Amazon Bars

Holey Moley! This is a treat I grew up with: rich with condensed milk, gooey chocolate, crumbly graham cracker crust... This was the BEST treat ever. And guess what...it's now vegan friendly. :-)

Amazon Bars
Ingredients
1 14 oz can coconut milk
2/3 cup brown sugar (or 2/3 cup white sugar and enough molasses to turn mixture brown)
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or chocolate wafer crumbs)
2 TBS sugar
1 stick margarine (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans or nut of your choice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13x9x2 baking dish with parchment paper or foil.
2. Put coconut milk and brown sugar into a small pot. Bring mixture to a boil and mix until all sugar is melted. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Melt margarine. Mix with graham cracker crumbs and sugar so that everything is moist.
4. Press graham cracker crumbs into the baking dish. The more you press, the firmer the crust, the easier it will be to cut the bars!
5. Pour the coconut mixture over the crust.
6. Evenly distribute chocolate chips, coconut, and nuts (in that order).
7. Bake for 28-30 minutes.
8. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Put in fridge and let it cool for 4 hours.
9. Cut into desired size bars. Put back in fridge.
10. EAT! You deserve a piece after waiting so long!
3.

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

True Story: These were inspired by the Key Lime Pie I didn't order for dessert the other day...

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

Ingredients
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBS lightly packed lime zest
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup shredded coconut

Direction

1. Preheat overn to 350. Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the oil and sugar. Add the coconut milk, soy milk, vanilla, and lime zest. Mix to combine.
3. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until smooth. Add the coconut and mix.
4. Bake for 23-25 minutes.
5. Cool completely before icing.

Icing

1. Beat 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening and 1/2 cup (1 stick) of nonhydrogenated margarine until fluffy.
2. Add 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar and beat for 3 more minutes.
3. Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1/4 cup fresh lime juice. Beat for another 5-7 minutes.
4. Top the cupcakes with icing and shredded coconut.

And it's done. Amazing. And a crowd pleaser. Seriously, everyone was raving, so make these today!


Some notes...my icing was a little watery because I had a very juicy lime. So that meant that the icing didn't "stack" on itself like the icings you see on store cupcakes. The shredded coconut in the cupcakes add for some unexpected goodness.

not-so-new recipe

So on cold days like this (yes, it reached 35 in Houston!), I love nothing more than to snuggle up with a big mug of hot chocolate!

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Ingredients
1 cup soy milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
Cocoa Powder
Sugar
Vanilla Extract
Peppermint Extract
Tiny pinch of salt

Directions
1. Pour cup of milk into microwave safe liquid measuring cup (or bowl, if you want to be ghetto lol)
2. Microwave milk for 1 minute 30 seconds.
3. While milk is heating up, take a regular spoon and put in 2 equal spoonfulls of sugar and 2 equal spoonfuls of cocoa powder into a large mug. Put tiny pinch of salt into the cup.
4. When milk is heated, slowly pour into sugar mixture. Mix thoroughly with a fork.
5. After everything is mixed, pour in a dash of vanilla extract and a pinch of peppermint extract.

Yummmmmmm. So good on a cold day. Snuggle up and enjoy with a good TV show.