Fudging the Dates

Is it too early to start talking about homemade holiday gifts? Thanksgiving decorations still liter the seasonal aisles and many dining rooms lay in ruin awaiting the grand feast, just a day away, but let’s be honest. We’ve all been looking warily towards Christmas and Hanukkah for the past month or two. The “Christmas Creep” is a real threat, as retailers try foist merriment upon us earlier each year, making it impossible to forget that presents must be purchased, urgently, abundantly, more generously than ever before. Rather than having their intended effect of spurring sales, it has quite opposite impact on me. Recoiling from such forced jolliness, I rebel, scorning the very things I love most. The limited edition items that I love, that I wait for with baited breath to return after a year’s absence, the bright spots of the dark days of winter; I deny their existence until at least Black Friday has safely passed. However, there are some seasonal specialties too good to resist. Fully embracing that urge to indulge, Voortman Bakery Chocolate Mint Wafers have made the shortlist of annual delicacies that are worth stockpiling as soon as they hit store shelves.

Delicate, light, and crisp, you’ve likely seen these classic treats before. Voortman Bakery has been baking with the best of them since 1951, slowly expanding and diversify their offerings over decades of experience. What hasn’t changed is their focus on real ingredients and fresh flavors. Though many times those bright packages caught my eye, I never stopped to investigate, wrongly assuming that such a classic staple couldn’t possibly be vegan. Shockingly, happily, it turns out there are no animal products layered between those thin pastry sheets and sweet cream fillings!

Reliably found in grocery stores across the nation, the everyday flavors are delights themselves, but mint chocolate, as I might have mentioned before, is one of my favorite combinations. The simple pleasure of biting into one of these crisp biscuits is amplified when eaten chilled. At first I thought I’d prolong my stash by hiding them away in the back of my freezer, but I discovered with both dismay and delight, that made them even more irresistible.

Taking that inspiration one step further, I reached into the candy jar for some minty fresh candy canes, gleaming in a crisp coat of red and white stripes. Enrobed in a rich coat of chocolate fudge that melts in your mouth, fast and sweet like freshly fallen snow, those wafers stay as snappy as ever.

The whole treat comes together so quickly, even taking into account the time it takes to set, it feels like a bit of homemade holiday magic.

If you’re not such a big peppermint fan, that’s okay, we can still be friends. You can also find the illustrious gingerbread wafers for a limited time, which positively sing when smothered with chocolate and topped instead with very finely chopped crystallized ginger.

Can fudge still make the cut on a holiday cookie platter? With wafers at the ready, crunching throughout every festive bite, I think that these exceptional little squares get the green light; no one said you had to do all the baking!

Peppermint Crunch Fudge

1/4 Cup Vegan Butter
1/4 Cup Plain Non-Dairy Milk
2 Cups (12 Ounces) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
5 Ounces (1/2 Package) Chopped Voortman Bakery Chocolate Mint Wafers
1/2 Cup Roughly Crushed Candy Canes or Peppermint Starlight Hard Candies

Line an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil, lightly grease, and set aside.

Place the butter, non-dairy milk, and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on full power for 60 – 90 seconds, pausing at 30-second intervals to stir thoroughly, until the chocolate has completely melted. Once smooth, mix in the peppermint extract and salt. Use a wide spatula to gently fold the chopped wafer cookies into the chocolate mixture, being careful not to crush them.

Transfer to your prepared pan, smoothing it out into as even a layer as possible. Sprinkle the crushed peppermint candy over the top. Place the dish in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or in the freezer for 30 minutes, until fully set.

Use the parchment or aluminum as a sling to remove the fudge from the pan and slice into small squares with a very sharp knife. Enjoy chilled for the most refreshingly minty experience!

Makes About 1 Pound Fudge; 24 – 30 Servings

Printable Recipe

This post was made possible thanks to the support of Voortman Bakery and Towers Marketing Group. All content and opinions are unbiased and entirely my own.

November 21, 2018

Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments

Chocolate Conquers All

Time has a way of wearing down the rough edges, if not healing all wounds. No longer quite as embittered about all the artifice and commercial underpinnings of Valentine’s Day, even without a significant other for another year, it doesn’t rile me up in quite the same way any more. Gone is the angst-filled teenager adorning black t-shirts with glittery beads spelling out the words “LOVE BITES” or handing out anti-love letters to friends and frenemies alike. Truthfully, it’s not all so terrible as it once appeared. Having an annual reminder to appreciate the people in your life, romantically or not, certainly doesn’t hurt. Above all else though, it’s an excellent excuse to splurge on dessert once more, pulling out all the stops under the guise of treating someone else. It’s okay, we all know the baker wants to indulge their own tastes, too.

