The Fudgiest Brownies You've Ever Tasted... with Avocado??

"Brownies with an avocado in them? Are they going to be green?", I asked myself. This post from SouthernInLaw makes them sound delicious but c'mon, lets be honest, it also sounds slightly disgusting. No one dips a Hershey's bar into guacamole for a reason. However, just because it sounds odd, doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. I gave this one a shot and if you're a chocoholic, you're in for helluva treat. If you don't have that much of a sweet tooth, this might not be the recipe for you. But it's gluten free, low fat, low in sugar, and grain free so for all of those with specific dietary needs, this might be a good dessert option!

To make these you'll need:

1 ripe avocado
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon of water
3.5 oz of dark chocolate (bar or chocolate chips, up to you!)
1 cup + 1 Tablespoon of cocoa powder
1/4-1/2 cup of sugar (I used 1/2 cup and should have used more, however if you want this to not be as sweet, then go for 1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt


Not sure if you picked a ripe avocado? Take off the tip - if it's green underneath, it's ripe. If it's brown, it's not. Also, give a squeeze. If it gives a little but doesn't leave an impression on the avocado, that's another sign it's ready to be cut open!

Start by preheating your oven to 355 and either in a food processor or mixer, combine your avocado, eggs, vanilla, and water until all lumps are gone.

In a separate bowl, melt your dark chocolate in the microwave (mine took about 1 minute), add to your avocado puree and mix until just combined.. I think next time I make this I'm going to try with milk or semi-sweet chocolate, as it was more bitter than sweet.

Next, add in your cocoa (I think the recipe is asking for a lot but that's just me), sugar (again, up to you on how sweet you want to make these), baking soda, and salt. Be careful adding the cocoa powder, as it can make quite a mess if it's all dumped in at once!

If you think it's too thick, add another Tablespoon of water. I didn't and yeah, these puppies were definitely thick!

Pour the mixture into a greased up 8"x8" pan and smooth the mixture out before baking for 20-25 minutes. Be sure to do the toothpick test (stick a toothpick in and if it comes out clean, it's all done!)

Let it cool in the pan before removing and let it chill in the fridge before serving. I've got to say, these are the fudgiest brownies I've ever had! Not cakey, very dense. You can't taste the avocado at all (and they're certainly not green) but my gosh are they chocolatey. Not for the faint of heart, these brownies are most certainly thicker than your average brownie but in small amounts, definitely fulfill your sweet tooth cravings!

And as my mother would say, "Have a glass of milk with that!"

TOTAL COSTS: About $18 (if you don't have any ingredients - prices from Vons)
$1.99 for an avocado
$2.79 for eggs
$3.49 for bag of dark chocolate chips
$3.99 for cocoa powder
$2.69 for sugar
$1.59 for baking soda
$.99 for salt
Homemade vanilla extract from scratch

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 50 minutes + overnight
30 minutes to prep
20 minutes to bake
Cool and chill overnight

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
The hardest thing is picking an avocado that's ripe enough! Other than that, it's just a matter of throwing things in a bowl and then into a pan. Simple enough for even the non-baker in your family to accomplish.

Mini Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

I'm from Kalamazoo, MI (odd name, I know) but they're home to some of the best donuts (doughnuts?) in the country - Sweetwater's Donuts. I have found no real comparison in Los Angeles, so when I saw this recipe on AverieCooks, I thought I'd make my own as a nice morning treat with a cup o' coffee. If you have half an hour to spare and a mini muffin tin, you should definitely give these a shot (I may or may not be typing with one hand with a mini doughnut in the other...)

To make 24 mini donuts, you'll need:
1 large egg
5 Tablespoons of softened unsalted butter
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3/4 cup of buttermilk (I used 2% and they came out fine)
1 1/4 cup of flour
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
Pinch of salt

For the sugar coating you'll need:
3 Tablespoons of melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup of sugar
1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon (the more cinnamon you use, the darker they'll look)

Start by preheating your oven to 350 and spray the inside of your mini muffin pan with PAM.

Add the egg, butter, sugars, and vanilla to a stand mixer and beat until it's light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape the sides to it's all whipped together. Add the (butter)milk and beat to combine.

Add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt on low until just incorporated. Expect it to be a little lumpy and thick.

