Traditionally, fudge is made with a caramel base that lends a delightful chew and contributes extremely rich flavors. This is because when sugar is caramelized, hundreds of flavor compounds are created. One day someone got lazy and decided that making caramel was too much drama and they turned to marshmallow fluff to take its place. This is the new school way of fudge making. Marshmallow fluff is sticky so it contributes to the chew of fudge but it severely lacks caramel's rich flavors. The result is a fudge that is slightly easier to make but flat on flavor. I'll take the old school approach thank you very much.

Ultimate is not something that I throw around lightly, especially for vegan brownies. I've had my share of vegan and regular brownies and been baffled by how lacking vegan versions are. Growning up on my Grandmother's brownies, I learned that a good brownie should be dense, fudgy and soft; not light, cakey and dry. Why is it so hard to emulate a traditional brownie recipe that simply consists of a few simple ingredients? Hint: it's due to the egg, which emulsifies, binds, slightly leavens then bakes up as part of the actual base of the brownie itself. To emulate this takes an expedition deep into the innards of brownie science.

Want to bake the world’s best brownies (vegan or otherwise) with little effort? Never baked before and feel overwhelmed? Try this awesome brownie mix by my favorite chocolate company, Ghirardelli, founded in 1852 in San Francisco, California. I had great success veganizing the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix. Follow my instructions exactly and you will discover how easy it is to bake the world’s best brownies!

This Raw Pecan Walnut Brownie Bar recipe makes perfect vegan energy bars for sporting events, a nutritious snack for people on the go or simply just dessert. They feature cacao nib powder that gives it a great chocolate flavor, almond butter for a creamy smoothness and a vanilla bean to tie the flavors together. Pecans and Walnuts add crunch factor and further increase the flavor complexity.

This Chocolate Dream Brownie recipe is fudgy, dense and chewy; three things that you absolutely must have in order to achieve vegan brownie nirvana. They feature arrowroot flour and brown rice syrup to aid in their chewiness. Margarine adds a welcome buttery flavor and vanilla extract ties it all together.

This Choc-tacular Brownie recipe utilizes coconut oil to make them dense and rich, arrowroot flour and brown rice syrup for dense chew factor and vanilla extract for delicious unification. Use unrefined coconut oil instead of refined coconut oil if you're interested in imparting a subtle coconut flavor in these vegan brownies.