One last sweet before the weekend!These Double Chocolate Mint Melties are another new recipe, and I served them along with the two batches of cupcakes, sprinkle cookies, and fudgy brownies at my daughter's party. There would be no shortage of treats that day, I made sure of that!!
These cookies disappeared first! I think because with the peppermint, they have a refreshing quality after the savory dips and foods eaten.
Now, I know there are chocolate/peppermint combo haters out there, so my apologies to you for today's post! But, for all the rest of us that like chocolate with just about anything - gaze upon the melties and enjoy... well, enjoy visually I guess, until the new book is out! :)
26 comments:
This looks like the best thing ever!
our kids need to meet & greet so that maybe we could get a little invite to your next birthday party! :o) the title alone makes my mouth water.
ps: i see over @ veganlunchbox another recipe that i must try...
Who could ever complain about chocolate and mint together!!! tsk tsk. It would be cool to chop up candy canes and use them as them as little pepermint accents!
Chocolate and mint are one of the great flavor combos of all time! This post brings to mind an old Better Homes & Gardens recipe from the 80's - mint swirl brownies ... chocolate brownies with a green-tinted mint batter swirled in. They definitely weren't vegan ... *hint, hint* ... but, man, were they good!
On another note, you have to stop teasing us with all these delicious pictures for the new book ... I'm dying over here! :-)
Thank you Leslie!! :)
Hi Vicki... ha, that's cute! Can you imagine, though, if all of us vegans had a party - what great food we'd all have??!! All different styles of cooking and flavors - we'd never leave the kitchen! :)
Megan, that's an awesome suggestion, thanks! I use mint chocolate in the cookies and am playing around with some extract, but I am going to include the crushed candy cane idea in the sidebar notes as an add-in for holiday cookies - such a great idea!
Hi Seona, thanks for that! I know, I feel a tad guilty posting these pics when I am not able to provide the recipes just yet!! I am going to have to look for that brownie recipe. I have fond memories of some of the foods my mom used to make in the late 70's and 80's, things like "jello salad", "creme de menthe pears" and her very famous mac and cheese. Some of these I would never want to try and veganize now (ie jello salad!), but others for sure... like those brownies you mention, they sound great!
Oh this reminds me of a wonderful cookie recipe I used to make for chocolate cookies that used mint extract - they reminded me of thin mints. I swear I gain a pound just reading about all these beautiful birthday treats :-)
this chocolate/peppermint lover gives these a big thumbs up!
Hey, the chocolate/mint combo haters can always substitute some almond extract in their cookies. =)
I tried crushed candy canes in cookies I made for Christmas (a chocolate and mint spiral). I served them next to some rugelach-type cookies (all vegan). Everyone really liked the rugelach cookies, but there were leftovers of the crushed candy cane cookies. I wasn't so fond of them either. If you're going to add the crushed candy, it needs to be very finely crushed as the big chunks melt and make the cookies a bit too crunchy (to me and my friends anyway!).
The party pics have looked great, Dreena!
p.s. Dreena, looking at your page had me making corn cakes this morning - and they were a success!
There are chocolate/pepperment combo haters?! Oh goodness, those look amazing. You've got me reminiscing about Girl Scout Thin Mints (which probably aren't vegan :(). I made the Double Chocolate Pecan Chippers from TEV yesterday, I have to say they were good. . . too good.
Dreena, Dreena. More chocolate?
I think I love you.
Hi Dreana...I'm so honoured! I'll be looking for the sidebar as soon as I get get my hands on that book!.PS...keep the photos coming, even without recipes. It just keeps us drooling!
Funny, Nancy... next week I'll post a treadmill pic so we can shed the extra calories of these treats!! :)
Thanks, Jess, and I guess there are more choc/mint lovers out there than I realized!
Thanks for that tip, Rochelle! I haven't yet tested cookies putting crushed candy canes in there, but I will try this out with these cookies, just as a sidebar option - so that's great info. Btw, have you received your hemp products yet? Thanks!
