Fragrant Vanilla Cake

Author: Amy Lyons O’Neil

  • 40+ Vegan Easter Dessert Recipes

    40+ Vegan Easter Dessert Recipes

    When I was little, my Mom used to host Easter brunch.  We would have quite the spread, and although most of it was delicious, my favorite things were always the sweets.  Like the caramel rolls, and the Swedish rice ring with raspberry sauce, and of course the candy that was in the eggs I found on the egg hunt we would participate in every year.  The Reese’s peanut butter eggs and berry cream eggs were my favorite.  Now as an adult I still think that every Easter table deserves a fabulous dessert, and some candy as well.  I know I will be making both!  In case you are still trying to figure out what to make, I have gathered up a few of my favorite Easter worthy recipes that I hope you will love as much as I do!  I am going to leave the rest of the talking to the desserts!  Enjoy, these are all super delicious!

    Raw Vegan Tie Dye Eggs

    Vegan Chocolate Covered Caramel Eggs 

    Vegan Butterfinger Eggs

    Vegan Strawberry Chocolate Eggs

    Vegan Raw Coconut Rose Pistachio Macaroons

    Vegan Hazelnut Truffle Eggs 

    Vegan White Chocolate Matcha Hemp Eggs

    Raw Easter Macaroon Nests

    Raw Maca Peanut Butter Eggs

    Raw Raspberry Cream Eggs

    Raw Cadbury Eggs

    Raw White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Truffle Eggs

    Vegan Lemon White Chocolate Truffle Eggs

    Vegan Blueberry Chocolate Eggs 

    Vegan Chocolate Almond Butter Eggs

    Spring Confetti Popcorn 

    Raw Spring Sugar Cookies

    Vegan Strawberry Sugar Cookies with Dark Chocolate and Lavender 

    Vegan Carrot Cake Cookies

    Raw Lemon Bars

    Vegan Carrot Cake Scones 

    Vegan Strawberries and Cream Pie

    Vegan Chocolate Almond Raspberry Mousse Tart 

    Raw Matcha Coconut Cream Pie

    Vegan Caramel Cashew Tart 

    Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

    Raw Chocolate Strawberry Silk Pie

    Mini Vegan Yellow Butter Cupcakes

    Raw Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Filling

    Raw Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Filling

    Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake

    Vegan Spring Carrot and Beet Cake

    Vegan Strawberries and Cream Layer Cake

    Vegan Key Lime Pie Cheesecake 

    Vegan Lemon Cheesecake 

    Raw Pina Colada Cheesecake

    Ultimate Raw Carrot Cake

    Raw Spring Blossom Cake

    Raw Cardamom Scented Carrot Cake with Rosewater Coconut Frosting

    Raw Avocado Lime Tart

    Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Layer Cake

    Raw Strawberry Lemon White Chocolate Cake

    Vegan Festive Carrot Cake

    Raw Strawberry White Chocolate Cheesecake

    Vegan Banana Caramel Crepe Cake

    Vegan Mango Carrot Cake

    Vegan Hummingbird Cake

  • Vegan Key Lime Sugar Cookies

    Vegan Key Lime Sugar Cookies

    I have always loved anything key lime. Key lime pie was one of my favorite desserts growing up, because I loved the balance of tart and sweet in the creamy filling, and just the heavenly aroma of the limes. I still feel the same way, and the scent of lime reminds me of summer and warm weather. Although it isn’t Summer, we have just barely gotten into Spring, I decided to make some key lime sugar cookies last weekend. I am so ready for warm weather and it was making me a little sad that we were supposed to get snow later in the week, so I figured I would enjoy Summer in the form of cookies.

    I used my classic sugar cookie base, one that turns out tender, buttery and melt in your mouth delicious. It is based off of my Grandma’s sugar cookie recipe actually, the one I used to make before I went vegan that always impressed everyone and they were going back for seconds. Some sugar cookies are just like “meh this is ok but nothing special” but these are crave worthy. I actually made this batch gluten free, because I had some Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free baking flour on hand.

    I wanted them to have plenty of lime flavor so I added it in both zest and juice form. I sweetened these with xylitol because I don’t buy refined white sugar and it is what I use when I don’t want my baked goods to turn brown or have a flavor like when I use coconut sugar. The dough smelled amazing thanks to the fresh limes, and it tasted even better.

    The cookies baked up beautifully and although I could have enjoyed them just as they were I figured they would be even better and prettier with a tart lime glaze. They were sooo good! Rich and buttery, with the aroma of lime and a just the right amount of tartness to balance out the sweet. If you are a key lime fan like me, give these a try!

    Vegan Key Lime Sugar Cookies

    Makes 24 cookies  

    Ingredients:  

    Cookies:

    • 2 Tbsp ground golden flax seed
    • 1/4 cup filtered water
    • 2 Tbsp lime juice
    • 2 Tbsp lime zest
    • 1 cup virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquid
    • 1 1/2 cups xylitol* (coconut sugar may be used but keep in mind the cookies will not be the same pretty yellow color)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    • 1/8 tsp spinach powder (optional for color)
    • 3 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour

    Glaze:

    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 3 Tbsp lime juice
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup

    Instructions:

    1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seed, filtered water and lime juice and zest.  Set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
    2. In a large bowl, mix coconut oil with xylitol and mix until well combined.
    3. Mix in the vanilla extract and flax mixture until well combined.
    4. Add the baking soda, salt, spinach powder then the flour, a cup at a time, mixing between each addition, until well combined.
    5. To bake, Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll balls into about 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on prepared cookie sheets a couple inches apart.
    6. Place in the oven, and bake for about 15-18 minutes, until puffed and just starting to brown slightly.  Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.  Repeat with remaining cookies and let cool completely.
    7. To make the glaze, whisk all of the ingredients together (if it seems too thick to drizzle, add a little more lemon juice to it).
    8. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies.
    9. Place the cookies in the freezer until the glaze is set.
    10. Enjoy!

    *Do not feed these cookies to dogs, xylitol is toxic to dogs similar to how chocolate is.

  • Maple Almond Chocolate Mousse Tart

    Maple Almond Chocolate Mousse Tart

    When I was in high school, my friend gave me a dessert book, and some of the recipes in it quickly became staples. One of which was a super simple chocolate mousse. You just whipped up chilled heavy cream, then poured melted dark chocolate into it while whisking and it created the most deliciously rich heavenly mousse I had ever tasted. I made it almost every weekend for a while at one point. I even made a version of it with a bit of bourbon which was crave worthy! I make a version of this mousse now, even to this day but with thick full fat coconut milk. I think it is even more amazing with the coconut milk.

    I decided last weekend that I wanted to make a tart with that mousse as the filling. My Mom recently asked if I could make something with maple as well, and it was her Birthday last weekend, so I decided to make this a maple almond mousse tart with a little smooth almond butter to give it a lovely almond flavor. That’s the thing about this mousse, it is so versatile, you can add anything to it to give it the flavor profile you want.

    For the crust, I used my classic pie crust with a little cacao butter added and it turned out pretty good! Normally for things like this, I would just make a no bake oat crust, but I like the texture of this crust better. I was the perfect base also for that rich smooth mousse because it was buttery and crunchy providing a nice contrast.

    The mousse for this was so good just on its own even before it made it into the crust. I could have just eaten it just like it was, and if you don’t feel like making this into a tart, just spoon it into glasses and enjoy. But boy was this tart heavenly. The dark chocolate was rich and intense in the mousse with a light sweet almond flavor and the aroma of maple, The chocolate crust made it even better! I garnished it with some maple almonds because why not?! If you are in a chocolate sort of mood, give this crave worthy tart a try!

