My brain makes two immediate connections when I hear the words "ice cream": Eddie Murphy's ice cream skit from Delirious and a childhood memory of eating a Chipwich at a pirate-ship-themed miniature golf course.

As a child, I thought the Chipwich was the ultimate dessert: ice cream sandwiched between two giant cookies and rolled in chocolate chips. I thought my parents must have temporarily lost their minds when they actually let me have one, but I wasn't about to alert them to the problem. I still look at the ice cream sandwich as the ultimate indulgence, albeit for very, very different reasons.

These days, I like to use soy ice cream to create grown-up, vegan versions of the classic. Sometimes I will take the time to make my own soy ice cream, but when I'm busy (or just being lazy), I'll use Tofutti or So Delicious ice cream. By mixing a few ingredients into the ice cream, you feel like you're getting an extra-special treat.

For my coconut-ginger ice cream sandwiches below, I used vanilla Tofutti and mixed in 1/4 cup of shredded coconut and 1 tsp. of coconut extract. Things got very messy, so here are a few tips to make the process a little easier for you:

• After mixing the coconut and coconut extract into the ice cream, place it in the freezer until it's very firm.

• When baking the cookies, do not overcook them! They need to be very soft, not hard or crunchy. If they are too hard, then all the ice cream will just ooze out the side of the sandwich when you try to bite into it.

• Use a measuring cup to aid in the assembly of the sandwiches. Place one cookie in the bottom of a 1/2 cup measuring utensil, fill it with ice cream until level with the top of the measuring cup, and then place the second cookie on top.

• Wrap the finished sandwiches in plastic wrap and freeze for about 30 minutes before eating.

My entire weekend was spent lounging, relaxing, reading, and baking. It was so relaxing that it felt more like a mini-vacation than your typical two-day weekend. After such a great weekend, I didn't even mind waking up very, very early this morning. So I decided to spread the joy to my coworkers—in a not-so-annoying way—by bringing in one of the many treats that I baked over the weekend.

After reading Danielle Vance's chef profile over the weekend—and daydreaming about having my own bakery—I decided to try her orange-cranberry scone recipe. The recipe was simple and super-easy to prepare, but the results were still delicious. The orange zest and the O.J. I used gave the scones a fresh taste—not too heavy, as scones can often be.

I decided that these would be the perfect treats for my peeps in the office, and after hearing everyone's reactions—lots of "awesomes" and "to die fors"—I knew I made the right choice.

It may be hard to believe, but Oreos are vegan. So, let's take the already-sweet classic cookies, combine them with a lot more sugar, and turn them into cupcakes! This is proof of my firm belief that a dessert can never be too indulgent.

To be honest, I wasn't really into desserts until I started baking them. Sure, I enjoyed cake and soy ice cream as much as the next person, but I never really craved them. Now, I enjoy the science involved in baking. The satisfaction comes from getting the delicate balance among all the ingredients just right—now that is what I crave.

The chocolate cake recipe below is from The Grit's own bakery, where I once worked. Don't worry—the recipe was published in The Grit's cookbook, so it's not like I'm giving away any secrets. These cupcakes are delicious, with a rich chocolaty flavor enhanced by the strong brewed coffee used in the batter. Another added bonus is that the recipe is almost impossible to mess up. Guaranteed success sounds like as good a reason as any to try a recipe, if you ask me.

To find more foods that, like Oreos, are accidentally vegan and easily found in your local grocery store, visit the VegCooking Shopping Guide.

I am on a mission to spread joy around the world by resurrecting classic childhood desserts that we once feared were dead to us. I'm imagining a world where swimming pools are filled with vegan Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Ho Hos. Guilt-free isn't exactly the phrase that comes to mind when thinking about swimming in pools full of desserts, but at least there's no cruelty involved.

Last weekend, I put my plan into action when I saw how badly my boyfriend wanted a vegan Ho Ho. They were mentioned every third sentence as he reminisced about how he would have them every day after school. The oh-so-subtle hint was noted.

Assembling the little cakes required a little bit of care, but it was worth the effort. I ended up reducing the amount of creamer used in the filling so that it would be a little thicker. I also refrigerated the squares for several hours before covering them with chocolate sauce, to avoid turning them into a gooey mess. After eating two in the course of about a minute, my boyfriend said they tasted just like the Ho Hos he remembers.

Based upon his reaction to the Ho Hos, I think my plan just might work. Now on to those vegan Twinkies…

My sweet tooth comes and goes in waves, and it is definitely here right now. Last night, I enjoyed store-bought vegan chocolate chip cookies, but taking the time to make homemade desserts is really where it's at. The satisfaction of making a difficult dessert is almost as rewarding as the taste—almost.

Since I'm in a dessert-craze phase, I decide to compile a list of my top 10 favorite desserts of all time. Kind of a "my life wouldn't be complete if I never ate these things again" list. Most have some connection to my childhood, while others I discovered as an adult. And my favorites are…

1. Pecan Pie: The crunch of the pecan layer on top of the pie is perfectly complemented by the gooey filling inside.

2. Grasshopper Cake: Grit-style chocolate cake layered with mint icing and chocolate chips.

3. Glazed Doughnuts: Simple, classic, and delicious warm.

4. Brownie à la Mode: Top homemade warm brownies with store-bought vanilla soy ice cream. Get really crazy and top with chocolate sauce and cherries.

5. Chocolate Chip Cookies: Even better when you use two to make a cookie sandwich.

6. Strawberry Shortcake: This has been one of my favorites since the age of 3, when my entire birthday was Strawberry Shortcake—the doll, not the food—themed.

