Cheesey Taco Dip

This is the perfect party food that will fool everyone. Even non vegans. I made some and took it to work to share and it was loved until it was all gone. 

Super easy to make too. Mostly just a lot of stirring and a little pouring. 

This is definitely one of those dishes that if you do not tell them it's vegan, they'll never know.

For the veggie crumble, I highly recommend Morning Star. I tried Beyond and it's not the same as it used to be. Of course you can use whatever you like. TVP would even work.

Here is what you will need. 
1 package of your favorite veggie crumble
2 - 3 tbsp taco seasoning (low sodium is best)
water, veg broth or oil for cooking the veg crumble
1 container of Kite Hill Plain Cream Cheese
1 package of Violife Cheddar Shreds
plain unsweetened plant milk
tortilla chips for dipping

In a large skillet, cook the veg crumble until nice and hot and thawed if still frozen. You can add a little water, veg broth or oil to keep from sticking.

Next add the taco seasoning and stir to combine. You might need a little water to combine the seasoning too. Remove from heat.

In a sauce pan and on low medium heat, melt together the cream cheese and cheddar shreds until nice and creamy. You will need to stir continuously. Here you can add some plain unsweetened milk to thin it out a little. I think I added about 1/2 a cup. 

When the cheeses are all melty, add the taco veg crumble. Stir to combine. 

You can keep it warm in a tiny crock pot which is what I did. 

Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy.

Vegan Peppermint Patties

There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who love peppermint and those who don't. I'm one of those who love it and I can't seem to get enough. Especially in peppermint season, which is December by the way. 

These are so fun and easy to make. I'm already thinking of other flavors I could use instead of peppermint. Cherry, strawberry, coconut!! 

I highly recommend using edible peppermint oil (not essential oil) but if you can't find that, peppermint extract will work too. I used 1/4 tsp of this oil but you might want to start with 1/8 tsp. I thought it was perfect but Stevie said it's to strong. 

Let's get to it shall we. You will need the following:

2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 1/2 tbsp room temp butter

2 tbsp Ripple half-n-half

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp peppermint edible oil or extract

12 ounces of semi sweet chocolate

extra powdered sugar for rolling the patties

Put everything into a large bowl or the bowl of your stand alone mixer. Turn on low until everything is incorporated the turn it up high medium and let it go for about 5 to 10 minutes. You should be able to easily roll into a ball.

I rolled mine into about a teaspoon full. You might need some of the extra powdered sugar to keep from sticking. Once you've rolled the little ball, gently flatten into a pattie. Place onto a parchment lined cookie tray.

When finished, place in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. 

While you are waiting for the patties in the freezer, melt your chocolate over a double broiler or in the microwave at half power at 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. Once the chocolate looks mostly melted, keep stirring and eventually, all the chocolate will melt. 

Once the patties are partially frozen, gently coat them in some of the chocolate and place them back on the cookie tray and let set. Do not let them sit in the chocolate to long or the patties will quickly melt.

Best straight from the fridge. Then enjoy!!

Vegan Cake Mix Cookies //#vegancakemixcookies #vegancookies

The most delicious and easiest ever cookies to make and only three ingredients needed.



1 box of Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

4 sticks of vegan butter (2 room temp, 2 melted)



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together cake mix and flour.



Mix in room temp butter then mix in the melted butter.



Scoop cookies onto a baking tray and bake until edges are just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes before removing from the tray. Enjoy!!!

Vegan Neiman Marcus Cookies

Have you ever heard of the famous Neiman Marcus cookie. There is a crazy story behind these cookies which is how it was shared across the globe. Well, there are many different versions of this crazy story and here is the version I know.

A mother and daughter were shopping at Neiman Marcus and decided to have lunch there. The mother had one of their cookies and fell in love with it. Asked if she could have the recipe and the waiter said sure, it'll be two fifty. She said OK and went on here way. The next month when she received her credit card statement there was a charge of $250 from Neiman Marcus. She tried to get her money refunded but they said no. So she shared the recipe with the world.

I have been wanting to make these for a really long time. One of the ingredients that has been holding me up is the the milk chocolate. You see, the recipe calls for two kinds of chocolate. One milk and the other semi sweet. Semi sweet is easy to find but milk chocolate has been a little difficult until now. There is a little candy bar by No Whey called Milkless. The packaging kind of looks like a Hershey bar. I ordered some with low hopes despite it having good reviews. We tried it today and Stevie and I were both surprised at how good it is.

So I got right to making those Neiman Marcus cookies and man are they good. The Milkless bars melt perfectly in this cookie and they taste just like I remember.

Let's get to the details about this cookie. There is a lot of prep work making these cookies but if you love baking cookies, you will not mind one bit.

First, you will need to blend some oatmeal to measure 2 1/2 cups. Set aside.

Next you will need to chop your milk chocolate. The recipe calls for 9 ounces but I had about 5 1/2 so I just went with it. Put that in a bowl and set aside.

You can use any nut you like but I've always used walnut for these cookies. If they are not chopped already, you will need to do that too and set aside.

Prepare your Bobs Red Mill egg replacer.

Finally the ingredients!! You will need the following:
1 cup vegan butter at room temp
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
2 Bobs Red Mill Egg replacer eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups blended oatmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips
9 ounces of vegan milk chocolate
1 1/2 cups of walnuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk to combine and set aside.

In an extra large bowl, mix the butter and sugars until nice and combined.

Add the vanilla and Bobs Red Mill egg replacer and combine some more. Add the oatmeal and combine then add the flour mix and combine.

Add both chocolates and the walnuts and combine again. At this stage you might need your hand because the dough will be really thick.

Once all of that is done, scoop tablespoonful scoops onto a parchment lined baking tray and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the tray for a few minutes before removing.

This batch made seven dozen using the Pampered Chef cookie scoop. And I cut the original recipe in half. That is a lot of cookies. 

That's it. Enjoy.