    Maple Almond Chocolate Mousse Tart

    Makes 1 8 inch tart

    Ingredients:

    Crust:

    • 1 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free baking flour
    • 2 Tbsp cacao powder
    • 3 Tbsp coconut sugar or maple sugar
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp coconut oil in its solid state
    • about 3-4 Tbsp cold water

     

    Filling:

    • 1 1 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk, chilled
    • 2 cups vegan dark chocolate chips
    • 2 Tbsp almond butter
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 tsp maple extract (optional)

     

    Garnish:

    • 1/2 cup almonds
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 Tbsp maple sugar
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
    2. To make the crust, in a large bowl, mix together flour, cacao powder, sugar, and sea salt. Cut in coconut oil with a pastry blender or 2 knives until it is in pea sized pieces. Mix in  just enough water to create a smooth dough that holds together but isn’t too sticky. Add more water if needed, and knead slightly until a smooth dough is created.
    3. Roll out into a 9 inch circle using floured parchment underneath and floured rolling pin. Transfer dough to an 8 inch tart pan and fit into the pan (don’t worry if it tears, just patch it up and nobody will know). 
    4. Place in the oven, and bake until set, more dry and starting to brown a little, about 25 minutes.
    5. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
    6. For the filling, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler, then pour into a glass measuring cup with a spout.
    7. Place the coconut milk, almond butter and maple syrup in a food processor and blend until smooth.
    8. Turn the food processor on, and with the motor running, slowly pour the chocolate into it and blend until uniform in color.
    9. Pour the filling over the crust and spread evenly.  Place in the freezer to firm up (about 1-2 hours).
    10. Meanwhile, make the maple almonds for the garnish. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, toss the almonds with the maple syrup, sugar, and salt and spread out on an oiled sheet pan. Place in the oven and roast for about 15 minutes until starting to brown and fragrant. Cool completely.
    11. When the tart has chilled enough, garnish the top with the almonds.
    12. Enjoy!
    13. Tart keeps refrigerated for 1 week in an airtight container.
  • Double Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles

    Double Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles

    You know what always makes me happy? the aroma of nuts roasting in the oven. they always smell amazing and they are just begging to be snacked on as soon as they are cool enough to not burn you. Sometimes I am a little hasty I admit and I do end up burning my mouth. I had a bunch of hazelnuts on hand that I roasted for some hazelnut butter and I had extra, so I thought it would be the perfect time to make some copycat Fererro Rocher candy. I have kind of always wanted to make them, and just never gotten around to it.

    I feel like I am that way with a lot of recipes, I have so many ideas in my head that I say I am going to make, and they bounce around in there for a while, sometimes years and I finally decide to make them. At least I know I will never run out! These were actually fairly easy to make and I had all of the ingredients on hand. They are actually slightly less complicated then actual Fererro Rocher candy though, because I like easy when it comes to things like truffles, especially when I am making them on a week day after work.

    I used a hazelnut in the center just like the original, then I wrapped it in a layer of soft hazelnut chocolate fudge with crunchy chopped hazelnuts instead of the wafers in the original. I am not a big fan of wafers, and I had hazelnuts on hand so it worked out. If you wanted something a bit more crunchy, you could use chopped up wafers, or for a healthier more whole foods option, some sprouted dehydrated buckwheat groats. I used to always use those in my raw recipes whenever I wanted crunch.

    Lastly, I dipped the fudgy centers into dark chocolate and sprinkled them with more hazelnuts. These are packed with plenty of hazelnut and chocolate flavor. I actually like them better than the original Ferraro Rocher! That is the thing about making your own candy at home, you can tailor it to your own tastes! I love that! If you are a chocolate and hazelnut fan, give these a try!

    Double Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles

    Makes 16

    Ingredients:

    Filling:

    • 1 cup hazelnut butter (or almond butter if you don’t have any hazelnut butter)
    • 1/2 cup cacao powder
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 3/4 cup finely chopped roasted hazelnuts
    • 16 roasted hazelnuts

    Coating:

    • 1 1/2 cups chopped vegan dark chocolate
    • finely chopped roasted hazelnuts

    Instructions:

    1. Mix together the hazelnut butter, cacao powder, maple syrup, and chopped hazelnuts in a bowl until well blended and smooth (except for the chopped nuts)
    2. Form the mixture into 16 balls, and press a hazelnut into the center of each ball, forming it around it. Place the balls onto a parchment lined tray. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
    3. Melt the dark chocolate for the coating on the stove in a double boiler.
    4. Dip each ball into it, letting the excess drain off (I like to set it on a fork), and place back onto the tray and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts. Repeat with remaining truffles.
    5. Place in the freezer until set, about 5 minutes.
    6. Enjoy! Store in an airtight container with a lid in the refrigerator for up to a month.

  • Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake

    Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake

    I had two leftover beets from another dish I had made and I thought about juicing them because beet juice is amazing and packed with good nutrients, but you know what sounded even better than juice? Cake. Which was the other thing I was thinking of making with that beet. Cake almost always wins when it comes to me choosing between two different things to make. Plus with the cake I would get so much more out of that beet than one glass of juice. I should explain, I wanted to make a chocolate beet cake in the way that people make carrot cake for example. Grated into the batter to give it that lovely moist but soft and light texture. Beets are amazing in a chocolate cake.

    I actually have a chocolate beet cake recipe in my cookbook “Just Vegan Cakes” but the one I made this time is slightly different. This one uses dates in the batter instead of coconut sugar and almond butter instead of oil, so it is actually fruit sweetened and oil free. But of course you would never guess by tasting it because it just tastes like delicious chocolate cake! The beets hide in there as well, so it is a good way to get sneaky vegetables into your diet (or your family’s) without them knowing it.

    I thought about frosting this with a fudge frosting, but vanilla frosting on chocolate cake sounded better to me at the moment so I made a luscious smooth cream cheese style frosting. I say cream cheese because I added in a little cashew butter along with the coconut milk to give it that cream cheese like texture and a dash of lemon juice to give it that tang. I could have just eaten that with a spoon. Just sayin’.

    It was all even more delicious once assembled! The cake’s texture turned out perfect, nice and moist but still light and fluffy with a dark chocolate flavor and the vanilla frosting was the perfect thing to contrast it with all silky smooth and rich. You would have never guessed that there were beets in there, and that is the secret special ingredient. If you ever happen to have a few beets on hand, give this a try!

    Vegan Chocolate Beet Cake

    Makes 1 6 inch 2 layer cake
    2 6 inch cake pans

    Ingredients:

    Cake:

    • 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour*
    • 1/4 cup cacao powder
    • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1 1/4 cups packed soft medjool dates, pitted, soaked in water for 30 minutes and 1 cup of the water reserved
    • 1/4 cup almond butter
    • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 cup filtered water
    • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
    • 1 1/2 cups shredded organic beets

     

    Frosting:

    • 1 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk*, chilled
    • 1/2 cup organic cashew butter
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp melted coconut butter (warmed to liquid)
    • 1 tsp beet powder to color the frosting

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and position rack in center of oven. Line two six-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper and pan sides lightly with oil so that the cake doesn’t stick.
    2. Whisk flour, cacao powder, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, in a large bowl to blend well.
    3. Place dates, reserved date water, almond butter, water, and vanilla extract into a blender, and blend until smooth, then whisk this blended mixture into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in the cider vinegar until bubbles form. Mix in beets.
    4. Transfer cake batter to prepared pans and bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour. Cut around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cakes out onto platter; peel off parchment paper. Let cool completely.
    5. To make the frosting, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth.  Pour into a bowl and place in the freezer until the consistency of stiffly whipped cream (about 30-45 minutes depending on how warm it has gotten, stirring it a few times).  Once it is ready place in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
    6. To assemble, place one cake layer on a plate, and spread frosting 1/2 inch thick over it.  Place the other cake layer over that, then spread the remaining frosting on the top and down the sides of the cake.

    *If you would like to make this cake with organic whole wheat pastry flour instead of the gluten free flour that will work as well, it can be swapped 1:1. 

    *For this frosting recipe use a coconut milk with at least 3/4 of the can cream, or unsweetened coconut cream (I like Thai Kitchen Brand) or it will NOT work for the recipe. 

      ***If you would like a 2 layer 9 inch cake, double this entire recipe and bake in two 9 inch cake pans just keep in mind it will take about 45-50 minutes to bake.

  • Rainbow Vegan White Chocolates

    Rainbow Vegan White Chocolates

    It is finally looking and feeling like Spring here. It isn’t very green yet, the grass is still waking up. But the trees are starting to bud and sprout pussy willows. It feels so nice to be outside after such a snowy cold character building Winter. I am making sure I get out at least once every day for a walk or run. Since it is not quite colorful outside yet and the Spring flowers aren’t quite blooming I figured I would create some color of my own in the form of white chocolate.

    White chocolate is something that I always loved growing up, the vanilla lover that I am, but I thought I would not be able to enjoy it once I went vegan since most of the stuff you can buy contains milk. I was wrong though, there is some out there AND I can make my own, which I was super excited about when I found out I could about a year after becoming vegan. Although I love plain white chocolate I really love making it with fun colors and flavors and I enjoyed playing around with the ones I am sharing with you today.

    I make a creamy white chocolate base from cacao butter, cashew butter and coconut butter to make it extra silky and a little maple syrup, vanilla and a pinch of sea salt. It is heavenly and you can’t even tell it is vegan once it is all set up. I ended up making 6 different colors so I would have the full color spectrum. Because I love that sort of thing having a degree in studio art. I like to play around. These are the flavors I made: Pink Berry, Orange Orange, Yellow Turmeric Ginger, Green Matcha Mint, Blue Blueberry, and Purple Lavender.

    The whole process was fun, and I was very pleased with the result. All of these are heavenly! They are smooth and rich and the flavors are so good! You can make one of the flavors if you prefer one, or make them all. Just note that the recipe below has the ingredients for one full batch of each flavor. I hope you are all having a wonderful Spring!