7. Anything Lemon-Blueberry: The flavor combination works well in a pie or in a cake with lemon-flavored layers and a blueberry topping.

8. Carob-Mint Cookies: I fell in love with these scone-like cookies at Real Food Daily in Santa Monica.

9. Pecan Pinwheels: Someone please veganize these!

10. Pralines: SusanV at FatFree Vegan Kitchen says to create this Southern staple by substituting Earth Balance margarine for the butter and Silk Creamer for the creamer or half-and-half in any good praline recipe.

What are your favorite vegan desserts?

For most of my life, my knowledge of figs was limited to the Fig Newtons I ate as a child. Not bad, but definitely not something great that stood out as a food I had to have again. That is, not until I had a ripe fig picked right off the tree at my friend CK's house.

We were enjoying an afternoon snack in his kitchen (which happened to be the location of Athens' infamous Barn Parties) of fresh tomato slices sprinkled with sea salt and pepper. CK disappeared for a few minutes and returned with fresh figs. They were quite different—and much better—than what I remembered the center of those cookies tasting like. Since then, I have obsessed over ways to use figs in a dessert, and I think I've now found the perfect recipe: figs poached in tawny port.

I was amazed at how well this recipe turned out. The flavors in the sauce were perfectly balanced, as was the consistency. The figs were served over thick slices of pumpkin bread (more on that later in the week), which added another rich layer of fall flavor to the dessert.

First, you crumble chocolate cookies—I use Oreos—into a fine mess. Drizzle in just enough vegetable oil to bring the crumbs together.

Next, you melt an entire pound of chocolate until smooth, then blend with silken tofu and peppermint extract until creamy.

Finally, pour the creamy chocolate filling into the crispy cookie crust. Top with finely crumbled peppermint pieces and chill.

Thanks to the Tomato Head Restaurant, you'll have a peppermint pattie-like pie that is surprisingly flavorful with so few ingredients. One bite of this pie brought back memories of my mom enjoying her favorite sweet treat, the peppermint pattie. She says they remind her of Christmas—her favorite holiday—and that's why she likes them so much.

Regardless of her good reasons, as a child I had to hate peppermint patties because she loved them—that is, until I was old enough to know better. How could a kid have the same favorite candy as her mother? That just wouldn't be cool. Now that I've seen the light, in the form of the chocolate-mint combo, I enjoy vegan peppermint patties, peppermint pies, minty-chocolate cakes—you name it, I like it. Mom would be so pleased.

There is something about fresh apples that brings me back to my childhood. When visiting my grandparents each fall, we would pack ourselves into the car and head to the cider mill for apple picking, fresh doughnuts, cider, and homemade applesauce. We would dip our doughnuts into the applesauce, and as silly as it sounds, to this day I still think that a doughnut eaten without applesauce just isn't a proper doughnut. By the end of the day, we were nearly drunk off apples.

Now that I have oh-so-refined tastes, I like to enjoy freshly picked apples in a rustic tart—and I always use the leftover apples for applesauce. This way, I get to enjoy all the elements that I enjoyed on our cider mill trips—the apples, the pastry, the spices, the sugar—rolled into one. So maybe my tastes aren't as refined; maybe I'm just more resourceful.

Anytime I taste a tropical flavor, I think of my elementary school years, when I would sing along to the Cocktail soundtrack on my Walkman. If I taste macadamia nuts, I think of the film's setting in the Caribbean. If I taste coconut, I think of "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys, one of my favorite songs from the film. The connections are unstoppable—and possibly made worse by the fact that I still own, and listen to, the soundtrack.

With the days getting cooler, I decided this would be the perfect time to bust out Tropical Banana Muffins, a.k.a. "Cocktail" Muffins, to bring me back to a beachy setting. Nothing warms up the house more then the smell of fresh baked goods, right out of the oven. Especially when they have a tropical twist: coconut, macadamia, and banana.

Try mixing in all the coconut for more texture, or top the muffins with 1/4 cup of the coconut. Both versions are delicious.

And while I have your attention, this Thursday, October 18, VegCooking will host its first-ever guest blogger, Almost Vegetarian! The popular food blogger will share her thoughts on, well, being almost vegetarian and what it's like to have a family who's along for the ride. I've had a little sneak peek at the post, and I hope all of you will love it as much as I did! Almost every vegetarian, or vegetarian in the making, out there will certainly be able to relate.

So don't miss it this Thursday!

Today's post is a review of treats so sweet that my teeth are aching just from looking at the pictures. Both reviews have been provided by Ashley, whom I envy at this moment for being lucky enough to taste all the sugar-laden confections below. Enjoy.

Vegan Treats Bakery

On my first visit to Vegan Treats Bakery in Bethlehem, Pa., the woman working behind the counter was forced to display saint-like patience while interns Min Hee and Shawn and I spent a full half-hour gawking at the decadent bakery case before we could muster the composure to place our orders.

Not that we could have possibly gone wrong. When you are choosing between such mind-blowing vegan options as an Oreo-crème filled donut, a strawberry shortcake coated with a chocolate shell, and a caramel-nut brownie, there is no such thing as a wrong decision. The best part is the cheesecake—the case with rows of elaborately decorated miniature cheesecakes packs more dazzle than the display case at Harry Winston. They come in tons of flavors—ranging from key lime to chocolate-mint to coconut—and are topped with anything from fruit to gold leaf to chunks of brownies.

