I’ve been making and bringing these vegan brownies to gatherings for nearly a decade now. And my friends — vegans and non-vegans alike — always adore them!

I’ve honestly found myself returning to these brownies so often because it’s one of those back-pocket recipes that only takes about 30 minutes to whip up and calls for basic pantry ingredients that I almost always have on hand. Plus it also sneaks half of a fresh avocado into the batter, whose healthy fats stand in for part of the oil needed and whose flavor is (at least in my opinion) completely undetectable in these brownies. People are always surprised to learn that they’re eating avocado brownies and give them rave reviews!

The most important thing you need to know about these brownies is that they’re rich and very chocolate-y and fudgy. And they are downright heavenly when served warm out of the pan with a cool scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you’re into the salty-sweet thing, I also highly recommend a pinch of flaky sea salt on top. Yum.

Let’s make some homemade brownies together! ♡

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I almost didn’t go to our weekly “neighbor night” this week.

I was exhausted after a long day of work. I didn’t have any food at home to bring for the grill. And I was somehow going on day 3 of not having washed my hair (even after two workouts) and…let’s just say it was not pretty. So, I was planning to bail.

But then I remembered why I love my neighbors.

Sometimes they see me at my best. But perhaps more than even my close friends, they also see me at my so-called “worst”, and everywhere in between. And they seem to be totally cool with that.

They see me when I roll out of bed first thing in the morning and stumble down the stairs with glasses and slippers and morning-hair to let my dog out. They see me when I’m feeling great and will stop to catch up for 10 minutes in the parking lot, and on the days when I’m feeling rushed or uber-introverted and can only offer a hello. They see me when I’m drenched with sweat after a workout, or getting all dressed up to go on a date.

Basically, they see me being myself day in and day out. And in return, I see them day in and day out. And it is the epitome of NBD.

And I love that about us.

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Ok, I promise this is my last conversation hearts recipe!

For those of you who are just tuning in, I went a little candy-crazy last week with this conversation heart Strawberries and Cream Cake and Valentine’s Popcorn. But in my defense, I’m a big fan of using up leftover food. And when I began making these brownies for my book club on Friday night, I couldn’t resist sprinkling on a few of the remaining conversation hearts I still had. So behold, I present to you…conversation heart brownies!

If you are looking for a last-minute Valentine’s recipe, I guarantee that everyone will love these. I even made a second batch of these this weekend to share with some more friends, and was amused at how people seemed to equally enjoy reading as much as eating these chocolatey treats! Although my joke about how they should be called colorful-ies (since they’re no longer just brown-ies…get it?) earned a few rolled eyes. I think I have my dad’s sense of humor. ;)

I’m sharing the recipe for these conversation heart brownies today over at my good friend Cassie’s blog as she finishes moving into her new home. So pop over to take a look, and also be sure to check out all of the other amazing recipes she has to share. She will bake your day!

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Those of you who follow me on Instagram have learned that I recently began working as an on-call photo stylist assistant at Hallmark. Dream come true!!! It is just about the coolest creative environment I’ve ever seen (including an amaaaaaazing prop warehouse, including an entire room devoted to food styling props!), plus I get to work with the kindest, most talented bunch of folks I could ever hope for. But one of the other perks of being back in a shared workplace a few days a week is having people to taste-test my food! Love it!!

So yesterday, after I may or may not have had one of these “Chocolate Biscoff Whoopie Pies” for breakfast, I brought the batch in to share with my coworkers. Thankfully, they were willing to help out. And one by one, the little pies disappeared from the pedestal until they were wonderfully gone – whoopie!

The feedback was a big thumbs up. Everyone seemed to love them! I, of course, loved the pairing of the sweet and cinnamony Biscoff cream cheese frosting with the chocolate whoopie pies. But I also thought they were nice and balanced — not overpoweringly sweet. Just sweet enough to enjoy one. And then maybe two. And….well, you’ll just have to give them a try. :)

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I love Bailey’s. And I love brownies.

So why on earth it took me this long to try combining the two is crazy!!!

But this week I finally gave this new recipe a try to serve as the dessert for my early St. Patty’s Day feast. I decided to make these brownies plain (sans nuts or an extra chocolate ganache), but honestly, they didn’t need any extra fixings. This recipe is ridiculously delicious!!! The brownies were dense and moist, and I loved extra kick of the dark chocolate I used. But the best part was the subtle (but definitely present!) Irish cream in every bite. Definitely a perfect combination!

So if you love Bailey’s and brownies, do yourself a favor and give these a try pronto! :)

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Hello…chocolate!!

For Valentine’s Day this year, thought I’d post a classic favorite from my kitchen — these adorable little chocolate molten lava cakes! Little did I know when I first tried them years ago (at Chili’s…yes….) that they are so simple to whip up. Just 7 minutes of prep, and 7 minutes in the oven, and voila…a classy and delicious dessert ready to go!!

There are many other recipes out there far more complicated, and far more time-consuming, but I’ve been a fan of this one (from Martha herself) for years. Calls for simple ingredients that I almost always have on hand. But for a twist this year, added in some chili, cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne to give them the Mexican hot chocolate kick. And no surprise…loved it! (But feel free to be a chocolate purist if you’d like. :-))

Wishing you all a Valentine’s Day full of much love! (And much chocolate!!) ♥

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