Chocolate is the taste du jour, so popular that no mere box of truffles could contain it. Brownies, thick, fudgy squares far more versatile than the classic little black dress, are easy to glam up for the occasion. Unintentionally adding a supposed aphrodisiac to the mix, a few dried black figs simply struck me as a perfect pairing to all cacao decadence, light and fruity with a bit of toothsome pull. Likewise, the inclusion of fresh mint seemed like the ideal way to brighten the whole treat, lest the density of these brownies overwhelm the palate.

No, it’s not a figment of your imagination, but they are indeed fig-mint brownies. Stranger things could happen- Just take my gradual acceptance of V-Day as proof.

Yield: Makes 16 - 24 Brownies

Fig-Mint Brownies

Name: Fig-Mint Brownies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour; 1 Teaspoon Salt; 1/4 Cup Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder; 1/4 Cup Lightly Packed Fresh Mint Leaves, Finely Minced; 1/2 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder; 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder; 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar; 1 1/4 Cups Dried Black Mission Figs, Chopped; 1/2 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips; 10 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, Finely Chopped; 2/3 Cup Olive Oil; 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed; 1 Cup Vegan Sour Cream or Greek-Style Yogurt; 1 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract; 1/4 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract

Brownies, thick, fudgy squares far more versatile than the classic little black dress, are easy to glam up for the occasion. Unintentionally adding a supposed aphrodisiac to the mix, a few dried black figs simply struck me as a perfect pairing to all cacao decadence, light and fruity with a bit of toothsome pull. Likewise, the inclusion of fresh mint seemed like the ideal way to brighten the whole treat, lest the density of these brownies overwhelm the palate.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cup Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
1/4 Cup Lightly Packed Fresh Mint Leaves, Finely Minced
1/2 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/4 Cups Dried Black Mission Figs, Chopped
1/2 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
10 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, Finely Chopped
2/3 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
1 Cup Vegan Sour Cream or Greek-Style Yogurt
1 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa. Toss in the minced fresh mint, instant coffee, baking powder, and granulated sugar, mixing together thoroughly. Add in the chopped figs and chocolate chips, and toss to coat in the dry mixture. This will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of your brownies during baking.
Place the chopped chocolate and oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl, and heat for about 60 seconds. Stir vigorously, and continue to heat at intervals of 30 seconds, stirring well each time, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Mix in the brown sugar, sour cream or yogurt, and vanilla and peppermint extracts.
Let the chocolate cool for a few minutes so that it doesn’t melt your chips, and then pour that wet mixture into the dry. Stir just enough to bring the batter together into a thick, fudgy mass, and transfer it into your prepared pan. Press it out into one even layer. Scatter the quartered sandwich cookies over the top, and press them gently.
Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, until the top no longer looks glossy and is somewhat crackled, and the edges are firm. Do not be alarmed if it still seems extremely wet. Let cool fully and completely. Blot any excess oils off with paper towel if necessary before slicing. Share with many someones that you love!

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 274Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 113mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 3gSugar: 21gProtein: 4g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

February 12, 2013December 10, 2021

Hannah (BitterSweet)39 Comments

Mint Condition

For the sake of argument, let’s just say that you have a garden still overflowing with fresh mint, and for some odd reason or another, you recently bought an entire case of green pea flour on whim. Crazy scenario, I know, but humor me for a moment here. Managing those two surpluses separately would be completely possible, but a wasted opportunity.

What combination has stood the test of time better or longer than mint and peas, after all?

Bright, sprightly peppermint seamlessly works its way not only into every viable crack in the soil, but also every dish in the kitchen, effortlessly jumping from sweet to savory and back again. That lively punch of flavor is just what an odd-ball ingredient like pea flour needs to shake off its shyness and triumphantly emerge from the pantry once more.

A prime breakfast, brunch, or side dish option, the fluffy yet sturdy crumb of these muffins will make you forget all about mum’s traditional mushy peas. Pops of subtle sweetness from whole green peas balance out this savory affair, while the pea flour keeps the flavor front and center through every bite. Lightly buttery and surprisingly rich, you’ll forget all about the abundant whole grains and vegetables sneaking in at the same time. Keep a stash of these satisfying little quick breads frozen, ready to defrost and serve in an instant, and you’ll never again struggle to finish your peas at dinner.