And I would be letting my fellow vegans down if I didn't mention that Vegan Treats is famous for its "bomb" cakes, the favorite being the chocolate-peanut butter bomb, a chocolate layer cake with a monster blob of creamy peanut butter frosting on top.

Sticky Fingers Bakery

Tell any vegan that you live in Washington, D.C., and the first words out of his or her mouth won't have anything to do with the White House or the Lincoln Memorial—all he or she will want to know is how close you live to Sticky Fingers Bakery.

With painted chocolate dripping down its pink walls and the aroma of pastries in the air, Sticky Fingers Bakery is a shrine to sweet, carb-laden vegan comfort food. From Frisbee-sized sticky buns and rich layer cakes to Hostess Suzy Q-style "Devil Dogs" and s'mores cheesecake, the goodies at Sticky Fingers entirely live up to the bakery's motto 'The only thing crunchy about us is our cookies."

In addition to desserts, Sticky Fingers offers pre-made sandwiches like the awesome tempeh BLT as well as entrées like mac and "cheese" and seitan barbecue with mashed potatoes. Sticky Fingers has veggie dogs that can be loaded up with chili and soy-cheese sauce, and the vegan "sausage, egg, and cheese" breakfast sandwiches are so popular that your chances of snagging one if you decide to sleep in on a Saturday are laughably slim.

Get started making your own vegan treats at home, with a little help from our dessert recipes here on VegCooking.

Still not over Halloween, even after my weekend bash, I decided to make more sweets to celebrate today's holiday. It was time for the obligatory cutesy cupcakes, and of course, they had to be chocolate. I used the recipe I posted a few months back, but this time cutting it in half. I must have been high on cupcake goodness when I said that recipe makes only 36 cupcakes. The actual number is a little closer to 48. After baking, the chocolate cupcakes were slowly transformed into ghosts, pumpkins, graveyards, and spider webs—all more cute than creepy.

But the sweets don't end there. People around the country are still stocking up on treats to dish out tonight. I'll be giving out my favorite vegan candy—Now and Laters, Chocolove Chocolate, and Sweet Tarts—because I'm sadly too old to go out and participate in the fun. The last time I went trick-or-treating, my best friend, my sister, and I dressed as Bell Biv DeVoe—I kid you not. Maybe my age is sparing some child from the most frightening Halloween of his life.

Find out more about candy that is surprisingly vegan, and happy Halloween!

Scones should be golden brown and firm on the outside, with a soft crumbly texture hidden inside—a little treasure, of sorts, for your mouth. They can be savory or sweet and served for breakfast or dinner. I know, this sounds like the most perfect little quick bread in the world.

Scones appeal not only to my palate but also to my fantasy-prone mind. Even though they are extremely easy to make, they somehow feel like a fancy treat that I—a character in a Jane Austen novel, maybe a long-lost Dashwood sister—am enjoying on a dreary day in the British countryside. When eating them, I am likely to bust out my best British accent, just as Jack does while on the phone with family. Both are quite amusing.

The recipe I used for my chocolate chip scones was adapted ever so slightly from one posted on About.com, and the result was delicious. Crispy outside, soft inside, sweet, and accent-inspiring—perfect.

A few months ago, I wrote about a fantasy involving a swimming pool filled with vegan Twinkies. That fantasy may soon become a reality, thanks to Vegan Honey, the Brooklyn-based bakery that offers up mouthwatering treats online at Etsy.com.

Vegan Honey sells pies, pastries, doggie treats, and more and even has a "Fauxstess" line, which features chocolate-covered vegan Twinkies! Just about every dessert I can think of is available on the site, and lucky for you, you now have a chance to win some of them.

Vegan Honey has been kind enough to donate a $40 gift certificate to Etsy.com that will go to one lucky winner. All you have to do for a chance to win is leave an interesting comment about your favorite vegan dessert—we'll keep it simple. The most unique, witty, inspiring, or delicious comment wins.

The contest ends on November 27, and the winner will be chosen and by November 30.

Just so you know…by giving us your details here, we're taking that as acknowledgment that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy. And by commenting, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions.

What would make my list of requirements for the perfect cookbook? Let's see…

•Tasty, reliable recipes, obviously.

•Tips throughout that explain all those small steps that most cookbooks assume you already know how to do.

•Beautiful pictures that rival the artistic photography in even a Charlie Trotter cookbook.

•But not just pretty pictures, also part instructional text—think a toned-down version of a CIA textbook.

•Oh, and all the recipes are vegan.

If I were writing a cookbook, these are all the elements I would want to include to make the perfect book. Luckily, I've already found a book on baking that has all of the above.

The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is by far one of the best vegan cookbooks I've come across. Don't be fooled by the "average Joe" cover, because there are culinary treasures to be found inside the book.

It is loaded with reliable recipes for classics such as chocolate chip cookies, lemon bars (see the recipe below), pumpkin pie, and caramel popcorn—but the author ventures away from the norm as well. Colleen mixes it up a bit with recipes for Mexican horchata, melonpan (a Japanese cookie bread), and chocolate babka (Polish bread). I can honestly say that I was not disappointed by one single recipe in the book—and I tried many.

I must admit that I am very much a cookbook junkie—let's just say "connoisseur." I look at not just the recipes and photos but also the quality of the paper, the font, the binding—I look at it all. Sadly, many vegan cookbooks just aren't up to par with where vegan food is. The books sometimes look like children's homemade Christmas presents for their parents—not exactly an accurate portrayal of the best vegan recipes there are to offer. But that is not the case with The Joy of Vegan Baking. It's a beautiful book with delicious recipes, and I give it the "Amy, Cookbook Connoisseur" seal of approval.

