Everything Strawberry S’more Bars

Soon I’ll be headed off back to college so my current goal is emptying out my fridge, freezer, and pantry of anything perishable. It’s taken a lot of self control, but I’ve shied away from the grocery store for the past few weeks. Yesterday was a friend’s birthday, and I wanted to bring something sweet, so I decided to throw together whatever leftover ingredients I could find.

These bars are truly a strange assortment of ingredients . They have graham crackers, speculoos cookies,frozen bread crumbs from making these vegan sandwiches, gelatin-free marshmallows, salted premium butter, earth balance, aquafaba, toasted pecans, frozen Upick strawberries, homemade chocolate shell, flour, brown sugar, and baking powder. Granted, it’s hard to mess up a combination like that. 

The slight acidity of the strawberries brings a welcome freshness to the sweetness of the marshmallows and graham crackers. They’re a little chewy, a little gooey, a little crispy, and tasty all around.

Everything Strawberry S’more Bars 

Crispy chewy soft cracker cookie bars – good enough to make by itself tbh

In a food processor pulse until crumbs:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 8 oz cookie crumbs (I used 5 oz, aka 1 sleeve, graham crackers, 2 oz plain bread crumbs, and 1 oz speculoos cookies)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder

Add:

• 3/4 cup premium salted butter and/or earth balance (I used 1 stick earth balance & 1/4 cup premium salted butter)

Pulse until sandy textured. Add:

• 1 egg or 3 tbs aquafaba(I used aquafaba)

Pulse until large clumps start to form.

Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of an 8×8 pan. I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper by cutting 2 strips of parchment, 8 inches wide and 12 inches long each, and laying them perpendicular in the pan. This prevents the marshmallow filling from sticking.

On top of the batter, scatter:

• ~1/2-3/4 cup good quality chocolate chips or chunks
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped (I toasted them in a nonstick pan for a few minutes)

Store the 1/3 remaining dough in the fridge while preparing the strawberry marshmallow filling.

Strawberry Marshmallow Filling* 

Note: Alternatively, heat up 2/3 cup strawberry jam and proceed to the marshmallow step.

In a saucepan, combine:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 8 oz frozen or fresh strawberries

Cook until most of the water has been boiled away, about 15 minutes. Stir in:

• 3/4 cup large or small marshmallows (~6 oz)

Stir until the marshmallows are mostly melted. Little chunks are ok and will add nice variation to the final bars.

Spread the strawberry marshmallow filling over the dough. Scatter the remaining dough on top in ~2 tsp chunks.

Bake the bars at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until the top dough is lightly golden brown. Let the bars cool completely before removing from the pan, and refrigerate before cutting. Enjoy!

 

 

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Nutty Apricot Bars

My latest food stint has been vegan cooking. It evolved out of my desire to reduce the stress of “ahhh what am I going to do with this quickly expiring milk” and “oh my god i have 16 kinds of cheese let me just eat nothing but cheese for the next week” (really, I make this seem like a bigger problem than it is, because cheese is delicious), and has led to a lotta stir fries, smoothies, and pasta dishes.

Despite my growing confidence in plant-based cooking, there are still times when I turn to my dear friend butter, and this, my friend, is one of them.

These bars are so good. Like, bring-to-a-fancy-dinner-and-watch-anxiously-as-people-take-that-first-bite good. The nutty shortbread base melts in your mouth, and the slight tartness of the apricots is a perfect complement to the lightly sweetened frangipane. And this is coming from someone who is way more of a chocolate than fruit dessert person. (On a side note, I believe there are two type of people: people who prefer fruit desserts and people who prefer chocolate. I refuse to believe that there are people who want neither.)

They’re also incredibly easy to make. Seriously, if you have a food processor (and if you don’t, I highly recommend you get one, because it is one of the few things I am willing to lug across the country to college), all you have to do is throw two sets of ingredients in (at separate times) and whiz away. That, and chop a few apricots, but still, the prep for this recipe is incredibly quick.

My “secret” ingredient for this recipe is premium salted butter. It has a lower water content than regular butter, which makes it perfect for shortbread. Kerrygold butter should be easiest to find, but Trader Joe’s had another brand that was cheaper so I used that. If you can’t find premium butter, don’t worry, regular salted butter works as well.

