Category Archives: chocolate

3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheerio Bars

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Hello! It me. I bring to you another dessert recipe from Wisconsin since my flight to NYC was canceled this morning due to the wind! Blah. I suppose this means even more time to experiment with dessert recipes since I will no longer have the opportunity to stuff myself with Van Leeuwen vegan ice cream this weekend (my absolute fav).easy-vegan-3-ingredient-peanut-butter-chocolate-cheerio-bars

Now I will preface this recipe by acknowledging that I’m aware I did not break any culinary boundaries in creating these. And that’s fine. But these bars are beauties because they’re super duper easy and super duper delicious. They’re also vegan and gluten-free, if you’re into that kinda thing.

They’re also highly addictive. My mom ate like 3/4th of the tray in one sitting. We are definitely related. Chocolate is a food group, according to us. vegan-3-ingredient-peanut-butter-chocolate-cheerio-bars

So a lil history on these bars: they came about because as a constantly-on-a-budget TJs fanatic, I am always looking up ways to create cheap after-dinner sweet snacks. In grad school I starting buying bags of chocolate chips for $1.99 (yup, TJ’s chocolate chips are vegan) and boxes of TJ’s Joe’s O’s (which are the Trader Joe’s equivalent of Cheerios) also for $1.99. I would mix chocolate chips and Joe’s Os in a wee little bowl and nibble on the mixture while studying.

The mix is a bit sweet, a bit carby, chocolatey, and crunchy. It’s highly satisfying, easy-to-prepare, and cheap as can be! It really stretches out a bag of chocolate chips, and has the added bonus that Joe’s O’s are decently not-too-shabby-for-you, making it a snack that’s easy to eat every night without feeling icky.

Then one day last month, I  was making puppy chow for my sister when she was in town, and I ventured to the grocery store to get a box of Chex. And then I got home and saw my Cheerios and I was like…I wonder if….!

And so this month, I tried it. I basically used the puppy chow idea (melted chocolate + pb) with Cheerios in place of Chex, but pressed them into a pan instead of coating them with powdered sugar.vegan-gluten-free-3-ingredient-peanut-butter-chocolate-cheerio-bars

The result is a crunchy, easy peasy snack that satisfies any crunchy chocolate peanut butter craving. They’re just damn good and damn delicious.

Anyways, without further audieu, I present to you…

vegan-3-ingredient-peanut-butter-chocolate-cheerio-bars-gf

Chocolate Covered Plantain Chips

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You know what the best section is at Trader Joe’s?

Chocolate Covered Plantain Chips Vegan 3 Ingredients !

Okay that’s a faulty question. Because there is way too much good stuff at Trader Joe’s to pick a favorite product, let alone a favorite section. One time my manager asked me what my favorite products were “right now,”, which I thought was a better question than asking me what my “favorite products” were because that list would be overwhelming.  Right now in this 30 second increment of my life I can say that my favorite section is the candy section. In particular, anything that starts with the three magic words, “Dark Chocolate Covered…”

Vegan Chocolate Covered Plantain Chips Vegan

Yes, all those magical tiny rectangular boxes are full of the bestest things covered in the bestest chocolate. When I’m not eating Gone Bananas by the box, I also love the Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds with Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar (which inspired this recipe), and the Dark Chocolate Lover’s Bar. Holy balls is their chocolate good.

Chocolate Covered Plantain Chips. Vegan & So Easy!

Another recent favorite Trader Joe’s combination of mine is the epic duo of the Spicy Chunky Guacamole with the Roasted Plantain Chips. A co-worker (hi, SG!) informed me of this dynamic marriage of salty/sweet/crunchy/smooth/spicy and I have been hooked since the first bite. It is love.

Chocolate Covered Plantain Chips Vegan

I went a little overboard last time I purchased Plantain Chips and bought three bags forgetting that I had two at home. Which left me with five bags of plantain chips. So what’s a girl to do? Dip ’em in Dark Chocolate, of course, and combine my love of Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate with by dipping their other products in the stuff and calling it bliss.

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So that’s just what I did. I dipped me some crunchy, salty, carby plantain chips in dark chocolate. It’s kind of like chocolate covered banana chips, but better in my humble opinion, because you also get the salty element from the roasted plantain chip. And you know I’m utterly in love with anything salty/sweet.

Chocolate Covered Plantain Chips. Vegan & So Easy !

These are very simple to make and require only a few minutes and 2-3 ingredients depending on your level of fussiness when it comes to them staying not-melty at room temperature (a tablespoon of coconut oil should help you avoid any melty chocolate!) but they work perfectly without it.

Chocolate Covered Plantain Chips. Vegan : So Easy!

I urge you to make these and please know that summer is coming as is a bit less stress and more sanity which means lots more tasty treats and a really exciting baby project coming to your internet waves soon. Until then, please view Millie with an emoji banana.

