Posts in dessert
hazelnut truffles rolled in goji berries // raw + vegan + gf

If we're anything alike, you probably pretend that you don't care all that much about Valentine's Day, but deep down you love it and you're secretly hoping for a surprise delivery of big, beautiful bouquet of flowers. 

When I was single, sometimes I would hope that some really hot guy like ..... say ..... Bradley Cooper would send an enormous lovely bouquet of flowers to my work. You know, because stuff like that happens on Valentine's Day all the time. 

Now that I am happily married, I still pretend like I don't care all that much, and I still secretly hope that Michael will surprise me with flowers, or a food-related thing. And he does. He always does well. 

{and ... sorry Brad, you can hold the flowers, Michael beat you to the chase.}

 

I love Valentine's Day. It's a holiday about love. It's another reason to show the person/people in your life that you love them. It does not have to be a romantic type of love, it can be a friendship love, a parental love, an animal love. Celebrating love is a wonderful thing. 

I think one of the best ways to show someone you love them it to make something for them. And when that something is raw, vegan and loaded with super healthy vitamins and antioxidants, well then you are spreading extra special love all around. 

Nothing says "I love you" like homemade chocolate truffle rolled in a powerful aphrodisiac. Yes you heard me correctly. Goji berries are known in Asian herbalism not only for their high antioxidant content, but also for their aphrodisiac qualities.

Every single ingredient in this truffle is a super ingredient with superpowers. Cacao, cinnamon, coconut oil, and hazelnuts are all great for us, especially when consumed raw. 

I cannot think of a better gift than a homemade truffle that is as chocolatey and tasty as it is good for you. 

Happy Valentine's Day! XO

 

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dessert, gluten-free, raw, veganJodi Morenocacao, dates, goji berries, hazelnut Comments
blood orange + olive oil bundtlette cakes // gf + vegan

I live one block away from the kitchen supply store, Sur La Table. This can pose some problems ... for my wallet. 

I am often tempted to go in there. I can always justify buying kitchen gadgets that are totally unnecessary. I'm really good at justifying buying things that I do not need. 

I really need this cute heart-shaped pot holder. 

I really need another pink blazer. 

I really need this dog-shaped cookie cutter. 

I really need these polka dot socks. 

look ... they're on sale!

I really need a bundt pan. 

No, I really really need a bundtlette pan.

I ended up with a bundtlette pan on totally legit terms. Yes, a bundtlette pan. You know, because every kitchen needs a mini-bundt pan. 

I had bundt cakes on my mind for about two weeks, I really needed to make some. I had also been daydreaming about olive oil cake ever since I had a giant slice at a friend's birthday party. 

See ... totally justified. 

I went into Sur La Table with full intentions of getting a regular ole bundt pan, but then this little guy jumped out at me. 

I love miniature versions of things, don't you?

Olive oil cake might be the best type of cake on the planet. Super moist, really flavorful, and it gets there without the use of butter or milk. I wanted to come up with a gluten-free and vegan version because I figured that the olive oil really takes care of a lot of the things that the butter and eggs would do, and switching out all-purpose flour for some brown rice and almond flour might actually add to the flavor. 

These little cakes are so good, you could make them for anyone. Gluten-free, vegan, anti-vegan, dessert loving, non-dessert loving, I think there is a very good chance they will all fall in love. 

Blood oranges are my favorite fruit from citrus season. They are such a beautiful color, but their real treat is their taste. They are just slightly sweeter and little less tart than a regular orange. When I come across them I buy them by the dozen. Soo good.  

If you cannot find blood oranges, you can substitute regular oranges or any other kind of citrus. Meyers lemons would be great too. 

And, if you do not have a bundtlette pan, you do not have to go out and buy one. You can make this in a regular 9" cake pan. But of course if you want to seek one out, I give you permission - it is totally justified.

 

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dessert, gluten-free, veganJodi Morenoblood orange, olive oil Comments
pine nut + peppercorn shortbread // vegan + gluten-free

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this ..... but ... here it goes .... 

I do not have a single cookie recipe on this blog. Well, until now.

It is not that I do not love cookies, trust me, I do. Having a mid-day cookie is my secret indulgence. I usually pick up a freshly baked one when I am grocery shopping and nibble on it while waiting to check out. Sometimes the checkout person asks me about the half eaten cookie "do you know there is only half a cookie in there?", sometimes they giggle at my response, and sometimes they give me a look like "you couldn't even wait until you checked out to start eating that cookie". 

Michael knows all about my secret mid-day cookie indulgence. I think he finds it funny.  

So for my very first cookie recipe here, I thought it was appropriate to give you a recipe for my favorite cookie of all time.

Shortbread.

