Jumbo Chocolate Cups filled with Cookie & Nut Butters!

Before I decided to cut out dairy from my diet, my favorite favorite favorite sweet treat were Reese's Peanut Butter cups. They were everything I ever wanted in a dessert--sweet, creamy, and a little salty. Ugh! Just thinking about them makes my mouth water.

Last night, I got a hankering for a Reese's cup, so I decided to make my own! I wanted to test a couple different fillings so I used Almond Butter, Cookie Butter, and Peanut Butter. I'm sure these would be amazing filled with jams, coconut shreds, and other nut butters.

These were very simple to make because they only require three ingredients and a microwave. I stupidly didn't measure out my ingredients properly (sorry) so these are all guesses. The beauty of this recipe though is that the measurements don't really matter!

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When filling the bottom of the cupcake liners, I used about a tablespoon of melted chocolate. I found the bottom layer to be a little thick for my taste, so I'd adjust them next time by filling the bottom of the liner with 1/2 a tablespoon or so of the melted chocolate. The recipe makes approximately five to seven cups. I did two with peanut butter, two with almond butter, and two with cookie butter.

Jumbo Chocolate Cups filled with Cookie & Nut Butters
-9 oz of vegan chocolate chips (I like Trader Joe's semi-sweet variety)
-filling (nut butters or cookie butter...enough to fill each cup with about a tablespoon of the filling)
-1 tbs of coconut oil

In a microwave safe bowl, pour in the chocolate chips and coconut oil and microwave in thirty second increments until melted. Fill cupcake liners with 1/2 a table spoon of melted chocolate mixture. Set aside left over chocolate mixture. Place the chocolate filled cupcake liners in a freezer for 30 minutes, or until solid and hardened. When the chocolate has hardened, remove from the freezer and fill each cupcake liner with a tablespoon of your filling. Make sure the surface of the frozen chocolate is completely covered by the filling. Top with more melted chocolate until the filling is no longer visible. Place in freezer for another 30 minutes. Enjoy!

I'm not sure how well these do if they are stored outside of the freezer. I think they'd soften up quite a bit. I left my in the freezer and they seem to be okay that way!

Rain, Hail, and Vegan Food: The Ultimate Vegan Street Fair

So, yesterday was the Vegan Street Fair. I can't tell you how excited I was for this event! I mean, what's better than eating a bunch of vegan food for a cheap price while conversing with other like-minded people? Umm, nothing!

I was an ~*~Official Blogger~*~ for the event which made me feel really cool and important. Basically, all it meant was that I got a neat little badge, free coffee, and early access to tickets and vendors (which I would later realize was SO DAMN IMPORTANT).

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So basically, I showed up there in my new cute "Be Kind to Animals or I'll Kill You" crop top (haha, it's hilarious. Also kind of true). Enjoyed some Stumptown Iced Coffee and waited for my friend, Sherry, and camera guy, Stephen, to show up. We purchased 48 tickets total (about $34) and expected to film a bit, do some interviews, and eat lots and lots of food.

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To our surprise, the Street Fair was a MADHOUSE. There were crowds and crowds of people slowly moving in hoards down the streets, hour long lines for tickets, and two hour long lines for food. Everything was supposed to be between $1 and $3, but after doing the math we found out that most of the things we ate were actually $4. Not a big deal, but it would have been nice if we weren't misled in the advertisements. As the day went on, the crowds kept pouring and pouring in. There were so many people there that walking from vendor to vendor became a daunting task, waiting in line took up most of your day, and filming was almost impossible haha.

We went to three different vendors. The first (and the best) was Organix LA. Sherry and I ordered the Big Mac slider and the Pulled Pork Jack Fruit Slider. They were so delicious and at six tickets each (or $4 a pop) they were the best deal we got for the day.

Organix LA

Our next stop was Donut Friend, mainly because it was one of the shorter lines we found. We ordered the Maple Coconut Bacon mini donut, the S'morrissey S'mores mini donut, and a Strawberry Basil mini donut. For the size, they were a bit pricey but were all very enjoyable!

Donut Friend

Our last stop (and the loooooongest line we waited in) was Southern Fried Vegan. We were tempted by their bacon mac'n cheese and chicken and waffles. Again, this place was a bit overpriced for the portion. It was all really delicious food (especially the chicken and waffles!) but if I could go back, I don't know that I'd wait in a 1.5 hour line for it haha (but is anything worth waiting that long for?). I'd loveee to try their food at a non-festival event!! Not to mention, as we were waiting in line, it began to rain and hail. WTF LA?!

Southern Fried Vegan

Overall, the Vegan Street Fair was a huge success. It was heartwarming to see so many people come out and support local vegan eateries. It was even more exciting to realize that there were that many people who were interested in vegan eats! It would be really cool to see them hold the street fair in a larger space next year, so that they can handle the huge masses of people that are bound to come. It would also be neat for the Official Bloggers to get some other perks (maybe a front of the line pass or some free food tickets?). I was honored to be part of the social media team, but would've done my job of blogging about the event a bit better if I had easier access to food and vendors. Lastly, slightly bigger portions for the advertised price would be really cool :)

I'll post a the footage from the event soon. Be sure to check it out! I'll definitely be going back to the Vegan Street Fair next year! Hope to see you there!