on saturday, erin and i were literally itching for vegan cupcakes from OMG. and, when our adventure brought us to OMG too late - as they had closed early - we pouted a while on a bench. then, after all of our moping and sadness, we went about our day. upon arriving home, sitting, waiting for dinner, we both confirmed with one another - we could not LIVE without something choclatey for dessert. she had sent me this recipe a few weeks prior, and we decided to give it a whirl.... in our own style.
listen. this is simple stuff. so much so that i have even considered making them on my own (and i do NOT bake). you don't need any fancy vegan ingredients - only flour, sugar, cocoa (or another substitute for cocoa, if you don't eat it), baking powder, salt, applesauce, maple syrup, milk (non-dairy), oil, vanilla and mixin's. this is the most non-vegan, vegan thing i've (erin has) ever baked!
for ingredients, we gathered up:
first up... pre-heat oven to 350°F. and my main role (since baking is NOT my strong suit) - chopping chocolate bar and pecans for the brownies... choppy choppy. i like big chunks, but since the recipe calls for semi sweet chocolate chips, you could chop smaller to attain the same type of texture. however, i like nothing more than getting a giant chunk'o'chocolate in my brownie.
mix dry ingredients in one bowl - flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt - and mix so it's all blended. the recipe says aerate. does anyone know what that means? probably erin. she just mixed it like crazy. so.... do that. important things to note: we used a HEAPING teaspoon of baking powder, just to give it some oomph.
then, wet ingredients - apple sauce, syrup, non dairy milk, oil, vanilla - into another bowl, and mixey mixey. now.... important things to note: we used 1/8 cup of maple syrup, almond milk, and canola oil. probably something wrong with that, but trust me, this worked.
then, fold the dry into the wet. important things to note: we added the chocolate bar pieces and the pecans at this point, instead of after folding the wet and dry, because it meant less mixing. less mixing, means more airy brownies (yes, we used pecans... i know, right? no walnuts - we used the rich man's walnuts - pecans - because they taste a million times more yummy).
use vegetable oil to coat the pan...... slippy slippy means more brownie in my mouth, and less stuck brownie in the pan. listen - this is to your (and my) GREAT benefit. then, the spreading of the brownie mixture into the pan, and the entry of said brownie mixture into the oven. and then, like a small child, waiting impatiently for the brownies to bake. whilst drooling.
then, we pull out. recipe says to bake for 35 minutes - we did 27. now, erin and i both have gas ovens, so the temperature is true - trust your oven. the less time, the better - just know that your brownies are done when you can pull a knife out of them without anything sticking to it. and when they smell like heaven. chocolate heaven. the recipe also says to let them sit for 30 minutes before consuming. i'm sorry - whoever the person is who can let these amazing morsels of choclatey goodness sit, and wait, without touching them for 30 minutes, is NOT a person who i want to know. so, we let them sit for 5. it was all we could handle. AND. important...... drink with red wine. i am convinced this made them taste better.
(look. at. THAT.)
so, in essence, we followed the recipe almost to a 'T'. however, we subbed a caramel sea salt chocolate bar chopped coarsley for the choc. chips, baked less, and enjoyed more. i would definitely use this recipe for a basic brownie recipe, and then try out different options - different chocolate, different nuts, some straight up caramel and sea salt (instead of just the chocolate bar).
listen. this is simple stuff. so much so that i have even considered making them on my own (and i do NOT bake). you don't need any fancy vegan ingredients - only flour, sugar, cocoa (or another substitute for cocoa, if you don't eat it), baking powder, salt, applesauce, maple syrup, milk (non-dairy), oil, vanilla and mixin's. this is the most non-vegan, vegan thing i've (erin has) ever baked!
for ingredients, we gathered up:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup plain, unsweetened soy or nondairy milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for coating the pan
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (optional)
then, fold the dry into the wet. important things to note: we added the chocolate bar pieces and the pecans at this point, instead of after folding the wet and dry, because it meant less mixing. less mixing, means more airy brownies (yes, we used pecans... i know, right? no walnuts - we used the rich man's walnuts - pecans - because they taste a million times more yummy).
DE. LIC. IOUS. delicious.
(original recipe here)
(original recipe here)