Dried Cranberry Cocoa Cinnamon Rolls

I think about food too much. Visions of sweet and savory foods never drift far from my mind. Sometimes I wonder if it is all I am capable of thinking of, as I plan my meals on the walk to school or mentally make a list for the market at the gym. I have some serious food on the brain.
Sometimes I challenge myself to a little game. These games can be dangerous. Once I've got an idea in my head, it doesn't leave. The idea is to imagine a fruit or vegetable and think of as many recipes off the top of my head that feature them. Let's take pumpkins. Pumpkins become pumpkin pie. Pumpkin Custard. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin bread pudding. Pumpkin oatmeal. Pumpkin alfredo... And suddenly I have a list of recipes a mile long that I absolutely must make right now.

This is precisely the process in which these dried cranberry cocoa cinnamon rolls were conceived.

The rolls are full, dense, and delicious. They don't even need icing because the brown sugar mixture keeps the interior so moist (though I won't fault you if you decide to drown your roll in sugary goodness). Best of all, they keep well in the freezer. If you decide Sunday night your Monday morning might need a bit of a pick-me-up, you can toss a roll in the fridge to rise overnight, pop it in the oven first thing in the morning, and by the time you have to run out the door you'll have a hot, fresh roll to devour, fighting off those Monday blues.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These pumpkin cookies have become a staple in my life. I have tried to share these cookies with all of my nearest and dearest friends, as they were shared with me. These cookies may be simple, but they are as much of a comfort to me as the company of a good friend.
My friend Natasha shared this recipe with me years ago. Whenever either of us makes it, we make it a point to share these cookies with each other. We may not see each other often, but when we do we try to make the most of it. Once, after not seeing each other for months, the moment we met face-to-face she thrust a bag of these cookies in my hands. I've been saving these cookies for you in my freezer, she said. Do you know how hard it was not to eat these for two months?
I made a batch of these cookies for a snowboarding trip with my physics friends. I thought they would make a good treat after a day on the slopes. So I loaded up my car with cookies and people and off we went. Twenty minutes in, I managed to flip and total my car on the icy roads. After everyone was confirmed in good health (though shaken) and the panic subsided, the next immediate question became ARE THE COOKIES OKAY?
These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are soft, moist, and cake-like. The pumpkin provides a mild base while the chocolate really makes this cookie pop. If you are looking for a crunchy cookie, this isn't it. These cookies are so delicious straight out of the freezer (which can be oh so dangerous if you are saving them for a later date). These cookies bring back memories of fall and friendship for me. Go make your own memories with these cookies.

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Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes with Avocado Buttercream Frosting

The idea for these cupcakes visited me in a dream. A real, honest-to-god, its-three-in-the-morning-and-I'm-under-the-covers dream. When I groggily woke up the next morning, I sweetly remembered dreams filled with chocolate cake and green avocados. As consciousness slowly regained, I remembered I had made an apple cake the night before, so I threw the idea of the avocado cake to the wayside as the prospect of a sugar-laden, pretend-healthy cake breakfast whispered to me from the kitchen. But the more I thought about it, the more delicious a chocolate avocado cake sounded. So delicious, in fact, that I couldn't think clearly the rest of the day.
My curiosity was piqued. After work, I immediately ran to the supermarket and rummaged around for the ripest avocados I could find. It took me 15 minutes and several hundred fruit handling assaults to find the ripest avocados. I was a mad woman with a mission. After all, these cupcakes had come to me in my dreams, clearly it was destiny!
By themselves, these vegan chocolate avocado cupcakes are a perfect representation of a delicious, moist cupcake with the perfect crumb. But with the avocado buttercream? Game changer. This combination is absolutely lethal. The avocado taste in the buttercream is subtle, yet present, and has such a fantastic natural coloring. I would seriously take this avocado buttercream over the traditional buttercream any day. Any day. It is that good.

I shared these cupcakes with my fellow grad students and they were unanimously a hit. I need to dream about pastries more often.

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