Vegan Turtle Brownies | Fragrant Vanilla Cake

I love baking brownies!  They always make my home smell amazing and one can not possibly be in a bad mood while making brownies, they just have a way of making you happier! Plus I always have the ingredients on hand for classic brownies for when the mood strikes.  Last weekend I decided it had been too long since I have made any and so I baked some up.  I wanted something delicious, not that they aren’t always delicious, but maybe something a little extra.  So I made some Vegan Turtle Brownies!  Because you can never go wrong with the combo of caramel, toasted pecans and dark chocolate after all!

This is the base brownie recipe I came up with at my last job working in a natural foods store and they were always a hit!  It is simple and easy to make and always comes out so delicious, fudgy and satisfying!  I use brown sugar in these to give them a hint of a caramelly flavor in the batter, and coconut oil for the fat, because it is what I happen to have on hand most of the time.  If you don’t like the taste of coconut oil however you could always use melted vegan butter.  For the flour I used whole wheat pastry flour but you could use regular AP flour instead if you prefer or even a gluten free all purpose baking flour (like Bob’s Red Mill all purpose baking flour which I have used with good results).

I made my own vegan caramel for these, the recipe follows the brownie recipe.  It makes extra, so you can keep it in the refrigerator and use it over ice cream or something.  Because I always like to make a little extra caramel when I make it for that reason.  I stirred plenty of toasted pecans and dark chocolate chips into these to make them the classic turtle flavor.

These smelled amazing while baking!  The aroma of heavenly chocolate filling my apartment!  I could not wait to try them, but unfortunately I had to wait for  them to cool down. When I did try them they were super delicious!  Fudgy, and sweet filled with decadent dark chocolate, crunchy pecans and gooey vanilla caramel!  If you are in the mood for something chocolaty and heavenly, definitely give these Vegan Turtle Brownies a try!

Vegan Turtle Brownies

Makes 16

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup vegan caramel*
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips or chunks

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and line a 9×9 inch square pan with parchment.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flax seeds and water and set aside for a few minutes.
3. To a large bowl, add the oil and sugar, then the flax mixture and vanilla and whisk together until the sugar starts to melt into it.
4. Whisk in the salt and baking powder, then the flour and cacao powder until smooth.
5. Pour into the prepared pan, smoothing it to the sides, then drop the caramel over it by the Tbsp and swirl with a knife. Sprinkle with pecans and chocolate chips.
6. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until set.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool before cutting (if you want the brownies to come out nice, otherwise let cool 15 minutes and then enjoy some warm).

Brownies keep in the refrigerator for 1 week, or frozen up to 4 months.

*Vegan Caramel:

• 1 stick vegan butter (1/2 cup I used Country Crock)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut cream
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, maple syrup, coconut cream, and sea salt and heat over medium heat until it is smooth, and comes to a boil.
2. Cook over medium heat stirring often until the caramel is heated to 235F degrees (use a candy thermometer).
3. Once it is 235 degrees, remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into a jar.
4. Let cool before using.  Keeps for 1 week in the refrigerator.