.dairy-free chocolatey indulgence.

A few years ago I had the privilege of working for a great couple at their doctor's office. They were always bringing in divine, yet slimmed down, goodies for the staff.

These brownies were office favorites and it's obvious why. These guys are silky, dense and moist. They taste like chocolate pudding, in bar form. They are also oil, butter, egg and dairy-free. Perfect for me right now, as I'm dairy-free for la bebe and trying to work on my fitness. Everyone needs a little chocolate fix here and there though and these do the trick.

I switched them up a little bit, as you are also completely welcome to do. Her original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of sugar but I drop it down to 1/2 cup. I also added the ground flax seed and throw some slivered almonds on top. In the past she brought in some that she put nuts into and some that she put chocolate chips into. You really can't go wrong with the add-ins.

Marsha's Brownies makes 16
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup ground flax seed
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
10.5 ounces silken tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine the silken tofu and vanilla extract in a blender.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, mix thoroughly, bake for 20-25 minutes.

It is really that easy so have a somewhat healthy, delicious, chocolate treat for the end of the night!

XO

.oh my.

I wasn't planning on writing about my adventure tonight. This is why I didn't take any "before" pictures. As soon as it came out of the oven though I thought oh yes, that needs to be written about, and then quickly eaten, so I only have 1 incredibly mediocre picture for you. And it's blurry.

 

That, my friends, is a strawberry crostata. Or, at least, my version of it. Rather than cooking it straight on a baking sheet I cooked it in a small spring form pan because the crust was giving me massive troubles. 

I, again, used inspiration from Christina over at Dessert for Two. I used her strawberry crostata recipe, which can be found on her site here. As I already said, I used a spring form pan, which differed from her recipe. I also used white whole wheat flour (which is amazing!) and half fresh strawberries and half frozen. This was one of the the best recipes I've tried in awhile. Upon our first bites all I managed was "oh my God," and the Man said "So, you're going to do this one again right?" It was that good. I added some fresh whipped cream on top and it was heaven. 

Cook on!