I'm willing to bet that most people have heard of—and many have tried—the traditional pineapple upside-down cake. I remember thinking as a child that it was just about the coolest thing that my mom ever made—and I loved stealing the extra pineapple rings from the can. But most people, myself included, don't look beyond pineapple for the ingredient that will go on top (or is it the bottom?) of the cake.

After a friend made this Apple-Cinnamon Upside-Down Cake for me, I decided to research more interesting recipes for the flip-flopping cake. Very slowly, I came across recipes for cakes (and muffins) that cried out to be veganized. Here are a few of the highlights: Banana-Maple Upside-Down Cake, Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake, and even a Broccoli-and-Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake.

And here are a few that are already vegan: Peach Upside-Down Cake and Cranberry Upside-Down Cake.

Let me know if you have a recipe or an idea for a creative—or just plain weird—upside-down cake.

By playing it cool over the last couple of weeks, I've been able to hide my obsession with all things Christmas. Christmas music? Love it. Christmas tree? Already decorated. Singing Rudolph doll with a light-up nose? Already in my living room.

Like many adults, the holiday items I love most are those I remember from my childhood, especially the songs and desserts. So, to kick off my holiday baking this year, I blasted the Chipmunks' Christmas song and got out the cookie cutters to make classic sugar cookies.

Of course, I loved making Christmas sugar cookies as a child—it's a canvas you can then eat—but I still love making them as an adult, too, because they're nostalgic and easy. Decorating can be made practically stress-free by buying icing, gels, sprinkles, and candies from your local grocery store instead of trying to make them on your own.

With these reliable recipes that I found for perfect sugar cookies and icing as your base, and with your store-bought decorations, you'll have time just to have fun decorating cookies, not worrying about how they'll taste.

P.S. If you have time, enter one of these (American Apparel or Almost Vegetarian) great contests. And if you are like me and haven't even begun to think about shopping for Christmas presents yet, you can just give the prize as a gift!

Just because I'm vegan doesn't mean I'm not mildly obsessed with the Food Network, like many of you out there. Now if only they'd hold a vegan Iron Chef competition, I think my life would be complete.

In the meantime, I can pick and choose which recipes I want to veganize, and today's winner is a rice pudding created by Giada De Laurentiis and featured on the Food Network's vegetarian Christmas menu. (Psst…I'm also featuring another item from the menu in a guest post on Almost Vegetarian sometime before Christmas. I can't tell you which one, but be sure to check it out.)

Rice pudding has long been a traditional holiday dish worldwide. Wikipedia's rice pudding page describes variations of the dish that can be found in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas and gives the history of the dessert. Some of the recipes are already vegan, like the Puerto Rican version, which is made with coconut milk, and the others can be easily veganized.

Giada's recipe is one that fell into the "easily veganized" category, because I only had to substitute the soy milk. Once this creamy pudding started simmering on the stove and the smell of vanilla and orange zest filled the air, I knew that Christmas is almost here—and that I had found the perfect dessert to finish off my holiday meal.

To ring in the new year, I will most likely be on a dance floor surrounded by friends and screaming out my countdown to midnight. But that will only be after I have an early evening cocktail party that focuses on finger foods. I have to do something somewhat sophisticated and adult-like before getting crazy later in the night.

A New Year's Eve party is the perfect time to put out a spread of indulgent appetizers, mini entrées, and desserts all at once. There are no hard rules on the rights and wrongs of what to serve on this holiday, so get crazy with it!

Chow.com offers up ideas on creating a Japanese spread focused on mochi or starters such as curried carrot soup served in cute shot glasses. This is also the time to splurge on the bubbly and on specialty cocktails, such as Food Network's champagne punch. You can try the Triple Threat Twinkies or Mushrooms Rockefeller below, or be creative and create your own finger foods.

The point is to be creative and celebrate the way you want. After an often stressful holiday season jammed full of traditions, it's necessary to let your hair down, celebrate, eat, and drink your way.

And I want them now! Sure, you can find Oreos everywhere, and many store-brand cookies are vegan, but sometimes you want that extra-special cookie. Well, you're in luck because finding great vegan cookies is now a cinch.

Here are some of my favorite brands:

•Liz Lovely: My favorite is the soft chocolate chip "Cowgirl Cookie."

•Alternative Baking Company: This was the first brand of pre-made vegan cookies I ever tried, and it's still a favorite to this day. "Explosive Espresso Chip" is hands down my favorite.

•Uncle Eddie's Vegan Cookies: I've got to recommend the "Oatmeal Chocolate Chip." Are you guys seeing a pattern here?

•Lucy's: These low-calorie crispy cookies can be purchased in a 12-pack sampler.

•Nana's: Who can resist a dessert called "Nana's Fudgy Wudgy Cookie Bars"? You have to try one.

•Sun Flour Vegan Cookies: The delicious and filling "Banana Nut" cookie is practically a meal in itself.

As I said, there's no need to worry about how you're going to get your hands on these delicious treats—which I must admit are listed in order of preference. You can find these online, at health-food stores, and at some major grocery stores, such as Whole Foods. And if you have tips on where to find other yummy, pre-made vegan cookies, please share in a comment below!

Grab a towel before clicking on the link to the Allison's Gourmet Web site, because the pictures of gourmet desserts are going to make you drool. The boxes of chocolates are just like those my dad gave me for Valentine's Day when I was a little girl—except they're better because they're vegan.

