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Because Maddy tries hard to stick to a vegan diet, when I cook for our family I try to be conscious about including things that she can eat in the menu, but it isn't always easy for me to come up with vegan ideas other than salads! For example, last night we had company over for dinner. The main dish was a family favorite chicken enchilada casserole. (I posted a crock pot version of it here.) So, that wasn't something she could eat. I also made a cabbage salad that had onions, almonds, mandarin oranges and ramen in it. It was delicious and definitely vegan, something she could eat. For dessert we had pumpkin pie, so she couldn't eat that. I wasn't sure if everyone liked pumpkin pie, so I decided to make No-Bake Cookies as an option. But, as I started to make them, I realized that I had used all of the canned milk when I made the pies. What I did have was canned coconut milk, so that got me to thinking that I could turn this recipe vegan for Maddy's sake, plus it would be something everyone else could enjoy as well. I substituted the milk with coconut milk, the butter with coconut oil and I added a cup of coconut into the mix. Maddy buys herself vegan peanut butter. I don't know what makes peanut butter not be vegan, but I do know it has less sugar in the vegan variety. But, I used regular peanut butter. I didn't want to use up all of Maddy's pricey stuff, but if you are died in the wool vegan, that is an option. Also, you could substitute coconut sugar for the regular sugar. We didn't have enough for this recipe. The cookies came out softer than regular no bakes, and even though there is a lot of coconut products in there, there isn't a strong coconut taste. But, everyone enjoyed them and I hope that you will as well!
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I have a dear friend who has a tree that is loaded with lemons and she lets me grab some whenever I need a couple. This past week, blackberries were on sale again and I picked up quite a few. As you know, I love the combination of blackberries and lemons. In the past, I came up with a Blackberry-Lemon Marmalade that is so delicious that if you haven't tried it, you should. This time I came up with the idea of putting together lemons and blackberries into a twist on the traditional lemon bar. As you can see, they came out so lovely with a tart sweetness that everyone enjoyed. The color would make them a pretty Valentine's Day treat as well! Here is the recipe! A couple of Fridays ago, I shared on Friday Faves that I love my new zester! I still do! (Here is one like it.) I also love this new little juicer that I got from a Princess House Party recently. It allows you to measure the juice as you juice it. Also, the reamer is removable, so it is very easy to clean. I couldn't find it on Amazon, but there are similar ones here and here. This type of juicer comes in handy when you only have a couple of lemons to juice and you don't want to pull out the electric juicer. If I don't need to measure, I use the citrus squeezer, but this kind with the reamer is great when you need to measure a specific amount of juice. This recipe calls for the juice of 1 lemon. But, since lemon sizes vary so much, (these were huge!), you should measure. This recipe needs about 5 T. of lemon juice, along with the juice of the blackberries. When you mash the berries through the sieve, be sure to reserve some for the garnish. That means you will only mash about 2/3 of the container. When the pan came out of the oven and after it had cooled a bit, I sprinkled on confectioners sugar, a little more zest and added some blackberries. These were so good and easy to make. A good use of lemons if you are experiencing an over abundance! Hope you try them and enjoy!
A few weeks ago, my daughter did a guest post for me about peanut butter powder. It was a thought provoking post for me and I have come up with a lot of ideas where this product could really be useful. The other day, I was at our local Fry's grocery store where I found Jiff Peanut Butter Powder! I decided to give it a try because it is 85% less fat and full of protein! It is also very accessible for the regular home shopper. Back when I was in college, my friend and roommate, Debbie VanWagenen, gave me a recipe for peanut butter cups. I have made it many times for my kids over the years, especially during the summer when I don't want to bake. They are delicious, but also full of fat! They have a cup of butter and all of that peanut butter and not to mention the chocolate chips melted on top. So, I decided it would be great to make them with a lot less fat and maybe we wouldn't have to feel quite so guilty about eating them as an occasional treat. For some reason, I couldn't find Debbie's recipe in my stash! But, here is what seems like a similar one, only I added reconstituted Peanut Butter Powder instead of the regular peanut butter.
While I realize the butter and the chocolate keep these bars from being really low in fat, the peanut butter powder does save on a lot of the fat calories. The flavor met with my families approval! I can hardly wait far the weather to get cooler so I can bake again and use this product in a lot of other applications I have up my sleeve! In the meantime, enjoy these no-bake tidbits!
I am still keeping my oven turned off! On Saturday I took chocolate dipped strawberries to a baby shower. I had some chocolate left over, so I decided to use it on these delectable S'more Bars! The only problem with them is that they are so sweet, I could have sliced them a bit smaller!
Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
Beat 1/2 c. butter, 1 c. dark brown sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add and beat in 2 c. graham cracker crumbs. Check my last blog entry threewinksdesign.weebly.com/home/cutest-little-cheesecakes-ever to see how I crush graham crackers for these small recipes. Also add 1 c. flour and 1 tsp. coarse sea salt. Beat in 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk. Next, stir in one 12 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips and 2 c. mini marshmallows. Smoosh the whole mixture into the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator until firm.
When the bars are firm, cut them up into squares and dip them into the chocolate. I liked putting them in on the angle. You can eat the bars without the chocolate, but I find the chocolate brings out the s'more flavor. No fire, less mess, the kids love them! This is a nice summer snack!
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
April 2024
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