Millie & Banana Emoji

Yes, I thought this SnapChat was so funny I sent it to myself so I could open it later and lol at my own terrible humor. Yes I do that and yes I’m aware that’s perhaps not normal. But like this guy says, stay weird stay different. (Also yes, I am stalking Columbia’s instagram lately…and yes there might be a very exciting reason !) #staytuned #stayclassy #eatchocolatecoveredplantainchips [side note, you can totally tell which photos have “wet” chocolate, pre-setting, and which ones have “set” chocolate. total color change. goooooey] Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooling Time: 20 minutes Level: Easy Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup plantain chips (I used Trader Joe’s)
  • 3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips (I used Trader Joe’s 72% Dark Chocolate Pound Plus bar)
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil (optional, but will help prevent meltiness if left out at room temperature)

Directions: 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, warm chocolate until melted. Use 30 second microwave increments, and stir after each increment until chocolate has melted. This should take about 60-90 seconds total. Stir in coconut oil until smooth and melted into chocolate. 2. Dip each plantain chip on each side into melted chocolate. Place each on parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with chips until you run out of chocolate. 3. Place baking sheet full of plantain chips in the freezer  to set, at least 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container (preferably in the refrigerator) for up to two weeks. Enjoy 🙂

Vegan Triple Coconut Cookies with Chocolate Chunks

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I feel as if kbaked has had a bit of a cookie lag recently. Like, I haven’t posted a cookie recipe since nearly two months ago when I made these Easy Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Da fucks is up with the lack of cookies, amiright?

Triple Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Vegan Gluten-free Kbaked

For some reason, I’ve been on a kick of putting up more “real food” on my blog. You know, like this Simple Lemon Pasta, Hummus Barley Bowl with Sweet Potatoes, Kale & Chickpeas, this DANK Black Bean Black Rice Beet Burger, or this Broccoli Parmesan Pasta, etc etc. Just more lunch and dinner stuff. This has been fun and awesome and I really enjoy doing this posts, as they show a snapshot of things I like to eat and realistically make on a daily basis. I hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as my tummy has! #nomnom

Triple Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Vegan Gluten-free Kbaked

So that’s part of the reason for the cookie lag. I suppose the other part is that I have been insanely busy the last like, 7 weeks or so. Between starting a new job at Trader Joe’s (which I <3), volunteering, writing for Spoon, doing some freelance work, and grad school applications and admissions tests, I have not been baking up as many cookies!

Triple Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Vegan Gluten-free Kbaked yum

I decided that had to change. The idea of Triple Coconut Cookies has been floating around in my head for a few days. How are these “triple” you ask? Coconut oil, coconut chips, and coconut flour. If you use coconut milk as your non-diary milk of choice, I suppose you could even consider then Quadruple Coconut Cookies. What a mouthful. Of yum.

Triple Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Vegan Gluten-free Kbaked #cookies !

I added chocolate to this conception of Triple Coconut because in my humble opinion chocolate makes almost everything better. And also tastes #awesome with coconut. These cookies are loosely based off an ANCIENT post of mine, these Almond Joy Cookies I made way back when kbaked.com was in its wee infant stage.

Triple Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Vegan Gluten-free Kbaked

It’s always fun for me to look back at how much my blog and I have changed since we started off. Young adulthood or adolescent-hood or w/e has been a journey inside the kitchen and out, and it’s been oh-so-fun to document tidbits of my life on my blog.

Vegan Triple Coconut Cookies Chocolate Chunks

These cookies are a thank you from me to you for staying tuned. They are full of coconut flavor, and have an interesting, heartier texture from the coconut flour than your average cookie. If you want ’em a lil lighter and fluffier, sub a bit of the coconut flour for more oat. And don’t be afraid to add more coconut chips or shreds and/or chocolate if you desire. I encourage this, because I think there’s always more room for texture/crunch/chocolate/coconut in cookies and/or on top of ice cream.

Triple Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Vegan Gluten-free Kbaked 2

Enjoy des babies. Eat as many as you like and share with all your friends, because they are vegan, gluten-free, and tree-nut free. HooRay! Cookies for all. Go coconutZ. #terriblepunintended

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 15 minutes
Level: easy

makes about 18 cookies
Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup almond milk or coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds or chia seeds
  • 1 cup coconut flour
  • 1 1/2 cup oat flour (can sub whole-wheat pastry flour, and/or regular flour)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup coconut chips or shredded coconut (I used Trader Joe’s Coconut Chips)
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, melt coconut oil until it just turns to liquid; this usually takes about 30-60 seconds in the microwave.

Vegan Triple Coconut Cookies Chocolate Chunks ingredients

2. Add sugar to coconut oil and mix. In a separate bowl or cup, combine almond/coconut milk and flax/chia and allow to sit.

Vegan Triple Coconut Cookies Chocolate Chunks 2

3. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda and salt. Mix well.

4. Add flour mixture to coconut oil mixture. Mix gently until just combined. Add almond/coconut milk and mix again. If the dough feels loose and runny, place in the fridge to allow to set and harden a bit for about 5 minutes.

Vegan Triple Coconut Cookies Chocolate Chunks 3

5. Roll cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing about 1-2 inches apart. Place in the oven until lightly browned and puffed, about 12-15 minutes. Enjoy~!

Triple Coconut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Vegan Gluten-free Kbaked