Peppermint Patties

Candy is one of my favorite things to make-- mostly because I love to eat it afterwards. I saw a shirt once that said "I run because I love dessert" and I really wish I had gotten it... or several of them, so I could wear them everyday. I feel like people would understand me better if they knew that information upfront. That way they understand why I don't run because I have a love of running. Not that I am some big time runner-- because... well I am not. But I swear if I wasn't such of fan of chocolate and other treats my treadmill and running shoes would collect a lot more dust. 

Peppermint patties are a simple treat to make, and are very refreshing to eat. And let's not forget delicious... because they are exactly that. DELICIOUS. That's probably why I tripled this recipe when I made it... 

I added a bit of green food coloring just to make them a little more interesting, but feel free to leave it out if you don't feel like eating Incredible Hulk peppermint patties.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons earth balance buttery sticks, softened
• 2 teaspoons mint extract
• 2 tablespoons soy milk
• 2 1/2 cups vegan powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon green food coloring (more, or less, or none!)
• 2 1/2 cups vegan chocolate
• 1 tablespoon vegan shortening

Preparation:

1. In a stand mixer, add the softened earth balance, mint extract, soy milk, food coloring, and powdered sugar.
2. Start mixing on a low speed until a crumbly mixture starts to form.
3. Once it is mostly combined, turn the mixer on a high speed and beat until creamy. (If your mixture is too dry feel free to add a little extra soy milk, or if it is too sticky, add a little more sugar. You want to end up with a pie dough-like mixture.)
4. Roll mixture into a log in the diameter you like, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for 1 hour.
5. Remove from the freezer, take candy out of the plastic wrap, and cut into disks of the thickness you like.
6. Lay the disks flat on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
7. Once all of the candy is cut, return to the freezer for another hour. 
8. At the end of the hour, melt the chocolate and shortening in a double boiler- mixing so it combines well.
9. Remove candy from freezer, and take the chocolate mixture off of the heat.
10. Lay the candy flat on a fork, submerge into the chocolate, raise fork and let excess chocolate drip off. (You can use a second fork to scrape the underside of the first fork to remove the excess chocolate more quickly.)
11. Lay the coated candy back onto the parchment sheet. (I flip the fork and let the candy fall off so I don't touch it with my finger. That way more chocolate stays on the candy.)
12. Repeat until all of the candy has been coated in chocolate.
13. If you have extra chocolate, feel free to drizzle the remainder over the coated candy.
14. Return to freezer for another 30 minutes so the chocolate can harden completely before packaging or eating!

Enjoy!!

Sweet and Salty S'mores Bars.

I am in love with s'mores. It might sound like an exaggeration... but I assure you, it is not. If you could meet my husband and ask him how often I make s'mores, he would probably roll his eyes. Mostly because I always try to make him eat one, too. (To feel less guilty obviously) He, however, is not as much of a s'mores fan as I am. I probably should have considered that crucial fact before saying yes to marriage...

Okay, so s'mores bars. Delicious. They are soft, gooey, chocolaty, with a hint of sea salt. I wish you the best of luck trying not to eat the whole batch.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups softened vegan butter
• 1 1/4 cups raw sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup applesauce 
• 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 4 cups vegan chocolate chips
• 10 ounces vegan marshmallow fluff
• 12 vegan marshmallow (each cut into 4 pieces. I used kitchen shears since they were super sticky and hard to cut with a knife.)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Line 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper; butter the parchment.
3. In stand mixer, add butter and sugar.
4. Mix on low speed until the sugar is fully dissolved into the butter. 
5. Turn mixer on high speed and beat mixture for 3 minutes. Turn mixer back on low speed. Add vanilla and applesauce. Once incorporated, turn mixer off.
6. In a medium bow, whisk together graham cracker crumbs, flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.
7. Turn stand mixer back onto low speed. Add dry mixture to wet mixture 1/4 cup at a time until it is all added. Turn mixer off.
8. Spread 1/2 of the mixture on the bottom of your prepared pan. 
9. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips onto batter.
10. Spread marshmallow fluff onto the top. 
11. Sprinkle 2 cups of chocolate chips onto the top of the fluff.
12. Place marshmallow pieces on top of the chocolate chips as evenly as possible.
13. Put blobs of remaining batter on top. Place parchment paper over batter and flatten the blobs out by pushing lightly down and rubbing flat. Slowly pull parchment off. 
14. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.
15. Bake for 25-28 minutes until top starts to brown.
16. If you want a little extra salty to your sweet, sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt on the top.
17. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