Yield: Makes 9 - 10 Muffins

Minted Pea Muffins

Pops of subtle sweetness from whole green peas balance out this savory affair, while the pea flour keeps the flavor front and center through every bite. Lightly buttery and surprisingly rich, you’ll forget all about the abundant whole grains and vegetables sneaking in at the same time.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 Cup Green Pea Flour
1 Cup White Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Packed Fresh Mint Leaves, Finely Minced
1 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
Pinch Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Frozen Green Peas, Thawed
1 Cup Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter or Coconut Oil, Melted
2 Teaspoons Light Agave Nectar
1 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a standard-sized muffin tin. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pea flour, white whole wheat flour, minced mint leaves, baking powder and soda, salt, and black pepper. Once all of the dry goods are thoroughly mixed, add in the thawed green peas and lightly toss them to coat. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins later on.
Separately, mix the non-dairy milk, oil, melted vegan butter or coconut oil, agave, and vinegar. Once combined, pour the wet into the bowl of dry ingredients, and use a wide spatula to incorporate. Stir just until a smooth batter forms, being careful not to over-mix. Divide the batter evenly between 9 – 10 muffin prepared cups, depending on how tall you want your muffins.
Bake for 16 – 20 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the centers pulls out cleanly. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Eat warm, cool, or freeze for future enjoyment.

Minty Fresh

Sparse vines reach weakly upward towards the sunlight filtering in between the thick blanket of leaves above, gently yellowing despite their youth. Choked out by the tall trees overhead that greedily suck down all the rich solar nutrition, our fragile, immature tomato plants never had a chance. Careful weeding and daily watering be damned- Not a drop of those efforts show. For reasons unknown, this will be our worst harvest ever, if you can even call it a “harvest.” It would be a joy to pull even a solitary ripe, red orb from those sagging knots of greenery, but I’m not so optimistic about even that kind of yield.

While I can only look on with envy as friends effortlessly produce vegetables of all colors and shapes from their own backyard gardens, I have but one tiny success to brag about: The mint. Known for being aggressively prolific, spreading like a weed and reseeding itself for years to come, ours finally broke the curse of our sad patch of dirt and actually followed suit. Sprouting and outgrowing the small patch originally allotted to them, the herbaceous leaves now cover nearly half of the paltry expanse, growing like a full, unruly mane of hair, much in need of a trim. And so, with no vegetables to temper my enthusiasm, trim I did.

After batches of mint chocolate sorbet, mint tea, and minted snow peas, the mint still kept coming with no end in sight. Fully confident that the supply would not run short, I went for the gusto and gathered as much as I could before the rain clouds above burst once again, snipping off every viable leaf to make up a fresh take on pesto. Before that quick spread could even finish whirling about the blades of the food processor, I already had a full recipe planned out to put it to work.

Borrowing from a Middle Eastern palate of flavors for inspiration, pomegranate proved to be a perfectly tangy match to this bright and herbaceous paste. Not only do the crunchy arils make an appearance to lend textural contrast, but the foundation of the salad itself, chewy pearls of Israeli couscous, are cooked in pure pomegranate juice as well. Cool, crisp cucumbers punctuate the mixture, lightening the whole dish considerably- And because, as we’ve established, I can’t go a single summer day without getting my cucumber fix.

Even if you don’t have ground cover of mint threatening to take over your entire yard, it’s well worth the effort to forage through the farmer’s market to make the pesto, if not the whole couscous salad. Consider tossing it into potato salad, spread it over crostini, or pack it into sandwiches. The recipe makes enough for leftovers, so you can easily spare enough explore all those delicious options, and then some.