Hi again Jess!! That's very cool! I just checked out your blog and those pancakes looked d-lish!! Glad to have helped 'plant the seed' in your head. :)
Hi Sarchan!! I haven't ever tried those Girl Scout cookies - but I have heard SO much about *how* great they are. Not sure if these will be close enough, but they sure are tasty and minty-melty! Yay!! I'm glad you love those dbl choc cookies... thanks! :)
Carrie, I aim to please... and I will always have some chocolate posts to keep that lovin' feeling! :)
Hi Megan! I get a lot of ideas and inspiration from all of you, just like with your idea here for the candy canes, so thank you!... oh, and I'm glad you are appreciating the pics and info w/o the recipes - thx! :)
No hemp products have landed on my doorstep yet.... =/ *somewhat patiently waiting* =)
While I prefer chocolate and fruit (and/or nuts), I could go for chocolate-mint. I'm pretty sure the Girl Scout cookies which I used to love, are not vegan.
Oh my! I love mint w/ chocolate! Well, pretty much everything goes w// chocolate though...
Hi Rochelle... perhaps it's because of customs. I know the package has been sent, but if you haven't received it in another week or so, send me an e-mail so I can get in touch with MH again. :)
Hi Danielle, yeah, I doubt those girl scout cookies are vegan - gee, I'm feeling as I've missed out on those now! :)
Hey Julie! I like it too - has a refreshing quality. Though there are times for me when only pure chocolate - not at all altered with mint, fruit, or anything - will do!!
Add me to the list of chocolate/mint lovers. In fact, it might be my favorite chocolate combo... Those cookies look AMAZING!
Hi Dreena, I heard your interview on Vegan Freak Radio, and had to come check out your blog. The pictures are amazing... I can't wait to try out some of these things. I luuurv chocolate and mint, so those cookies look great to me!
Hi there, This question is regarding Vicki's Quinoa-Hummus Casserole from Vive.
My friends have been raving about this dish and I finally got to try it when it was made for me on Saturday night. I loved it! It was so yummy and hearty. I plan on making it this week. I was unable to find quinoa at my local grocery store (I'm sure the health food store has it) but was wondering if you've experimented with the recipe and tried using brown rice or couscous?
I know I said that I would "retire" Vive for a while but I MUST make
this meal.
Sweet Pea
Dreena, I am a long time lover of your books. In fact, I give your second one out to all my friends as birthday presents.
Here is one of the challenges I face that I would love to get your perspective on: I don't eat sugar. I am a 5 year breast cancer survivor, and after my diagnosis, I put a stop to all things sugar. Now don't get me wrong, I couldn't live without it all together, I give myself a black out period of my birthday and over the christmas holidays. But, mostly, sugar is not my friend. While I love your recipes, some call for sugar. Perhaps I just need to find the way to translate maple syrup proportions to sugar proportions, but I never seem to get it right (not really being a deeply seasoned kitchen gal).
Any suggestions? Do you have a magic solution? Anything?
Thanks!
Thanks very much lauren!!
