happy little vegan oatmeal pumpkin spice cookies

yum. 

i wanted to make these for thanksgiving but didn’t have time… so i added them into the christmas cookie mix. i guess pumpkin is not so much a winter flavor but I love it all year long. 

the recipe is from isa at postpunkkitchen. so far i have loved all her recipes. she has a new cookie cookbook that i got for christmas!
you can find the recipe here 

These are nice and chewy, with just the right amount of spice. The recipe says the flax seed is optional but I would definitely add it to get the chewy texture. after you drop the cookie dough on the baking sheet, make sure you flatten out/smoosh each cookie before they bake. 1 batch makes a lot of cookies. I made 1 ½ batches of these yummy things so i could just use up the whole can of pumpkin.

happy little sprtiz cookies

i found a wilton cookie press on sale at target and thought it would be fun to use. the last time I used a cookie press i was about 10 years old and I remember thinking it was so fun! ummm, not so much thinking that now. I think the temperature and consistency of my dough was off cause these little buggers were hard to make! They took a long time and were defiantly more difficult than this lady makes it look, but they sure are cute and festive.

okay, so I used this recipe and substituted salted butter instead of shortening. I think using the butter made the cookies taste much more salty than intended. if these were the only cookies I tasted then I would think, “not sweet enough!” but since I made so many other super sweet cookies, these were a good balance. After the first batch I added lots more sprinkles to the cookies for some extra sweetness.

If I have time I’ll try these again with the shortening… unless any of you have a better, super awesome sprtiz cookie recipe you can share with me? 

happy little chocolate chip s'mores cookies

go make these cookies now and everyone will think you are a genius baker.

my husband and everyone else in the world seems to adore these. they are by far the most popular cookies I bake every year…. and guess what? they are the easiest!  maybe i shouldn’t be sharing this top secret recipe with you because now everyone will know how simple these are… but i’m in a generous mood with it being christmas and all, so here you go….

chocolate chip s’mores cookies

I think this recipe is from one of those little pillsbury recipe magazines (right by the grocery store check out) I bought 5 or 6 years ago!

ingredients:

• your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe or any store bought chocolate chip cookie dough (i used pillsbury simply cookies  because they were on sale and didn’t have any trans fat)

• large marshmallows cut in half
• melted chocolate (I usually use baker’s dipping chocolate )

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. shape cookie dough into 1inch balls and place on cookie sheets.

2.  bake cookies until the edges are barley light brown (usually about 9 minutes in my oven).

3. quickly remove the cookies from the oven and place 1 half marshmallow on top ot the cookie.

4. put cookies back in the oven for 1-2 minutes (until the marshmallows start to puff up)

5. transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool for a few min.

6.  melt chocolate according to directions (in the microwave) and spoon or drizzle the chocolate over each cookie.

7. allow chocolate to completely harden before packing up and giving to all your friends!

happy little vegan chocolate chip cookies... with coconut and cranberries

these are my all time favorite chocolate chip cookies!! i love making and eating these cookies. the recipe is from recipe adapted from vegan a go-go!, by sarah kramer, 2008, arsenal pulp press . they taste a little different than your typical chocolate chip cookie and might not be everyone's favorite...but there is something about the way they taste that makes me happy. 

i tripled the recipe and added in about 1 1/2 cups of dried cranberries. i'm not sure how many cookies i made but i'm guessing around 4-5 dozen... 3 plates of cookies piled high (1 plate is misisng from the picture).

did i mention how much i love these cookies?  well, i love them even more when they are cupcaked ! 

Happy Little Christmas Cookie Adventure!

it's cookie time! this year's cookie adventure will be even more fun with my kitchenaid mixer and a bigger kitchen! 

