Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Perfect for a fall brunch!

I usually hate fall and winter but every once and a while you will get a sunny, warm day that feels just like summer with the added bonus of beautiful fall foliage that makes me semi-somewhat-kinda like fall. Those days just call for a fall treat.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins:
I adapted this recipe from Isa Chandra-Moskowitz's recipe HERE.

The changes I made included:

• Instead of a loaf pan I used a muffin tin (the kind that makes MEGA size muffins- it made 6)
  
• Instead of: 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves = I just added pumpkin pie spice to the same ratio.
• I added a 1/4 cup more sugar because I like my chocolate SWEET!
• I added a few more chocolate chips because you can never have too many of those!
• I used vegetable oil- not canola or coconut.
  
• The muffins take about 20 minutes- a lot less time than the loaf recipe, so watch the clock!

These muffins are SO MOIST. They literally melt in your mouth. And the semi-melted, gooey chocolate chips are amazing. Don't expect a chocolatey-cupcake type flavor though, the chocolate is much more subdued so you can taste the pumpkin.

The Black and White Cookie

Thank God I gave some of these away or I may have not been able to button my pants on Monday.

Almost every other weekend I make homemade cookies to snack on during the week. This weekend, I was missing my sister in New York so I decided to make Isa Chandra Moskowicz's vegan black and white cookie. This was completely her recipe, so I can't claim it as my own- you will just have to drool over the picture or buy her cookbook: "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar."

For as fancy as they look though, I will tell you- they are easy to make!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Drops

Peanut Butter Chocolate Drops

About once a month I get an extreme sweet tooth that forces me to bake something over-indulgent that I always regret eating. These "cookies" hit that sweet spot, especially since I am always looking for a vegan peanut-butter chocolate something to replace my past life love affair with Reeses.

The best part was too, that on a hot summer day, these are no bake!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE DROPS (Serving: 25 pieces)
I am not going to list the recipe because I copied Chef Priyanka's recipe almost exactly. So go here, make these, and thank me/her later. (Hers came out prettier than mine (it is hard to get the nuts ground up really fine) but regarless of what they look like they still taste AMAZING).

NOTE: When rolling the 'dough' I was really tempted to make giant balls because they look so delicious- who wants such a small serving, right? BUT... these are VERY rich so the small balls are definitely the size you want.

Substitutions/changes I made:

• I could not find Hazelnuts in my grocery store, so I substituted Filberts.
• I used regular (not all natural) peanut butter because I am cheap.
• In the "Nutella" mixture, I added more soy milk and powdered sugar and oil. I made enough of the chocolate to make about 3 more batches of these suckers.