Another Diary-Free Dessert

With the holidays coming up so quickly (next week... can you believe it?!?)... I decided to post another two dairy-free desserts for my fellow lactose intolerant friends. Make these for a holiday dinner and your friends will be thrilled. The best part... for once you'll be able enjoy dessert at the end of the meal and not feel like you're the only one on some strict diet.

So today I'm going to give you two recipes... one for chocolate lava cakes and another for the traditional christmas cookie, gingerbread.

First, the chocolate lava cakes, these may be tiny but they are so rich, it seems sinful. Also, my brother and sister can't get enough of them (they aren't lactose intolerant), even when I easily adapt them so I can enjoy them as well.

Ingredients

• 6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
• 2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 10 tablespoons earth balance
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and earth balance in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates. Don't leave them in too long or the center will be fully cooked. Ideally, you want the outside of the cake baked and set and the inside runny and hot, picture a center of hot fudge. Yum!

Next up is your traditional christmas cookie, ginger bread. These can be rolled out as think or thin as you want them. Decorate them with a little powder sugar and water icing and you've got a cute gingerbread man to enjoy.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
• 8 tablespoons earth balance
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 large egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper. Beat earth balance and vegetable shortening together in a separate bowl. Add brown sugar and beat until combined and light in texture. Beat in molasses and egg. Gradually add in flour mixture with a wooden spoon. Separate dough and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Take out dough and let it warm up for ten minutes. Roll out dough on a floured surface until it is 1/8 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to make cookies. Continue collecting scraps and rolling dough, until it is all used. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are crisp and set. Cool on wire sheet. Enjoy!