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Tag Archives: dessert


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Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

I love challenges. I needed a dessert for a dietetic intern potluck. The catch – I wanted everyone to be able to enjoy it and one intern eats vegan and another gluten-free. Bring on the challenge, baby! I scoured the internet far and wide (ok, I only used Google and Pinterest) and ended up combing a bunch of different recipes to get this final product.

I got the base cake recipe from Eggless Cooking. It’s made with beets and chickpeas. I was really skeptical at first, but I decided to give it a try. Turns out you can’t even taste the chickpeas or beets! I used canned chickpeas and beets to cut down on prep-time and it turned out pretty well.

These cupcakes were soooo decadent. It’s not really cake-like. More fudge-like perhaps? They’re dense, rich, and definitely chocolatey!

(Sorry for the bad photo - I took this minutes before running out  
the door to get my butt to the potluck!)

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
yields 12 cupcakes 

For the cupcakes:
2 cups chickpeas, canned or freshly cooked
3/4 cup beets, cooked
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips*

  1. Remove the thin outer skin from the chickpeas. Enlist help if you can – this will take a while! Use a food processor or blender to puree until smooth with a tablespoon or so of water.
  2. Puree beets into a smooth paste, using the cooking water.
  3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside.
  4. Melt chocolate chips in microwave in 20 second increments, stirring after each until completely melted.
  5. Combine chickpeas, beets, and sugar in the food processor or blender until completely smooth – no lumps allowed! Puree in coconut oil, baking powder, coffee granules, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until well combined.
  6. Blend in the melted chocolate chips into the chickpea and beet mixture and let the food process or blender run for a couple minutes to allow chocolate to distribute evenly throughout the batter.
  7. Pour batter into prepared cupcake pan and bake for 40 – 50 minutes.
  8. Remove pan from the oven and place on a wire rack. Let the cupcakes cool completely in the pan.
  9. Remove cupcakes from cupcake pan when cool and frost with chocolate frosting (recipe below)!
For the frosting:
1 can regular coconut milk, opened and refrigerated overnight – do not shake!!
1 cup Smart Balance, room temperature
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 – 6 cups powdered sugar
  1. Scrape the thick layer off the top of the coconut milk into a large bowl. Add in Smart Balance and beat until well combined and smooth.
  2. Mix in cocoa powder and vanilla extract until well combined.
  3. Gradually add powdered sugar into frosting, 1 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached**.
  4. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered.

*I used Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips and they were pretty darn tasty!
** I ended up using some of  coconut milk left in the can to thin out the frosting and give it another boost of flavor. I ended up using about 5 cups of powdered sugar in addition to about 1/4 cup of the coconut “water” that was left in the can.


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Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

I purchased some raspberry jam to make raspberry tartlets for Mike. I got all my ingredients out, dug out my mini muffin liners, and then tragedy struck. I couldn’t find my mini muffin pan. Noooooooooo!!!! I tore my kitchen apart – both the actual kitchen and our basement kitchen and they were nowhere to be found.

I pouted about this for a couple weeks before deciding that I should just make something else with the jam. I decided to re-make an old recipe with a few changes.

raspberry thumbprint cookies | doughseedough.net

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
makes 3 dozen cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup raspberry preserves

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in vanilla and gradually mix in flour until dough comes together.
  3. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets.
  4. Make a small indentation in each ball with your finger and fill with 1/2 teaspoon of preserves.
  5. Bake for about 15 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Let cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute and move to wire rack to finish cooling.


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World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well folks, I found it. The only chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need. What makes them so good? They’re perfectly fluffy, chewy and well… delicious.

I made them as-is the first two times and then mixed in a cup of toffee pieces the third time I made them. The verdict? One of my favorite cookies ever.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.
  3. Stir in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.
  4. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 8 – 10 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
  5. Let cool slightly and enjoy.

from Food Network Canada


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Welcoming 2012 with Mocha Almond Biscotti

These biscotti are perfect for the chocolate lover in your life. The chocolatey goodness is highlighted with a hint of coffee and each bite is guaranteed to have some to-die-for chocolate chips and almonds. I loved biscotti back in my coffee drinking days. Now, I won’t touch the stuff, but I still enjoy biscotti on its own! They’re crisp but not hard and well… perfect.

