Vegan Truffles

Do not be fooled that these are Vegan, they are surprisingly, incredibly truffle-like.

This is the last of the vegan recipe series that I’m doing for the time being. It was a great experience to cook this way and I’m very happy to have been able to document it. Cooking vegan is not nearly as difficult as I originally thought and like most everything, it’s not always healthy. If I were to be serious about this type of cooking, I would definitely research different types of fats to use because I really did not like the vegan margarine one bit. The blog resource I found is excellent and I would definitely recommend it to anyone cooking vegan.

I have definitely left the best for last, these vegan truffles are the pièce de résistance!

Incredibly creamy truffles, just as they should be.

Makes about 3-5 dozen, depending on size

Ingredients:

• 12 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Belgian chocolate)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (full fat)
• 1 tbsp margarine or coconut oil
• 1 tsp orange extract
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp espresso powder + 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Espresso powder and icing sugar for rolling in

Directions:

1. Combine chocolate, coconut milk and margarine in a saucepan and heat until chocolate has melted and mixture is thick. Divide into two portions, about the same volume. Add your choice of flavourings to each portion.
2. Pour into a bowl , cover with plastic wrap and set in refrigerator overnight (I actually had mine sit a couple of days and it was fine).
3. Using a melon baller, sprayed with oil or vegan butter,  shape into spheres. Roll into your favourite topping. Store in the refrigerator.

I was completely floored by how authentic these truffles tasted.The coconut flavour was quite subtle, if any and what it brought to the table was total creaminess. I would make these again, even for non-vegans. I think this recipe is totally a keeper and I hope you like it too. These truffles act much the same way as real, cream version truffles so you need not worry about them melting into a puddle.

Indeed, they are as creamy as they look.

 

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Chocolate Almond Biscotti

As we are approaching the end of autumn and the beginning of a long cold winter, I am once again excited about… Halloween! Last year I started telling you about some spooky stories all true, and now I’m going to continue this tradition. Buckle your seat belts ladies and gents.
JT and I bought our first house north and east of Toronto in a small bedroom community called Stouffville. It was an old farming community from the 1800’s that the city planners linked to Toronto via the GO Train (Government of Ontario Train). The small city was limited only by the fact that it wasn’t on either main water or sewage; our little city’s water was from an arteasesn well. Being limited by the water made Stouffville even more desirable because it constrained mass building which was happening in droves in similar bedroom communities (we used to call it ‘the sea of houses’ because they went on and on). Our subdivision was the last of its kind until Stouffville joined up to city water and sewage in the mid-2000’s, which made it the fastest growing community north of Toronto. But we were gone long before that.
Although the house was brand new, it always gave me the willies! I only ever spent one night by myself in that house, I would go spend the night with my Mom or in laws when JT travelled. There were creepy noises, creeks and cracks. But the weirdest thing that happened even made skeptic JT agree that the house was strange.
One evening after dinner I was baking in our little kitchen, JT was watching television in the adjacent family room. I was turned away from the doorway and as I turned to put something in the sink out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone poke their head into the kitchen, they were wearing red. I just figured it was JT seeing if there were any samples to be had. But then a few moments later JT actually came into the kitchen and asked me what I wanted. I said I was just about to ask him the same thing. He said he thought I just poked my head into the family room, he thought I was wearing red too! Except neither of us had red on. Super freaked out, we checked all the doors and windows and they were locked tight. Then we checked all the rooms and closets. We found nothing.
Even though I wasn’t baking biscotti that night, I think JT and our mystery guest would have enjoyed a few tasters from this recipe.

There is something so civilized about eating a little biscotti with an afternoon espresso, don’t you think?

 

Makes 2 logs, about 48 biscotti

Original recipe from Food Network

I was drawn to this recipe because it doesn’t have melted butter in it. Not having butter actually makes this cookie very hard and I would recommend not biting down on it unless you have dipped it into something warm.

Ingredients:

• 2 c flour
• 1 c sugar
• 1/3 c cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp espresso powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 c whole almonds, toasted skin on
• 1/3 c chocolate chips
• 1 egg white for brushing

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a stand mixer with paddle attachment.
2. Mix together eggs, egg whites and vanilla extract.
3. Gradually add egg mixture to flour mixture blending on low speed.
4. Toss almonds with chocolate chips and fold into the flour mixture until combined.
5. On a well floured surface roll dough into 2 logs, 2 inches in diameter. They will expand quite a bit.
6. Place on a greased pan and brush with beaten egg white.
7. Bake at 350 degrees until light golden brown, about 30-35 minutes.
8. Allow logs to cool 15 minutes then cut into slices on the bias. Place slices on a greased sheet pan and bake in a 350 degree oven until toasted, about 15-20 minutes. Cool. Store in an airtight container.

Delicate flavours of the almond are accentuated by the rich, creamy chocolate. Isn’t that crema gorgeous?

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Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookies

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! And anyone else who happens to celebrate Thanksgiving now. Hope you enjoyed an overload of turkey, stuffing and pies! And then there’s Black Friday, which for some reason Canadian retailers have jumped on and are promoting the heck out of it! Get out there and get some GREAT DEALS, but not before you leave me some of your lovely words.
Honestly, I don’t eat sweets. I just like to bake ’em! And fortunately, JT started a new job (and career) in June and his office are the perfect guiney pigs recipients of my baking! I wanted to bake another batch of the molasses spice cookies, but JT put in a request for something chocolate. OK, I can live with that. The cookies lasted less than one hour and JT only had two. He came home with a request for the next bake: macarons! Can you believe it?

A very tasty treat, if I do say so myself

The recipe is an adaptation from the wonderful Chocolate Crinkle Kisses I make every year at Christmas, but since it’s not Christmas yet (unbenounced to many department stores who are playing Christmas music incessantly) I altered the recipe to be a Chocolate Espresso flavour and I omitted the Candy Cane Kisses!

These cookies have a strong coffee and chocolate flavour and it’s texture is a little browny like.

An explosion of chocolate and espresso in every bite

Makes about 30-36 cookies

Ingredients:

• ½ cup icing sugar
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup espresso powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Sift icing sugar into a small bowl.
2. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter with the cocoa powder, espresso powder and sugar.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and vanilla Into the chocolate mixture.
4. Slowly mix in all the dry ingredients until combined. Stir in the chocolate Chips.
5. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll dough into a small ball about the size of a walnut; roll balls in the icing sugar and press flat with the palm of your hand.
7. Place on parchment covered baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between the cookies. Bake 8-10 minutes.
8. Let the cookies cool on the sheet; transfer to racks to cool completely before storing.

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