Dining In - Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cupcakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cupcake

I made this decadent cupcake recipe for a friend at work who loves pretzels. The pretzel buns served in the bread basket are her favorite part of our office lunch! There aren't a whole lot of dessert recipes that incorporate pretzels, even though popular dessert snacks are chocolate-covered pretzels and peanut butter filled pretzels (I love both! It's that combination of salty and sweet that always gets me). I originally found the recipe through a search on Pinterest and discovered this link. 

Pretzel Crust Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting

In the future, I would swap out the cupcake recipe for one of my tried and true Chloe Coscarelli cupcake recipes to get a moister cake and better flavor, but I may have simply over-baked these. I'm still wondering how to prepare them so the bottom pretzel crust layer is crunchy, because unfortunately after being buried in wet batter it ended up a little soggy. The peanut butter frosting was yummy, but didn't whip up like a buttercream as I expected so I spread it on with a frosting knife instead of using a pastry bag and piping it. Regardless of the minor issues, they looked pretty incredible, and tasted rich and peanut buttery!

Pretzel Crust
1 1/4 cups pretzels, crushed
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine, melted

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2/3 cup strong cold coffee
1/3 cup almond milk

Peanut Butter Frosting
1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 18 oz. jar of creamy peanut butter (not natural variety, unfortunately) - I used closer to 3/4 of a jar!
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Garnish
Mini or large thin pretzels
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate chips (dairy-free)

To Prepare Chocolate Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two cupcake pans with about 15 cupcake liners.

Start by crushing the pretzels in a bowl and stir together with melted margarine. Scoop out about a tablespoon of pretzels and press into each cupcake liner (my pieces may have been too large for this step).

In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda salt. In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients: vanilla extract, vinegar, oil, coffee and almond milk. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until well combined, but don't over mix. Pour cupcake batter into each liner until about 2/3 or 3/4 full. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out without batter on it. Remove from pan and allow to cool before frosting.


To Prepare Peanut Butter Frosting:

In a medium bowl use a mixer and cream together butter and peanut butter. Slowly add in powdered sugar and blend together. Add in vanilla extract and blend well until smooth and creamy. 

Use a pastry bag and tip to pipe or use a frosting knife to cover each cupcake. 


To Prepare Chocolate Covered Pretzel Garnish:

In microwave or using a double boiler melt the chocolate chips. Carefully coat half of each individual pretzel and lay flat on a parchment paper on a baking sheet. Put in freezer for at least 15 minutes to cool and harden. 

Place pretzel on each cupcake for a pretty garnish. Use any leftover melted chocolate to drizzle over the cupcakes with a spoon or fork.

Dining In - Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cheesecake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cheesecake - Happy. Healthy. Life. Blog

Because one cake is just never enough for your birthday, I decided for my boyfriend's birthday this month I would make not only a decadent vegan German Chocolate Cake, but also this delicious peanut buttery pie. The recipe comes from a popular vegan blogger turned cookbook author Kathy Patalsky of Happy. Healthy. Life. (link to original recipe here). I was excited about it because I hadn't yet tried my hand at a vegan cheesecake recipe and because my boyfriend and I are big fans of peanut butter! The cheesecake itself was rich, creamy, and melt in your mouth delicious. I loved my addition of chocolate to this, too. I brought the leftovers into my office the next day and it was gone in minutes. I didn't hide the fact that it was vegan, but that didn't stop anyone from diving in and the comments included "amazing...unbelievable...OMG." 

 

It was easy to make - no oven or baking required, but I did face some issues with the crust. Well, it didn't really turn out to be a crust at all, just crushed cereal powder on the bottom of the pie pan that I had to scoop up with each slice. That leaves room for improvement for next time, and I'm thinking a chocolate cookie crust instead - yum! Be prepared to use a lot of coconut oil for this one.


Crust
3/4 cup crushed peanut butter cereal (I used Barbara's Puffins brand) 
1 teaspoon coconut oil (I used the Trader Joe's brand)


Cheesecake
2 - 16 oz. containers of vegan cream cheese (I used the Trader Joe's brand)
7 oz. (or slightly less than 1 cup) coconut oil

Vegan Cream Cheese - Trader Joe's

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used salted)

3/4 cup maple or agave syrup

Peanut Butter Swirl

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon maple or agave syrup

Chocolate Swirl

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

1 teaspoon coconut oil


To Prepare the Crust:

This is the part that didn't work out for me; the original instructions said to grease the pan with the coconut oil generously and then press the crushed cereal into it to create a crust. 

