my favorite brownies, gone vegan


This past Sunday, while making a batch of my favorite pumpkin chocolate-chip brownies for a friend's birthday, I was reminded that I never shared last month's experience of trying a vegan version of this beloved treat.

Why a vegan version? Well, my staff had been giving me a hard time about this concept of combining pumpkin and chocolate into one dish, not convinced that the flavors worked together. So when I had to create a menu for a "thank you" meal last month, I knew I wanted to let them - all of them, including my vegan - try this flavor combo out.


Ahhh. I know I've said this before, but I must say it again. This blend of spices is so divinely delicious!


The more I've used this vegan butter substitute, the more impressed I've been. Whether I'm cooking or baking with it, I've yet to notice any concerns or problems.


This time, I managed to buy ground flax (instead of the unground flax seeds that I mistakenly purchased the last time I wanted to use flax eggs), too, so I could make sure this was a vegan dessert.


I had no clue if this was how a flax egg was supposed to look. Honestly, I was kind of expecting that it would be more...gloppy (you know, like an egg??), but I went ahead with it.


There's an entire can of pumpkin, just waiting to be mixed into the batter. Mmm, mmm, mmm.


Another special ingredient for these vegan brownies? Vegan chocolate chips. I was thankful to know these existed, and doubly thankful that the grocery store had them.


It's alway so "disappointing" when the spatula doesn't get every single smear of batter out of the bowl. That means I have to clean the bowl with my fingers so that no batter goes to waste. What?? You're not convinced of the difficulty in that??


They turned out beautifully - looking (and tasting) just like the originals. It's results like this that make me want to do more vegan cooking and baking - at least, where I can fit it into the budget. (Seriously - those chocolate chips cost almost twice as much as regular ones - not the wi$est option.)


Arranged in a pie dish, they made a perfect dessert for the "thank you" meal I prepared...and for the record, my staff admitted they were wrong - that chocolate and pumpkin actually do go together.

Where I am: home
What I'm reading: the April issue of InStyle magazine

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