One of the most underrated foods in my opinion are hemp seeds. They have a sweet, nutty flavor that reminds me of a cross between pure vanilla and almond. They are very unassuming with their small, green appearance, and yet have such great health benefits sprinkled on top of oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast. And yet so few recipes actually use them! I love these cookies, because the sweet nuttiness of the hemp seeds pairs perfectly with the flavors already in a chocolate chip cookie. These are best enjoyed with a tall glass of hemp milk.

Vegan Hemp Seed Chocolate Chippers

Ingredients(Makes 24 cookies):

• 6 tablespoons butter substitute(such as Earth Balance), softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons hemp oil(or a neutral-flavored oil)
• 1 egg-substitute
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup shelled hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cream together the brown sugar, white sugar, and butter substitute. Be sure not to overcream but rather keep the butter light and fluffy. Next, add in the oil, egg-substitute, salt, and baking powder and mix.

Gently sift in the flour and mix until just incorporated. Lastly, add in the hemp seeds and chocolate chips and fold to distribute.

Next, chill the dough for at least 30 minutes by placing it in the refrigerator to set. Meanwhile, preheat an oven to 350 degrees and line 2 large room-temperature(very important) baking trays with parchment paper.

After the dough has chilled, start making dough balls by taking chunks of dough and rolling them into 1-inch balls and placing them on the cookie trays. This should yield 24 cookies; the balls of dough will look small but be assured that the cookies spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Let the cookies cool 5-10 minutes before removing them from the baking trays.

These cookies have become a fast favorite of mine. They’re a good blend of being soft and nicely chewy. And the sweet, mellow flavor of the hemp pairs perfectly with the tones of butter, brown sugar, and chocolate. You can adjust the recipe for any other kind of seed, but I think they’d be missing something.

What’s more chocolaty than a brownie? A chocolate-covered brownie.

This is more of a “How-to” than a recipe, but I thought I’d share it, anyway. I had some extra chocolate after my last chocolate-covering experience and way too much time on my hands.

Chocolate Covered Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 8×8 pan of brownies, cooled and cut*
• 12oz bittersweet chocolate chips, melted

*I recommend a really fudgy brownie recipe for this like my Best Vegan Brownie rather than a cakey one. The more dense and moist they are, the better.

Cut the brownies into 9 equal squares. Put them on a platter not touching and freeze for 10-20 minutes to make sure they’re extra cold.

In the meantime, melt the chocolate in a microwave or over the stove. When the brownies are ready, dip them one by one in the chocolate and place them on a wire rack to dry. Depending on how runny the chocolate is, you might have to give them a second coat after the first has dried(I did).

If you have a chocolate lover in your life, you need to make these for them. I mean, really, you’d have to hate Christmas and rainbows to hate chocolate covered brownies.

When I first started baking, I was pretty much a purist for the recipe: I only used Betty Crocker in that bright red box that called for 2 medium eggs and a 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Adding in 1/2 cup of applesauce sounded “out there”, and folding in chocolate chips was a flavorful twist.

There came a time when I realized that I could mix flour, sugar and cocoa powder on my own, and that it actually tasted better when I did so. The best part of making brownies from scratch is trying different recipes; if you think there’s only one type of brownie you can make, you’re sadly mistaken. I made this recipe with coconut milk because I had an open can that needed to be used, and the result was a very deep, rich dark chocolate flavor. If ever you feel the urge to use a premixed brownie recipe, I ask you to step out of the box and try this.

Rich Coconut Milk Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter(or Earth Balance)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon chocolate chips
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar. Add in the coconut milk, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, chocolate chips, and salt and stir until fully incorporated.

Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix until the batter has just come together. The batter will be very thick.

Using a rubber spatula, spread it out on an 8×8 baking pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

These are much darker in flavor than my normal brownie recipe. They’re also more cakey, too, which might or might not be up your alley. From now on, these will be reason not just to finish a can of coconut milk but to open one, too.

Banana desserts have never been the most desirable; you always make them when your bananas are browned and dying as a last resort. I didn’t want that sort of recipe. I wanted the kind of recipe that makes you go out and buy bananas just to make it. And I think I’ve found that.

Banana Blondies With Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened(or Earth Balance)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup(8 oz) mashed banana puree(about 2 large bananas)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Let butter soften for about an hour before starting the recipe. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Next, add in the banana puree, chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt and mix together.

Lastly, add in the flour and mix until just incorporated. Spread the batter evenly in an 8×8 baking pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until the center has set and the edges are slightly browned.

I’ll admit that these were so easy I was a little worried how they’d come out. Could they rise? Hold their structure? They did. They were nice and soft and a little moist—perfect blondies. And the chocolate chips added just enough bitterness to contrast the salty/sweet base.

Tomorrow’s lesson: Frosting!