2009 Christmas Cookie Menu: 

Chocolate Chip, Coconut, Cranberry Cookies (vegan)

Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Cookies (vegan)

Chocolate Chip S’mores Cookies

Cream Cheese Snowflakes

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Bars 

I’ll post some recipes later tonight! 

happy little pumpkin cupcakes

these are for jack. 

a little late, but delivered as promised. 

pumpkin cupcakes with a little dot of chocolate. 

congratulations on buying your first house cupcakes!

ironically, these were the last cupcakes i made in my old place. we just bought a house too!

so that makes these cupcakes super cool special. 

just for you.

since i was in the middle of moving when i made these, most of my baking stuff was packed up so i just used a cake mix.

just a box of cake mix and a can of pumpkin.

the easiest recipe ever... tasty too. 

happy little monkeys

cookies and cream cupcakes with marshmallow cream cheese frosting!

this little guy was my favorite. 

happy little vegan banana cake?

 i swear this tasted like a really yummy banana bread to me... but the recipe says its a cake.

 i think the fact that i veganized the recipe, subbed half the all purpose flour with whole wheat, and baked it in a bread loaf pan, contributed to it's breadyness. 

wacky banana cake

recipe adapted from new baking book (better homes and gardens)

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

(or even better... 3/4 cup all purpose and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour)

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2/3 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)

6 tablespoons butter, melted

(nooooooo!!! don't use butter use earth balance instead)

1/4 cup cold water

1 tablespoon vinegar

(i used apple cider vinegar... i know you have some leftover from all those awesome vegan cupcakes)

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup almond brickle pieces or chopped mixed nuts

(I left this out. where to get almond brickle anyways huh?)

1. preheat oven to 350. in an ungreased 8x8x2 inch baking (or loaf pan for more breaddy version) pan stir flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

2. add the bananas, melted butter (or earth balance) cold water, and vinegar to the dry mixture. mix until combined.

3. sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the cake.

4. bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 min our until wooden toothpick comes out clean.

sprinkle the hot cake with almond brickle or nuts. cool in pan on wire rack.

this banana bread/cake... whatever you wanna call it was really good! i liked the top of it the best because of the chocolate! strangely my husband (who loves anything chocolate) didn't really go for the chocolate chips. he loved the rest of the bread though... him and i are a good match. good thing we like each other.

happy little rice crispy cupcakes

these were super fun to make! 

the bottom was made with chocolate marshmallows. 

decorated with rainbow sprinkles and candy melts.

someone told me they look like little brains.

happy little chocolate chip coconut cookie cupcakes

this is my favorite vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe! this recipe is so good it needed to be made into cupcakes!

i love making these cookies! this batch of cookies was un-vegan because I used leftover milk chocolate chips. i wish i had some vegan chocolate chips on hand to make these extra delicious but they still tasted good!

cute cupcake platter given the me by my mother in law...just waiting for some cupcakes

cookie dough baked in mini cupcake liner

frosted and sprinkled

unwrapped

ready to eat! 

recipe!

vegan chocolate chip coconut cookies 

recipe adapted from vegan a go-go!, by sarah kramer, 2008, arsenal pulp press

2 tbsp ground flax seed
3 tbsp water
1/2 cup vegan margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour*
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small dish, mix together the ground flax and water. In a food processor or large bowl, blend or mix together the flax mixture, margarine, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and set aside. 

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coconut and chocolate chips. Add the margarine mixture and stir until well incorporated. Roll dough into balls, lay on cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool 5 minutes before removing from sheet.

Makes 18 to 24 cookies

* sometimes i use half whole wheat flour/half all-purpose flour. I always add in lots of extra coconut!

watch the step by step cookie making process here!

happy little summer vacation cupcakes

this week was the last week of school...aka last week of work! now i have the whole summer to bake cupcakes!  this school year was a stressful one and i am really looking forward to a break. to celebrate my husband decided to throw a party for me in our tiny little house. he gave me a day notice so i whipped up some quick and easy cupcakes. i was in a rush and didn't take a lot of fancy shmancy pictures but, i remembered to snap a couple shots just before they were eaten!

chocolate pink sprinkle cupcakes filled with cream cheese frosting 

green tea cupcakes filled with lemon curd

these were my favorite! i adapted an easy cake mix recipe found at kirbi cravings

green tea cupcakes and mini chocolate cupcakes

cupcake kabobs inspired by cupcakes take the cake

these were super cute and so fun to make! it's really hard to see in the pictures, but the bottom layer of kabobs have mini chocolate and mini pink cupcakes. 