Add the mixture to your mini muffin pan until each cavity is 3/4ths of the way full.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick and the center comes out clean. Let them cool for 10 minutes in the pans before removing, at which point, you can make your sugar coating.

To make the sugar coating, use two bowls - one with the melted butter (about 20 seconds in the microwave should do it), the other with the sugar and cinnamon. Do not combine the two!

Once the donuts have cooled, dip the tops into the melted butter bowl and then roll around in the cinnamon sugar bowl so the tops are completely covered. If you want to cover the entire donut with cinnamon sugar, just make sure you melt enough butter and have enough cinnamon sugar on hand! Note that depending on how much cinnamon you use will depend on how dark the donuts look.

You can eat these right out of the oven, refrigerate them for later, or freeze them for up to 3 months for another morning snack (though to be honest, I'd be surprised if these lasted for more than a couple days in any household!)

TOTAL COSTS: About $24 (if you don't have any ingredients - prices from Vons)
$2.79 for eggs (though you only need one)
$.99 for butter
$2.69 for sugar
$2.29 for milk
$3.29 for flour
$4.79 for cinnamon
$1.99 for baking powder
$3.98 for nutmeg
$.99 for salt (though you only need a pinch)
Used homemade recipe for brown sugar and vanilla extract

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 30 minutes
15 minutes to prep mini donuts
10 minutes to bake
10 minutes to cool
5 minutes to dip all in butter and cinnamon sugar

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
The hardest part is making sure they don't burn in the oven but as long as you keep an eye on them, they'll be fine. My favorite part? They're enjoyable for any season!

No-Bake Gluten-Free Energy Balls

Today's post is a fast and easy one because you don't have to bake anything, it requires very few ingredients, and what you're about to devour isn't full of crazy preservatives so they're, dare I say, healthy! But be warned: they're very addicting. I won't tell you how many I ate in one day...

So here's what you'll need to make 8 energy balls:

* 1 cup of dry oats (which helps lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease)
* 1/2 cup of peanut butter (which has potassium, Vitamin E, and magnesium)
* 1/3 cup of honey (which is a natural source of carbohydrates which provide energy!)
* 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips (which improves your vascular functions and improves insulin sensitivity, though I suppose you could use raisins instead if you don't want chocolate)
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla (which, according to WebMD, can help stop tooth decay!)

So first, get a big bowl and add all the ingredients together. I recommend wearing gloves because this is going to get messy.

Once the dough is formed, then you're ready to make your energy balls! I decided to put them on a piece of parchment paper and put them in the fridge to harden. If you don't put them in the fridge, they'll stay very chewy but also greasy and a bit messy.

Mine didn't last very long in the fridge... not because they went bad, but because I ate them too quickly! Seriously, they're addicting. I recommend leaving them in the fridge, though, as the peanut butter tends to melt a bit once it reaches room temperature (or as soon as it's in your hand). Still, they're easy to make, they're good for you, and you don't have to turn on the oven on a hot summer's day - doesn't get much better than that!

TOTAL COSTS: About $12
$1.99 for oats
$2.79 for peanut butter
$4.29 for honey
$2.50 for chocolate chips
I used my own recipe for the homemade vanilla

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Less than 10 minutes

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
These would be a great treat to make with your kids - they're as easy as baking cookies, minus the baking part! Now if you're excuse me, I have to go make some more... omm nom nom...

Apple & Applesauce Whole Wheat Bread

I can't tell you how many times I screwed up this recipe... ok, four times. FOUR different mistakes I made throughout and believe it or not, it still came out delicious. So if I can make error after error and still have this come out moist and delectable, then you certainly can too if you heed my advice! I found this recipe on HungryHealthyGirl and some of the mistakes I made were due to her lack of detail in the instructions so I'll try to go into more detail than she did.

So first, grab the following for your...

Apple mixture:

1 cup (1 large of 2 medium apples) - peeled, cored, and grated

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 Tablespoon of honey

1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice

Dry ingredients:

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

Pinch of allspice

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Wet ingredients:

1/4 cup of honey

1 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup of brown sugar (I know brown sugar isn't wet but you'll be adding this with your wet ingredients. I used my homemade brown sugar recipe)

2 Tablespoons of coconut oil

1 egg

2 teaspoons of vanilla (another homemade recipe)

First, preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 9x5 bread pan. So far, I didn't make any mistakes!

