Sweets & Treats

Dark Chocolate S’mores Bars

Dark Chocolate S’mores Bars with a date-almond crust, a dairy-free chocolate ganache, and a marshmallow topping. Perfect for summer dessert!

It feels like tumultuous times here, friends.

Like every big decision begets yet another big decision.

Life stuff.

Work, relationships, moving– it all feels upended and messy. `

It seems nearly impossible to plan anything when we (read: I) have no idea what the state of the world will be in 6 or 12 months.

So, lately I’ve been throwing caution to the wind and seeing where my impulses take me.

And lately, my impulses have been guiding me towards chocolate.

Lots of chocolate.

These Dark Chocolate S’mores Bars are made with just 8 ingredients for a sweet summer dessert that’s made with simple ingredients.

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Flourless Chickpea Afghan Cookies

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

Afghan inspired cookies made without flour! Instead, make them with chickpeas, nut butter, cacao, and dates finished with a walnut cacao frosting!

Are you a LOTR fan?

Let me tell you about my level of fandom circa early 2000s.

After purchasing the trilogy on DVD (I had the Director’s Cut–ha!) I watched The Fellowship of the Ring on repeat.

Because, you know, watching Frodo Baggins battle forces of evil on his quest to destroy the one ring as casual background noise is always good fun.

I was really interested in film studies at the time, and the cinematography and overall production of the films totally wowed me.

Not to mention, I was totally crushing on Frodo, er, Elijah Wood.

I mean, those blue eyes, though!

When I found out that the movie was filmed in New Zealand, I immediately wanted to pack my bags and take a trip to the South Pacific Ocean to stand on steep mountains and run across sprawling fields.

Props to my parents for sitting through the entire trilogy, from the long drawn out orc battles to the

You know what else I’m crushing on that has New Zealand roots?

These Flourless Chickpea Afghan Cookies that are made totally vegan and grain-free with less than 10 ingredients!

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Black Bean Mousse

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

Protein packed mousse made with black beans, cashews, and cacao powder sweetened with maple syrup. Perfect for a nutritious snack or sensible dessert!

So here’s the state of affairs:

Yesterday I played a state guessing game on the phone with a friend.

I was presented with a map of the United States completed with bold black state borders.

When the game populates a state name, I had to accurately select the corresponding state by clicking on the correctly shaped territory.

Well, let me tell you friends, I was never good at geography.

After accidentally clicking New Jersey about 4 times instead of other north-eastern states, I knew I needed to brush up.

I did get 77% accuracy, which I’m going to take as a win.

If quarantine is making your world feel small, grab a map and explore a little.

Or, we could explore in the kitchen.

If you don’t feel like baking, how about an easy no bake dessert that’s packed with plant-based protein, fiber, and complex carbs?

Today I made this Black Bean Mousse that’s vegan, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup.

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Cranberry Almond Breakfast Cookies

By Flora & Vino 5 Comments

Breakfast cookies made with oatmeal, SunButter, dried cranberries, and slivered almonds. Bake them in advance and grab for an easy breakfast!

It’s been stupid hot here in Virginia for the past few weeks.

Every day the forecast threatens 100 degrees with a chance of thunderstorms that fail to break the blanket of heat.

My daily power walks have become more of a mosey as I try to keep cool but still see the great outdoors.

So, how are you doing?

I know it’s been a while since I posted so I wanted to check in.

I’ve been OK.

Content on the blog has taken a bit of a backseat as I focus on new projects and big picture goals.

(More to come on this soon!)

And then there’s the ever present backdrop of life in a post-quarantine but not post-pandemic world.

Honestly, I have no idea how to navigate this new normal and not much desire to try.

So, instead, I stay home and make Cranberry Almond Breakfast Cookies.

Won’t you join me?

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Mango Sticky Rice Dessert Sushi

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Dessert sushi twist on mango sticky rice! Nori sushi wraps stuffed with sweet coconut rice and fresh sliced mango. Serve with optional date syrup!

Are you accident prone?

The statement “I am” is an understatement when it comes to me.

A few weeks ago a pasta jar fell from my pantry and hit me squarely on the lip.

I was trying to grab a bag of shredded coconut from the top shelf and the pasta sauce was, well, in the way.

Luckily, after a quick icing the swelling went down and I was left with little more than a mark.

Then, yesterday, after months of haphazardly hanging my pots and pans on the hooks in my kitchen, a pan fell on my head.

Yeah, OK, it’s a little funny.

But let me tell you, it wasn’t funny yesterday when one of my Green Pans collided with my temple at an alarming speed.

I’m taking it upon myself to child-proof my kitchen this weekend and remove some of these work place hazards.

So until then, let’s try to avoid the kitchen catastrophes and make some dessert sushi, OK?

These Mango Sticky Rice Dessert Sushi are stuffed with sweet coconut rice and fresh sliced mango serves with fresh mint and date syrup!

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Dark Chocolate Blueberry Macaroons

By Flora & Vino 4 Comments

No-bake vegan macaroons made with blueberries, shredded coconut, and dark chocolate. Ready in under an hour for a quick and clean dessert!