i love these... the cupcake kabob combinations are endless! i will definitely be making more of these this summer. 

other fun plans/goals/ideas for the summer:

• purchase our first house
  
• make some monkey cupcakes for my nephew's birthday
  
• move into the super wonderful house i buy
  
• read lots of books
  
• visit my best friend in cabo
  
• make some pumpkin cupcakes for jack
  
• learn how to paint the inside walls of a house
  
• paint the inside of  my new house
  
• bake these vegan black bean brownies 
  
• lots of yoga 
  
• organize my cupcake/cake decorating stuff
  
• get a dog
• eat blueberries 

summer is the best

happy little star trek cake

i made this cake in october for my husband's friend. apparently he's a big star trek fan. it's definitely not as cute as a cupcake but i thought i would post it in honor of the new star trek movie.  i  haven't seen it but was thinking about watching it this week. have you seen it? whatdaya think?

inside is chocolate, chocolate chip cake. outside is covered with marshmallow fondant. i haven't made very many cakes (why would i when i could be making cupcakes instead!) but this one was fun.  
this design would make really cute cupcakes too! maybe for his next birthday....

happy little cupcake party

there was a cupcake party. so i got to work....

vegan peanut butter cupcakes

recipe from vegan cupcakes take over the world.

these were good but i could definitely taste the apple cider vinegar and it was kind of a strong taste.

chocolate ice cream cone cupcakes filled with whipped vanilla frosting 

my mom used to make these for me when i was a kid. i would take them to school on my birthday and feel super cool. i'm pretty sure i have been wanting to make these ever since 6th grade.

i used a skewer to poke a hole all the way down to the bottom of the cone. then used a pastry bag to fill it up with frosting.  my husband packed them up very carefully...

rainbow cupcakes...

these were made with a cake mix. they were fun to make. i used the- batter in the ziplock bag- method. i only did three colors because i ran out of batter. so i guess you would need combine 2 or 3 cake mixes to make enough batter for all the rainbow colors. 

chocolate cupcakes with whipped vanilla pudding frosting

decorated with marshmallows and sprinkles. to make the frosting i tried this whipped topping mix in a box.  you add milk and instant pudding  and whip for a long time. i found the mix at some random store and had it hanging around for awhile. the frosting definitely tasted like pudding but it was light and fluffy which i like.

cupcake parties are fun.

happy little flower cupcakes

lemon cupcakes with whipped frosting and pretty little flowers.

here's how i decorated them... 4 bowls of colored sugar sprinkles

just roll the edge of the cupcake into the sprinkles

opps! careful not to drop the cupcakes like i did!

i love these spring colors!

carefully add a few colored sprinkles to make the flowers.

all packed up and ready to go to my husbands work!

have a great easter!

happy little chocolate banana easter egg cupcakes

i know these little cupcakes are not very creative but they taste good! i actually had a more elaborate decorating plan for these however, my first attempt at easter egg cupcakes was a bummer and i was no longer in the mood for fancy shimancy decorating. 

i used a cake box for these cupcakes (pillsbury chocolate i think) except instead of the 3 eggs the recipe called for, i put in one mashed banana and 1 tablespoon of flax and then...meka leka hi meka hiney ho... chocolate banana cupcakes! 

this was my first time trying out an egg replacement on a cake mix and i was pleasantly surprised at how puffy they baked.

i decorated them using the homemade 'hostess' cupcake technique and topped them off with some m&m chocolate eggs.

before my chocolate banana cupcake creation i planned to make these little egg cakes with this wilton egg mold.

i wanted to decorate these with powder sugar and fondant and put them on top of the cupcakes. wouldn't that of been cute? they did not come out looking too hot. the other side of the eggs look even worse! the cake fell and all the eggs looked sunken. 

i guess i could try again before sunday but i'm kinda over the idea now. any other cute spring cupcake designs you can recommend?