A recipe excerpted from Quick and Easy Vegan Bake Sale By Carla Kelly (The Experiment, dist. by Workman/April 2011).

 

 

 

I had some leftover marshmallows and dried cherries one day and was trying to think of a way to use them up. In an “a-ha” type moment—you’d have been able to see the shining lightbulb above my head if I were a cartoon character—I thought, “Rocky Road!” In a subsequent “a-ha” moment, I thought about making it into brownies. The result is a very more-ish, goodie-laden chocolate treat! Dessert with vanilla ice cream, anyone?

 

Makes 16 brownies

 

¼ cup vegan margarine

¼ cup canola oil

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons soy milk

½ teaspoon chocolate extract (see Note)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed

cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup vegan chocolate chips

½ cup peanuts

1⁄3 cup vegan mini marshmallows, or large ones cut into ½-inch pieces

¼ cup dried cherries, chopped finely

 

1)      Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a 7 by 11-inch brownie pan with parchment paper.

2)     Cream together the margarine, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy.

3)     Add the soy milk and extracts, then mix well.

4)     Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.

5)     Add the chocolate chips, peanuts, marshmallows, and dried cherries, and stir well to distribute evenly.

6)     Pour into the prepared pan, spread evenly, then bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until puffy, just firm to the touch, and a toothpick comes out clean.

7)     Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift out using the parchment liner and transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

8)     Once completely cool and slice into sixteen pieces.

 

Note: If you don’t have chocolate extract, substitute more vanilla extract.