So, start 2012 out right with some of these biscotti. Share the love and send some to friends and family 🙂

Mocha Almond Biscotti

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

  1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a large baking sheet and set aside.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In separate bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and instant coffee. Add eggs and vanilla until butter mixture and beat until well combined.
  5. Stir in flour mixture and mix until a stiff dough forms. Stir in almonds and chocolate chips.
  6. On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into 2 slightly flattened logs, each about 12 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide.
  7. Bake for 35 minutes and remove from oven. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes.  Transfer biscotti to cutting board.
  8. Using a very sharp knife, cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4 inch slices. Arrange cut slices onto baking sheet cut-side down. Bake 5 minutes and flip biscotti to other side. Bake for another 5 minutes or until biscotti are crisp.
  9. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.


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Wrapping up 2011 with Sea Salt Caramels

It’s been a long, crazy year. Even though I didn’t quite make it through my 11 in ’11 list (oops), I managed to accomplish a lot of things that I am very proud of. Mike and I bought our first house; I got accepted in the dietetic internship program of my dreams; I ran my very first race, the Hot Chocolate 15K in Chicago; signed up for my first half marathon; and celebrated one year of marriage with Mike.

Maybe 12 in ’12 will be a little more successful. I actually made most of the items on  my 11 in ’11, but I never found the time to write about them. I think once I graduate in May my life will become much more manageable and DSD will once again be updated regularly. So, keep an eye out in 2012 for my 2011 must-cook dishes!! Until then, stir up some of these delicious caramels – the perfect balance of sweet and salty goodness.

Microwave Sea Salt Caramels

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
coarse sea salt

  1. Line a 9×13 pan with aluminum foil. Coat inside with cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. In a large microwave safe bowl combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Stir together and place in microwave.
  3. Cook on full power for 6 minutes, stopping to stir thoroughly twice during the cooking time (every 2 minutes).
  4. Remove from microwave and stir until well mixed. Pour into prepared pan. Place in fridge until firm, about 45 minutes.
  5. Remove whole slab of caramel at one time by pulling up on aluminum foil. Place slab on cutting board covered with parchment and peel off foil.
  6. If caramels are oily from the cooking spray, blot them off with a paper towel. Sprinkle coarse sea salt directly on top of caramels.
  7. Cut caramels into desired size and wrap with parchment paper.
recipe from The Yummy Life


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Apple Streusel Bars

Mike and I went apple picking with my family a few weeks ago and we went home with a 10+ pound bag of apples. I ate as many as I could (I think I averaged 2 a day). My new favorite snack? Apples with vanilla yogurt and a sprinkle of cinnamon. YUM. There is such thing as too much of a good thing, though. I decided to bake something before I started to hate apples.

My only criteria was that it had to be something I’ve never made before. So, caramel apples, apple pie, baked apples, applesauce,  and apple cupcakes were all out. I finally stumbled across a recipe for apple streusel bars over at Our Best Bites. They looked pretty darn tasty and the recipe was simple, too. Simple is a must because I find myself with so little time to cook and bake now with the internship…

These bars are perfect for breakfast, dessert or even a snack. Mike likes them warmed up a bit in the microwave before he eats them. No microwave? A toaster oven or even a hair dryer might work 😉

Apple Streusel Bars

For the pastry:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten

For the filling:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups sliced, peeled baking apples

For the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon almond extract

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. For the crust: combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until pea-sized crumbs form. Gently mix in beaten egg. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish.
  3. For the filling: combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Toss with apples. Spread apples on to prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. When cooked, allow to cool completely.
  4. For the glaze: whisk together powdered sugar, almond extract and milk. Place glaze into a zip-top bag and cut off a small portion of one of the corners. Drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to harden. Cut into bars and serve.


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Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Well folks, I start my first dietetic internship rotation today. Since I’ll be spending my day talking about nutrition, I figured there was no better way to kick it off with something not-so-healthy.

These are time-consuming to make, but the results are so worth it. Delicious white cake topped with ganache and filled with a to-die-for custard? Don’t mind if I do!