Hard Cider and Caramel Apple Cupcakes

This recipe is pretty time consuming, but if you like apples, or caramel, or just delicious treats in general-- IT IS TOTALLY WORTH IT. I had to make a second batch of the filling, because I couldn't stop 'taste testing' it. I mean... I wouldn't want to give anyone cupcakes that were filled with a subpar filling, right? 

I made mine with Stella Artois Cider, because my husband brought home 3 cases from work, and I figured I had to use it up somehow. I would have to make quite a few more batches to even make a dent in it... but it was a good thought! Mostly I just used it as an excuse to try out a new recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Hard Cider Cupcakes:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup hard cider 
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup soymilk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar 

Caramel Apple Filling:

• 4 medium/large apples (skinned, cored, and cut into small pieces)
• 1 cup hard cider
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 5 tablespoons vegan butter
• 3 tablespoons soymilk mixed with 3 tablespoons corn starch (make sure you mix it well and while the milk is cold- this will help the cornstarch blend all of the way into the milk.)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Vanilla Maple Cinnamon Frosting:

• 1/2 cup vegan shortening 
• 1 tablespoon maple extract
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar 
• 2-5 tablespoons soymilk (more or less depending on desired consistency)

Preparing the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Line standard cupcake pans for 16 cupcakes
3. In a stand mixer, put all of the dry cupcake ingredients into mixing bowl. Allow to mix on the slowest speed while preparing wet ingredients. 
4. In a separate bowl (I just put everything into a 2 cup measuring cup) add all of the wet cupcake ingredients and just mix slightly to combine. 
5. While still on the lowest speed, slowly add the wet mixture to the dry. Mix until all of the wet mixture is incorporated.
6. Split evenly into the lined cupcake tins. (about 2/3 full)
7. Bake for about 16-18 minutes, until the top of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. 
8. Allow to cool completely before filling.

Preparing the Filling  

1. Put prepared apple pieces, cinnamon, and hard cider into medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat until apples soften. (Be careful not to cook too long, because you will want the apple pieces to keep their shape!)
2. After apples are done cooking, drain the remaining liquid and let the apples cool.
3. In a large saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat.
4. Once butter is melted, add the sugars and vanilla. Stir until sugars melt into the butter.
5. Once sugars melt, add the milk/cornstarch mixture. Mix well and keep on medium heat.
6. Let mixture come to a boil; once it reaches a boil, stir continuously and cook for 5 minutes. Turn heat on low.
7. Carefully add apples to the mixture and let cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure sugar does not burn.
8. Allow Mixture to cool before filling cupcakes.

Preparing the Frosting

1. In stand mixer, beat shortening for 3 minutes on a medium speed to smooth it out. Turn to lowest speed.
2. While still beating, add extracts.
3. Slowly add powdered sugar. (Make sure you don't add it too fast, or you're going to make a mess!)
4. Add soymilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you've reached your desired consistency. When you've finished adding the soymilk, turn the mixer to a high speed and beat for 5 minutes to fluff the frosting!

Assembling the Cupcakes!

1. Using a cupcake corer, or a knife, remove the center of each cupcake, leaving a layer on the bottom so the filling doesn't leak out. (Save the centers!)
2. Fill the cupcakes with the caramel apple filling.
3. Use the centers you saved to cover the filling. Push the centers down a little to stick them in securely. If you want a flat cupcake surface, you can use half of the center.
4. Frost the cupcakes. I piped my frosting, but you can just spread it on if you don't have a piping bag.
5. Use any remaining filling mixture to top the cupcakes for an added bonus!
6. Enjoy!!