Next, prepare your apples. The original post recommends peeling, coring, and grating the apples. Well, don't use one of these machines and peels, cores, and slices. Why? Because then you're stuck trying to grate a bunch of sliced apples, you end up getting chunks instead, and you'll probably scrape the back of your fingers against the grater which hurts. A lot. So what I recommend is peeling your apples and then grating. Don't worry about coring because you'll know when to stop grating. Trust me, it'll be a lot easier!

Add your cinnamon, honey, and lemon juice to the apples in a small bowl and set aside.

Next, combine all of your dry ingredients (cinnamon, whole wheat flour, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, and salt) in a medium bowl. I added the brown sugar to the dry ingredients instead of the wet but eh, what can ya do?

Finally, combine all of your wet ingredients (honey, applesauce, brown sugar, coconut oil, egg, and vanilla) in your stand mixer. I don't know what I was thinking but I forgot to add both the vanilla and the egg until it was already in the oven (at which point I immediately pulled it out = twice = and added them in!)

Add your dry ingredients slowly in with your wet ingredients and blend on low without over mixing (which I also didn't do... I had that mixer on high, just goin' to town!)

Fold in your apples and once they're combined, transfer to your bread pan.

Bake for 55 minutes and enjoy the aroma that will transfer from your kitchen to the rest of your house. It will smell ah-may-zing.

Once it's out of the oven, let it cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving. Even though mine did have chunks of apple in it, I didn't mind. It was really moist, and I could definitely taste the cinnamon, but I felt like it needed something else. More nutmeg maybe? More allspice? Maybe more salt? I'm not an expert taste-tester so I can't say, but it still tasted good nonetheless, despite my best efforts to ruin it!

TOTAL COSTS: About $49 (but that's if you don't have any of the ingredients - most prices from Vons)

$1.99/lb. for apples

$4.79 for cinnamon

$4.29 for honey

$2.29 for lemon juice

$4.39 for whole wheat flour

$1.59 for baking soda

$3.98 for nutmeg

$6.69 for allspice

$.99 for salt

$2.59 for unsweetened applesauce

$1.99 for store-bought brown sugar

$5.99 for coconut oil at Whole Foods

$2.49 for eggs

$4.99 for store-bought vanilla 

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 1 hour, 40 minutes

30 minutes of prep work (original site says 10 minutes! Ha!)
50 minutes to bake
20 minutes to cool

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
It's not easy to peel, core, and grate apples and her instructions weren't very clear at times, but overall it's a piece of cake... errr... bread... Just break the recipe up into three sections -- apple mixture, dry ingredients, and wet ingredients -- and I guarantee you'll do just fine!

DIY Vanilla Extract

I love finding out I can make my own things, like brown sugar or laundry detergent. But when I saw this post by TidyMom on how to make your own vanilla extract, I was all in. Sure, I knew it would take a while, but it's totally worth it in the end. The smell alone is heavenly! So here's what you'll need:

1. Vanilla beans (available at your grocery store with the spices)
2. Vodka
3. A glass container to hold the vanilla
4. A sharp knife
5. Something to remind you once a week (app on your phone, perhaps?)
6. (optional) A funnel or measuring glass to help pour the vodka into the container



Start by cutting your beans in half (so I had two long beans and cut them in half to make four small beans)

Then using your knife, start 1/4" from one end and carefully slice the bean in half lengthwise.

Place the beans into your container (I just used the same container the beans originally came in), and pour in your vodka. The original post recommends 6-8 vanilla bean pieces (or 3 to 4 whole beans) with 8 ounces of vodka.

And now... the waiting game. Place your container in a dark, cool place (like the back of the pantry) and once a week, shake the container. How long do you have to do this? Well, 6 weeks is fine but if you wait 8 weeks, the flavor and color will be more intense. Here's what mine looked like week by week:

You can see the gradual change in color week by week, but you have to be patient (and you have to remember to shake it -- I had to set a reminder on my phone for the same day/time every week). Have fun making your own vanilla extract -- these would be great gifts come the holiday season!

TOTAL COSTS: About $18 (but I also bought a 750ml bottle!)

$5.99 for vanilla beans from Whole Foods

$11.99 for Smirnoff vodka from BevMo

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 6-8 weeks

You can start using the vanilla around the 6 week mark but I recommend waiting another two weeks so you can have a richer flavor!

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5

You're not doing much of anything, it's the vodka and vanilla that's doing all the work!