Nutty Apricot Bars

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1/2 cup almonds or pecans (I used half of each) [60 g]
• 1 cup flour [125 g]
• 1/4 cup brown sugar [50 g]
• 1/2 cup salted premium butter, or unsalted butter + 1/2 tsp salt [115 g]

Frangipane filling:

• 1 cup almonds or pecans (I used half of each) [120 g]
• 1 tbs all purpose flour [10g]
• 1/4 cup white sugar [50g]
• 5 tablespoons salted premium butter, or unsalted butter + 1/4 tsp salt [70g]
• 1 large egg

Toppings:

• ~6 small apricots
• 2 tbs sliced almonds

Preparation Process:

Begin by roasting the nuts. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper. Cut two ~15 inch long pieces of parchment so they are 8 inches wide. Drape one piece in the pan so that it lines 3 sides, and drape the other piece perpendicular so that all sides of the pan are covered.

Add to a food processor:

• 1/2 cup almonds or pecans (I used half of each) [60 g]
• 1 cup flour [125 g]
• 1/4 cup brown sugar [50 g]
• 1/2 cup salted premium butter, or unsalted butter + 1/2 tsp salt [115 g], cut into 1 tbs piece

Blend until the mixture is beginning to form large clumps. Press the dough into the pan into an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to darken, and then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. To speed up the process, put the pan in the freezer.

While the crust is cooling, grind in the food processor until sand consistency:

• 1 cup almonds or pecans (I used half of each) [120 g]
• 1 tbs all purpose flour [10g]
• 1/4 cup white sugar [50g]

Add to the food processor:

• 5 tablespoons salted premium butter, or unsalted butter + 1/4 tsp salt [70g]

Mix until no butter chunks are visible, then while the food processor is still running, add in:

• 1 large egg

Pulse until just combined.

When the crust has cooled (I recommend letting it cool fully, or else the butter in the filling will begin to melt), spread the frangipane filling over it.

Top with:

• ~6 small apricots
• 2 tbs sliced almonds

I cut the apricots in half, sliced each half into thin pieces, fanned out the slices, and then transferred them to the base on a butter knife.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the bars should come out clean, and the edges of the crust should be deep golden brown, but not burnt.

For the cleanest presentation, allow the bars to cool on the countertop until warm, and then cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator until cold. Remove the bars by pulling up the edges of the parchment.

Slice into 16* squares**, and serve at room temperature.

*The smaller the slices the more you can eat, right?

**A little tip is to slice off the outer edges of the bars before cutting into squares. The crisp edges are perfect for eating like biscotti, and the squares look more uniform sans edges.

Chocolate, Fig, & Roasted Walnut Milkshakes (dairy free. refined sugar free)

I almost got in a fight over milkshakes once.

You see, in my humble and objectively correct opinion, milkshakes should be thick. Creamy enough to stir, but almost too thick to drink from a straw.

Apparently there are other ways to make “milkshakes” because a while ago I was sitting at lunch as my friend sloshed together milk and vanilla ice cream in a ratio that could only produce cold, barely sweet liquid with icy chunks. I asked him what monstrosity he was making, and he tried to tell me it was a milkshake. I (only half facetiously) called him a liar. I take frozen desserts very seriously.

This started a table-wide discussion on what makes the perfect milkshake, and also the start of my disillusionment with the world as I realized that most people I know prefer slurpable vs spoonable shakes.

So in a sort of compromise, I’m providing a milkshake recipe that can be tuned to your own preferences. Add more or less liquid, and the shake will be more or less thick. Magic.

These milkshakes are far from traditional, but they’re delicious, and not in a health food substitution kind of way. If you’re a classic chocolate milkshake kinda person, just leave out the figs and sub in cashews for the walnuts, and it’ll be just as tasty. Sprinkle with granola to add the perfect crunch, and enjoy poolside or computer-side; I’ve done both.

Chocolate Fig & Walnut Milkshakes

Makes 4 large milkshakes

Note: To make classic chocolate milkshakes, increase the cashews to 1 cup, and leave out the walnuts and figs. 

In a pot bring 2 inches of water to a rolling boil. Add:

• ½ cup raw cashews
• ½ cup dried figs

Boil for 3 minutes, then drain. Add to a blender along with:

• 3 cups non-dairy milk*
• ½ cup toasted walnuts**
• ½ cup dates
• ¼ cup coconut palm sugar
• ½ tsp stevia, or 2 tbs coconut palm sugar
• ¼ cup cocoa powder***

Blend until completely smooth and creamy.

To make milkshakes, there are 2 options:

Option 1: Chill the mixture, and then churn in an ice cream maker for 20 minutes. This should create the perfect milkshake consistency. Thin with non-dairy milk as necessary.

