Slow Cooker Brownies

Yes, these are indeed cooked in the slow cooker. We found them to be a little under-chocolatey but maybe adding a bit more cocoa will help next time. We'd certainly eat them again!

This is a double batch for a large crockpot. If you have a small crockpot for 2, make half the recipe.

I used chia seeds and water but you could also use ground flax seed. If you use chia seeds, there are little seeds in your brownies. Doesn't change the flavour, just the look.

Adapted from Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just You

In a medium bowl, mix:
1.5 cups flour (I used spelt)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

In a large measuring jug, mix:
4 tbsp chia seeds and 1/2 cup warm water and let sit a couple minutes until it starts to get gluey

Add to the chia mixture:
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used coconut)
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Add chocolate chips or nuts if you want.

Spray your crockpot then pour the batter in and spread it out to be even. Put a teatowel under the lid to collect the moisture as it cooks.

Bake 45-90 minutes on high depending on your crockpot. Mine took 90 minutes. The top should be firm. Let cool and enjoy!






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Chocolate Pudding

This comes as a request from a friend who is apparently turning into a muffin because she is making my "instant yummy muffin" recipe all the time. I love this pudding recipe because it's fast, easy and yummy. I've served it on top of frozen blueberries and raspberries as a dessert for guests and no-one has complained that it tastes like tofu. That's the beauty of silken tofu. I buy mine at Superstore or Save-on-Foods.

Firm or Soft - whatever you can find.

Chocolate Pudding (adapted from Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson)

1 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 12oz package of silken tofu
1 tsp vanilla extract
raspberries and blueberries

Melt the chocolate chips with the maple syrup in the top of a double boiler or in the microwave. Heat 30 seconds, stir, then heat again. Don't let it burn! Stir it and let it cool slightly.

Place the tofu and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Blend until it's smooth. Add the melted chocolate mixture and blend until it's well combined.

Put blueberries and raspberries in the bottom of individual glasses or in a serving bowl. Cover with the pudding and refrigerate for 2 hours until it's firm (or eat it when it's more liquidy if you can't wait!)

Choco-Nana Frozen Drop Cookies

What to do when you have a craving for chocolate and little time to make anything? Try these awesome frozen cookies. They take a few minutes to make then are frozen to eat whenever you want (or you can eat a mouthful of the batter because it is egg-free so there is no worry about raw-eggie stomach yuckies.)

Choco-Nana Frozen Drop Cookies

1/2 cup non-dairy chocolate chips (Foley's 100% Pure Chocolate Chips are available at IGA)
2 ripe bananas
1 cup rolled oats
1 tbsp ground flax seeds (whole flax seeds offer you no nutritional value because your digestive system can't break through the husk. Lots of potential but no benefit. Keep ground flax seeds in the freezer.)
2 tsp cocoa
1/2 cup salted cashews (or a mix with raisins or craisins but you need some salt in the nuts or add 1/2 tsp salt instead)

Melt the chocolate in a dry bowl in the microwave. Heat 30 seconds, stir, then heat again. Don't leave them heating too long or they will burn. If there is water in the bowl the chocolate will become really stiff when it's melted. (Good science but not good cookies.) Peel and slice the bananas into the chocolate and mash around to mix it up. There should still be some banana chunks in the chocolate. Stir in all the rest of the ingredients. Drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. The number of cookies will depend on the size of your spoon and "drops". I got 12. Freeze. Yum!