Dessert Roundup

This weekend has been insane! Tests, food, and epic times hanging out with a few friends. Epic people make for an epic time. Also, that contest i'm working on seems to be a bit of a hit, i'm glad to say. Looking forward to the epicness that is raw dessert!

So many awesome recipes have been submitted for my raw dessert contest. The rules were basically to send me a link, recipe, or picture of your favorite raw dessert. Here are my favorites so far:

Pure glow sent me a link to her version of "Reeces" Peanut Butter Cups. With chocolate and peanut butter being my two favorite things in the world and this being my favorite Halloween candy before my vegan times, of course a trip down memory lane always is a plus for me.

Vegan Sweettooth's Raw Brownies were also suggested. I've seen, read, and made a lot of brownie recipes in my life time and they may be my favorite raw recipe for when I don't have much time to make anything. Throw a few simple ingredients into a food processor and blend until its a doughey yumminess. Then freeze for a few minutes to let it set and you're done!

What caught my eye about her brownies, was her pictures. I swear, they look just like the baked kind! That, i've found, is very hard to pull off so kudos to you VST!

Raw On 10 was also chosen as a raw dessert favorite, and I must admit that her caramel apple pie was most impressive. I don't have a dehydrator so I probably won't get a chance to make it, but her recipe looks absolutely amazing! Creativity and good taste clashed in this epic recipe and i intend on trying to make this, even if its not dehydrated. Just look at that! Tell me you don't want some of that gooey apple goodness.

On the lighter side, an awesome pie from Happy Cow was also sent to me. Happy Cow has some pretty awesome raw recipes, and their raw strawberry pie looks delicious and really easy! Sounds like epicness in every slice to me.

Anyways, don't forget to join the Raw Dessert Contest! The winner gets a Raw Sampler Pack from NutsOnline.com! When i announce the winner, i'll also post an epic recipe I came up with for a giant Halloween dessert. It involves lots of chocolate and lots of epicness!

Don't forget to enter my raw dessert contest here!

-Andrew D. Morrison-

Raw Chocolate Macadamia Nut Mounds

Almond joy and Mounds were almost the definition of my perfect candy as a kid. Chocolate, coconut, and nuts all combined together into a harmonious symphony of sweet bliss upon my tongue. As many know, those three are some of my absolute favorite foods and with the fact that they combine together, things just get better from there.

Well when I lived in Hawaii, almost every store had chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and of course some of them were coated or filled with coconut. I don't need either one of those! Who would even want a commercial peice of crap when you can create something that tastes a hundred times better?!

Raw Chocolate - Macadamia Mounds

Macadamia Dough Ingredients:

1 c. Macadamia Nuts

1/4 c. Almond Butter

1 c. Shredded Coconut

1/4 c. Honey/Agave

1 tbsp. Sea Salt (Himilayan Pink preferably)

-Combine all of your ingredients into a bowl and use a fork or your hands to combine everything.

-Put in the fridge while you prepare the chocolate.

Chocolate Ingredients:

1 c. Cacao Powder

1 c. Cacao/Coconut Oil(softened)

1/2 c. Honey/Agave

3/4 c. Shredded Coconut

-Mix the cacao powder, oil, and honey or agave together in a small bowl.

-Take your macadamia dough and dip them each into the chocolate, coating them.

-Put them back into the freezer for a few minutes, or just until the chocolate hardens.

-Take them out and dip them into the chocolate. Then, dip them into the coconut. Continue this step until all of your coconut and chocolate are used up.

-Freeze for about 5 minutes or until the chocolate hardens.

-Enjoy

I am actually really proud of myself for these. I even took them to school, and the people I see usually eating vending machine crap claimed it as the best candy they've ever had! They tasted rich, chocolatey, and absolutley delicious! I like using macadamia nuts over most others due to the fact that they taste really really good!

They are also one of the most beautifying nuts on the planet. They contain a large quantity of oleic acid in their fats cells which is the absolute best fat for skin. Cacao and coconut also contain these acids in their fat, making this sweet and delicious food incredibly rich in beautifying oils. Just look at any cosmetic products, and you will most likely see cacao or coco (coconut) oil in them for that exact reason.

