I love Valentine’s Day!  Mostly because I love chocolate, but also because I love just about anything sweet.  So this year I wanted to try to make something that was off the charts in terms of gooey sweetness.  I searched the internet for inspiration and found a recipe that looked incredible, and, like most delicious recipes, was very easy to veganize!  (shout out to Courtney at http://www.pizzazzerie.com who created this decadent goodie).  I do have to say that even though Valentines Day is about hearts, this recipe is not so good for the heart.  It uses processed cake and pudding mixes, which I normally stay away from, but hey – February 14th comes once a year!  It’s definitely a splurge dessert, but that said, it does get high marks for being cruelty-free, which takes lots of heart!!  Happy Valentines Day and love all living things every day!

Red Velvet Oreo Brownies

• 1 Duncan Hines box Red Velvet cake mix
• 1/2 c melted “butter” – I use earth balance spread
• 2 T ground flax seed mixed with 5 T water
• 1 pkg jello french vanilla instant pudding
• 6 T canola oil
• 1 package oreos, crushed
• 8 oz non-dairy cream cheese
• 12 oz chocolate chips, melted
• a few handfuls of mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325.  In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, flax mix, pudding and oil.  Coat a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.  Pour the batter in the pan.  It is pretty thick, so just use your hands to spread out.  Bake 30 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the oreo crumbs and the cream cheese.

Once the cake has cooled a bit, spread the oreo mix on top.  Do so by gently pushing down so it doesn’t tear the cake.

Pour melted chocolate over the oreo topping and lastly, press the mini chips on top while still warm.

Let cool.

Cut into 24 squares.