Now is your chance to win the six-piece vegan chocolate assortment of truffles and caramels and the organic vegan peanut-butter cups. Even better, Allison's Gourmet is going to ship them to your door in time for V-Day, so you can give them to that special lady friend or man in your life—or just protest the holiday and eat them all yourself.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment below describing your favorite vegan Valentine's Day food. It can be a candy, a dessert recipe, a decadent savory item—anything goes! The most intriguing comment—as determined by me—wins the prize.

The contest ends February 10 at 12 noon, and the winner (one person will receive both the six-piece assortment and the peanut-butter cups) will be notified immediately.

Don't forget to check out all the delicious offerings at Allison's Gourmet. Good luck!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and many of us are searching for that perfect gift that will surprise and excite. These truffles, with the combination of chocolate and chilies, will do just that.

This super-easy recipe has just a hint of chili powder and a lot of chocolate. Both are known aphrodisiacs and will certainly help with that "excitement" you're seeking. And depending on your threshold for pain, or some might say pleasure, you can kick up the heat by adding more chili powder or using fresh chilies simmered in the "cream."

I will admit that I've never tried a Milano cookie. I am definitely more of a homemade-cookie kind of girl, but when my friend Mylie sent me this recipe for a vegan version of the Milano, I realized I could have the best of both worlds. A homemade vegan version of Pepperidge Farms' number one selling cookie could be mine.

The Milano recipe Mylie sent to me is from the creators of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and is featured on their blog by the same name. I would say that just about every recipe they create is amazing, and this was no exception. Sure, I have no clue what real Milanos taste like, but these were definitely a hit with my Sunday afternoon, basketball-watching visitors. I did make one slight adjustment to the recipe by reducing my cooking time to 10 to 12 minutes, not the 12 to 14 they suggest. I tried the longer time with my first batch of cookies, but after cooling for only 20 minutes, they were already rock solid.

Let me know if these Milanos taste like the original or if you have veganized any other classic cookies. Enjoy!

Chow.com recently posted a recipe for St. Patty's Day Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes, and immediately I knew that they needed to be veganized because it would allow me to indulge in both my love for dark beer and my love for baking.

The first step in veganizing the cupcakes is to replace the Guinness, which is not vegan-friendly, with another Irish stout or coffee. Next, replace the milk with soy milk and the eggs with Ener-G brand egg replacer. Finally, replace the sour cream with the vegan equivalent, or if you are like me and don't have any on hand, use Vegenaise. I swear this was good and led to super-moist cupcakes that even my brother, who seems to be deathly afraid of all things vegan, approved of.

To get a nice light dusting of cocoa powder, try placing a small amount on a spoon and then blowing it onto the cupcakes. Of course, you don't want to do this if you're baking something you're going to sell or, say, giving the cupcakes to a complete germaphobe, but it is a neat at-home trick.

Enjoy the cupcakes with a strong Irish coffee, and you'll have a buzz, not just from sugar, to last throughout the day.

Peanut butter has made addicts out of many—myself included. For me, it's hard to resist eating the creamy and salty spread by the spoonful, by the jarful, on apples, with pretzels, or even mixed with pancake syrup. I think you get the idea.

It's no surprise that a P.B. junkie like me loves indulging in peanut butter cookies. They are often made not with just a hint of peanut butter but with entire cups of the creamy goodness. Some recipes are even flourless and consist of little more than just peanut butter, margarine, and sugar—a P.B. addict's dream come true.

My recipe below does contain flour, but it still has a whole cupful of peanut butter, so the flavor definitely shines through. Also, I always reach for the crunchy kind to add a little extra texture to the cookies.

Enjoy!

Vegan bakeries are popping up all over the country. In many cities, vegans can walk right into what appears to be just your normal bakery, only to find that they can order anything on the menu. I'm obviously insanely jealous because the same is not true in Atlanta (why not?!). Sure, we have coffee shops and Cosmo's that offer vegan baked goods from wholesale bakers, but I need a storefront. I need to walk in the door and see glass cases full of cakes, cookies, and brownies so that I can drool over each. Picking up one brownie covered in plastic wrap off a shelf isn't quite the same as seeing endless, beautiful options.

People who live in D.C. are blessed to have seemingly endless, beautiful options because their city is home to the all-vegan Sticky Fingers Bakery. Yeah, I'm jealous of them too. But at least I can read about the bakery this month on VegCooking.com because we are profiling Ben Adams, the pastry chef from Sticky Fingers Bakery, in our Chef Spotlight. After reading about his training, techniques, and ability to whip up Cinnamon Sticky Buns, Chocolate Love Cake, and I Dream of Cheesecake, you'll be jealous too.

You can read about Ben and Sticky Fingers here.

Caramel popcorn is surprisingly easy to make and to veganize—it's also surprisingly addictive. I don't even really have much of a sweet tooth, but I found myself unable to stop stealing pieces from the bowls I was taking pictures of, and after a few minutes it became noticeable. Yep, those bowls in the back of the photo are there for a reason.

The recipe instructions for this are very easy to follow, but I do have one suggestion on the popcorn—don't buy the microwavable stuff in the two layers of individual packaging. You can buy a bag of kernels for about one dollar and make what seems like a million cups of popcorn.

It's super easy to make too. Place a medium or large pot over medium-high heat and add enough kernels to cover the bottom. Top with a lid and then sort of shake the pot every few seconds. If you're using a saucepan with a lid—and your arm is up for it—let it hover right above your burner and move the pan in a circular motion to prevent the kernels from burning. After just a few minutes, you'll have perfectly popped corn.

