"Necessity is the mother of invention", right?Well, that has certainly been true for me this past week. My oven is broken. Yes, after all my teasing with Leslie to start using her oven again, mine has gone kaput! Hubby says it's from being used so much, since it's a new (3yrs) oven!!!
Anyhow, I needed to make cookies. Can't bake them, and since I haven't dabbled much in raw cookies, to the stovetop I went and came up with these decadent cookie bars for the new book. No recipe name yet - not sure what to call them (ideas, anyone?.....)
They are a combo of cocoa, coconut, pecans, and other goodies in the base and a nutty chocolate ganache topping. Yes, bad but gooood!! Well, not SO bad, are they???
I mean, there's no refined sugar in these (with the exception of the chocolate chips, and you can buy grain sweetened non-dairy chips, which are not AS bad). But, there's nothing low-fat or low-cal about these babies. Ohhh, no!! But, they do have a good dose of cocoa powder, and that's jam-packed with antioxidants, right? Oh, and abundant with the healthy fats and protein in nuts. So that's kinda' healthy too.... hmmm... am I trying to justify these cookie bars to you or myself???!
Anyhow, I hope to have my oven back in about a week, but until then, it's stovetop creativity - out of necessity!
Now, on to what many of you are visiting for - the winner of yesterday's contest... is....
Mishka!!
Congrats to you, Mishka... please e-mail me at dreena@everydayvegan.com by Friday! :)
29 comments:
Those cookie bars look incredible. I am drooling. Chocolately ooey gooey goodness. Wish I could sample one for you.
Sorry about your oven... that kinda sucks, although it is the right time of year for the oven to go on the fritz with it being so hot and all. Enjoy the stove top and BBQ.
These look amazing. Stovetop sweets are good, but I have missed cookies and such too!
You could call these "For when the oven's broken - bars".
Or you could personally dedicate them to me (he he).
Whoa! Those bars look amazing. I wish that I could just throw together things like that...
I can't think of a name right now, but I'll get back to you if I think of one.
Oh, and if you are still in the market for recipe testers, I would love to test some of your gluten free recipes.
Those look amazing. Oh man...
I like Leslie's name suggestion!
These look so so wonderful. I don't care how bad they are for you....they are all good!
YAY! I have never really won anything before, but I had a teensy feeling that luck was on my side with the Canada Day contest! I just zipped you off an email!
Drool.
Love Leslie's suggestion.
Funny how one doesn't tend to eat much during the hot months but we'll never pass up sweets....
Holy Moly, those looks rich and delicious! This recipe shows that you are doing a service to the underweight, ovenless people out there! hehe
oven-free Bad but Good bars :P, go with what you already said, haha.
The bars look absolutely yummy...I think I gained weight just looking at them!
Once anybody tastes those bars I'm sure they won't care how "bad" they are. I like Leslie's idea of dedicating them to her. But if not, how about "Nuts for Cocoa" bars. Hope you find a name for these amazing treats!
-Teresa
[READ COMMENT WITH A STRONG FRENCH ACCENT}: oh la oh la oh la la!
Well, those look very, very good.
How about Stovetop Choconutty Bars?
I'm back!
Sheesh...what is it with our ovens these days...remember I just had to buy another one...ek!
Best of luck with that!
I have a lot of catching of to do on your blog...and others...look for additional comments from me!
*drools* I'm such a chocolate addict.
Eep! Do you at least have a toaster oven? Mine's big enough for a pie plate or 9x9 pyrex dish, so I do a lot of baking in it.
my god, that's a heck of a layer of ganache! Yum... I remember my oven breaking and not realizing it until I had a double batch of cookie dough waiting to do into it... so sad. But like you said, this'll kick up the creativity a notch, eh?
Thanks dragonslayer... it's stovetop only, we don't have a BBQ (though I've been thinking about one now)!!
Leslie, I think you'd enjoy these, and I may just dedicate them to you after all the oven remarks that have now come back to bite me in the bottom, as they say!
Danielle, you have pretty good timing, because I have just finished testing a gluten-free version of my choc chip cookies, so I think I should have someone test them that eats gluten-free more regularly. I'll be in touch! :)
Thanks Mindy!
Well, Megan, sometimes we just need a little of the 'bad' stuff - even though our idea of more decadent vegan food really isn't all that bad - compared to most cookies and sweets!!
Savanna, that name IS fitting, isn't it?!
