Chocolate-Covered Katie: Over 80 Delicious Recipes That Are Secretly Good for You

When I first became vegan two years ago next month, Chocolate Covered Katie was one of the first blogs that I discovered, and her recipes (and those from Angela Liddon's blog and now cookbook,  The Oh She Glows Cookbook: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out ) completely transformed the way I cooked and ate. Over these last two years, I've turned many (non-vegetarian) friends onto Katie's blog and healthy treats by re-posting her recipes on Facebook, and all of my friends who have tasted or tried her recipes have told me how amazing they are. I eagerly pre-ordered her cookbook the very first day that Amazon had it available for pre-order back in May. I've honestly been counting down the days until this cookbook was out (I don't think I've been this excited about anything in a long time!), and practically grabbed it out of the hands of the delivery person this morning when it showed up. :-) It does not disappoint! This is one book that you need to have on your shelves if you love sweet treats!While Katie's blog does contain entrees, this cookbook focuses just on desserts -- and wow! What amazing desserts these are!Also, although the title doesn't mention it, all of the recipes in this book are, in fact, vegan.Since Amazon doesn't yet have the "Look Inside" feature available, I wanted to give a breakdown of the chapters, along with a little "taste" of some of the recipes in each one so you get an idea of the mouth-watering delicacies in store for you:* The Chocolate-Covered Kitchen -- provides a rundown of what you might want to keep on-hand in your pantry, and some general tips for the recipes* Cookies, Brownies, and Bars -- contains recipes for things like Sinless Peanut Butter Cookies, Chocolate-Covered Thin Mintz (the featured recipe on the cover), Chocolate Raspberry Crumble Bars* Dessert for Breakfast -- recipes include Chocolate Brownie Waffles, Pumpkin Breakfast Pudding (which I've made from her blog; it's easy and delish!), Elvis PB Pancakes, Chocoholic Glazed Donuts, and Midnight Chocolate Crunch Granola* Ice Cream, Milkshakes, and Smoothies --contains about five different ice cream/sorbet recipes, along with things like PB Pudding Pops and a Chocolate Mudslide Smoothie* Pies, Cakes, and Cupcakes -- includes the Chocolate Obsession Cake, Cashew Cream Mini-Tarts, and lots of cupcakes* Puddings, Dips, Frostings, & More -- this chapter contains some of her wonderful dips, including the number one recipe from her blog, the Cookie Dough Dip, along with things like Healthy Notella and two different pie crust recipesThere is also a Stevia Conversation Chart and a Metric Conversion Chart in the back, along with a comprehensive Index.One of the things I love about Katie's recipes (besides how delicious they are) is how they use easy-to-find ingredients. In fact, when she sends out new recipes in her weekly e-newsletter, I've found that most of the time I can make most of the recipes with what I have on hand. Once you have your pantry stocked with staples, it's very easy and quick to make her recipes. (I don't live near a Whole Foods, and can find all of the ingredients at either my Trader Joe's, my regular grocery store, or here on Amazon; there's no need to hunt down unusual items to make her recipes.) None of Katie's recipes (on her blog or in this book) take very long to make at all, so it's easy to whip together something yummy and healthy for dessert.The other main reason that I love Katie's recipes is that they are not only healthy, but also delicious! My husband (who is a carnivore) has always just loved chocolate or ice cream as his desserts; he usually never likes anything else. However, he loves anything I make by Katie, and regularly requests that I make her "Betterfinger" Bars and Pumpkin Chocolate Pizzokie.Most of the eighty recipes in the book are brand-new, and there is a lovely full-color photo to accompany each one. I love it when cookbooks include photos since the pics are what inspire me to try new recipes! She also includes a few favorite recipes (such as her Cookie Dough Dip I mentioned above -- which is one of the most amazing recipes ever -- and you'd never know that there are chickpeas in it!) from her blog.Besides a photo, each recipe is also accompanied by a nutritional analysis (including calories, fiber, protein, fat, carbs, and Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value), gluten-free options, and some notes about substitutions if you don't have the ingredients on hand that the original recipe calls for.While you don't need a high-speed blender like a Vitamix or a Blendtec for the recipes, you will need a capable blender and/or a food processor.Within an hour of this book arriving, I already made the Peanut Butter Pudding Pops (which are still setting - but the "batter" was delicious!) and the Chocolate Peanut Butter Buckeyes. Both came together quickly and easily.I will update my review as I use this more, but I can already tell that this book will be just as amazing as Katie's blog!