My issue might have been using coconut oil that was too melted and didn't do the job of solidifying a crust. For a second attempt, I would trade this out for a chocolate flavored version, like the crust in this recipe. 

To Prepare the Cheesecake:

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, add cream cheese, coconut oil and peanut butter. Heat until the ingredients are melted and at about room temperature. 

Transfer to a blender and add in syrup. Blend together until smooth. 

Pour into pie pan with prepared crust.

To Prepare the Swirl:

For both decorative purposes and added flavor, mix up a couple swirls. I had to include chocolate in mine so I added this is in myself. It might have overpowered the design, but the taste mattered more. 

Peanut Butter Swirl

Melt the ingredients for both flavors, separately, in the microwave. Stir both, again separately. Pour on the pie in a swirl motion and then use a knife or end of a kitchen utensil to blend in. I over-blended as you can tell, but the abstract marbled look still works!

To finish it up, cool and harden in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. 

Dining In - Chocolate-Covered Crunchy Speculoos Cookie Butter Balls

Crunchy Speculoos Cookie Butter - VegNews

It took me far too long to try cookie butter. I avoided it only because I knew I would fall in love. It is a traditional Dutch and Belgian spiced thin cookie or biscuit that has been turned into a paste known as cookie butter. It is usually available during the holidays at my local Trader Joe's since it has a gingerbread-like flavor. There are no nuts, although the consistency is very similar to peanut butter, and yes it's naturally vegan. Trader Joe's also sells a crunchy version that could work very well in this recipe and now one with mocha mixed in, neither of which I've tried yet. Biscoff is another well known Belgian brand and they also make the original cookies. 

Personally I loved the flavor and subtle sweetness. I could easily eat spoonfuls of this stuff and that's dangerous given the nutrition facts (see photo). I enjoyed it even more when combined with chocolate. Though the original recipe called for dark chocolate I opted for dairy-free milk variety and coated them just as I do the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls.

I first spotted this recipe on the VegNews website as the second place winner in a holiday cookie recipe contest. I was intrigued, but it took me a year to make it. This became a holiday gift for relatives. I made a batch and put them in decorated tins with tissue paper. Luckily I had a few opportunities to steal some and it earned a big thumbs up! Here is the recipe. I also found it on this blog with beautiful photography.

1 11 oz. jar of creamy cookie butter (speculoos) - Found at Trader Joe's
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups rice crisp cereal
12 oz. dairy-free chocolate, melted - You can use more if necessary to give an extra coat


Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Empty jar of cookie butter into a large bowl and add Earth Balance (or other vegan-friendly margarine). Stir together to combine. 

Add in rice crisp cereal. Use your hands to combine cereal with mixture. It may get sticky so try a light coating of water or oil on your hands and mold the dough into small balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Place on cookie sheet. Freeze for about 20 minutes.

A minute or two before you take them out of the freezer melt your chocolate, either in the microwave in 30-second intervals or using a double boiler. 

With two spoons, dip and roll each ball in the chocolate to evenly coat it. Place back on the pan and repeat until you've gone through the whole batch. 

Freeze again for another 20 minutes. Keep stored in freezer or refrigerator until serving. 

Simple as that! Just don't get addicted :)

Dining In - Marinated Kale Salad

Marinated Kale Salad - The Chalkboard Mag

Here was yet another fabulous find on Pinterest. This was a simple and delicious salad. Anytime I can prepare raw kale and make it taste this good it's a win! It reminded me of the Green Goddess dish from Life Alive, but without the creamy dressing. It is wholesome, flavorful, filling, and gluten-free. It got the stamp of approval from the non-vegan boyfriend, as well! This would work well as a lunch or served as a side dish for dinner. You can find the full recipe online at The Chalkboard Mag

I'll be making this again!



1 bunch kale, torn or chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 avocado, sliced
2 lemons, juiced
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt (I recommend reducing this slightly)
2 cups brown rice, cooked (I use Trader Joe's frozen variety)
1/2 cup almonds, toasted, chopped or sliced


Put all ingredients into a large bowl, except for the almonds. Toss together until evenly distributed. When serving, top with the toasted almonds. 

That's it! How easy was that?