    Rainbow Vegan White Chocolates

    Makes 24

    Ingredients:

    White Chocolate:

    • 1/3 cup cacao butter (2 oz)
    • 3 Tbsp raw cashew butter
    • 1/3 cup coconut butter
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup (or to taste)
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt

    Colors/Flavors: (Note: these are all to color one full batch not if you want separate colors per batch)

    • Pink (Berry): 1 Tbsp freeze dried berry powder (grind freeze dried strawberries and raspberries to a powder with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder)
    • Orange (Orange): 1/2 tsp turmeric plus 1/4 tsp beet powder plus 1/2 tsp orange extract
    • Yellow (Turmeric Ginger): 1/2 tsp turmeric plus 1/4 tsp ground ginger
    • Green (Matcha Mint): 1 tsp matcha powder plus 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
    • Blue (Blueberry): 1 Tbsp freeze dried blueberry powder (grind freeze dried blueberries to a powder with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder)
    • Purple (lavender): 1 tsp beet powder plus 1 tsp butterfly pea powder plus 1/4 tsp finely ground lavender flowers (grind with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder)

    Instructions:

    1. Combine cacao butter, cashew butter, vanilla, maple syrup,  and sea salt over a double boiler, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Whisk the flavor and color choice combination you choose from the ones above into the white chocolate.
    3. Pour into chocolate molds, and place in the freezer until heard, which can take 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on how warm it is.
    4. Pop chocolate out of molds and enjoy!
    5. Store in the refrigerator for a month or an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.

    *I get my cacao butter from Amazon HERE.

  • Chocolate Almond Butter Eggs

    Chocolate Almond Butter Eggs

    When I was little, I think Easter candy was my favorite candy of all even above Halloween candy. I loved that you could get malted milk ball eggs, pastel colored M&Ms and giant Reese’s peanut butter eggs all in one Easter basket haul. I also loved hunting for Easter eggs filled with candy and goodies. We would always have contests to see who could find the most although we all had to share and swap when it was all over so we got the same amount of candy. Funny, a few times my Dad hid the eggs so well that we found them later in the year in random spots like under the couch or something. I think I even ate the candy I found too even though it had sat a while because my 8 year old self didn’t care.

    My favorite of all the Easter candy were the giant eggs. The strawberry and raspberry cream and peanut butter ones were amazing at that point in my life. I make peanut butter ones now myself every year because it is fun and that way I know the ingredient quality is good plus I can guarantee that they are vegan. I decided to make almond butter ones this year as well, because I love almond butter almost as much as peanut butter and I had a few people I wanted to share them with who do not care for peanut butter.

    I feel like almond butter is kind of a little more fancy too. I had a lot of fun making these and although it is a process that takes a few steps it is really pretty easy. I used it as a post work stress relieving activity because making desserts totally calms me and makes me happy (so long as they turn out, which they usually do). You feel kind of like a kid playing with play dough when making these eggs because I don’t have any fancy molds and I mold them by hand instead.

    The filling is actually pretty simple, mostly almond butter with some coconut flour to make it into almost a dough that can be molded. I wanted my filling to not be too sweet so I didn’t add any sweeteners, but I know most people like things like this sweeter than me so I have included a little maple syrup in the recipe for those people. Once you dip these in dark chocolate they are sooo freaking good! I made them pretty big so one is pretty satisfying but it is super tempting to eat another one. If you are an almond butter fan, give these a try for Easter!

    Chocolate Almond Butter Eggs
    Makes about 10

    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup smooth organic almond butter
    • 1/3 cup coconut flour (or as needed)
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1 1/2 cups vegan dark chocolate chips, or chopped vegan dark chocolate

    Instructions:

    1. In a bowl, mix together the almond butter, coconut flour, maple syrup, and sea salt until smooth and well combined.  You want it to be the consistency of dough, if it is still too soft (since almond butter may vary in how liquid it is), add a little more flour.
    2. Shape into eggs, and place on a parchment lined tray.  Place in the freezer to chill for 1-2 hours.
    3. Meanwhile, when you are ready to dip the centers, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler until smooth.
    4. Dip each egg into the chocolate (letting the excess drain off, I like to set mine on a fork to dip to make it easier) and place back onto the tray until they are all done.  Place in the freezer to set the chocolate until it is hard, which usually takes 5-10 minutes.  Enjoy!
    5. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in a container with a lid for up to a few months.
  • Vegan Caramel Cashew Tart

    Vegan Caramel Cashew Tart

    About 10 years ago for Easter I made this amazing caramel cashew tart. I had made it because my Mom loves anything similar to pecan pie with nuts and caramel baked into a crust and cashews seemed more Spring like than pecans so that is what I chose. It had loads of butter and cream in it and plenty of refined sugar and was definitely not by any stretch vegan. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought to recreate it before now, but finally this year I did! It is not Easter yet, but that tart popped into my mind and I decided to make it veganized.

    I like to think that my veganized versions always improve upon the original classic versions of things that I used to make and luckily that is usually the case. This one was definitely better than the original! I used my classic gluten free pie crust for the base to keep it simple (since it is easy to make) and let the filling shine.

    For the filling instead of refined sugar caramel, I made a date based caramel. Dates are nature’s caramel after all, and they are my go to ingredient when making any kind of vegan caramel sauce, candy or filling. I love that they are so naturally sweet without being processed. I combined them with some luscious Dastony cashew butter that I recently received from Raw Guru and boy was the caramel heavenly. The cashew butter added a nice richness and of course I was keeping with the cashew theme!

    I could not stop tasting the caramel…it was kind of addictive, but I needed to leave enough for the tart so stirred in the cashews and I poured it into the crust before I ate too much. It smelled sooo good while baking! The only bad part about the whole process was waiting for the tart to cool so I could cut into it. But it was well worth the wait. It was so heavenly! The gooey cashew caramel vanilla filling with the crunchy cashews in the buttery crust was crave worthy! If you are a fan of cashews, definitely give this a try!

    Vegan Caramel Cashew Tart
    Makes one 8 inch tart

    Ingredients:

    Crust:

    Filling:

    • 1 1/2 cups soft pitted medjool dates (if they are not soft, soak them in filtered water for 30 minutes and drain well before using)
    • 1/2 cup raw cashew butter
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/2 cup filtered water
    • 2 Tbsp coconut butter or oil
    • 1 3/4 cups toasted cashews, plus more for the top

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees, and oil an 8 inch removable bottom tart pan.
    2. To make the crust, in a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and sea salt. Cut in coconut oil with a pastry blender or 2 knives until it is in pea sized pieces. Mix in  just enough water to create a smooth dough that holds together but isn’t too sticky. Add more water if needed, and knead slightly until a smooth dough is created. Roll out into a 9 inch circle using floured parchment underneath and floured rolling pin. Fit into the prepared pan, using the parchment to assist. Set aside.
    3. To make filling, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor except the cashews. Process until smooth, then scrape into a bowl and stir in the cashews. Spoon the filling into the crust and top with more cashews to make the top look pretty.
    4. Place pies in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes until the crust is starting to brown lightly. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
    5. Remove the bottom of the pan, and enjoy!
  • Blueberry Lavender Latte

    Blueberry Lavender Latte

    I have been really into lattes lately. Not the ones with coffee, because I am not much of a coffee drinker and if I have coffee in the afternoon when I usually enjoy my lattes I would be up all night. I am talking about tea and herbal lattes! They are amazing and I didn’t even realize it until now. I used to be a huge coffee drinker back when I was in my early twenties, and then one day I got sick after having coffee and I couldn’t drink it anymore. After that it has been all tea and I love discovering new delicious teas. Matcha is my go to if it is earlier in the day, but I like to get more creative if I am not wanting to have caffeine.

    I make golden turmeric lattes a lot, but there is a lavender scented matcha latte that I order a lot at a local coffee shop and I like it so much that I decided that I wanted to use lavender in something at home. What I decided on was a heavenly blueberry lavender latte! Just the sort of thing that is perfect for after dinner when you are relaxing in your pjs after your stressful day!

    I started off with an oat milk base, because it froths really nicely and it is my favorite plant based milk as of lately. Then I added some freeze dried blueberries (which you can get for a good price at Trader Joe’s) because they are little blueberry flavor bombs. I keep them on hand for recipes and they worked perfect for this! Next, some dried lavender flowers to give this drink that aromatic scent that I absolutely love! Also, I added a special ingredient for color that I have been dying to use in a recipe some butterfly pea flowers. They make the prettiest tea that you have ever seen, a vibrant blueish purple color! They were perfect in this recipe!

    Lastly a little lemon juice and a touch of maple syrup (which is optional if you want it less sweet as I sometimes do). I frothed it up with my immersion blender after I had let the flavors infuse, poured it into my mug and it smelled amazing! Not only that it tasted wonderful as well! Creamy and warming with aromatic calming lavender, sweet blueberries and a hint of lemon. This is the perfect relaxing latte! If you need to chill, give this a try!