Option 2: Pour the mixture into an ice cube mold, and freeze. Once completely frozen, add about half of the cubes to a blender with ~½ cup of non-dairy milk, and blend! Thin with milk as necessary.

Enjoy!

*The consistency of the final milkshakes will reflect the fat content of whatever non-dairy milk you use. Use canned coconut milk for very creamy (and a bit coconut-y) milkshakes, or unsweetened cashew milk to lighten them up. Rest assured that the milkshakes will be plenty creamy regardless of what milk you use; the whole cashews and walnuts guarantee this.

**Toast the walnuts in a saucepan at medium heat until fragrant, being careful not to burn them.

***I prefer dutch-processed, but any type should do. Reduce to 2 tablespoons for a fainter chocolate taste.

On a side note, I built a lightbox over the weekend to help me take more pictures. One of the problems I’ve encountered is that I do most of my cooking early in the morning or after the sun has set, both awkward times to take photos. With this lightbox, I have pretty good lighting regardless of the hour. Expect more recipes as a result.

Lemon & Almond Ricotta Cake with Berries

Originally, my family’s Christmas eve plans included lasagna. My mom commissioned me to make it, and per my request went grocery shopping, buying noodles, tomatoes, and tubs of ricotta cheese among other ingredients.

The problem was, no one really wanted lasagna, and I didn’t especially want to make it either. I made a sample batch, and with homemade tomato sauce, it took me nearly three hours. I couldn’t really imagine repeating that process, especially in the midst of our Christmas dinner chaos.

So, instead we had fish tacos, shrimp, beans, rice, turkey, and mashed potatoes…a strange (but delicious) combination. Seeing this left me with two and a half tubs of ricotta cheese, I decided to make ricotta cake for dessert. I’m not a fan of cheese in dessert (though I’m learning to appreciate cream cheese frosting – cheesecake is still a nope), but the ricotta simply made this cake deliciously tender and moist.

Everyone loved it, so much so that I’ve made two batches to use up all the ricotta. I brought it to a gathering with friends, and every last crumb was devoured. My friends and family all loved it, so hopefully you’ll try it and love it just as much.

Lemon & Almond Ricotta Cake with Berries

NOTE: The first time I made the recipe, I used a loaf pan. The second time (pictured) I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 13×18 in jelly roll pan.

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups oil
• 1 ½ cups whole-milk ricotta
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract
• lemon zest from 1 lemon (save the juice for a glaze – recipe below)
• 1 carton (~1 ½ cups) blackberries/raspberries
• ~½ cup sliced almonds (i used the extra crushed almonds from a batch a macarons i made)

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. Whisk together the oil, ricotta, and sugar in large bowl for several minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the extracts and lemon zest.
3. Add the dry ingredients, and stir until most of the flour is incorporated.
4. Fold in the berries, continuing to stir until no streaks of flour remain.
5. Pour in a 9 inch loaf pan, sprinkle with almonds, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool on rack completely.

Lemon Glaze

• Juice from 1 lemon
• ½ – 2 cups powdered sugar (depending on how much lemon juice))

1. There are two ways to use the lemon: for a glaze or for an ‘infuser’.
2. To make a lemon glaze topping, combine the juice from the lemon and enough powdered sugar to form a thin glaze. Pour or spread over cooled cake.
3. To make a lemon ‘infuser,’ add enough powdered sugar to temper the sourness of the lemon juice. Poke the cake with a fork when still warm, then pour the sweetened lemon juice over it. The sauce will add additional moistness and flavor.
4. I can vouch that both work well for this cake! It’s a great way to use up the part of the lemon the cake doesn’t use.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Berry Syrup

Pancakes and I have a shaky history.

I remember my brother Jonathan took me to an iHop when I was younger, around the time my dad switched to a raw food diet and cut my access to all “junk food” off, and being completely astounded by the sheer number of syrup flavors, let alone pancake combinations, served. Of course, at that time, all food not raw or completely natural had a negative stigma attached to it, so my experience was only slightly tainted by the guilt of eating white flour and sugar (the horror!). Still though, they were delicious and definitely fueled the love for pancakes I have today.

Pancakes and I are on good terms now. I haven’t been to an iHop since (turns out, they’re really not that delicious compared to homemade ones), rather I prefer to make my own pancakes. My favorite part of homemade pancakes is making syrups to go along with them, a process which is actually super, super easy. Berry syrup, caramel syrup, pudding (?), the toppings for pancakes are endless.

I’m definitely going to be making pumpkin pancakes sometime soon, but for now, these super simple, but delicious, buttermilk pancakes ought to suffice.

