Desserts for Valentine's Day (or any other day you're celebrating love)
About a year ago, my boyfriend, Jared, stopped eating eggs. I do most of the cooking in our house and for the most part, this was fine. He switched from eggs to oats in the morning and most of the other menu items were left unchanged. The one gaping hole was in the dessert category. The occasional batch of chocolate chip cookies coupled with an SVU Netflix binge had been our longstanding guilty pleasure. Over the past few months, I've been struggling with creating egg free baked goods that actually taste like the real deal. The struggle has been real. Pretty much everything tasted like health food and if I'm going to have dessert, I want it to taste like dessert. No compromises.
That said, with Valentine's Day fast approaching, I wanted to share two egg free desserts that hit the spot! I wouldn't call either of these items "healthy" as they do have a bit of sugar in them, but we all need to live a little from time to time. Always remember moderation when having sweets (and in life). That way you can be present and enjoy guilt free.
On to the sweets!
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars (Recipe from Smitten Kitchen here)
These things were so freaking good and very beginner friendly. The hardest part was melting the butter in a double boiler. (Learn how to make a double boiler here.) Rhubarb is out of season and the grocery didn't have strawberries, so I made mine with raspberries and blueberries. Nom.
Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cookies (Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod here)
Most of the time when I make vegan desserts the texture is really off for me. The treats are too grainy. These cookies, however, pass the texture test. Be sure to let them cool for a little bit when they come out of the oven. Otherwise they might fall apart and crumble.
Please enjoy these sweets responsibly in the company of friends and loved ones.