    Blueberry Lavender Latte

    Makes 2

    • 2 cups thick unsweetened oat milk (I used Planet Oat)
    • 2 tsp butterfly pea flowers
    • 1 tsp dried lavender
    • 2 Tbsp dried blueberries
    • 2 tsp maple syrup (optional)
    • 2 tsp lemon juice

    Instructions:

    1. Bring the oat milk to a boil in a saucepan, then remove from the heat.
    2. Place the flowers, lavender and berries in a tea infuser and add to the pan, making sure it is submerged.
    3. Let the tea steep for at least 5 minutes to allow the flavors to infuse the tea.
    4. Remove the infuser, add the maple syrup and lemon juice and froth with an immersion blender. Pour into two cups and enjoy!
  • Air Fried Spicy Crispy Broccoli with Lemon Tahini Sauce

    Air Fried Spicy Crispy Broccoli with Lemon Tahini Sauce

    The first thing I made in my air fryer back when I got it for Christmas was crispy breaded cauliflower. I had been ordering cauliflower “wings” at a few vegan restaurants a lot before that and I wanted those amazing crispy wings at home but without the deep frying of course so the air fryer was perfect for that. They turned out amazing the first time and without any oil. They were super light and crispy with the perfect amount of breading on the outside. I was craving some last weekend but I didn’t have any cauliflower on hand and didn’t want to go to the store, so I made some fried broccoli instead and it was so good I decided that I needed to share it with you all!

    It was really easy to make, and I was able to enjoy it in less than 25 minutes thanks to the air fryer being so quick! I use that thing a lot just to roast veggies, it takes much less energy and time than the oven. For the coating I just use a simple batter made with gluten free flour and water plus some spices. I like to switch it up to change flavors but I wanted this one to be spicy so I added both chipotle powder and red pepper flakes. I actually sprinkled some of my ghost pepper flakes on these as well, which is an option if you like it even spicier but I know not everyone can get those so I didn’t include that in the recipe.

    Once these are coated in batter, they only take 15 minutes to “fry”. Which is more than enough time to make a dipping sauce for them. I like crispy things with something for dipping. You know like french fries and ketchup, or wings and ranch? Plus these had a little kick so a creamy dipping sauce was the perfect partner for it. This time I decided to make a lemon tahini dipping sauce with the Dastony tahini that Raw Guru recently sent me. It took about a minute to whip up and it was so good!

    The broccoli was so tasty! It reminded me of something I would get at a restaurant as an appetizer but it was so much healthier! These are crispy on the outside with tender broccoli in the center. A little spicy, and a hint of garlic and cumin and the creamy bright tasting lemon sauce is perfect with them! If you have an air fryer (or even if you don’t because I included instructions for baking them in a normal oven as well), give these a try the next time you are craving something fried but still want to eat somewhat healthy!

    Ingredients:

    Broccoli:

    • 1 cup filtered water
    • 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour
    • 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
    • 1 large head of broccoli or two smaller hears, cut into larger florettes

     

    Dipping Sauce:

    • 1/2 cup Dastony tahini
    • 1/4 cup lemon juice
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1 clove garlic, minced

     

    Instructions:

    1. Whisk together the filtered water, flour, chipotle powder, cumin, garlic powder, sea salt and red pepper flakes in a large bowl until smooth.
    2. Add the broccoli florettes the bowl, and toss with the batter until coated.
    3. Spread out on an oiled air fryer tray so that they are not touching each other.
    4. Bake in the air fryer for 15 minutes at 375F until crispy. (or alternatively, you can spread it out on a sheet pan and roast in the oven at 375F for about 30 minutes until crispy.)
    5. Meanwhile, to make the tahini sauce, whisk together all ingredients until smooth.
    6. Serve the broccoli with the dipping sauce!
  • Vegan Peppermint Mocha Brownies with CBD Fudge Sauce

    Vegan Peppermint Mocha Brownies with CBD Fudge Sauce

    We have had a pretty wet and rainy week here in Minnesota. On the up side the snow melting but on the downside we have giant puddles. Now this could be fun if you don your rain boots and enjoy seeing how big of a splash you can make while jumping into them. Not so fun if you are just out for a run and you happen to accidentally mis-judge the depth of a puddle and soak your feet in icy water creating a squish squash sound for the remainder of your run. I got back from that sort of journey outside last Thursday and I wanted nothing more than to put on my PJs and feel warm and bake something delicious.

    I decided on some brownies because some chocolaty goodness sounded perfect. Some peppermint mocha brownies to be exact. Raw Guru had recently sent me some Rawmio peppermint dark chocolate and Veggimins 500 mg peppermint CBD oil that were just begging to be used in a recipe so it was perfect! I made a rich and fudgy brownie base with a bit of strong coffee and peppermint and the batter tasted amazing even before it was baked. I stirred in some Rawmio essentials peppermint dark chocolate chunks and chocolate chips to make it even more delicious.

    They smelled amazing while baking. The aromas of peppermint, chocolate and coffee filling the air! They would have been good just as they were, but I wanted to make some chocolate mint mocha CBD fudge with the Veggimins CBD oil to pour over them. I made a really simple 5 ingredient fudge that can be made in just as long as it takes you to stir it together.

    The brownies with the fudge were heavenly! Rich and fudgy brownies with a hint of mint and coffee with plenty of chocolate chunks, and of course the silky smooth gooey dark chocolate mint coffee CBD fudge…definitely something you want to enjoy seconds with. I love that I can get my daily dose of CBD in with my dessert! Even if you don’t decide to bake brownies, this fudge would be great on ice cream, or spooned over fruit or cake. Or of course you could just eat it with a spoon. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

    Vegan Peppermint Mocha Brownies with CBD Fudge Sauce
    Makes 16

    Brownies:

    Fudge:

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, oil and 8×8 inch pan and line it with parchment.
    2. Whisk together the sugar, oil and almond butter until well combined and the sugar is starting to break down. Add the flax eggs and beat until smooth. Add the flour, cacao powder and sea salt and beat until smooth.  Stir in chocolate chunks.
    3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle more chocolate chunks over it.
    4. Place in the oven, and Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until set (but do not over bake).
    5. Let cool before cutting into bars.
    6. To make the fudge, whisk together all ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
    7. Serve the brownies with some of the fudge poured over them.
  • Vegan Matcha Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Vegan Matcha Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Much of the time I get inspired for recipes by finding random ingredients at the store. Like last weekend I found a bag of pistachios at Aldi for a really good price and I decided that they would be amazing in some chocolate chip cookies. Everyone uses walnuts mostly in theirs if they use nuts at all, and that is in fact what my Grandma used in hers, but I like to switch things up from the norm. I thought little green pistachios would be lovely in chocolate chip cookies especially since I am all about the green theme this week with St. Patrick’s Day being next weekend.

    I even took it a step further and decided to add matcha to the dough to make them an over all lovely green hue. I love matcha in desserts in case you haven’t noticed if you have followed me for any amount of time. I have quite a few of them including it! I was super excited about making these on my day off. Cookies are so easy to throw together unlike some other desserts that take a lot of prep time and chilling time, you can be enjoying cookies in under an hour!

    Plus I like the fact that I get to eat the dough while I am making them. Best part of the whole process next to warm cookies with gooey chocolate chips! The dough for these was heavenly. I probably ate a couple of cookies worth at least! It baked up beautifully too. I thought that the color might fade but it remained a vibrant green! So festive looking for St. Patrick’s Day!

    They tasted amazing once baked as well, soft and chewy with a little bit of crispiness at the edges, gooey rich dark chocolate chips (because I had to enjoy one while still warm of course), and the crunchy salty nutty pistachios …it was the perfect combo! Next time you are in the mood for some really good cookies, whip up a batch of these babies!

    Vegan Matcha Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
    Makes 16 large cookies

    Ingredients:

    •  2 Tbsp ground flax seed
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquid
    • 1/2 cup raw cashew butter
    • 1 1/2 cups granulated organic cane sugar
    • 1 Tbsp matcha powder
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
    • 3 cups gluten free all purpose flour
    • 3/4 cup chopped pistachios
    • 3/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
    2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seed and filtered water.  Set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, coconut oil and cashew butter with sugar and mix until well combined
      Mix in the vanilla extract and flax mixture until well combined.  Add the matcha, baking soda and salt then the flour, a cup at a time, mixing between each addition, until well combined.  Mix in the chocolate chips and pistachios.
    4. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
    5. To Form the cookies take about a 1 1/2 inch chunk of dough, form into a ball and on prepared cookie sheets a couple inches apart, and press down just slightly. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until puffed and just starting to brown slightly.
    6. Remove from the oven, and let cool on the pan a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
    7. Repeat with remaining cookies and let cool for at least 15 minutes before enjoying.
  • Vegan Peppermint Vanilla Cake

    Vegan Peppermint Vanilla Cake

    You know what I am super excited for? All things green outside. The snow is beautiful and all, but nothing compares to those first green leaves to start appearing in the Spring. It will probably be a while though, so I thought why not make something with a beautiful green color since I can’t enjoy it outside. Plus, St. Patrick’s Day is next weekend so why not be festive? I am not Irish (that I know of, maybe only a very small sliver of my European ancestry), but I do enjoy being festive for Holidays. Except for green beer for St. Patrick’s Day, I would much rather have regular beer.

