Hot Cocoa-Nut...Hot Chocolate's rich tropical aunt!

I just stumbled upon a jewel of a hot chocolate recipe. In desperate need of a mug of cocoa the other night, I found myself with only a sip of soymilk left in the carton! Tragic? Not quite! I could have mixed in some water, but when I spotted some coconut milk left over from the sweet potatoes, I jumped on the opportunity to create! And good thing I did, because I will never be making hot cocoa the old school way again after I concocted this treat! It was soooo good, the coconut milk made it seem so rich and the flaked coconut added some fun texture, not to mention the flavor! Give this on a try!

Hot Cocoa-Nut (Coconut Hot Chocolate)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. cocoa powder (see note above)

2 tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1 tbs shredded coconut

Directions:

In a large mug, mix together cocoa powder, sugar, and non-dairy milk.

Whisk together with a small fork until blended.

Add the rest of the coconut milk and microwave on high for one minute; stir.

Sprinkle shredded coconut on top, Enjoy!

Emma's Yellow Raisin Cookies

One thing I'm gonna miss about home when I live in the dorms is my oven. I love baking: everything from Linzer Tortes to Red Velvet Cakes. So when I had some free time on my hands today I decided to make my first batch of vegan cookies.

So my dad makes the best carrot cake in the world. Hands down. No question. So when I was deciding what type of cookies to make I took some inspiration from some of the key ingredients in his recipe: yellow raisins, nutmeg, coconut. They have a basic chocolate chip cookie base(no chocolate chips obviously!), but I added my own ingredients and then messed with dough for the right consistency. These rocked! No really these we're so good, like chocolate chip cookies blended with snickerdoodles and then some new flavors. They were crunchy on the outside and doughy on the inside, just how I like 'em. The perfect treat with a nice cold glass of non-dairy milk!

Emma's Yellow Raisin Cookies

2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp.salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2/3 cup raw white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup golden raisins
1 cup shredded coconut

topping
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp. powdered sugar

1. Have all ingredients at room temperature. Set over to 350.
2. Mix first 7 ingredients.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix in a mixer.
4. Make 1 1/2 inch diameter balls and put on greased cookie sheet, press lightly with flat surface.
5. Mix topping and sprinkle over cookies.
6. Bake for about 12-18 minutes, erring on the less time. (better to chewy than too hard!)
7. Let cool and eat!

I will definitely be making these again, and probably within the next week, since after that I'll have no oven!