This method also allows you to cook the popcorn without any butter or oil, so it is much healthier. Well, it's healthier until you drown it in margarine, and sugar, and corn syrup, as the recipe below calls for. But, hey—the occasional splurge is necessary.

Homemade Caramel Popcorn

10 cups popcorn, popped
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup soy margarine (try Earth Balance)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

•Preheat the oven to 250°F. Grease a large baking pan with a generous amount of margarine and set aside.

•In a large bowl or two, combine the popcorn and the peanuts and set aside.

•In a heavy saucepan, combine the margarine, brown sugar, and corn syrup and whisk over medium heat until the margarine melts. Bring to a boil and let cook, without stirring, for about 4 minutes, or until the mixture reaches 255°F on a candy thermometer.

•Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, salt, and baking soda, then gradually pour over the popcorn and nuts, stirring to coat. Pour the popcorn into the baking pan and place in the oven.

•Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring often. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before storing.

Makes 10 cups

Another recipe that several of you requested from my "You Write the Menu" post was flan. Maybe you were looking for a challenging recipe to throw at me, but this one was surprisingly easy.

I decided to go for a dessert version of the custard dish that focuses on the flavors of vanilla and caramel. I tested several variations of the recipe below and found that this one gave the best results for the caramel and the custard. Others had a caramel that was too syrupy or the custard was way too dense.

Try to look at this recipe as a solid foundation that you can then tweak. Go ahead—substitute the vanilla extract for almond or lemon. Replace the soy milk with coconut milk or maybe even a little coffee. And please let me know if you create any great variations!

Growing up in Louisiana and Georgia makes it nearly impossible to avoid a love for pralines. The sugary pecan candies are practically a staple dessert in New Orleans, right along with beignets and king cake. I remember always being allowed to indulge in the extremely sweet treats during family trips to the French Quarter, where the candies always seemed to taste a little bit better.

Making a vegan version of pralines at home is quite easy and takes little time, but there are a couple of key points you have to make sure you don't overlook. One is cooking the sugar and soy milk until it reaches the soft ball stage, and the other is making sure that your mixture is not too thin. If you try to spoon out watery pralines onto your waxed paper, they might not ever set. Trust me, I know—it happened to me. They're supposed to be solid yet light, and if you bite into one, it should break easily and almost melt in your mouth. They definitely should not be chewy or soft.

And for all of you who are curious about the pronunciation, here's FrenchQuarter.com's excellent explanation that sets the record straight:

"For the record, the local and proper pronunciation is 'prah-lean,' while the nut most commonly used in it is pronounced 'peck-on.' Just remember that, in New Orleans, a word pronounced 'pray-lean' means nothing except, perhaps, a posture the supplicant faithful assume while petitioning God."

Enjoy!

Way back in 1984, the late President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month. I'm not sure if he would have used the words "ice cream" to include those made from soy, rice, and almond milks, but we sure as hell will!

Many people know where to find nondairy ice cream these days—just about every grocery store out there carries at least one brand—but many people may not realize that vegan versions of all the other goodies that go along with ice cream (and are deemed essential by me) are also available at your average local grocery store. So to celebrate National Ice Cream Month this year, let's focus on the "accidentally vegan" toppings that are more easy to find than you may think.

For my Rocky Roadesque Ice Cream Bowl that is loaded with all the extras, you'll need the following accidentally vegan items to go with your favorite dairy-free ice cream, and yes, I'll give specific brands so that you'll know exactly what to get:

•Waffle Cone Bowls: Perhaps the greatest invention ever. The taste of a waffle cone but in a bowl shape so that it can be piled high with toppings. I used Kroger brand.

•Chocolate Syrup: Hershey's Chocolate Syrup is vegan.

•Marshmallow Topping: Smucker's Marshmallow Topping is actually vegan! It's runny and ooey-gooey, which is perfect for this treat.

•Chopped Nuts: Unless they have an additional flavor added, they should be vegan.

•Cherries: Use fresh, frozen, or bottled—they should all be vegan.

To create the Rocky Roadesque treat, add a generous scoop of slightly softened dairy-free vanilla ice cream to a small mixing bowl. Drizzle both the chocolate and marshmallow topping over the ice cream in thin streams. With the dull side of a knife, gently swirl the two toppings into the ice cream, being careful not to overdo it. You only want thin ribbons swirled throughout.

Carefully add the mixture to one of the waffle cone bowls, top with additional marshmallow and chocolate, if desired, then add chopped nuts and cherries. Finally, chow down!

For more information on "accidentally vegan" items available in your local grocery store, check out our shopping guide.

Citrus is often used to cleanse the palate, which is great after eating food that is very rich, salty, or fatty. A lesser known use is consuming citrus, especially lemon, to make you feel less full during or after a meal—this can be a very dangerous thing.

Using lemon to create what feels like an extra square inch or two in your tummy during an occasional indulgent meal isn't really a problem, but when you've incorporated lemon into an everyday dessert, like cookies, and you realize that you could literally eat all of them, well, that might not be so good.

The lemon sugar cookie recipe below contains a healthy dose of sugar, margarine, and flour, but the cookies still taste light and refreshing and don't leave you feeling very full, so you are tricked into eating too many. Darn lemon! They are delicious, so it might not be too bad…

Enjoy the cookies, but eat with caution!

The recipe below is for a tart and sweet vegan cheesecake that is extremely easy to make and has very few ingredients. Yes, the title says "key lime," but I'll go ahead and fess up that I cheated and used normal limes. You can too.