Update:I've now also tried Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes (page 169) and Cookie Dough Dip (page 184).Wow, the chocolate zucchini cupcakes are some of the best chocolate cupcakes I've ever eaten. This is by far the best dessert I've tried so far out of this book. I can't stop eating them! They're super, super moist and chocolaty. Recipe notes: 1 medium zucchini was perfectly 1 cup grated (using  Microplane 40020 Classic Zester/Grater ), I used 1/4 cup white sugar and the rest was coconut palm sugar, 1 snack cup of unsweetened apple sauce was the perfect amount per recipe. 1 single serving cup of yogurt was enough for 2 batches of these cupcakes. I think the optional chocolate chips really took the cupcakes from good to great.The cookie dough dip was okay -- it wasn't my favorite. I used peanut butter (one of the recipe ingredient suggestions) and felt it was just a little too peanut buttery. I used it because I figured it would camouflage any "bean" taste. Which it did. I also used ground flax (another one of the recipe ingredient suggestions), and if I ever make this again, I'll try one of the other ingredient options. The ground flax gives the dip little brown specks, which doesn't look too appealing.Original Review:I've only tried 4 recipes so far, but it bodes well. I tried the Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies (page 30), Blueberry Morning Baked Oatmeal (page 68), Deep Dish Cookie Pie (page 138), and Chocolate Obsession Cake (page 142). I used all purpose flour, almond milk, and white or brown sugar when flour/milk/sweetener-of-choice was called for.Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies:It's your basic, oatmeal cookie. Katie's note says raisins can be substituted for the chocolate chips, to make oatmeal raisin cookies, and that's what I did. It's a very wholesome and satisfying cookie. The oatmeal raisin version isn't too sweet (I thought it was just right), I'm sure with chocolate chips it would be sweeter.Blueberry Morning Baked Oatmeal:My husband loves blueberries. He's crazy about blueberry muffins. He also loves oatmeal. He loved this oatmeal bake, raved about it, asked me to make it again. I used 3 mounded over tablespoons of brown sugar for sweetness, forgot to add salt, and drizzled maple syrup over it after it was done. I think this turned out okay, but I'm not a big fan of blueberries, so that's not surprising.Deep Dish Cookie Pie:The first few bites I thought were overwhelmingly beany. All I could taste were beans. By the end of my first slice though, I was sold and didn't taste the beans anymore. The rest of the pie went fast. Beans have been in Asian desserts forever, so it boggles me how it's taken so long for them to show up in American desserts.Chocolate Obsession Cake:Wow. This cake was chocolatey, rich, moist and delicious! I would rather eat this cake than most of the not-so-healthy chocolate cakes I've encountered.------------------------------------------------------------It seems like most of the time with a cookbook, not every recipe tried is a hit. Maybe I've just been lucky with the ones I tried, but they've all been great! It's very encouraging, and I'm super excited to try more. I LOVE that there's so many options for ingredient substitutions that I don't have to restock my pantry with the all-healthy versions right away, I can use what I have and it's okay. Katie's book is a definite win.

Amazing recipe book, I've made quite a few of the recipe's already and my whole family loves them, especially the kids :). Some people say ingredients are hard to find but all the ingredients In the book can be purchased from Holland and barratt or here on Amazon. They might be a little bit expensive but last for ages! And it's all healthy so I don't mind paying a little extra :). Also recommend checking out Katie's online blog for even more recipe's :)

I originally came across Katie Higgin's recipes on the internet and became hooked, so I was pleased to see her book was available in the UK via Amazon. Her recipes are healthy and delicious. Love the desert for breakfast recipes, more filling than a bowl of oats.

I am a big fan of the blog and was so excited to get this book! I have only tried a couple of recipes so far but they have both been delicious!! If you want to eat healthy desserts then buy this book as you won't be disappointed! I love how many pictures it has in the book which really inspires you to make them!

Fantastic cookbook for healthy, delicious desserts! I have already successfully made two recipes and I will be making more this week. The book is so easy to understand and there is also a very educational introduction that taught me about different sweeteners and flours. This is a must-have for any dessert fan, especially one who doesn't have much time to cook or one who is on a strict weight-loss program like I am! Each recipe comes with a picture and sometimes extra tips on making it more special or making it a little healthier.

Just like her blog, has wonderful recipes that are vegan and low calorie!However it's important to note that low calorie does not equal healthy. Replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners does not magically make the desserts good for you, as these are marketed as. Making a dessert vegan (flax egg over real egg, etc) does not mean the dessert is healthier. I understand the marketing reasons behind this, but it doesn't do anyone a service to pretend otherwise.