Mishka, sounds like you 'willed the win'! Hmmm, how can I do that now, I rarely win things that I enter!! I'll have it in the mail to you soon. :)
I agree, sweet pea! What's odd is I remember hearing once that sales of potato chips are highest in the summer months. I can understand that because with bbq's and picnics and such, but that stuff is not appealing to me in the summer - well, I have much more of a sweet tooth anyhow, so yeah, anytime of the year works for me!
Funny, Melody!... well, you know, we all have to make our sacrifices and do our part to contribute - hee!
Melissa, I think these bars could have that effect they are so rich!!
Thanks Teresa... I think the name is weighing heavily in Leslie's favour after yours and everyone's comments!! :)
Urban Vegan, that's terrific - Merci!!
Thanks Danielle, I like that too!
Hi Harmonia, did you have a nice break? I checked in on some of your comments on the other posts - hope you are doing well!!
Oh, funlauren, you would love these if that's the case!! I love coconut with chocolate too - such a great pairing, and then nuts thrown in - what's not to like? Well, unless you don't like coconut!
Oh, sweetpotatopatti, I use to LOVE buster bars! You just brought back a memory - well, memorIES!! Many dairy desserts in my childhood, and we often went to Dairy Queen for sundaes and buster bars, and I think there was a dilly bar or something. Floats and peanut buster parfaits - ok, maybe THAT'S where this sweet tooth came from!! Thanks for the suggestion. :)
Thanks Grace - me too!!
Hi Kourtney, well thankfully we do have a toaster oven, but it's not big enough for a pie plate (already tried that)! But, I can reheat some small leftovers in there and garlic bread, etc, that type of thing. Otherwise I'd be a bit lost!!
Yes, krispycheks, the ganache is more than generous!! yummmmy! Well, I also discovered that my oven was broken right when I finished mixing up a batch of muffins to bake. Yup, had them ready to go and wondered why the oven hadn't preheated.... !!
Holy doodle!! Look at those babies! I bet that chocolate on the top would get all stuck on the back of your front teeth when you bite into it. Ooooo!!! I would so enjoy that. And no-bake is even better. How about Leslie's Choco-Nut Heaven?
Yum yum yum yum! Those look delectable! I hate turning on my oven during the summer...these are perfect to make with kids without sweating too much! :-)
I don't even think I'd have to be a recipe tester first (hint hint, and a hee hee). They look marvelous and I didn't even intend for everyone to agree with my name. I was half-way joking when I said that!
mmmm those look delicious.
Those look amazing! That layer of ganache is so thick and yummy. I really can't wait for your new book!
Carrie, they *are* gooey good!!! Leslie's gettin' these cookies for sure!! btw, I'm lovin' that someone else says "holy doodle"!! :)
Thanks Brooke! I've managed fine without the oven, but this last week has actually been cool enough that I wouldn't mind turning on the oven and baking up some goodies. I actually made a hot soup last night!!! That's how 'not-hot' it is right now!
Well, Leslie, it seems only too fitting, so joking or not, these cookies are gonna' be your namesake!! In some form or another with a name! Of course, you *will* have to test them out to be sure they are deserving! :)
Thanks sdgvegan and vegancore!!
Dreena, I had posted earlier about the green pumpkinseed and cranberry bars that I hoped you could veganize? They were in the May 2006 issue of Cooking Light. You can access the recipe online, of course. Do you subscribe? They don't have many vegan recipes, but they do have a good vegetarian section and MAN, do they know how to use herbs, spices and flavors to make a recipe rock!!
On a side note, these bars look great! I just made your p-nut butter bars and they were delish, except for the fact that the peanut butter layer got melty again. I think that I poured the chocolate layer on when it was too hot, it re-melted the pb, and then sealed it in so it couldn't get firm again. Oh- and I used Tropical Source chips - I think you mentioned that you liked those. Anyhoo, they are soooo real tasting! My husband (the omni who does try what I make) came looking for more!
I wish they could materialize on my keyboard direclty from the computer screen for how good these looks!
YES!!!
Those look sooooooooooo good.
Mrs. Carlson, stay tuned!!! I found the recipe, and it was the basic rice crispy treats recipe I believe with pumpkin seeds and cranberries added in. I had been thinking about a vegan version of rice crispy squares without the marshmallows, and your note definitely got the wheels turning!! Oh, glad you enjoyed the pb squares too, and hey, who cares if the choc melted into the pb layer some... as long as you liked them!
That's cute, t and Leslie... if only it were that easy, right?
Mary, they were pretty scrumptious, but I am a sucker for chocolate!! Thanks. :)
You should call them chocolate heaven bars, because they look absolutely heavenly. I have found that I like the grain sweetened vegan chips as much as the regular chocolate chips. This is one that I might have to play around with.
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