Earlier this year, before COVID-19 rocked the globe, I decided that this was going to be the year I was going to get back into live music.

I booked five concerts spread across the calendar with friends who shared my musical taste.

When the pandemic changed life as we know it, the cancellations slowly started to trickle into my email inbox.

So much for the year of concerts, I thought.

I have recently, though, rediscovered my love of listening to music.

Like, *really* listening.

Lately, I’ve been putting on an album in my living room and listening in a way I haven’t done since I got my first Backstreet Boys CD back in the day.

You know, really absorbing the lyrics and the melody and feeling it run through you from finger tips to toe tips.

The same way one devours Dark Chocolate Blueberry Macaroons.

You just need 6-ingredients to make these Dark Chocolate Blueberry Macaroons that are packed with blueberries, coconut, and dark chocolate!

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Vegan Almond Butter Tagalongs

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Vegan “Tagalong” cookies with an almond butter twist! Made easily with almond flour, almond butter, maple syrup, and dark chocolate.

I’ve been heavy the past week with a weight that was always there but now is acutely painful, as if the backpack I’m wearing was suddenly filled with bricks.

Like you, I’ve been trying to carefully navigate current events with support, respect, and an open heart.

For me, this has meant pausing my Instagram feed through Sunday to allow food to take a backseat to change.

In a text message chain with my sister-in-law, we half cried and half laughed about what else 2020 could possibly throw at us.

“A tsunami? A massive hurricane?” she texted speculatively.

“Shhh,” I texted back. “You’ll jinx it.”

But have you ever noticed that most of the best conversations in life take place around food?

That’s because food brings us together.

I wanted to share these Vegan Almond Butter Tagalongs with you in hopes they can brighten your day.

You just need 5-ingredients to make them with a sweet almond flour nougat cookie, almond butter center, and dark chocolate encasing.

You’re going to want to tag along for this one.

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SunButter Date Squares

By Flora & Vino 6 Comments

5-ingredient SunButter Date Squares with sunflower seed butter, Medjool dates, oats, and almond flour naturally sweetened with maple syrup.

I’ve been seeing flashes of black out of the corner of my eyes for the past few days.

I chalked it up to glare in my glasses or a trick of the peripheral vision.

Last night as I was about to click off the lamp and head upstairs to bed, I saw the same flash of black with an accompanying tail scurry across my living room floor rug and behind the AC unit door.

The good news is that I’m not hallucinating after long days behind the camera and I don’t need to get my eyes checked.

The bad news is that it appears I have a mouse in the house.

Or a rat, to be honest, I didn’t get a good enough look to carefully categorize by species.

Having never cohabitated with anything bigger than a spider, you can imagine my shock to suddenly share my living room with a pet I didn’t purchase on all fours.

He’s probably scouring the house for any bits remaining from my recipe shoot yesterday with SunButter and dates.

While I’m dealing with rodents, you guys should probably make these SunButter Date Squares.

They’re made with just 5-ingredients in 30 minutes for an easy vegan and gluten-free breakfast, snack, or dessert!

Was this a smooth enough transition to go from the great mouse detective to breakfast bars?!

Let’s find out.

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No-Churn Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

By Flora & Vino 11 Comments

Five ingredient vegan ice cream made with coconut, cashew, maple syrup, and cacao. Stir in chopped dark chocolate chunks for an added chocolate crunch!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

How’s it going?

To be honest, it doesn’t feel like Memorial Day.

Sure, the temps are getting warmer, but I’m fiercely missing that rowdy sense of community that annually kickstarts the summer season via cookouts, BBQs, and backyard parties.

This time last year I was in a bikini pool-side baring my ghostly legs for all of the neighborhood to see.

Then afterwards I probably went to a winery with hundreds of other people, crowded onto picnic blankets on the winery grass.

This year, I’m holed up in my townhome, feverishly snapping photos of chocolate ice cream.

Ah, how times have changed.

But some things have stayed the same.

For example, as you probably guessed by the title of this recipe– I *still* don’t have an ice cream maker.

So I’m coming at you with a sweet dessert idea for Memorial Day that doesn’t require any fancy equipment and it definitely doesn’t require a crowd to finish off.

This No-Churn Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream is chocolate-y, creamy, and simple to make with just 5 ingredients!

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Giant Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie

By Flora & Vino 7 Comments

Giant vegan, gluten-free, and grain-free almond flour chocolate chip cookie for two! Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and dairy-free chocolate chunks.

If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be living alone during a pandemic, I would have cried and then laughed and then cried some more.

Ah, 2019 Lauren didn’t have a *clue* what was about to go down.

If anything, current events have taught me about my own inner strength and perseverance in the face of uncertainty.

We just keep going, friend.

I hope that you, too, feel more capable than ever of getting through hard things.

Because we’re doing all of this together.

And today, we’re going to bake together.

Current events have also taught me a thing or two about baking a mean vegan cookie.

These Giant Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are resilient, too, you know.

They’re chewy and sweet and popping with chocolate chunks.

Make them in one-bowl with pantry friendly ingredients you already have at home.

And they only take 15 minutes to bake in the oven.

Let’s bake a BIG cookie!

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