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
 makes 12 cupcakes

For the custard:
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 large eggs
3/4 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the ganache:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup whipping cream

To make the custard

  1. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks and set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in milk. Cook, stirring frequently, until thick and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes.
  3. Remove from heat. Stir in butter until melted and then stir in vanilla. Cover pan with plastic wrap and chill for 2 – 24 hours.
To make the cupcakes:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with paper cups and set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar on low. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  3. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing until well combined. Add milk and vanilla and increase the speed to medium. Mix until batter is light and fluffy.
  4. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean about 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
To make the ganache:
  1. For the ganache: melt chocolate chips and whipping cream in microwave-safe bowl. Stir until smooth.
To assemble:
  1. Insert a small paring knife at a 45° angle about 1/8 inch from the edge of a cupcake and cut all the around to remove a cone. Cut the tip of the cone off, leaving about 1/4 inch of the top, creating a small disk. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
  2. Fill a plastic bag with custard and cut off the corner of the bag. Fill the cupcakes with custard and top with the cake disk.
  3. Spoon chocolate ganache on top of the cupcakes and refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes.
Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated


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White Peach Blueberry Cobbler

Cobbler vs. Ice Cream. Spoiler alert – ice cream wins. I tried my darndest to get a picture of the cobbler with a scoop of ice cream. For some reason, I thought I would be quick enough to get one photo of it before the ice cream turned into a puddle. I even tried taking the picture inside since it was a bit cooler.

I lost.

Darn. I quickly ran this plate out to my father in law before the ice cream turned to complete liquid and the whole dish became inedible. Then, I tried again.

Eh, a little better. Food photography is obviously not my forte. Moving on… here’s the recipe!

White Peach Blueberry Cobbler
serves 8

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 white peaches, peeled and sliced
1 pint blueberries
1 tablespoon sugar
Vanilla ice cream

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter an 8×8 pan and set aside.
  2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Add milk and butter, whisk until smooth. Pour into pan and scatter fruit evenly over batter.
  3. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar.
  4. Bake until batter is a golden brown and the fruit bubbles, about 60 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.


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Zucchini Brownies

Folks, I’ve found my all-time favorite brownie. And they’re made with zucchini. It may sound gross at first, but trust me… this is one fantastic brownie. Part of me wishes I hadn’t ever made these, because now I can’t stop eating them, making them, or thinking about them.

Still not convinced that these are rock-star brownies? Well, remember this – I really don’t like chocolate. Or desserts. So, the fact that I like love these should be reason enough for you to grab some zukes and get bakin’!

Zucchini Brownies
makes 15 brownies 

For the brownie:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chocolate chips or walnuts, optional

For the frosting:
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with butter and dust with cocoa powder.
  2. In large bowl, mix together applesauce, sugar, and vanilla until well combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gently stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips or walnuts, if desired.
  4. Spread batter evenly into baking pan. Be warned – the batter at this stage is very hard and crumbly and not batter-like at all.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until brownies spring back when touched. Set pan aside to cool.
  6. To make frosting, microwave butter and cocoa until melted. Stir to combine and set aside to cool. In large bowl, mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix in cocoa mixture until frosting is smooth.
  7. Spread frosting over cooled brownies and cut into squares.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes


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Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey

No, not for my Mike, but for food blogger Jennie from In Jennie’s Kitchen‘s Mikey. He passed away suddenly from a heart attack a few days ago. Jennie posted a tribute to her husband and asked everyone to make a peanut butter pie in honor of him on Friday and “share it with someone you love. Then hug them like there’s no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on.”

So, here it is. I made the peanut butter pie. And for the first time, I didn’t mess with the recipe.

Peanut Butter Pie
from In Jennie’s Kitchen

8 ounces chocolate cookies (16 chocolate graham crackers put me at just over 8 ounces)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 ounces finely chopped chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup creamy-style peanut butter
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

  1. Add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs.  Combine melted butter and cookie crumbs in a small bowl, and stir with a fork to mix well.  Press mixture into the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
  2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Pour over bottom of cookie crust and spread to the edges using an off-set spatula.  Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the melted chocolate. Place pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
  3. Pour the heavy cream into a bowl and beat using a stand mixer or hand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Transfer to a small bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to use.  Place the cream cheese and peanut butter in a deep bowl.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar.  Add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Increase speed to medium and beat until all the ingredients are combined and filling is smooth.
  4. Stir in 1/3 of the whipped cream into the filling mixture (helps lighten the batter, making it easier to fold in the remaining whipped cream).  Fold in the remaining whipped cream.  Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan.  Drizzle the melted chocolate on top, if using, and refrigerate for three hours or overnight before serving.