Friday, March 29, 2013

Easy to Make Vegan Chocolate Eggs



I post this every year, so if you've seen it before, that's why...

Cruelty free Easter eggs! These are fun if you have little ones or even for yourself. They are slightly reminiscent of those Cadbury ones, but the filling is not nearly as runny.

These also make a mean peppermint patty, so you don't have to wait until Easter to enjoy them! As a matter of fact, you can sub any flavor into the center and make a variety of chocolates.

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
A few drops yellow food coloring, optional (A little turmeric makes for an awersome all natural coloring)
Extra powdered sugar for dusting
12 ounces nondairy semisweet chocolate chips

In a bowl, mix together corn syrup and vanilla. Begin adding in sugar one cup at a time. Work in the sugar until you get a dough that is the consistency of play-dough.

Divide into thirds. Add yellow food coloring to 1/3 of the dough. Divide that 1/3 into 12 even pieces and roll into small balls. Dust with extra powdered sugar as you work to prevent them from getting too sticky. Place on a sheet of parchment or wax paper and set aside.

Divide the remaining 2/3 into 12 equal pieces and form into small patties. Once again dusting with powdered sugar as you work.

Add one "yolk" into the center of each patty and wrap the patty around it. Form into an egg shape, Dusting as you work. Place on parchment or waxed paper and place in the freezer to stiffen up before you dip them in the chocolate, about an hour or so.

While your "eggs" are freezing, you can melt your chocolate, either on a double boiler or in the microwave.

Dip each egg in chocolate and return to wax paper to cool and harden. You can place them back in the freezer to speed up the process if you'd like.

Yield: A dozen "eggs"

Variations:
Peppermint Patties: Instead of dividing into thirds, add 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of peppermint extract to the corn syrup and vanilla before adding the sugar. Add a little green food color (optional). Divide into 24 equal pieces and form into patties. Follow the recipe from there.

Get creative with the flavors! Add 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of lemon or orange (or almond or anise or cinnamon...) extract instead of the peppermint. Add a touch of yellow or orange natural food color, or whatever color matches the flavor you use to make a variety.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Hearty Vegan? Howz'about Home-Cooked Vegan Comfort Food?

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner!
Congratulations to #17, Matthew Traxler!  You win a copy of Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites, soon to be Home-Cooked Vegan Comfort Food! Please send me your snail mail address so I can send you your book!

A little while back, Celine and I wrote a little ol' book called Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites.  And y'all have really given it some wonderful reviews!  So it was quite perplexing to us, and the publishers, why this book didn't perform as well as some of our other titles.  I mean with recipes like Chorizo and Potato Lasagna Bake, Tofuevos Rancheros, and Vanilla Pudding Cupcakes who wouldn't want their own copy of this book?  So we started thinking about it, and well, we know the recipes are ahhhmazing, so what couldd it be?  And then it hit us!  Maybe it's the name!  I mean, sure, Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites sounds good to me, but maybe it doesn't appeal to the masses.  So we have changed it, and on its next reprint, it will not only have a new name, but a shiny new cover as well!


For now, the original is still available.   But soon those will be a colletor's item, so get them while they last!  Haha.  And to celebrate the rebirth of our baby, I'm giving away a copy to one lucky reader.  Leave a comment below, letting me know your favorite vegan comfort food, and I will select one of you at random on Friday, March 15, at 12 noon Pacific Standard Time. Contest now over, congratulations to Matthew Traxler, #17!

2012 Copyright/Permissions/Disclaimers

All recipes written by me, Joni Marie Newman, unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to refer to or link back to any of my recipes, but please ask for permission, and remember to give credit when reprinting recipes in their entirety. I do provide links to affiliate programs (such as Amazon) in which I receive a small commission for items purchased. I do not provide paid reviews. All reviews done on products or books are of my own unsolicited opinion. On occasion I may receive a book or product to review. I will note when this is the case, but rest assured, it will not affect the authenticity of my review. Thanks!--Joni