, ... [Read More]