Double Chocolate Muffins

Dear 15-year-old Abbi,
Hi.  It's me, your 12-year older counterpart.  You don't know me, but I am intimately acquainted with you.  When you're 27, you are going to do things you never thought possible.  You're going to be married to a man (with facial hair!  And chest hair!  A real manly dude!) who encourages you to learn Spanish and gets you to eat mushrooms with gusto.  You will eat out at restaurants where you willingly order braised goat and boar jowl.  You will give up bacon and brie for an entire year, subsisting on tofu, tempeh, and kale juice (among other things).
One day, you will come across a double chocolate muffin recipe that requires no butter or eggs, instead using coconut oil and beets (yes, beets), and you will think to yourself, "I want to make these for myself and my bearded husband."  You will bake these with your own baby next to you in a high chair, giggling at the pink veggies being pureed.  You'll eat 4 in one sitting while that baby blissfully naps for a few minutes next to you.
I know you're shaking your head right now, but I know this for a fact.  You will use 'vegan' and 'delicious' and 'chocolate' in the same sentence.  I promise.

Double Chocolate Muffins (with Beets!) via Minimalist Baker
2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp. flaxseed meal and 5 Tbsp water)
1 c. beet puree or applesauce (for beet puree, just toss 4-5 small roasted beets into a food processor and pulse until smooth)
1/4 c. agave syrup
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 c. melted coconut oil
1/4 c. almond milk
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 c. flour
1/3 vegan chocolate chips (I found some great ones at Target!)

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line 12-muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Prepare flax eggs in a large mixing bowl and let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Add pureed beets (or applesauce), oil, agave, sugar, baking soda, salt, and whisk for 45 seconds.
4. Stir in almond milk and whisk until smooth.
5. Add cocoa powder and flours and stir with spoon until just combined.  Batter will be scoopable, not pourable.  If it's getting too thick, add more milk.
6. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Scoop batter into tins (should make 10-12 muffins) and bake 17-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.  Let cool, then remove from muffin tin, and enjoy!

Lactation Cookies

This recipe is gold in my kitchen.  I can't tell you how many of these chocolate chip cookies I've eaten since August came onto the scene; it's probably for the best that the number remain a mystery.  Let's just leave it that easily over 10 dozen have been made, and I'm the only lactating woman in the house.
However, I would like to state that, if you are not a nursing mama, these cookies will not have you leaking through your shirt.  Let's just get that out of the way.  The rumor is that brewer's yeast, oatmeal, and flaxseed are all great to increase a nursing mom's milk supply; the B12 in oatmeal is awesome, lots of omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed, and the yeast has lots of iron, protein, and other B vitamins.  The lactation consultant who leads my nursing group said that, while all of that is good, the biggest thing about lactation cookies is that they give moms the extra calories they may be missing.  Breastfeeding requires about 500 extra calories a day to maintain weight, so these cookies can help you out if you're under that.
Plus, they are totally delicious.  There are lots of recipes online if you google it, but this is my favorite.  I like to mix up the extras; this time, I added chocolate chips, shredded coconut, peanut butter chips, and pistachios.  Weird, but it totally works.  You can also try dried cranberries, almonds, I've even substituted granola for the oatmeal.  Make it your own!
And, if the whole brewer's yeast isn't for you, you can leave it out.  It adds a nice heartiness to the cookies, though, so give it a shot before automatically saying no.

Lactation Cookies (adapted from Mama Say What)
1 c. softened butter (can substitute coconut oil)
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
4 Tbsp. flaxseed
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 c. flour (can use whole wheat or all-purpose)
1tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbsp. brewer's yeast
3 c. rolled oats (not instant)
1.5 c. mix-ins (chocolate chips, dried cranberries, nuts, peanut butter chips, coconut, etc.)

1. Beat butter and sugars in standing mixer until pale and fluffy.  Add in flaxseed, eggs, and vanilla; beat until combined.
2. Slowly beat in flour, baking soda, salt, brewer's yeast and oats.  Once combined, remove mixer from stand, and stir in mix-ins.
3. Use an ice cream scoop to drop batter onto baking sheet, and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes, until golden.  Cool for 5 minutes before devouring.

Pumpkin Bread (with Chocolate Chips!)

Hey guys, I feel silly stating the obvious, but it's definitely pumpkin season.  Maybe you've seen the insane number of pumpkin spice lattes being advertised?  I can never fully get behind them- far too sweet and overmarketed for me.  Which isn't to say that I don't enjoy pumpkin; when pureed, it adds  moistness for a bread that suits the fall perfectly.  This recipe is divine with a cup of earl grey tea in the afternoon, or a pat of butter for breakfast.  It will keep for days, and even makes two loaves!  When it comes to pumpkin, think outside the cup.

Pumpkin Bread (with Chocolate Chips!)  (from Babycenter Blog)
3 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
3/4 c. Greek yogurt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1/2 c. applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
3. In a separate medium bowl, combine sugars, then add yogurt, eggs, pumpkin, applesauce, and vanilla; whisk until smooth.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet and stir until combined.  Add chocolate chips, then divide batter between two greased 9x5 loaf pans.  Bake 50-60 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.