Yield: Makes About 3/4 Cup Pesto; 6 – 8 Side Servings Couscous

Pomegranate Mint Couscous

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

Mint Pesto:

1/4 Cup Roasted, Unsalted Sunflower Seeds
1 – 2 Cloves Garlic
1 Teaspoon White Miso
Zest of 1/2 Lemon
2 Cups Loosely Packed Mint Leaves
1/2 Cup Loosely Packed Basil Leaves
1/4 Cup Flax or Hemp Seed Oil
Big Pinch Cayenne Pepper
Salt, to Taste

Pomegranate Couscous Salad:

2 Cups 100% Pomegranate Juice
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Dry Israeli Couscous
1/2 Cup Frozen or Fresh Green Garbanzo Beans, or Frozen Green Peas
1/3 Cup Mint Pesto (See Recipe Above)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, if Needed
1 Cup Diced Seedless Cucumber
1/2 Cup Pomegranate Arils
Pinch Ground Black Pepper

Instructions

In a food processor, pulse the sunflower seeds and garlic lightly to break them down a bit, and add in the miso and lemon zest to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and introduce the mint and basil. Pulse again to incorporate, and then with the machine running, stream in the oil. Puree until mostly smooth but still slightly coarse in texture, and season with cayenne and salt to taste. Use right away, or store in airtight container in the fridge. The mint pesto can be made ahead of time refrigerated for up to a week.
For the couscous, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the pomegranate juice and salt to a boil. Add in the couscous, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the green garbanzo beans or peas while the pasta is still hot, thawing or gently cooking the beans with the residual heat. Transfer to a large bowl, and thoroughly mix in the pesto. Add in the oil if needed to loosen up the pesto and more evenly distribute it throughout. Toss in the cucumber, arils, and season with pepper to taste. Stir well, and chill thoroughly before serving.

The Christmas Cookies That Weren’t

Despite best intentions, holiday gifts always end up as a rushed, last-minute affair. What with the endless waffling over precisely what to make and share, there ends up being little time to actually bake, wrap, and ship those treats off so that they arrive before the appointed holidays have passed. Well, for the first year in recent memory, those sweets never made it to the post office at all, let alone their destinations. To put it simply, it was an “epic fail” on my part.

Still borderline delirious after being taken out by a vicious head cold, perhaps it was not the best idea to leap into a project of such scale. But oh, what false confidence I had! I even did a test run of the recipe, to make sure it was tasty, reasonably mail-able, and all around a solid choice. Shaped as adorable little wreaths and brilliantly emerald green, they were so perfectly festive, too! Glittering with a light sprinkle of coarse sugar, I was certain that these sweet, minty little numbers would be the hit of the holidays. Of course, I tested them as a small batch… And I foolishly believed that this formula could effortlessly be increased, by four times, no less.

No dice. As soon as the mixer started to crank up into gear, I knew I was in deep sh– …dough. Flour and sugar spraying over the sides of my overburdened mixing bowl like a lawn sprinkler on a rampage, those ingredients had no desire to come together and make cookies. Feverishly working to remedy the situation and add more of the dry goods with no rhyme, reason, or measuring, things only got worse with every haphazard addition. The dough was unsalvageable; a depressing lump of lurid green goo that no one in their right mind would want to consume.

So, to all of my friends and loved ones, these are the cookies that you should have received this holiday season:

Can you accept an IOU, and the (successful, small batch) recipe, instead?

Yield: Makes 40 – 50 Cookies

Minted Matcha Wreaths

Shaped as adorable little wreaths and brilliantly emerald green, these spritz cookies glittering with a light sprinkle of coarse sugar for a perfectly festive finishing touch.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 37 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Vegan Butter
4 Ounces (1/2 Package) Vegan Cream Cheese
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 3/4 Teaspoon Matcha Powder
1 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
1 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Garbanzo Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Decorative White Sugar Crystals or Turbinado Sugar, as Needed for Decoration

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheet with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment installed, thoroughly cream together the vegan butter, cream cheese, sugar, and matcha, so that the mixture is homogeneous. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure that everything is incorporated. Add in both extracts, mix to combine, and set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together all of the remaining dry goods for the cookies so that the ingredients are well-distributed throughout the mixture. Slowly add them to the stand mixer, incorporating them in 2 or 3 separate additions. The resulting batter with be very thick, and it may seem like it’s not going to come together, but just be patient; Do not, under and circumstances, add any extra liquid!
Once you achieve a cohesive dough, place a few mounds of it into your spritz cookie gun, which should already have the design you desired installed (the wreath shape, if you want to keep with the intended theme here.) Squeeze out cookies as directed by the manufacturer of the gun, reload when you run out of dough, and repeat. Lightly sprinkle decorative sugar on top of the cookies.
Bake for 8 – 12 minutes, until no long “wet” looking on top and the cookies look solid, with just the vaguest hint of golden color around the edges. Be sure to pull them before they become too brown, or you’ll loose the effect of having pretty green wreaths.
Let the cookies cool on the sheets for at least 10 minutes, and then completely on a wire rack.