Well, another rainy Friday morning means that I had some time to spend in the kitchen puttering and cooking. I decided to start on two different recipes; vegan baked beans and raw, vegan, gluten free brownies.

Since the beans take roughly 8 hours from start to finish, I still don't know what the end result will be... and the brownies turned absolutely delicious so I'll post the brownie recipe first and decide later if the beans are worth sharing or not!

As usual, this recipe is from ohsheglows.com and the picture today is also credited from the same site. These brownies are easy. Delicious. Gluten free. Dairy free. Full of healthy omega 3s and fiber. Could you ask for anything else?

Ingredients:
FOR THE BROWNIES:

• 1 cup raw walnut pieces
• 1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
• 1.5 cups pitted Medjool dates* (depending on your processing power, you may need to soak for 30 minutes and then drain before using)
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder or dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt or fine grain sea salt
  
  

FOR THE HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE TOPPING:

• 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 
• small pinch pink Himalayan sea salt (or fine grain sea salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. For the brownie: Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, one piece going each way to make it easy to lift out the brownies later on.
2. In a food processor, process the walnuts into a fine crumb.
3. Add the hemp seeds and the pitted dates and process until finely chopped and sticky.
4. Add the cacao powder, vanilla, and pink salt and process until thoroughly combined.
5. Stir or pulse in the nibs and chopped walnuts until just combined.
6. Evenly press the mixture into prepared square pan until smooth. Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
7. For the chocolate topping: Melt the coconut oil over low heat in a medium pot. Remove from heat and whisk in the cacao powder, syrup, salt, and vanilla until combined and smooth.
8. Remove the brownies from the freezer and pour on the chocolate topping. Spread out evenly. Carefully transfer the pan to the freezer on a flat, even surface. Chill for 20 + minutes or until the topping is firm enough to slice
9. Run hot water over a knife for a minute or so, wipe quickly with towel, and carefully slide the knife into the brownies to slice (warming up the knife helps it slice more evenly without much cracking).
10. Store leftovers in the freezer.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/05/08/two-layer-raw-chocolate-brownies/#ixzz3rOUuNi9D

Amazingly, this tart is dairy free, gluten free, nut free, and sugar free. What? How is this even a dessert you ask? Trust me in that you and whomever you serve this to will be completely satisfied without the aforementioned! In fact, Tony is insisting that this recipe come with a warning: don't let your eyes become bigger than your stomach; small slices will suffice!

Ingredients:
FOR THE CRUST:

• 1 1/4 cups packed pitted Medjool dates (if the dates are too firm, you can soak them for 30 min)
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon water (if needed to bind the dough)

FOR THE FILLING:

• 3 (70%) good-quality dark chocolate bars (300 grams total)
• 1 (400ml) can full-fat coconut milk, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• small pinch fine grain sea salt

COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM (OPTIONAL):

• 1 (400ml) can full-fat coconut milk, chilled overnight
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)

FOR THE GARNISH (all optional!!):

• 1/2 cup toasted large flake coconut, flaked sea salt, leftover coconut whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Toast the coconut (optional step, but recommended): Preheat oven to 325F. Place shredded coconut and large flake coconut (if using for garnish) on baking sheet. Keep separate on baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until lightly golden but not brown. Set aside to cool.
2. Line a 9-inch glass pie dish with 3 (2-inch wide) strips of parchment paper, one going each direction, with overhang. Now place a large piece of plastic wrap on top and press down. The parchment strips will allow you to lift the pie out after freezing.The crust may stick to your dish if you don't take this precaution.
3. Prepare the crust: In a heavy duty food processor, add the pitted dates and process until finely chopped. A big ball will form. Add in the rest of the crust ingredients (including the toasted shredded coconut - but not the large flake coconut) and process until everything is combined. The dough should stick together when pressed between your fingers. If it doesn’t, add optional water and process again.
4. Spoon the crust mixture into the prepared pie dish. Spread out evenly. Starting at the centre, press down firmly moving outward and up the sides of the pie dish. Place dish in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
5. Prepare the filling: Break up chocolate bars into chunks and place into a medium-sized pot. Melt the chocolate over the lowest heat setting (or use double boiler). When the chocolate is 2/3 of the way melted, remove from heat and stir until completely melted and smooth.
6. Shake the can of room temperature coconut milk. Open it and measure out 1/4 cup of milk. Save the 1/4 cup of milk for another use (such as a smoothie) and pour the rest into the pot with the melted chocolate. Whisk vigorously until completely smooth. Finally, whisk in the maple syrup, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until smooth. Set aside.
7. For the whipped cream (optional): Open the can of chilled coconut milk and scoop off the cream portion only. Discard the water or save for a smoothie. Place the cream into a bowl along with one tablespoon of pure maple syrup. With electric beaters, whip the cream until smooth.
8. With a spatula, scoop the chocolate filling into the pie crust until almost full (to avoid overfilling, you might want to refrain from using all the filling- see note below).
9. Optional step (we did not have any large flaked coconut and couldn't be bothered to make the coconut whip cream, so skipped this) Drop a few tablespoons of whipped cream all over the chocolate filling and swirl it all around with a knife. Carefully transfer the pie dish into the freezer on a level surface for approx. 3 hours, or until firm throughout.
10. Remove pie dish from freezer and let sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes. Grab the parchment paper and lift the pie out of the dish.
11. Slice and garnish with toasted coconut flakes, leftover coconut cream, and flaked sea salt, if desired. Serve immediately as pie will soften quickly.

Notes: 1) You can totally skip the coconut whipped cream if you prefer. 2) The chocolate filling makes almost too much filling for the pie and it nearly overflows. If you prefer, you can leave out 1/4-1/2 cup of filling. You can place leftover filling in a small dish and freeze it, then cut into "freezer fudge" - !


Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/10/31/double-dark-chocolate-coconut-macaroon-tart-vegan-gluten-free-grain-free/#ixzz3qHwQfVuV