The tartness of the limes, regardless of variety, and the sweetness of the sugar do a good job of blending with the taste of the vegan cream cheese. I've tried many vegan cheesecakes where the flavor of the "cheese" is too strong, but not with this recipe. It's just right.

To make this summertime vegan dessert even easier, just use a prepared graham cracker crust from the store. I used the Kroger brand, which was conveniently labeled as vegan right on the front of the package. Enjoy!

Chewy and crunchy, healthy yet indulgent—this is why I love oatmeal-raisin cookies. It's not so much about the individual ingredients but the way they work together. You'll even find people who despise oatmeal or raisins on their own but can't resist them when they are rolled up together into the form of a cookie.

The key to making chewy cookies is making sure that you have enough fat and liquid in the recipe and, more importantly, not over-baking! This is crucial. Leaving cookies in the oven too long will leave you with all crunch and no chew. In this recipe, the crunch should come from the oats, not a long baking time that turns cookies into cardboard.

And please note that I'm using the term "healthy" very loosely. These cookies aren't exactly low-fat, low-calorie, or low-anything. They're just not as bad as, say, chocolate-chocolate chip cookies because they do have raisins and oatmeal. You can make them healthier by swapping out some of the white flour for wheat flour and reducing the sugar if you're OK with a cookie that isn't as sweet.

Enjoy!

Today is PETA's 28th birthday, and everyone knows that you can't celebrate a birthday without cake! Thanks to the hard work of PETA members over the last 28 years, it's now easier than ever to find vegan cake—or vegan cookbooks to make your own cake—nationwide. Major grocery stores carry accidentally vegan icing and decorations, all of which make cruelty-free desserts easier to come by than ever before.

Take just a moment to think back (or imagine) the state of vegan cuisine 28 years ago. Were there vegan bakeries in multiple cities across the country? Nope. Did fine dining establishments that serve a 100 percent animal-free menu exist? Nope. Did international fast-food chains offer veggie burgers and faux chicken? Nope.

Vegan cuisine has certainly come along way. Many no longer look at it as weird and boring and instead consider it just another tasty meal-time option. This is because of the hard work of organizations like PETA and our members, who have been pushing the envelope for almost 30 years.

So to celebrate, let's have vegan cupcakes from the bible of vegan cupcake baking, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Of course, I couldn't resist topping them off with a PETA logo and everyone's favorite PETA character, Nugget.

Happy 28th birthday, PETA! And with the continued hard work of our members worldwide, I'm certain we'll be celebrating many more to come.

Pudding is a food term with many meanings, but in the U.S. we often use it to describe the custard-like dessert that is commonly flavored with chocolate and vanilla.

Creamy chocolate pudding is by far one of the easiest vegan desserts you can make, and the vegan version is much simpler than any version with eggs or dairy. In fact, most recipes require only three or four ingredients and a blender!

The recipe is very plain and simple, so if you're looking to jazz it up, try using a higher-quality cocoa powder or adding additional flavors. Raspberry or cherry flavoring can be used in place of vanilla, or you can throw fresh fruit into the mix. Just keep in mind that too much will change the consistency of the finished product.

Enjoy!

As promised in yesterday's interview with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, here is a delicious blueberry cobbler recipe from her book, The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets. Colleen says, "This could easily be called fruit cobbler [because] it invites the inclusion of any berry or fruit such as apples or peaches. Because I love biscuits and berries so much, this is one of my favorite desserts."

Enjoy!

Brownies don't really do it for me. On their own, they seem a little boring, but top them with a scoop of soy ice cream and chopped nuts, and I'm all over them!

Brownie à la Mode

Below is an easy recipe for brownies. Top the brownies with a scoop or two of your favorite vegan ice cream, chocolate sauce, and nuts, and you'll have an easy vegan brownie à la mode. Enjoy!

To wrap up my series on Ohio road-trip eats, I'll leave you with a delicious and adorable little dessert. The morning after eating at Dragonfly Neo-V in Columbus, I made a stop at another one of the city's vegan-food businesses, Pattycake Bakery. There, I found this raw, individual-size strawberry cheesecake that is as delicious as it is cute.

Mini Strawberry 'Cheesecakes'

If you're in the Columbus area, be sure to stop in for a cookie or muffin or one of Pattycake's other great desserts. And if you're not, no worries: According to the Pattycake Web site, online ordering is coming soon.

Part of the appeal of a pineapple upside-down cake is that it's "upside-down," but what happens if you don't flip over this classic cake? It's just as good.

Pineapple Right Side-Up Cake

This weekend, I was craving pineapple and was desperate to use my new Bundt pan, so I decided to make a pineapple right side-up cake. I used a VegCooking.com recipe for the upside-down version but skipped putting pineapple slices and maraschino cherries in the bottom of the pan.

The moist cake was just as good without the extra fruit baked onto the bottom and equally as cute coming out of a Bundt pan. Enjoy!

Just when I thought warm weather was here to stay, Mother Nature has thrown us a curve ball. To warm up on this unusually chilly day, I decided to indulge in a warm apple turnover made with puff pastry.

Easy Apple Turnovers

Vegan puff pastry is available in many chain grocery stores, which makes easy homemade pastries a possibility for just about anyone. I went with a classic apple pie-like filling, but just about anything goes! I'd love to hear about any interesting puff pastry fillings that you may have tried. Just leave a short comment below.

Enjoy!

Raspberry-Jalapeño, Pecan-Apple Danish, and Chocolate Martini Sorbet are just a few of the eye-catching flavor combinations in the brand-new recipe book The Vegan Scoop: 150 Recipes for Dairy-Free Ice Cream That Tastes Better Than the "Real" Thing from the founder of Wheeler's Frozen Dessert Company.