    Back to that green dessert, it had been a while since I had made a cake so I decided to make a lovely green cake. I wanted a vanilla mint cake with vanilla mint frosting. I had made one years ago before I was vegan and it was really good so I knew I could make an even better veganized version! This was actually not to difficult to make either, which was good because it was kind of a hectic weekend. Work was busy, we had a big snow storm going on and I didn’t have a lot of extra time, but it was just enough time to make a cake. I find the process of making cakes somewhat relaxing. It is a time when I can forget about all else that is going on and just focus on creating deliciousness.

    For this cake I wanted the cake portion to be green as well as the frosting so I achieved that by using spinach powder. Don’t worry, you could not taste it at all, it just gave it a lovely emerald color. I was actually really pleased with how well it retained the hue even when baked. The batter for this tasted amazing even before I poured it into the pans and baked it. Yes, I eat cake batter every time I eat cake. I have to taste it to make sure it is good before I bake it! One time I forgot the sugar in one of my cakes and it saved me from ruining the whole thing because I was able to still add it.

    This cake baked up beautifully and once it was cooled I whipped up a luscious vanilla mint frosting with the consistency of a buttercream frosting to top it off with. It was sooo good! The mellow mint and vanilla were a match made in heaven, and the cake was soft and moist, the frosting rich and creamy. If you are a fan of mint, definitely give this cake a try!

    Vegan Peppermint Vanilla Cake

    Makes 1 2 layer 6 inch cake

    Cake:

    • 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten free AP baking flour* (see below for flour options)
    • 3/4 cup granulated xylitol** (see below for other sweetener options)
    • 1 Tbsp spinach powder
    • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1 cup applesauce
    • 1/4 cup avocado oil
    • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 2 tsp peppermint extract
    • 3/4 cup thin coconut milk or other plant based milk
    • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

     

    Frosting:

    • 1 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk, chilled (make sure it is the kind with at least 3/4 of the can thick cream or it will not work for the recipe. I used Thai Kitchen brand)
    • 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked 1 hour and drained
    • 1/3 cup maple syrup
    • pinch sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 tsp peppermint extract
    • 2 tsp spinach powder
    • 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp melted coconut butter

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and position rack in center of oven. Oil 2 6 inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.
    2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and spinach powder in a large bowl to blend well.
    3. Place all wet ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth, then whisk wet ingredients into the flour mixture until well blended but do not over-mix.
    4. Transfer batter to prepared pans and until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes completely on cooling rack, about 2 hours.
    5. To make the frosting, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl, and place in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes until the consistency of whipped cream (whisking every 15 minutes). 
    6. Place one cake layer on a plate, and spread the frosting about 1/4 inch thick over it. Top with the second cake layer, then spread the frosting over the top and down the sides of the cake.
    7. Place remaining frosting in a pastry bag and pipe decoratively over the cake.
    8. Enjoy! Store any leftover cake in the refrigerator.

     

    *You may also use whole wheat pastry flour or regular AP flour in place of the gluten free flour if you do not wish to make this gluten free.

    **Xylitol is toxic to dogs, so please do not feed these to dogs. 1 cup coconut sugar, maple sugar or regular cane sugar may be used in place of the xylitol (you need a tad more because the xylitol is more sweet), just keep in mind the cupcakes will not be as green they will be more brown if you use the coconut sugar or maple sugar.  The cane sugar will produce a green cake the same as this one. 

  • Vegan Thin Mint Latte

    Vegan Thin Mint Latte

    We are in the middle of Girl Scout cookie season, and I made some home made ones including Thin Mints, Tag-Alongs, and Samoas. But I also am having fun making other Girl Scout cookie inspired recipes! Stash Tea recently sent me some of their tea to try out and create recipes with and I decided to make a Vegan Thin Mint Latte with it since I thought I could pair it with my Thin Mint Cookies! I was excited about the tea they sent, because I am not a coffee drinker (I only usually use it in desserts), I am a big tea drinker. After about 2 pm I like to stick with caffeine free tea, and peppermint is one of my go to flavors! Stash Tea has plenty of non caffeinated flavors as well as ones with caffeine so whatever floats your boat, you should check them out HERE. I even have a promo code to offer you so you can get a discount should you decide to order some:
    FRAGRANTVANILLACAKE-SC

    Back to that latte though, it was super easy to make and so good! I am obsessed with lattes lately. It is funny because I never used to drink them and now I have them often. Of course I usually order the ones with tea or turmeric, because as I mentioned I am not much of a coffee drinker. In fact, Eric and I made stops almost every weekend for the past month or so just to get fancy lattes. This one has only 4 ingredients though and anyone can make it at home!

    I used oat milk for this because it froths the best in a latte plus it has a cleaner flavor than some other plant based milks. I wanted the mint and chocolate flavors to shine uninterrupted. The Stash mint tea was super flavorful and aromatic once it had steeped in the milk and it tasted good just like that even, but it was even better once I added the cacao powder and maple syrup.

    It totally tasted like a Thin Mint cookie when it was done! Sweet and chocolaty with that punch of peppermint flavor! This is actually the perfect thing to relax with in the evening after dinner because it is a rich tasting delicious latte but it contains no caffeine! Not only that, it is healthier than traditional lattes and a little lighter than eating actual cookies. If you are a big chocolate mint fan, or you enjoy the flavor of Thin Mints, give this a try!

    Vegan Thin Mint Latte

    Makes 2

    Ingredients:

    • 2 cups thick unsweetened oat milk
    • 2 packets Stash peppermint tea
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder

    Instructions:

    1. Bring the oat milk to a boil in a saucepan, remove from heat and add the peppermint tea packets. Let steep for 5 minutes.
    2. Mix together the maple syrup and cacao powder in a small bowl. Remove the tea packets from the milk, and add the cacao mixture to the tea mixture and whisk it in until no lumps remain.
    3. Use an immersion blender to froth the latte (alternatively if you don’t have an immersion blender you could put it into a regular blender instead.
    4. pour into 2 cups and enjoy!
  • Vegan Irish Coffee Truffles

    Vegan Irish Coffee Truffles

    Since I made home made Bailey’s Irish Cream last week, I couldn’t stop thinking about how good similar flavors would be in a dessert. So I decided to whip up a batch of Irish Coffee Truffles. My Mom used to call truffles with any kind of alcohol in them liquor bombs. We went to Europe many years ago when I was younger and we had these really amazing Belgian chocolates with liqueur in them. Since I remembered those being really good I thought some Bailey’s coffee truffles sounded good.

    I thought about simply making the ganache type of truffles with a melted dark chocolate base, but instead I settled on a white chocolate creamy base that was more like Bailey’s. I started off with a cacao butter, coconut butter and cashew butter base which comes out tasting like white chocolate before you add anything to it, and then added a little strong espresso, cacao powder, whisky and of course cacao powder. It tasted amazing! I could not stop sampling it with a spoon.

    Once I let it chill it made the most delicious truffle filling! I shaped it into balls, and dipped it into some melted vegan dark chocolate. I could not wait to try the finished product! They were so good, rich and creamy filling that had a hint of cacao, coffee, and the boozy kick of whisky! These are heavenly and they would be perfect with, coffee of course!

    If you have ever loved Bailey’s give these truffles a try! I hope you are all staying warm where you live, it seems that we are in never ending Winter here with 10 inches of snow expected here tomorrow. I don’t know about you, but plan on staying in and creating more deliciousness in my kitchen!

    Vegan Irish Coffee Truffles

    Makes 16

    Ingredients:

    Filling:

    • 1/2 cup Raw Guru cacao butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp raw cashew butter at room temperature
    • 3/4 cup Dastony coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp strong brewed espresso
    • 2 Tbsp Irish whisky (make sure it is vegan on Barnivore)
    • 2 Tbsp filtered water
    • 2 tsp cacao powder

    Dark Chocolate:

    • 2 cups chopped vegan dark chocolate or vegan dark chocolate chips

    Directions:

    1. Combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes until it is firm enough to scoop. Scoop into 14 balls, rolling them with your hands.   Place on a parchment lined tray, and place back into the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile,  melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.
    4. Once the filling has firmed up, dip each chocolate into the dark chocolate, being sure to let the excess drain off, and place back onto the tray (I like to set mine on a fork to allow it to drain better). Once they are all dipped, set them in the freezer until hardened.
    5. Store any leftover truffles in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Turtle Cookies

    Vegan Turtle Cookies

    I can’t believe it was below zero (F) degrees last weekend. I mean, it is March and I know it is supposed to come in like a lion and all but I can’t remember it being this cold this late in the season before. I am so ready for Spring and cute colorful clothes and not having to put on layers upon layers, and not being cold when I go outside. But I made the best of it last weekend and stayed inside for the most part. Lucky I have a treadmill and indoor bike or I would probably go stir crazy. It wasn’t all bad not going outside I guess even though I miss the sun. We hit up a movie and went out for Indian food, and I made some super delicious cookies. Some vegan turtle cookies.

