Cookies and Candids

My friend Tara and I have been sending each other recipes and comparing notes; she recently made an amazing sounding vegan chocolate pudding, which gets it’s pudding-like consistency from ripened avocados!

Here is a picture of Tara’s pudding:

It’s luscious looking! I had to try making it. You can’t taste the avocado in it at all; my tasters couldn’t even tell what the base was. Besides being vegan and chocolate and delectable, it also only takes 5 minutes to make! Throw all the ingredients into your blender and it’s done! Amazing. I wanted to round out the dark chocolate flavor, so I made another easy recipe, coconut tapioca pudding, to go with it.

For the chocolate pudding, you will need:

1 large ripe avocado
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup wet sweetener (I used maple syrup, but agave could work too)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. water (add additional water 1 Tbsp. at a time to get right consistency)

Throw all the ingredients into your blender or food processor. Blend, scraping down the sides as necessary, and add more water slowly if you need to thin it out.

Coconut Tapioca Ingredients:
2 cups water
3 Tbsp. small Tapioca pearls
3 Tbsp. sugar
tiny pinch of salt
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup shredded coconut

In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the tapioca pearls, using a whisk or fork to keep pearls from sticking together. Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the tapioca to simmer for about 17 minutes. Periodically stir with a whisk or fork to prevent the balls from sticking to one another. In a seperate bowl, whisk the sugar, salt, and coconut milk. At the end of 17 minutes, the tapioca will have slightly thickened and the liquid will be cloudy. Whisk the coconut mixture into the tapioca. Once it has returned to a simmer, allow it to continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Stir and chill. Stir in the shredded coconut, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Refrigerate to room temperature.