Vanilla Almond Granola

Let me start off by saying, mine did not turn out like the original. At all. Still, this vanilla almond granola is delicious and would make a great treat for cereal, trail mix, etc. I found the original post from MyGlutenFreeKitchen (they used gluten-free oats but I used old-fashioned). Along with 4 cups of oats, you'll need:


* 1 cup of sliced or slivered almonds (you can buy them pre-sliced)
* 1/3 cup of packed brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon of salt
* 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
* 1/3 cup of butter or vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup of honey
* 2 Tablespoons of sugar
* 4 teaspoons of vanilla extract (not imitation extract)

Start by preheating your oven to 300 degrees and laying parchment paper down on 2 cookie sheets.

Combine the oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, honey, and sugar. Whisk together until the sugar has completely dissolved. After about 30 seconds, remove the pan from the heat and add your vanilla.

Pour the butter/honey/sugar/vanilla mixture into the bowl of oats and stir thoroughly. Pour the oats onto your cookie sheets and bake. Now the original post says to bake for 25-30 minutes but after 20 minutes, my almonds were burning so I took them out. Be sure to stir them a couple times on the pans while they're in the oven so they're all baked evenly.

Now this is where my granola didn't follow orders... while it's cooling, it's supposed to clump up. If you stir often while it's cooling, it'll supposedly form smaller clumps. Mine didn't clump at all so I decided to add pretzel sticks, peanuts, and chocolate chips to make it trail mix. Perhaps you'll have better luck with the clumping but either way, it's still delicious!

TOTAL COSTS: About $25

$1.99 for oats

$3.99 for almonds

$.99 for salt

$4.79 for cinnamon

$.99 for butter

$4.29 for honey

$2.69 for sugar

$4.99 for vanilla

I made my own brown sugar - see my instructions here

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 1 hour

20 minutes to prep

20 minutes to bake

20 minutes to cool

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 3 out of 5

When I think of granola, I think of clumps of oats. I managed to get maybe 3 or 4 clumps in the entire batch. Perhaps it requires more of the butter/honey/sugar/vanilla mixture, maybe less time stirring while in the oven or while it's cooling, maybe less time in the oven, it's hard to say. There are a lot of different variables here so be prepared to do a little trial and error!

Three Ways to Decorate Cupcakes for Spring

Spring is finally here! The birds are chirping, the flowers are budding, and everyone is happy to done hibernating. So what better way to bring in the sun than with three delicious and creative ways to decorate cupcakes? C'mon, who here is still sticking with their New Year's resolutions? Anyone? I thought so.

I'm going to walk through how to make your cupcakes look like chicks, daisies, and carrots. Note that I don't walk through how to make the actual cupcakes, I'll leave that up to you. And I've put these in order from easiest-hardest, in my opinion. Note that the daisies contain a major mistake, so they don't look how they should.

First, the chicks. For this you'll need:

1. Yellow sprinkles

2. Yellow and orange frosting (and white, if you want to make the eye light)

3. Mini chocolate chips

4. Piping bags or plastic bags and scissors to cut the corner

5. Wilton piping tip #2 (optional)

6. Wilton piping tip #102 (optional)

Use yellow frosting to cover the top of your cupcake and smooth it out. In a small bowl or on a plate, pour your yellow sprinkles. Dip the cupcake into the sprinkles until it's completely covered and shake off the excess.

Place two mini chocolate chips upside-down into the top of the cupcake to resemble eyes and add the wings. If you have frosting tips, you can use #102. If you don't, grab a plastic bag, fill it with yellow frosting, cut off a small part of the corner, and squeeze out the frosting out the corner of the bag, which is what I did here. Make three or four squiggle lines on either side of the cupcake to resemble wings.

Pour some more sprinkles over them and shake off the excess so they look seamless with the rest of the cupcake.

Using your orange frosting and tip #2 (or another plastic bag with the corner cut), add a triangle for the beak and three squiggles per foot, just like you did the wings.

You can add a white dot to the top of the chocolate chips if you want to make the eye light, but it's completely optional. Other than that, your chicks are complete!