    Because why not bake in the warm kitchen instead of venturing out in the below zero weather? I have been baking a lot of cookies lately in case you haven’t noticed. Nothing wrong with that though! These were some of my favorites. I was just thinking something involving caramel sounded good and turtle cookies immediately came to mind. I was imagining a soft thumb print cookie with a gooey caramel center topped off with a crunchy pecan!

    These were fairly easy to make even though they involved a few steps. First, I made a soft chocolate dough which had a mixture of pecan butter and coconut oil to make it nice and rich. It was so good I could have eaten it with a spoon. But of course that would defeat the purpose of cookies so I shaped them.

    I made a gooey date caramel to fill them with, because dates are nature’s caramel and I much prefer making caramel with them then to making it with just sugar. It was amazing in the cookies especially when topped off with the crunchy pecans. They were sooo good! If you are a fan of chocolate and caramel give these a try! Even if you don’t live somewhere where it is super cold out, and you are not trying to forget the frigid weather like I was, I promise these will still make you smile when you eat them!

    Vegan Turtle Cookies
    Makes about 14 cookies

    Ingredients:

    • 3/4 cups maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1/2 cup pecan butter or almond butter
    • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
    • 1 Tbsp ground flax seed, and 3 Tbsp filtered water mixed together and allowed to sit for 15 minutes before using in the recipe
    • 1 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free baking flour*
    • 1/4 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1 cup soft, pitted medjool dates (if they are not soft, soak them in filtered water for 30 minutes and drain before using)
    • 1/3 cup filtered water (or as needed)
    • 3 Tbsp pecan butter
    • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, pecan butter, and coconut oil until well combined.  Add the flax mixture, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Stir in the flour, cacao powder, baking soda and baking powder with a spoon, until smooth. The dough will be thick and soft.
    3. Form into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on lined baking sheets a few inches apart.
    4. Place in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes until set.
    5. Remove from the oven and immediately press your thumb or the bottom of a small 1/2 tsp measuring spoon into the center of each to create an indentation (before they cool otherwise it won’t work).
    6. To make the caramel, combine the dates, water, pecan butter, coconut oil, vanilla and sea salt in a food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth adding a little more water if needed to create a smooth caramel (you may need to press it through a fine meshed strainer if you have some chunks to get a smooth caramel).
    7. Spoon or pipe a little of the caramel into the centers of the cookies.
    8. Press a pecan onto the top of each cookie on top of the caramel. Enjoy!

    *If you are not gluten free, you may use the same amount of whole wheat pastry flour in place of the GF flour.

  • Vegan Giant Irish Oatmeal Skillet Cookie

    Vegan Giant Irish Oatmeal Skillet Cookie

    My Mom loves oatmeal cookies more than anyone I know, and ever since I made that Giant Double Chocolate Skillet Cookie last month, she has been asking me if I could make a giant Irish oatmeal cookie for St. Patrick’s Day. Of course I had to make it. Because it did sound amazing, and I myself love oatmeal cookies. I mean, they have oats, so they can qualify as breakfast sometimes, right? At least that is what my Grandpa used to say. I just like them because they remain nice and soft and chewy and have some texture to them. I like mine with chocolate chips and walnuts. That is how they make them at the deli I work in, and it is the perfect combo with the oats. No offense to anyone who likes raisins in theirs. I am just not a big raisin girl and I don’t usually have them on hand.

    I have been waiting until March to make this cookie, so I was kind of excited about it! How is this an Irish oatmeal cookie? Well, I added a little bit of Irish Whisky to it both in the dough and in the glaze I put on the finished cookie. Because why not?! I had some on hand from making vegan Bailey’s the week before anyhow.

    This dough is really simple to make, no fancy creaming the coconut oil with the cookies, or of course no rolling because this is one giant cookie. Just mix and press into the skillet! So easy and since I preheat the skillet, it only takes about 15 minutes to bake! You just have to wait for it to cool down slightly to cut into it so you don’t burn yourself. That is the hardest part.

    But you are totally rewarded for waiting! It is essential to cut into this while the chocolate chips are still gooey. Sooo heavenly! This is delicious with the soft, chewy dough, the gooey chocolate chips, crunchy walnuts, sweet glaze and touch of Irish Whisky! If you are an oatmeal cookie fan, definitely give this a try! My Mom, who I shared it with and who inspired it loved it as well, and that is always a win!

    Vegan Giant Irish Oatmeal Skillet Cookie
    Makes 1 dozen large cookies

    Ingredients:

    • 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
    • 3 Tbsp Irish whisky (make sure it is vegan on Barnivore)
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquid
    • 3/4 cup Raw Guru coconut sugar
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour or fine oat flour
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
    • 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
    • 1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

    Whisky Icing:

    • 3 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 2 Tbsp Irish whisky
    • 2 tsp maple syrup
    • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • filtered water as needed

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and oil a cast iron skillet.
    2. Mix together the flax seed and the whisky in a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.
    3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut oil, and sugar until well blended. Add flax mixture, vanilla, and beat until well combined (the mixture will become very thick).
    4. Mix in the flour, soda, and sea salt until well blended. Mix in the oats until well combined, then add walnuts and chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed throughout the dough. Set aside.
    5. Place the skillet in the oven for 10 minutes to warm up.
    6. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven, and quickly press the dough into it (being careful not to burn yourself in the process, I used the bottom of a metal measuring cup to press mine down).
    7. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden, but not over baked.
    8. To make the whisky icing, whisk together the ingredients until smooth and whisk in just enough water to make it pour-able but still thick. Drizzle over the cookie.
    9. Let the cookie cool until the pan is no longer hot, but the cookie is still warm, cut into pieces and enjoy!

  • DIY Vegan Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur

    DIY Vegan Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur

    When I was in my early twenties, one of my favorite alcoholic things to drink was Bailey’s Irish Cream. I mean, what’s not to like about it if you are into sweet drinks? It basically tastes like really good melted ice cream with a hint of coffee and chocolate plus of course the burn of Irish whisky. Speaking of ice cream, it was amazing over ice cream as well. I wasn’t very adventurous in my alcoholic beverages at that point and I hated beer back then, so that is what I would buy a lot. But then after I started caring about the amount of sugar and processed ingredients in things, I stopped drinking it and went for the healthier choices like wine.

    I noticed that they came out with a vegan version of Bailey’s though, and I thought to myself, I should try making my own vegan version without a bunch of refined sugar in it. So I went for it! It was super easy to make, and I already had all of the ingredients on hand sans the whisky, but that was easy enough to pick up.

    I wanted this to have a creamy base, but not be super thick. I thought about using coconut milk, but that can get clumpy and separate in the refrigerator and be hard to re-mix by shaking so I went for some extra creamy oat milk instead. I have it on hand for lattes, and it worked perfect! It was neutral enough that it tasted like I had used actual heavy cream in it. Where as sometimes coconut milk has a coconut flavor.

    I also added some maple syrup, instead of refined sugar, and a hint of cacao powder, vanilla and coffee, as Bailey’s has just a touch of those flavors. Once I added the whiskey, it tasted just like Bailey’s! I seriously haven’t had any in about 10 years, and it was soooo good! If you were ever a Bailey’s fan at all, you must try this! Especially since St. Patrick’s Day is coming up!

    DIY Vegan Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur

    Makes about 5 cups

    • 3 cups extra creamy Planet Oat oat milk (or other thick plain unsweetened non-dairy milk)
    • 1 1/2 cups Irish Whisky (make sure it is vegan on Barnivore)
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 2 tsp coffee extract

    Instructions:

    1. Place all ingredients in a blender, and turn the blender on low to start, then increase to a higher speed until everything is smooth and uniform in color.
    2. Pour into a jar or bottle with a lid and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.  Shake well before using.
  • Vegan Thin Mint Cookies

    Vegan Thin Mint Cookies

    I was never a Girl Scout, but I did love Girl Scout cookies when I was little. We always bought the classics, like the Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tag Alongs and those three were my favorites. Now as an adult, I like to make my own versions of them at home. I know you can get some of the Girl Scout cookies in vegan versions, but I prefer my own non-processed no preservatives added versions. There is just nothing like home made cookies, the store bought ones are just not the same. I like to use good quality more whole ingredients in mine.

