No-bake Chocolate Crackle

When I made the Vegan Breakfast Cookies last week, I shared some with my coworker and explained to her how I used coconut oil for the first time ever. Another co-worker overheard and told me about a coconut oil based dessert they have in Australia (which is where he's from.)

I promptly asked for a link to a recipe and last night I finally had time to make them. (After being released early from an opera rehearsal. Yippee!)

I didn't want to buy a whole box of Rice Krispies that I wouldn't finish eating, so I decided to make this recipe with some Special K I had on hand. Man, these things are good (and sugary)! Super quick and no oven needed, these are a great last minute recipe to make for a party. I should have named them Special Krack!

No-bake Chocolate Crackle

Ingredients

4 cups of Special K (or cereal of your choice)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup desiccated coconut (shredded if you can't find desiccated)

1cup+ ounces of coconut oil

3 Tblsp cocoa

In a large bowl, mix the Special K, powdered sugar, cocoa, and coconut.

Slowly melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat.

Allow to cool slightly.

Add to the large bowl, stirring until well combined.

Spoon mixture into paper cupcake liners and refrigerate until firm.

Bake well and prosper!

Vegan Breakfast Cookies

Confession (I feel like I confess a lot on my blog...) - I've never used coconut oil before. This recipe calls for it and I was scared that I wouldn't even find it at the grocery store. But there it was in the "European and World" food isle.

When I opened it up at home I was surprised to see it was in a solid form. I guess I was expecting more of a liquid oil. I was concerned I would never get it blended into the cookie dough. But then I researched it online and found out that it usually comes in solid form and softens very quickly in heat. I let out a sigh of relief.

You can make these cookies with normal chocolate chips, but since I had vegan chocolate chips on hand I decided to use those. Therefore it made the recipe vegan.

I really enjoyed these as did the few people I shared them with. One friend said, "I could eat a couple of these each morning." To which I said, "Me too. In fact, I think I ate 5 this morning!"

Vegan Breakfast Cookies (Modified from uTry.it)

Ingredients

2 bananas (preferably ripe or spotty bananas)

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Then, mix the remaining ingredients into the bananas until well combined.

Allow the batter to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. With a mini ice cream scoop (about 1 tablespoon), place the batter onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

Bake well and prosper!

Rosemary Orange Honey Fig Cake

This cake was extremely fun to make for many reasons. Top 4 reasons:

1. My roomie found this recipe and wanted to be my baking assistant for it (and he was very good. I might hire him!) ;)

2. We used figs that our landlord gave us from his tree! Thanks Charlie!

3. I had an excuse to buy a springform pan!

4. Raw honey, figs, butter...all glistening in a saucepan. See below.

Lovely, right?

I also enjoyed that this recipe used orange zest and rosemary together. It smelled great and reminded me of the Buttered Rosemary & Orange Nuts recipe.

I've also seen a lot of shares online via pinterest, facebook, etc about fig cakes. And I can see why. Fig cakes are so cheery and a perfect dessert to transition from summer into fall.

My roomie and I will be enjoying this all weekend long. (We even left a couple of slices for our landlord.) 

Have a good weekend! Bake a cake! With Figs!

Rosemary Orange Honey Fig Cake (from seriouseats)

Ingredients

Baking spray
2 1/2 cups (about 12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (about 5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons grated zest from 1 orange
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup honey (I used raw)
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter
12 figs, stems trimmed and quartered lengthwise
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup honey (I used raw honey)

Instructions
For the Cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 9-inch round springform pan with cooking spray. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Pulse sugar, rosemary, and orange zest in food processor until no zest strands remain and rosemary is coarsely chopped (see note above).

In large bowl, beat butter, oil, and rosemary-orange sugar on medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add honey and beat just until incorporated.

Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Increase speed to medium and beat mixture just until combined, 20 to 30 seconds. Add vanilla and beat once more, just to combine, about 10 seconds.

Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until cake tester inserted in cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating cake halfway through baking. Transfer cake to cooling rack set inside baking sheet and cool in pan 10 minutes.

Release springform and invert cake onto cooling rack; remove bottom of springform. Invert cake once again and cool completely, about 1 hour.

For the Figs and Assembly: Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and cook until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add figs and season with salt and pepper. Cook until figs soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in honey and remove from heat.

With a knife (serrated is best), slice about 1/8 inch off top of cake. Spoon figs and any released juices on top of cake. Serve.

Bake well and prosper!