If you havnt heard through my Twitter account yet, i will be working on a HUGE project for Halloween as a big finally for Vegan Mofo. This is the biggest project i've ever done, and may just be the biggest raw dessert i've ever seen!

Whats your favorite old school candy? Do you have a vegan or raw version of it?

-Andrew D. Morrison-

Almond Butter and the Monster under my bed

Peanut Butter is just what my dreams are made of. Its thick, creamy, and maybe the greatest thing to ever be created on this little planet we call earth. But sadly, i've been able to find it raw and being a raw foodist I guess that's defeat....wait...defeat..? DEFEAT?! I know not the meaning of the word! Forget you too stingie peanuts! I got me some raw organic almond butter and will devour it without the likes of you! That's right. Be Jealous........

I've been in a chocolate-peanut butter mood for the past few days and finally decided to get rid of my craving with a dessert that I figured would satisfy my craving. But this wasn't just a little craving. It was a monster craving! A craving bigger than the ravenous beast that sleeps beneath my bed and plots my demise for how he will finish me off if I ever leave my bed before the sun rises..... Yeah, that kind of craving. So for a monster craving, I get a monster dessert! Oh, and he likes bananas...

Almond Butter-Banana-Chocolate Ice Cream

(serves 4 hungry monsters)

Ingredients:

2 large bananas

1 c. Almond Butter

1/2 c. Cacao Powder

2 tbsp. Honey/Agave

2 tbsp. Coconut Oil

-Blend everything together in your blender until smooth.

-Use your Ice Cream maker and follow the instructions. Or just pour it into a bowl and freeze for 2-4 hours or until it resembles the texture of ice cream.

-Enjoy!

Its peanut buttery and its THICK! Kind of like a chocolate-almond butter mcflurry almost, only tastier. I love it! This is the kind of thing I could easily down 5 batches of. Better make extra though, cause the monster under my bed is growling in hunger again..

What guilty pleasure brings out your inner monster?

-Andrew D. Morrison-

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Torte (aka. Reeses!)

What better way to start off Vegan Mofo than with a dessert recipe? Something sweet and delicious to start off October and to give you something to snack on as you make your way through the month.

I dislike how all of the dessert recipes show up at the end of the month when you have little time to prepare yourself. All of the attention for Halloween and candy comes when its a bit too late and when things are almost over and done with. So with the taste of a Reeses peanut butter cup, but the creamy and chocolaty melt-in-your mouth feel of a chocolate torte, this halloween candy will satisfy Ladies and gentleman, boys and ghouls...... raw peanut butter torte!

Raw Chocolate - Peanut Butter Torte

Torte Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. Cacao Powder

3/4 c. Pecan Flour

6 tbsp. Coconut oil

6 tbsp. Honey

-Mix all of your dry ingredients together all of your dry ingredients in your food processor. If you don't have pecan flour, just process them in a coffee grinder a few times until they form a flour-like texture.

-Add in the liquid ingredients and mix until it dorms a very wet dough, almost the texture of peanut butter.

-Mold the dough into muffin tins, poking a hole into the top where the cream will go.

-Freeze the muffin pans while you make the cream.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cream Ingredients:

1/4 c. Cacao Powder

6 tbsp. Almond or Peanut Butter

1/4 c. Coconut Oil (melted)

1/4 c. honey

-Mix all of the ingredients in your food processor or a blender until it forms a liquidy cream. Add a few tablespoons of water or extra coconut oil if needed.

-Take your tortes out of the freezer and spoon the cream into the holes you made.

-Freeze for at least 30 minutes or until everything firms up.

-Eat and enjoy!

I had both of my little brothers try them, and they claim it to be excellently similar to Reeses peanut butter cups only chocolatier! My parents liked them as well, my dad saying they were good but not quite the same. Maybe a bit more peanut butter will do the trick but the texture was spot on!

They melt quickly though so be warned! They taste best straight from the freezer. I'll work on getting them a bit longer-lasting just so I can bring them to school and brag around Halloween time about my vegan epicness!

Whats your favorite Halloween candy or treat?

-Andrew D. Morrison-