    So last weekend I decided to make some home made thin mints. I had made a raw version in the past, but I wanted to try and make a baked version. It was really cold last Monday on my day off and it was a good day to do a baking project. I have been seeing everyone posting their Girl Scout cookie pictures online too and I suddenly was craving some of my own.

    I used a chocolate mint short bread cookie base for these, because I knew it would bake up thin and crispy and it turned out perfect! They do require some rolling and cutting, which takes a little more time than drop cookies, but it is so worth it in the end! The dough tasted amazing and they smelled even more amazing as they baked. Like really good chocolate mint brownies. Except these weren’t brownies, they were tender crispy cookies!

    Raw Guru recently sent me some Rawmio Mint Chocolate Hearts, so I thought that they would be perfect to melt down as the coating for these cookies. Because they had to have that chocolate coating! Of course the hearts are good for just snacking too if you have a chocolate craving so definitely check them out on their website. They also have orange, plain chocolate and even CBD infused chocolate ones!

    Once these cookies were all set and ready to go I could not wait to try them! They were sooo much better than the pre-made boxed ones! No offense Girl Scouts, but I like home made so much better. They were thin and crispy, with an intense chocolate flavor and cooling mint plus that rich dark chocolate coating! If you are a Thin Mint cookie fan give these a try!

     

    Vegan Thin Mint Cookies

    Makes about 24 medium sized cookies

    Ingredients:

    • 1 3/4 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour*
    • 1/4 cup Raw Guru cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Raw Guru coconut sugar
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
    • 1/4 cup avocado oil (or other neutral oil liquid at cool temperatures)
    • 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 tsp peppermint extract
    • 1 1/2 cups Rawmio mint chocolate hearts or vegan chopped dark chocolate with 1/2 tsp peppermint extract added

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 325F degrees, and line three baking sheets with parchment.
    2. To make the dough, mix all ingredients together in a bowl until combined and smooth (it may be slightly crumbly, and that is ok, just squeeze it back together), then place on a piece of parchment paper and roll out 1/4 inch thick.  Cut into circles with a medium sized cookie cutter and place them onto two of the prepared pans. Re-roll any scraps squeezing them back together and rolling them out, and cutting into more shapes until all of the dough is used. 
    3. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until set and just barely beginning to brown at the edges.
    4. Remove the pans from the oven and let cool completely on wire racks.
    5. When the cookies have cooled completely, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler.
    6. Dip each cookie into the chocolate and set on a parchment lined tray.
    7. When you have finished dipping the cookies, place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes until the chocolate sets.
    8. Enjoy!  Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

    *Note: If you wanted to make these gluten free, you could use Bob’s Red Mill AP baking flour instead of the whole wheat pastry flour subbed 1:1.

  • Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Banana Bread

    Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Banana Bread

    Having over ripe bananas on your counter is a blessing as far as I am concerned.  You can freeze them and use them for smoothies, or of course do some baking.  There are so many things you can make! But I decided to go for an old classic banana bread when I had some ripe bananas this week.  I have always loved banana bread.  I am pretty sure it was the first thing I learned how to bake.  I know I made it in foods class in middle school as the first baked good we made, and I know before that my Mom had helped me make my Grandma’s recipe. I know some people like chopped nuts in theirs (add ins for banana bread can be a hot button debate like raisins or chocolate chips in oatmeal cookies are) but we usually just added chocolate chips, and it was amazing while still warm while they were gooey.  Well, this time I thought about making a more classic banana bread with chocolate chips, but decided to swirl the loaf with something instead.

    Peanut butter and jelly.  Why not?!  It is good slathered on banana bread as sort of a dessert like peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so I figured it would be good baked inside as well.  I had some raspberry jam and freshly home made peanut butter on hand, so it was perfect!  Not only that, this recipe is really easy to make, and I made it after work in a short amount of time.  You just whisk it all together in a bowl, then pour it into the pans, drop the swirl onto it, swirl it and bake!  I made mine in mini pans, because I like little individual breads. Nothing like having one all to yourself! 

    They smelled amazing while baking!  That is one of my favorite aspects of baking, the heavenly aroma that fills your home.  One can not possibly be in a bad mood while they are taking it in. I try to be positive, but sometimes we all get a little grouchy and I admit I was a little crabby before I started the process.  Some stuff at work kind of pushed my patience buttons, and I lost my garage door opener somehow between being at work and getting home (luckily I found it later), but I needed some baking and relaxing time. I felt so much happier and better after!  Not only that, I had banana bread to enjoy! It was super delicious!  Soft and sweet with plenty of banana flavor, gooey jam and peanut butter swirled throughout!  I might even like this even more than the chocolate chip banana bread and I thought that could never be topped!  If you have over ripe bananas in your home, you know what to make!

    Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Banana Bread

    Makes 4 small loaves

    Ingredients:

    • 4 mini loaf pans (8.7 in x 4.3 in x 2 in.)
    • 1 ½ cups organic whole wheat pastry flour
    • 1 cup Raw Guru coconut sugar
    • 1 ½ tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • ½ tsp sea salt
    • 1 cup pureed ripe banana
    • ½ cup organic smooth peanut butter
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • ½ cup oat milk or other non-dairy milk
    • 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
    • ½ cup raspberry jam
    • ½ cup smooth organic peanut butter

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and oil four mini loaf pans. 
    2. In a larger bowl, whisk together the pastry flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt.
    3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the banana, peanut butter, vanilla, and oat milk until smooth.
    4. Pour the liquid mixture into the solid, and whisk until smooth.
    5. Whisk in the cider vinegar until bubbles form, then pour half into the prepared pans.
    6. Spoon 3 tsp of the jam onto the batter in each pan, then 3 tsp of peanut butter.
    7. Pour the remaining batter over all of the other batter in the pans, then top each with another 3 tsp of jam and peanut butter. Swirl with a knife.
    8. Place in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
    9. Let cool on a wire rack before enjoying.
    10. Keeps covered for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Milk Chocolate Pomegranate Raspberry Almond Butter Cups

    Vegan Milk Chocolate Pomegranate Raspberry Almond Butter Cups

    We got 9 inches of snow in the part of Minnesota where I live last Wednesday. It was beautiful, and perfect for skiing of course but it was not so fun trying to travel to and from work in. Especially in my little compact car. I drive like a granny when conditions are like this though, and although it can be scary, I got to work and home safe. Even though the plow decided to pack my car in right before I was trying to leave work and it took effort to get out. When I got home I decided that some wine and chocolate were in order. I make my own home made fruit wines, so I had plenty on my rack downstairs, but the chocolate part I needed to work on. I had the ingredients to make chocolate on hand, so I whipped up a batch.

    I usually just go for dark chocolate, but I decided to make some milk chocolate this time because Raw Guru had recently sent me a big jar of their Dastony coconut butter and I had some of their cacao butter on hand as well. Did you know you can make quick and easy vegan milk chocolate by whisking a little coconut butter into your melted dark chocolate? It is so good! It is a little more mellow than the intense dark chocolate and perfect for those who enjoyed milk chocolate before they went vegan. I myself like ALL kinds of chocolate, so it is nice to have a variety sometimes.

    I decided to make some pomegranate raspberry almond butter cups with the chocolate because that just sounded amazing and I had some fruit sweetened pomegranate raspberry jam on hand. I think that jam and nut butter chocolate cups are my favorite chocolate treat. They are like a fancy step up from the classic peanut butter cups that I thought were the cat’s meow when I was a kid.

    These turned out so good! The milk chocolate was mellow and smooth, the perfect pairing for the sweet raspberry pomegranate jam and rich nutty almond butter. It was enjoyable to look out at the pretty snow from my home all safe and warm in my pjs and enjoy the wine and chocolate cups! I hope you are staying warm where you live. If you are a milk chocolate fan, give these a try!

    Vegan Milk Chocolate Pomegranate Raspberry Almond Butter Cups
    Makes 6 large candies

    Milk Chocolate:

    • 3/4 cup Raw Guru raw cacao powder
    • 1/2 cup Raw Guru melted cacao butter (warmed to liquid)
    • 3 Tbsp Dastony coconut butter
    • pinch sea salt
    • 1/4 cup plus 1 tsp maple syrup divided (at room temperature)

    Filling:

    Instructions:

    1. To make the chocolate, whisk together all ingredients until smooth.
    2. Spoon a little chocolate into the bottoms of 6 peanut butter cup molds, filling them about 1/4-1/3 full.  Place in the freezer until hard, about 10 minutes.
    3. Once the chocolate has hardened, spoon a heaping 1 tsp of almond butter over it, then spoon 1 tsp of jam over the almond butter.
    4. Pour more chocolate over the cups until the jam is covered, and place them in the freezer until set, about 20 minutes.
    5. Store any extra in the refrigerator.