Hi Theresa, and thanks for stopping by!! I think I have underestimated how many people really do like chocolate and mint together... thanks for your comment! :)
Hi Sweet Pea! So, out of retirement it comes, hey? Funny!! Well, I haven't really made the recipe with rice or couscous, but I think given the texture of couscous this might be the best substitution, since rice is much heavier and more filling. A partial mix of cooked wild rice might be good though. I'd say try it with the couscous if you still haven't found quinoa. Btw - did you check the bulk section of your grocery store? I couldn't find quinoa for a while and then checked with the other bulk grains and there it was - strange, because it was nowhere to be found with the packaged grains/rice! Anyhow, thanks for that wonderful monday morning feedback and good luck!! :)
Hi Signy! Thank you, first of all for your good words about my books. That means a lot, thanks. Secondly, congratulations to you for reclaiming your health after your breast cancer. I notice from your blog that you are familiar with Sally Errey's book too. I often recommend that book to people, I think it has extremely valuable information in it for everyone. Anyhow... I guess I should first ask you what 'natural sugars' you do consume? Do you use maple syrup, agave, brown rice syrup but avoid all crystallized sugars? Do you use sucanat? I do not have an easy conversion ratio for recipes to use maple syrup vs sugar, etc. I have changed the amounts in my recipes just with testing... sometimes I find a little sugar works best on its own, or in combination with something like maple syrup, and then other times I can use maple syrup alone and it's just super. But... if you have a recipe or two in mind that you would like to try and 'convert', then let me know and I will give you my best suggestions on how to eliminate the sugar in them. Some of my baked goods don't use sugar (ex: oat bars, nutty bars, energy cookies, apple hemp muffins), but for most of the desserts there is some amount of sugar in them. The maple walnut cookies, though, they only use 2 tbsp of sugar, so really you could omit that amount of sugar, and add just a touch more maple syrup (maybe 2 tsp, so the batter isn't to liquidy) and they should be just fine. I'm rambling on here (as I often do!), so please let me know more info about what sweeteners you use and what recipes you'd like to modify. Thanks again very much for your lovely words. :)
Yes, I love Sally's book and am actually a contributor (both in the form of the cancer surviving story P. 39, and a number of recipies including Pure Medicine Salad, Fortied Green Lentil Soup, Home Made Power Bars and Kicks Ass, Anti Breast Cancer Muffins - these last two are sugar free, well, they all are sugar free, but that won't surprise anyone of the first 2 I listed).
Mostly I use maple syrup. I like to stay away from things that are processed, which seems to includes the granular forms. I haven't dabbled in a few of the things you suggested here. I guess they all have their own flavour and potency, making them better or worse for certain recipies.
Next time I am strolling through the dessert section of one of your book and I come across something that looks too good to resist (which is pretty much everything), but need some modification, I will let you know, and we can muddle through what to try.
By the way, I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E the Tropical Rice Pudding of your first book, and make it each Christmas (and many times in between). I was hoping you would permit me to post (or maybe use as a comment, under my sugar posting) my modified version of it, as an example of the kinds of recipies one can adjust. Please do let me know.
And I will follow along your blog and let you know when I need some sugar adjustment help.
Thanks so much.
WHAT? There are actually people out there that don't like the chocolate/peppermint combo? WOW! Who would have thunk? teehee! I FRICKIN LOVE IT! It's one of my fave tastes!
Hi Signy! Oh, I loved reading those stories in Staying Alive. I don't have my copy with me right now since I loaned it out to a friend. I will have to read your story again now after 'speaking' with you... and also check out your recipes - very cool! That sounds good, let me know if you have a particular recipe that you want to modify and we'll see what can be done. Thanks for your great words about the rice pudding, btw. I haven't made that in such a long time, though I should because I know my girls would probably love it too! I'm happy to have you reprint it on your website. My publisher requires that you simply add a tag line after the recipe saying something like "reprinted (or adapted) from The Everyday Vegan by Dreena Burton, Arsenal Pulp Press". Just something along that line. But, I'm happy to have you post it on your site, and thanks for doing so! :)
Hi Harmonia... yes, there are some folks out there that have serious disdain for the choc/mint combo - but it seems none of the visitors here are in that camp! :)
I have to try these! I have made all the cookies as well as the brownies in Vive and they are the BEST vegan cookies I have ever made. Better than cookies from my non vegan days. Oh and scalloped potatoes - yum, that sauce would be fabulous with meatless meatballs for swedish style. You are a Goddess and you make a dessert loving vegan able to stay true to course. I have a big block of organic food grade cocoa butter, any ideas for possible desserts?
Thank you for your recipes!
If only there was a way to create a vegan lemon meringue pie....
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