Veganbury Cream Eggs

So I probably should not have been so lazy and posted these in time for Easter, but I figure there is never a bad time to eat this delightful and vegan version of a confectionery classic!

Ingredients:
½ cup light corn syrup
¼ cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4 drops yellow food coloring
2 drops red food coloring
1 12oz bag chocolate chips
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

Instructions:
Combine the corn syrup, butter, vanilla and salt in a large bowl, and beat well with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in the powdered sugar, a little bit at a time, until creamy, then remove about 1/3 of the sugar mixture and place in a small bowl. Mix food coloring into this smaller portion of mixture. Chill the two mixtures for at least 2 hours until firm, then remove from the fridge and roll the orange filling into small, marble size balls. Wrap a small amount of the white filling around the orange balls and form into the shape of eggs. Place the formed filling on a lightly greased cookie sheet an chill for 4 hours. Combine the chocolate chips and shortening, melt and mix well. Dip each filling ball into the melted chocolate mixture and return to baking sheet. Chill again for 2 hours.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

My wonderful and accommodating mother whipped up some of these for me for my birthday a few years ago, and they were so amazing that I tucked the recipe away for a later date. I think I might make a few batches of these in a couple weeks to give out to my vegan pals for valentine's day. The chocolate and peanut butter combination is basically my favorite thing ever and I used to love reese's pb cups...plus the recipe is pretty easy.

Ingredients:
One package vegan chocolate chips -or- 12 oz. of a fancy vegan chocolate bar
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
24 paper gem size candy liners -or- (for big pb cups) muffin/cupcake liners
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon vegan margarine, melted

Instructions:
Melt chocolate chips or candy bar and vegetable shortening over hot, though not boiling water (this is the double-boiler method, see here for more detailed instructions. You can also just melt the chocolate/shortening in the microwave, but you may need to microwave it a few times during the course of assembling the cups if you go this route). Stir until everything is melted, smooth, and well-combined.

Coat the inside of the candy or muffin liners with chocolate (for the candy liners use one teaspoon of chocolate mixture to do this, for the muffin liners, just be judicious--is should coat the bottom and edges but not just be glopped in there--leave room for the peanut butter). A rubber spatula will help you gently push the chocolate up the sides of the liners. Chill the filled liners in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until they're hardened. If you're using muffin liners, it might be a good idea to put them in a muffin tin so they don't lose their shape.

Combine the peanut butter, confectioners' sugar, and margarine in a bowl and stir well until blended. Using slightly rounded measured tablespoonfuls or a melon baller, shape the peanut butter filling into balls. Place one pb ball in each chocolate cup and press lightly with your fingers to flatten, then spoon the melted chocolate mixture on top (about one tablespoonful for the candy liners) and smooth over. Place these in the refrigerator again to harden (about 45 minutes).

It's best to keep these refrigerated until you're ready to eat or gift them. Hopefully I won't eat them all before I can package them up nicely for valentine's day.

Tiger Balls

One of the gals who I used to cook with for Food Not Bombs gave me this recipe. These are quite possibly the most decadent dessert I can imagine, and they're super easy. If I weren't trying to keep my figure, I'd eat the entire batch by myself.

Ingredients:

2 cups vegan cookie crumbs or crushed up graham crackers
3/4 cup peanut butter
3.5 cups confectioners sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) of vegan margarine
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Instructions:

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. In a large mixing bowl, combine crumbs/graham crackers, peanut butter, sugar and margarine. Mix well. Roll the mixture into 1" balls, place on the cookie sheet, and chill in the fridge. Melt the chocolate chips in a plastic bag in the microwave; When the chocolates cools a little, cut a small slit in the edge of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the balls. Chill for another 30 minutes, then sit on your couch and glory in the surely sinful delight of Tiger Balls.