Hopefully you know me well enough by now to know that this cookie will not be your average shortbread. These little guys are both vegan and gluten-free. You're probably wondering how shortbread could possibly be vegan, well, I have a trick up my sleeve.

Earth Balance. I use Earth Balance butter in place of real butter. I am not saying that this is a much healthier alternative to using real butter, but for someone like me who cannot have dairy (especially butter) this makes for a great alternative. If you tasted Earth Balance and regular butter side by side, you would never be able to tell the difference. 

As for the gluten-free part of this recipe, since I am fairly new to gluten-free baking I had to consult my favorite gluten-free chef, blogger, and cookbook author, Aran Goyoaga. You might remember I did a workshop with Aran back in September. Her gorgeous cookbook came out shortly after that, and it has since become a staple and reference guide for gluten-free cooking and baking in my kitchen. 

I have had her recipe for shortbread earmarked for some time, and since cookie season is in full swing, I have been playing with some variations of this recipe. She made hers with pistachios (which are wonderful) but I chose to share the pine nut version that I tried the other day. I just love pine nuts in cookies. I also took her advise and added the peppercorns. They add a subtle little peppery kick. The peppercorns dress it up and make it a much more adult cookie. A really really good adult cookie.

I'm snacking on one right now ;)

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dessert, gluten-free, veganJodi Morenopeppercorns, pine nuts, vanilla bean Comments
quince crisp

As soon as the temperature starts to drop, it's only natural that you and I start to crave certain things. More soups, more roasted vegetables, more blankets, more nights in watching movies, more baked fruits, more fireplaces, more crisp. 

It's no secret, I love a good crisp. 

Crisp is the prefect dessert for a crisp fall day. Maybe that is where is got it's name?  No?  Okay ... I know ... it's from the crispy top that pairs so nicely with the soft fragrant fruits hiding underneath. 

I'm fairly new to cooking with quince. If you are unfamiliar with this fruit, it is best described as a cross between a pear and an apple, therefore (in my opinion) making it ideal to bake with.

Pears and apples are two of my favorite fall fruits, and now quince will obviously be making it's way to that list as well.

The thing to note about quince is that is has particularly tough flesh which means it is not so good to eat raw, and it needs to bake on it's own for some extra time before being incorporated into a crisp, or pie, or any baked dessert for that matter. 

The upside to having to bake the quince longer? You will have that delicious smell of quince baking in your home for for that much longer, creating the perfect ambiance for a fall day. 

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dessert, fall, gluten-free, veganJodi Morenooats, quince Comments
raw fudge brownies with a vanilla raspberry puree

let's talk truths. 

truth: I love NY

truth: sometimes I try and tell myself that the green smoothie I had for breakfast will negate the french fries I had at lunch 

truth: I'm uncomfortable with the question: "what's your favorite recipe?" because I do not have a favorite recipe 

truth: I love my husband more and more every day (yes, I am one of those people)

truth: I just ate an entire container of hummus and mary's gone crackers and I was not even hungry

truth: I hug my dog on average 7 times a day 

truth: I make raw brownies all the time, however, when coming up with this new raw brownie recipe it took me 4 tries to get it all just right

truth: these raw fudge brownies are gooey, chocolaty, and addictingly delicious

truth: raw cacao (like the kind you use to make these brownies) has the highest amount of antioxidants per serving of any "superfood"

truth: raspberries and chocolate are totally meant for each other

truth: these brownies and the vanilla raspberry sauce are made without butter, eggs, sugar, and guilt 

truth: these brownies will definitely cure chocolate cravings and impress friends 

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dessert, gluten-free, raw, veganJodi Morenoavocado, cacao, dates, raspberries, walnuts Comments
strawberry peach cobbler

Ahhhh Summer.  I never want it to end.  

I love spending mornings at the beach, and afternoons in the pool.  

I love going to the farmers market and picking out uber ripe tomatoes, and super sweet corn.

I love eating lobster and drinking rosé.

I love wearing flip flops and bathing suits.

I love having cocktails at sunset and eating dinner outside. 

I love summer foods. Summer fruits, summer vegetables, and summer recipes. 

There are some recipes that are strictly for summer. And some that are just better in the summer. Fresh fruit crumble is just better in the summer. Simply because the fruit and berries ... are .... fresh. 

On a trip to the farm stand the other morning, I was so happy to find my first bunch of squishy ripe peaches, which just happened to be sitting right next to a pint of bright red, beautiful, ripe strawberries. Heaven in a little green bio-degradable container. 

ripe peaches + ripe strawberries = delicous summertime dessert

And we all know what happenes next .....  

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dessert, veganJodi Morenooats, peach, strawberry Comments