Buttermilk Pancakes

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 1/8 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Stir together the flour, baking soda, sugar,and salt.
2. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, and butter.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, and GENTLY fold together. Do not overmix.
4. Cook on medium heat until golden brown.

Berry Syrup

• ¼ cup pancake syrup (I used this sugar-free syrup, and I highly recommend it. It’s delicious!)
• ¼ cup diced/crushed berries (I used about 3 strawberries and 2 blackberries)

1. Combine the syrup and berries together in a pan. Boil until the syrup is thick and the berries are cooked.
2. Serve with buttermilk pancakes! (Or basically anything)

A is for Apple Pie Cookies [vegan]

I have this idea in my head, an idea which I’ve been considering for the past few weeks.  Since one of my New Year resolutions was to, I quote: “Bake different styles of food!,” I’ve obviously got to follow through on that!

To accomplish this resolution, my idea is: Desserts Around the World-alphabet style

Basically, every two weeks I will post a new recipe that originates from a foreign country.  Simple enough right?  The only other criteria is that there are going to be a total of 26 recipes, and each recipe name will begin with a letter in the alphabet.

To start myself off, here’s a recipe for Apple Pie Cookies, with the country being AMURICAAA.

These are essentially cinnamon oatmeal cookies, with an apple pie filling and a simple icing on top.  The cookies have almost a biscuity texture, which really enhances the idea of an apple pie.  These cookies are made for eating with a glass of milk (I’d even go as far as to say glasses of milk are made for drinking with these cookies), and if you’re aiming for a totally vegan dessert, a glass of soymilk is perfect too.  Eat these cookies to celebrate the United States- a mess of a country, but one built on honest ideals.

Apple Pie Cookies

For the cookies:

• ½ cup butter (I used vegan butter)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 cup flour (reduce to ¾ cup for a less biscuity cookie)
• 1 tbs corn starch
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt

1. Cream together the butter and brown sugar.  Whisk in the vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the oatmeal, flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, and stir until a dough forms.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Take ¼ cup size balls of dough, and form into round disks on a baking sheet. Make an indent in the middle of each disk as a bowl for the apple filling.

For the apple filling:

• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbs butter

1. Melt the butter in the pan, and add the brown sugar.  Heat until bubbling.
2. Add the apples, and cook until they begin to soften. Reduce the heat and keep cooking until the apples caramelize and the filling is deep golden brown. Cook less for a more gooey filling (in my cookies, I cooked the filling until very golden brown, and it was almost like a chewy apple caramel in the final product).  Divide the filling among the cookies.
3. Bake the cookies for about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees, or until they are a light golden color.  Cool completely before adding the glaze.

For the icing:

• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tiny splash vanilla
• milk (or soy milk)

1. In a plastic bag combine the powder sugar and vanilla.
2. Add a tiny splash of milk, and squish the bag until a homogenous icing forms.  If needed, add another tiny splash of milk.
3. Cut a corner off of the bag and pipe the icing onto the cookies.
4. Allow the icing to harden, then enjoy the cookies with a glass of milk.

Blueberry Crumble Bars

A quick note from Chomps of Life:

Guess what?  My amazing brother has generously bought me the domain name chompsoflife.com! Yee!  That means that if you want to get to this blog, you can now omit the .tumblr.com. Much easier, amirite?

Now back to the blog:

Today’s recipe is brought to you by the various times my dad’s gone to the Farmer’s Market, and arrived home with a giant paper bag filled to the rim with blueberries.  Although I knew that my family was completely capable of eating all those berries raw, I knew that an even more delicious use of them would be baked, preferably in a pie.  I, being an extremely lazy baker, looked for a recipe that could satisfy my appetite, and my couch-potato personality.  This blueberry crumble is it! It only requires making one simple dough for the crust and crumble, and an even simpler blueberry mixture for the filling.  If you’re a lazy baker, make this today, and if you’re not, make it anyways and realize how wonderful laziness can be.

Blueberry Crumble Bars

adapted from here

• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 4 cups fresh blueberries
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch

1. In a bowl, combine ½ cup of the white sugar with the brown sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

2. Blend in the vanilla, butter, and egg to form a crumbly dough.

3. Pat half of the dough into a greased 9×13 inch pan.

4. In another bowl, combine the blueberries, other ½ cup of white sugar, and cornstarch.

5. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the dough, then crumble the remaining dough on top of the blueberry mixture.

6. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees, or until the top is golden brown.

7. Cool completely, cut into squares, and enjoy!