Easy Chocolate Mousse

In honor of my birthday this month, I am eating as much chocolate as I can! The darker the chocolate the better!

I've been looking for (and unsuccessfully trying) to make a dairy-free chocolate mousse that's as good as the full-cream version. This recipe was originally for vegan chocolate mousse pie, but the filling is delicious by itself. It's deliciously chocolaty and smooth, and between the protein in the tofu and the antioxidants in the dark chocolate, it's practically good for you! But you don't have to tell anyone that it's vegan.


It's also one of the simplest recipes that I've seen.

Ingredients
1 14oz package silken tofu
1-3/4 cups chocolate or 8.8 ounces dark chocolate (it recommends 70 percent, but I like to mix in a little extra dark too)

Directions
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat.
Place the tofu in a blender and blend for about a minute until smooth. Keep the blender running and pour in the melted chocolate. Blend until smooth.

Pour into serving dishes and refrigerate at least an hour.

Original Source: Kripalu Recipes online.

Cranberry-Ginger Muffins

I fell in love with the cranberry sauce recipe from Lilly's Table. The combination of tangy cranberries, spicy ginger, and sweet and bitter orange is mouth-wateringly delicious. I eat it by the spoonful!

Then one day I thought, "I wonder if I could use the cranberry sauce to make muffins." Voila, the cranberry-ginger muffins were born. They've received rave reviews, including, "This is the best muffin you've ever made!" I hope that you enjoy them as much as we did.


Making the Cranberry Sauce
12 ounces cranberries, standard size bag
1 whole orange, thin skinned
3/4 cup sugar (to taste)
1/4 cup candied ginger, roughly chopped
1 inch piece fresh ginger, finely minced
1 tsp ground ginger

Rinse the cranberries. Cut the orange into eighths and remove any seeds. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse lightly until everything is well chopped.

Ingredients for Muffins
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/2 cup of non-dairy butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1 cup cranberries halved

Ingredients for Crumble Topping
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup non-dairy butter
orange peel and ginger to taste

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars and eggs together. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, powder, soda, and salt (if using). Then add flour mixture to egg mixture, until most of the lumps are gone. Stir in the cranberry sauce and fresh cranberries. NOTE: The cranberries will turn the batter pink/red the more that you mix it, which then turns blue-ish when you bake it!

Start by using a fork to cut the butter with the other ingredients for the crumble topping. Remember the goal is large crumbs for the topping, so I like to use my fingers to ensure that I do not over mix.

Pour the batter into lined muffin cups. Sprinkle with crumble topping. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.

If you like this cranberry sauce recipe, check out Chef Lilly's other delicious recipes at Lilly's Table. It's $12 per month to sign-up, but it's totally worth it!

Ginger Chocolate Chip Biscotti

These deliciously crunchy cookies are perfect for dunking in a "cuppa" (Australian for a cup of coffee or tea).
Apparently I'd printed this recipe many years ago (2002 to be exact) from the Cooking Light web site. To my surprise it was dairy-free already!

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 TBS chopped crystallized ginger (can sub finely chopped fresh ginger, or ginger juice to taste)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together eggs, egg white and vanilla in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and crystallized ginger.

Divide dough in half and roll each piece in your hands to make a 12" log. Note: the log will spread out and become wider during baking. Place the logs on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes. Then remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, but leave the oven turned ON.

Once the logs have cooled enough to touch, cut each log into slices. Place the slices on the baking sheet and return to the oven. Turn the oven OFF immediately, but leave the biscotti in the oven until the oven is cool. The biscotti will become dry and crunchy.

You can also try adding different flavors, chips, nuts, etc. such as almonds, pistachios, lemon, orange... use your imagination!

Rice Crispy Treats

So simple and gooey, who wouldn't love 'em?!? Just substitute non-dairy butter for the real stuff. I used to make these regularly for my old boss. (Bribery, who me?)

Ingredients
1 package marshmallows (10 oz.)
3 TBS non-dairy butter
6 cups rice crispy cereal

Directions
Melt butter in a pan over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the rice crispy cereal. While still warm, use your hands to press the sticky goodness into a pan lined with wax paper.

Note: You may want to spray your mixing spoon and hands with cooking spray.

Anyone out there?

Hi friends and readers!
I've been working on this blog for a couple of years now, sharing some of my favorite non-dairy recipes, baking tips, and family stories. If there is anyone out there reading this, would you please leave me a comment, suggestion, complaint, or something. Pretty please!
Thanks,
Jessica

Carrot Souffle

Don't let the name scare you. Yes, carrots can be dessert with delicious results.

This recipe was my first attempt at making a souffle and as my fav foodie friend said, "I hit it out of the park!"

Ingredients
2 pounds carrots, chopped
1/2 c melted non-dairy butter
1 c brown sugar (note: I substituted 2 Tbs of maple syrup for some of the brown sugar for more flavor)
3 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
2 Tbs powdered sugar, divided

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash the carrots. (You can use a blender, mixer, potato masher, or ricer if you have one.)

Mix the carrot mash and the non-dairy butter, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla and eggs. Mix well and transfer to an ungreased 2-quart baking dish, or ramekins for individual servings. Sprinkle with 1 Tbs of powdered sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes. Dust with remaining powdered sugar before serving.

A big thank you to my mom's friend Lloyce who sent me this recipe!

Angeletti with Orange Frosting Cookie Bouquet

These cake-like cookies were a big hit at Valentine's Day! After a day or two, the cookies became a little crunchy on the outside, but they remained soft on the inside and were perfect for dunking.

Ingredients
1/2 cup dairy-free butter
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup dairy-free milk (I prefer almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder (NOTE: Tablespoon, not teaspoon)
1/4 tsp salt

2 cups confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
3-4 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 Tbsp grated orange zest

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk butter, sugar, almond milk, vanilla and eggs. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until evenly blended.

Cover dough and let stand for 5 minutes.

With floured hands, shape dough into balls (or hearts, etc.) and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake cookies 7-8 minutes or until the cookies puff and turn light brown on the bottom. Let cookies cookies cool on a wire rack.

Mix the powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest together to make a thick icing or glaze. You can add color to the icing at this time, if desired. Also, you can substitute lemon or other flavors for the orange.

Once the cookies are completely cool, gently spread a teaspoon of icing on each cookie and sprinkle with colored sugar. Allow iced cookies to dry on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper.

To make the cookie bouquet, place each cookie on a skewer. Place a piece of Styrofoam inside a tall vase (found in the floral decorating section at the arts and crafts store), then carefully place cookies on a stick in the Styrofoam. Fill in with tissue paper, ribbons, etc.