Next, the daisies. If you don't have frosting tips, you can just use a toothpick for making the grass and a plastic bag for making the flowers. For these you'll need:

1. Green, white, and yellow frosting - use buttercream! I didn't and screwed these up royally.

2. Wilton piping tip  #103 for the petals (optional). No piping tip needed for the capitulum (or the middle of the daisy)

3. Wilton piping tip #233 for the grass (optional)

4. Piping bags or plastic bags and scissors to cut the corner

5. Parchment paper

6. A cupcake or offset spatula

7. A pencil or pen

8. A cookie sheet

Let's start with the flower. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet, grab your pen or pencil and draw 1.5-2" large circles. You could trace around a piping tip, a half dollar, a bottle cap, whatever you have around. Flip the paper over so you won't have pencil residue or ink in your flower.

Next, grab your white icing, place it in the piping or plastic bag, snip the corner and insert the #103 tip. With the larger part of the tip facing away from you, place it 1/4" above the drawn circle and squeeze the icing towards the center of the circle. Gently decrease pressure as you move the tip down. Now that one petal is done, do the same thing for the next petal all the way around the circle until the daisy is complete.

Now this what my first time piping so excuse my messy daisy. Grab your yellow icing, place it in a piping or plastic bag, snip the corner, and pipe the center of the daisies you've made.

Put your cookie sheet in the freezer to allow the flowers to harden for an hour.

While those are hardening, it's time to make the grass. Grab your green icing, place it in the piping or plastic bag, snip the corner and insert the #233 tip. Place the tip 1/4" above the cupcake and squeeze, allowing the frosting to pile up. Lift the bag up and release to make it look like the grass is standing. Down, squeeze, up, release. Down, squeeze, up, release.

OR, if you don't have a piping bag, just frost the top of the cupcakes and, using a toothpick, flick up the frosting multiple times to resemble grass.

Once the daisies have hardened, use your spatula to lift them off the parchment paper and place onto the tops of the cupcakes. However, if you don't use buttercream frosting and you use the frosting out of a can, they won't harden and you'll have a daisy as a mess.

Finally, the carrot cupcakes. For these you'll need:

1. Green food coloring

2. About 2 cups of sweetened coconut flakes (though I used shredded and it worked out fine)

3. 2 Tablespoons of water

4. Orange Starbursts

5. Green Apple Twizzlers Pull N' Peel (though I used coconut flakes for the top instead)

6. White icing

First off, you'll want to dye your icing with green food coloring. If you have any leftover from the daisy cupcakes, that'd be convenient!

In a small bowl, combine the coconut flakes and water. Add green food coloring (about 8 drops) until the coconut is completely covered and set aside.

Unwrap the Starbursts, cut them in half, put them on a plate, and heat for 15 seconds in the microwave. This will allow them to be malleable so you can roll and shape them into tiny carrots. If they're too hard to work with again, pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds.  Note that they will be sticky to handle and they might stick to the plate.

Add a hole to the top of the carrots, either with a toothpick, skewer, or knife.

To add texture, cut a few indentations to the front.

Cut your Twizzlers into 1/4" pieces and pull them apart or pull a few coconut flakes you want to use for the top of the carrots. Note that the coconut flakes will be difficult to work with but they do make the design more cohesive.

Now it's time to put it all together! First, frost your cupcakes and even out the tops (obviously I'm not very good at the evening out part).

Next, sprinkle the green coconut flakes on top to resemble grass.

Add 2-3 carrots per cupcake and insert 2 Twizzler pieces or coconut flakes per carrot. Keep these away from Peter Rabbit and enjoy!

And there you have it kids - three delicious cupcakes to ring in the springtime air!

TOTAL COSTS: About $20
$5 for two containers of frosting to frost 24 cupcakes (8 of each kind)
$2.50 for mini chocolate chips
$3.50 for food coloring
$3.49 for parchment paper
$2.29 for coconut flakes
$3.29 for Starbursts
Plastic bags, Wilton tips, sprinkles, scissors, spatula, pencil, and cookie sheet already on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Varies per cupcake
The chick cupcakes took 20 minutes
The daisy cupcakes took 30 minutes to make, 1 hour to harden, and 10 minutes to redo... hopefully you don't have to do that part
The carrot cupcakes took 1 hr., 30 minutes to decorate 9 (however, making 27 carrots took about 30 minutes!)

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): Varies per cupcake
The chicks were definitely the easiest to make, and the carrots were the most time-consuming, but those two were definitely easier than trying to get those daisies to come out right. I should have used buttercream frosting but oh well, my improvised flowers worked well enough!