happy little avocado cupcakes

these were for my father in law.

made from his delicious avocados.

avocados are heaven.

these cupcakes are heaven.

here is the step by recipe... 

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 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 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 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 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 chocolate avocado cupcakes-with rainbow sprinkles!

yup. avocado cupcakes. these cupcakes are so so so so so good!!! these might just be the best chocolate cupcakes i ever made.  i love them, love them, love them. 

my husband has been a little stressed at work lately so i made him some "love ya cupcakes".  i wanted to combine his two favorite foods (chocolate and avocados) with mine (cupcakes!).   i found this awesome recipe from vegetarian times and just made a few substitutions. 

here's the yummy ingredients i used:

1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 avocado, pitted and peeled

1 cup agave nectar (substituted for maple syrup)

3/4 cup nonfat milk (substituted for soy milk)

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

you can follow the directions on the vegetarian times website. the recipe says it makes 12 cupcakes but i actually had enough batter to make 12 regular cupcakes plus 12 minis.

mash and puree the avocado

mix it all up... with my new kitchenaid!

plop the batter in the cupcake liners...

done! 

(sorry but i had to try the minis before i took the picture)

 i love they way they baked with puffy tops.

for a quick topping i dipped them in chocolate. i bought a whole bunch of these baker's dipping chocolate containers because i found them on sale for less than a dollar each. i kinda like the way they look on top of cupcakes and it is really easy substitute for frosting. especially when i don't feel like washing lots of dishes! 

yay!

topped off with rainbow sprinkles

and a some leftover halloween skulls and bones. 

so, my husband says he likes the chocolate cupcakes from VCTOTW  a little better, but these are the best to me! please, please, please try these little cupcakes and tell me if you love them as much as i do! 

happy little birthday cupcakes

i made these birthday cupcakes for my dad! reading left to right they say, "happy birthday" in hiragana.

i used the simple vanilla and agave nectar cupcake recipe from vctotw (if you preview the book on google you can find the recipe or find it here). i had some fresh blueberries so i added them to the batter too. i've made the agave nectar cupcakes 3 times now, once with chocolate. i think they taste ok but i don't really like the way they smell after they bake. my dad and my husband love them and they are usually not into healthy stuff so i make the cupcakes for them.

i really wanted to make the super natural agave nectar icing to top the cupcakes but i could not find soy milk powder anywhere! so instead i just applied a really thin layer of melted chocolate on top of the cupcakes (not great for a diabetic, but it was his birthday). my dad loved them of course!

happy valentines day! vegan chai latte cupcakes

valentines/happy belated birthday cupcakes

hearts were made with powdered sugar and heart stencil

delicious

Vegan Chai Latte Cupcakes, originally uploaded by happylittlecupcakes.

happy little green tea chocolate chip cupcakes

 i made these cupcakes for my friend who loves green tea! i used the green tea cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World . i so love this book! i added chocolate chips and drizzled the tops of the cupcakes with chocolate which technically made the cupcake unvegan. these cupcakes were really rich and had a strong green tea taste which i love but many people are not a fan of.  the green tea and chocolate combo was so yummy!

sweet and delicious