The twelve treats of Christmas are back! 12: Vegan brownie cups

So I'm back with…

The Twelve Treats of Christmas!

I'm optimistic I will actually be able to follow through with the full twelve before Christmas hits. Time always seems to get away from me. Ken and I are excited to get the Christmas season going now that Thanksgiving is officially over! As I sit here with a glass of vegan eggnog (which I find way yummier than the original) I'm excited to get this semester over with and embrace the season!

Not bad, right? This is where the beauty ended.

Without further ado, we begin our tradition of the twelve treats with, what else, but two sweets. The first was, I admit, by complete accident. I meant to make vegan brownies. I didn't have the egg substitute the recipe called for aka ground flax seeds and water. So I tried a different egg sub: water, oil, and baking powder. Nope. Also didn't have cocoa powder, so I melted some chocolate chips. That was fine, but about 2/3 through the baking process, the brownies had fallen considerably. The recipe called for them to be baked in a cupcake pan, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

After pulling the deflated, pathetic looking "brownies" out of the oven, Hubby had a pretty good idea on how to utilize them. He said they looked like brownie cups, so why not scoop some ice cream and make them worth while? They ended up super cute, and even had a fudgy, brownie-like bottom. Sooooo…while not my proudest moment in the kitchen, they did end up being a fun little dessert!

Since I did not do these brownies justice, I give you the go-ahead to make them yourself and let me know how well they can come out!

From the Minimalist Baker

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) non-dairy butter (such as Earth Balance)
• 3/4 cup natural cane or granulated sugar
• 2 large flax eggs (2 tbsp flaxseed + 6 Tbsp water)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• (Optional add-ins:) 1/3 cup walnuts, hazelnuts or chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray 7-8 standard-sized muffin tins with cooking spray. Alternatively, fit each with a paper liner.
2. Prepare flax eggs in a small bowl and let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and melt in the microwave. Then stir in the flax egg, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Whisk to combine. Lastly, add the flour, then fold in any mix-ins – chocolate chips or walnuts would be excellent here.
4. Scoop batter evenly into 7-8 muffin tins until 3/4 full and bake on the middle rack for 22-26 minutes, or until the brownies start to pull away from the sides and they spring back slightly to the touch. Be careful not to overcook or they will get crumbly. Remove from oven and let rest in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a plate or cooling rack.
5. Store in an airtight container to keep fresh for a couple days. Freeze for long-term storage.