1. Day two of our food gifting week: salted caramel corn! Supplies corn kernels 2 tsp oil 1 1/2 cup white sugar (beet sugar) or light brown sugar 3 tbsp earth balance (vegan butter) 1 tsp vanilla extract coarse sea salt Instructions Cover the bottom of a medium pot with the corn kernels, then coat in the oil. Shaking every minute or so, heat the pot until all the corn is popped. (Wait until there’s a couple of seconds between pops.) Transfer the popped corn into a big bowl. Wipe out the pot and pour in the sugar, butter, and vanilla. Let it all heat, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning. When the mixture starts to bubble, slowly stir it to bring it all together. When it’s ready, it’ll be consistently liquid and light amber in color. NOTE: Don’t lick or touch the mixture, even if it’s “cooled” on the spoon - the sugar is dangerously hot. Also, don’t stir it too fast or the sugar will start to crystallize. Pour the caramel over the popcorn, folding it in as you go. Quickly sprinkle a couple of heaping pinches of sea salt over top and fold it in. The caramel will harden pretty quickly, so make sure to evenly coat the popcorn before it does! Be careful to not touch the caramel right after it comes out of the pan - it’s still really hot! To give as a gift, break it into small chunks and package in a small paper bag, taped over with festive washi tape.
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    Day two of our food gifting week: salted caramel corn!

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    December 18, 2012
  2. this weekend we tried our hand at some vegan samoas. you know, like the girl scout cookie. moderately difficult to make, but totally worth it! the recipe we used is adapted from the wonderful vegan cookies invade your cookie jar. (if you have extra time on your hands, improve them by doing them this way.)
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    this weekend we tried our hand at some vegan samoas. you know, like the girl scout cookie. moderately difficult to make, but totally worth it! the recipe we used is adapted from the wonderful vegan cookies invade your cookie jar. (if you have extra time on your hands, improve them by doing them this way.)

    November 13, 2011
  3. vegan caramel pretzel brownies you guys! this is one of my best ideas ever, and both recipes are very simple to make. try it out! make the brownies: mix together 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt mix together 1 cup water, 1 cup vegetable oil, and 1 tsp vanilla extract mix both bowls together until consistent, then pour into a square (8”x8” or 9”x9”) baking pan and bake at 350F 30-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. when the brownies are 3/4 done, start making the caramel. ours is dark because we used dark brown sugar, use a lighter sugar for a lighter topping. in a sauce pan/pot, dissolve 3 tbsp corn starch in 1 cup soy (or any other kind of non-dairy) milk mix in 1/2 cup vegan margarine, 2 cups sugar, 4 tbsp liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave, etc.), 2 tsp ginger powder, cinnamon, 3 tbsp lemon juice, and a pinch of salt turn on medium-high heat and start stirring. (you’re going to continually stir until it fully thickens.) once it starts to boil, turn to medium-low heat and keep stirring until the caramel is thick and semi-solid. take it off the heat. when the brownies are done, pour on the caramel and spread over the whole brownie. (you won’t use all of it, unless you want an absurd amount of caramel on top! :p) let cool for 20-30 minutes. we took a small, deep circular cookie cutter and removed each piece by twisting it down and slowly lifting up at an angle. then top with crushed or whole pretzels. enjoy! this dessert was made by altering these original recipes from here and here
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    vegan caramel pretzel brownies

    you guys! this is one of my best ideas ever, and both recipes are very simple to make. try it out!

    make the brownies:

    • mix together 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt
    • mix together 1 cup water, 1 cup vegetable oil, and 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • mix both bowls together until consistent, then pour into a square (8”x8” or 9”x9”) baking pan and bake at 350F 30-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

    when the brownies are 3/4 done, start making the caramel. ours is dark because we used dark brown sugar, use a lighter sugar for a lighter topping.

    • in a sauce pan/pot, dissolve 3 tbsp corn starch in 1 cup soy (or any other kind of non-dairy) milk
    • mix in 1/2 cup vegan margarine, 2 cups sugar, 4 tbsp liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave, etc.), 2 tsp ginger powder, cinnamon, 3 tbsp lemon juice, and a pinch of salt
    • turn on medium-high heat and start stirring. (you’re going to continually stir until it fully thickens.) once it starts to boil, turn to medium-low heat and keep stirring until the caramel is thick and semi-solid. take it off the heat.

    when the brownies are done, pour on the caramel and spread over the whole brownie. (you won’t use all of it, unless you want an absurd amount of caramel on top! :p) let cool for 20-30 minutes. we took a small, deep circular cookie cutter and removed each piece by twisting it down and slowly lifting up at an angle. then top with crushed or whole pretzels.

    enjoy!

    this dessert was made by altering these original recipes from here and here

    August 23, 2011