But the recipes are not all that surprising if you're familiar with Wheeler's. The 100 percent vegan ice cream company offers the widest variety of ice cream flavors I've ever seen, and they even offer several "adult" flavors like Bourbon-Chocolate Walnut, Rum-Pecan Caramel, and Banana Daiquiri. Yum!

Now is your chance to bring Wheeler's unique flavors into your own home. We're giving away 10 copies of the company's brand-new ice cream recipe book The Vegan Scoop.

And as an added bonus, Wheeler's has been kind enough to offer a "sneak peek" inside the book—the creator has provided five recipes free of charge. You can get those in PDF form here.

To enter to win, leave a short comment below telling me about your favorite vegan ice cream flavors or toppings. The only rule is that the comment must be about cruelty-free (i.e., vegan) treats. The contest ends on June 16, and 10 winners will be chosen at random by June 23.

Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

It's not often that I come across veganized French food in restaurants or stores, which means that if I'm in the mood for the rich cuisine of one of my favorite European countries, I have to make it at home. Cream and wine sauces are easy to alter, and I often do, but what about crêpes?

Vegan Crêpes

Crêpes are very thin, almost paper-like pancakes made from a wheat-flour batter. It's fairly simple to make a veganized version—once you have the technique down. Best of all, though, is that crêpes are diverse. Unlike the pancakes that I'm used to, crêpes can play a sweet or savory starring role in any meal.

Here's a recipe for basic crêpes, but I'd like to know: What's your favorite filling?

If our recent contest for the ice cream recipe book The Vegan Scoop left you thinking, "Who wants ice cream with jalapeños in it?" or "I prefer alcohol in a cocktail, not in my ice cream, thank you," then we have a new ice cream contest that is perfect for you.

Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love is the kid-friendly ice cream recipe book that has something for everyone. It contains more than 200 recipes for completely dairy-free ice creams and frozen treats that are made from natural ingredients. Sure, there are some gourmet flavors, but the real stars of this cookbook are the traditional ice cream flavors that can be used in pies, cakes, sundaes, shakes, and more!

Now is your chance to win one of five free copies of Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love!

To enter, just tell us which classic ice cream flavor is your favorite and why:

a) Chocolate
b) Vanilla
c) Strawberry
d) Neapolitan
e) Other

The contest ends on July 20, and five winners will be chosen at random by July 24. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

I've been on a quest for many years to find a recipe that will make a pecan pie that tastes and looks like those I remember from my childhood. If you've been on a similar search, you probably know that many of the recipes out there lead to watery pies that never set, gooey pies that run over while baking, or a dessert that is way too sweet to be considered edible. Finally though, I've found a recipe that passes the test.

Vegan Pecan Pie

The recipe isn't new—just new to me—and comes from the Post Punk Kitchen forums. Toddx's recipe creates a pie that isn't too chewy or too gooey—it's just right. I won't reprint the recipe here because you should head over to the Post Punk Kitchen and check out the many delicious recipes that are posted on their forums! It's a great resource for long-time vegans and for those new to vegetarian cooking.

Enjoy!

At a recent PETA potluck, the spread served up by my coworkers was impressive. I made mashed potatoes, Christine made Creamy "Chicken" Casserole, Emily and Patricia cheated by ordering Chinese take-out, and few people brought fruit platters and chips and dip, but the recipes that really outshined all the others were the desserts.

The problem, however, with attending a potluck is that when you ask your coworkers, "Can you give me the recipe?" the answer is often, "It's on page 180 of this book" or "I sort of combined this recipe I read about with another one my grandmother taught me when I was 10" or "Recipe? Ha!"

Getting a recipe out of people can be like pulling teeth, but through a bit of back and forth, I was finally able to compile a recipe for the delicious Horchata Cupcakes that Shawna made for the potluck and that are currently making mouths water on PETA's Facebook page. It's a combination of the vanilla cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and the nonvegan horchata cupcakes from Cupcake Bakeshop.

Here's a look at a few delicious vegan desserts served at the potluck, and the recipe for the cupcakes is below. Enjoy!

Horchata Cupcakes

Scones from Vegan Brunch

Brownies made from a mix

Banana s'mores just might be the easiest dessert you'll ever make. All it takes is store-bought vegan graham crackers and a vegan chocolate bar heated in the microwave, then you add slices of fresh banana to the sandwich—that's it!

Easy Banana S'mores

Not only is this version of s'mores easy (maybe a little too easy—I ate three in one sitting), it's also healthier than the traditional recipe and vegan-friendly. By replacing marshmallows—which are one of the components of a typical s'more—with bananas, you're kicking the dessert up a notch by adding vitamins and minerals and eliminating animal products.

I'm not sure how well bananas will hold up over a campfire, so I recommend making this an indoor-only treat. Enjoy!

A goodbye-to-summer barbecue wouldn't be complete without a scoop of cold soy ice cream. The bowl I dug into yesterday at a friend's house was cold and sweet but also had a surprising finish that caught me off guard—spice.

Homemade Chocolate Spice Ice Cream

The homemade ice cream was created using a combination of soy milk, tofu, sweeteners, and cayenne pepper, which were blended and then cooled using an ice-cream maker. The small amount of cayenne went a long way, so if you're not a fan of too much heat, use less.

And remember, if you do go for the full amount of spice and your mouth feels like it's on fire, don't reach for another bite to cool you off. I learned that the hard way.

Enjoy!