    *Please note: if your almond butter is the runny variety, you may need to add some coconut butter to it to firm it up so it doesn’t run when placed in the cups. Add about 1 tsp coconut butter to it if it is runny.

    *If you can not get raspberry pomegranate jam, you can either stir 1 Tbsp pomegranate juice into the raspberry jam.

  • Vegan Lavender Lemon Waffles

    Vegan Lavender Lemon Waffles

    When I was little, my Mom made waffles for lunch or dinner more often than for breakfast. It makes sense to me, why not make them at night during the week when you have time to enjoy them, or for lunch on a weekend if you have things going on in the morning? So now I tend to make my waffles after work or in the evening as opposed to morning. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of brunch and elaborate breakfasts, but my mornings are usually busy with working out and getting ready to go somewhere so I don’t have time for a sit down meal. Waffles have always kind of seemed like a special thing to me also because it’s not something I make all the time and I always feel like I am enjoying dessert (which was awesome when I was little).

    So earlier this week, I decided that waffles sounded good. I have only used the Belgian waffle maker I got for Christmas once so far so it was about time! I have been loving citrus lately, so I decided on lavender lemon waffles. I love the flavor combination, and I figured the aromatic lavender was perfect for de-stressing after work.

    I used my classic waffle recipe, simplified slightly because I didn’t have one of the ingredients on hand, with the addition of both lemon zest and lemon juice. I wanted to be able to taste it and smell it in the waffles. Just a little lavender and vanilla as the additional flavors, and these were heavenly! My waffle maker makes 4 waffles at a time, so these were done in no time at all, and my kitchen smelled amazing!

    Although they tasted good just as they were, I wanted to make them a little more fancy so I whipped up some lemon cream to top them off with. They were heavenly! Crispy waffles with soft centers, the bright flavor of lemon and fragrant aroma of lavender in every bite, plus that rich lemon cream…OMG they tasted like dessert. And yes, they kind of are, but who doesn’t want dessert for their meal sometimes?!

    Vegan Lavender Lemon Waffles
    makes 8 medium sized belgian waffles

    Ingredients:

    Lemon Cream:

    • 3/4 cup thick canned full fat coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen brand)
    • 2 Tbsp raw cashew butter
    • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 tsp lemon zest
    • 1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/3 cup Dastony coconut butter, warmed to liquid

    Batter:

    • 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour*
    • 1/4 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1 Tbsp dried lavender flowers
    • 1 Tbsp lemon zest
    • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 3 Tbsp ground flax seed, whisked together with 1/2 cup filtered water
    • 2 Tbsp avocado oil or another neutral oil
    • 2 cups light coconut milk

    Instructions:

    1. To make the cream for in between the waffles, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor until smooth.  Pour into a bowl, place in the freezer, and whisk every 15 minutes until it is thick like whipped cream (it will probably take about 45 minutes). Once it is thick enough move it to the refrigerator until you are ready to eat the waffles.
    2. To make the waffles, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt and lavender in a large bowl.
    3. Then whisk the lemon juice and zest, flax mixture, oil, and coconut milk together until smooth.
    4. Heat your oven to 150F degrees and oil, and pre-heat waffle iron. Once it is heated, pour about 1/3 cup batter onto the waffle iron or until the iron is just covered (but not so much that it will ooze out) and close it.  Cook according to waffle iron package directions.  Remove from the waffle maker and keep warm in the oven while you make the others.  If you have a waffle maker the size of mine (regular belgian waffles), you may have more than 8 waffles. 
    5. Serve the waffles with the lemon cream!

    *If you do not wish to make a gluten free waffles, whole wheat pastry flour will work as well!

  • Vegan Yogurt Cheesecake in a Jar

    Vegan Yogurt Cheesecake in a Jar

    Cheesecake is my favorite dessert. It was even before I went vegan. I thought I would never enjoy it again when I had to give up dairy, but boy was I wrong! Vegan cheesecakes are even more delicious than their dairy cousins if you ask me. In fact, it was a raw cheesecake that made me decide to take the plunge and go vegan 7 years ago. I tried it and it was so good, I decided that if I could still enjoy delicious goodies like cheesecake as a vegan it would not be bad after all! I don’t even miss any non-vegan items now.

    Sometimes I want cheesecake, but I don’t want to make a whole big giant one just for myself and my boyfriend Eric so I make smaller ones. But last week, I had made some vanilla coconut yogurt using some vanilla Sunbiotics probiotics powder from Raw Guru and I decided that it would be amazing in some mini cheesecakes. I decided to do something I haven’t done before and made cheesecakes in a jar. Why not? They are portable, so if you want to bring a treat to go with your lunch, or save it for later, just screw the top on!

    Once the coconut yogurt is made, these are really easy to whip up fast. The yogurt is an overnight process, but it really is worth it, and that probiotic powder gives it the perfect tang! I try to get in a daily dose of gut healthy probiotics so I love that I can include it in dessert. I wanted these to be simple and easy so for the crust, I used some home made vanilla granola I already had on hand. You could use store bought though if you wanted.

    I made 3 different fillings, because variety is the spice of life! But of course you could just pick one (the filling recipes below are for 3 jars). I made strawberry, blueberry and caramel and they were all super delicious! This is not a super stiff dense cheesecake, it is more light and creamy like a cheesecake yogurt mousse which is how I wanted it. These are crave worthy! If you are a cheesecake fan, give these a try!

    Vegan Yogurt Cheesecake in a Jar 

    Serves 3

    Ingredients:

    Vanilla Coconut Cheesecake Yogurt:

    • 2 cups organic full fat coconut milk (use a brand that has a thick cream at the top (2/3 of the can), such as Thai Kitchen or it won’t be thick enough)
    • 1 tsp Sunbiotics vanilla probiotic powder
    • 1/2 cup Dastony coconut butter or home made coconut butter (not oil), warmed to liquid
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • ¼ cup date paste* or maple syrup

    For assembly:

    • Vegan Vanilla Granola
    • Flavor of choice (pick one):
      • Caramel: 1/2 cup date paste mixed with 3 Tbsp almond butter, 1 tsp vanilla and a few Tbsp filtered water to thin out (add more if too thick).
      • Raspberry: Mash 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries with 2 Tbsp maple syrup
      • Blueberry: Mash 1 1 1/2 cup frozen (thawed) blueberries with 2 Tbsp maple syrup

    1. To make the yogurt, combine the coconut milk and probiotic powder in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl, cover, and let sit overnight on the counter until tangy.
    2. The next day, blend with coconut butter, vanilla extract, and date paste until smooth, then pour into a bowl and chill until just thickened to the consistency or heavy cream.
    3. To assemble, put 3 Tbsp granola into the bottom of 3 small jars, then top with 2/3 of the cheesecake yogurt (divided between the three).
    4. Top with the flavor of choice (dividing evenly between the three), then the remaining yogurt.
    5. Serve!
    6. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 1 week with a lid on.

    *Date Paste: Blend 1 ¼ cups pitted soft medjool dates (if they are not soft, soak them in filtered water for 30 minutes and drain) and 2/3 cup filtered water in a blender until smooth.  Store in a jar in the refrigerator up to 1 week.  This can be used in recipes instead of other liquid sweeteners such as maple syrup or coconut nectar.

  • Giant Vegan Double Chocolate Skillet Cookie

    Giant Vegan Double Chocolate Skillet Cookie

    I feel like kids these days don’t go to the mall as much. Back in the day when I was in high school, we went there all the time to hang out and shop and buy really unhealthy food from the food court. I enjoyed some of the savory items, like the pretzels with cheese. But what I really loved were the sweet ones. Especially the place that sold the giant cookies as big as a cake. I always used to buy brownies and cookies from there (which were also pretty big just not cake sized) and one time I brought one home for later and my Mom said it looked like diabetes in a bag. They were pretty sugary though so I had to agree and just laugh. But, back to those giant cookies. I have always wanted to make one but never have.

    I have seen other people post recipes for skillet chocolate chip cookies, and said to myself, that sounds amazing and I should make it but sometimes things just get pushed to the back of my mind and I forget. My brain is like a shaken snow globe of thoughts and ideas a lot of the time, so sometimes things get lost. But finally last weekend I decided to make one. It was about time. I thought about making a plain old chocolate chip cookie, but I decided that I wanted more chocolate than that, so I went for a double chocolate cookie.

    No, I did not get chocolated out from Valentine’s Day. If anything, I am more in the mood for chocolate now since I think I will miss it when all the chocolate Valentine’s treats run out. Plus Raw Guru had sent me some really cute Rawmio Dark Chocolate Hearts and Veggimins Dark Chocolate CBD Hearts, and I thought they would be super cute on top of a giant chocolate cookie. If you haven’t tried either of these products they are amazing. Their chocolate is top quality, super smooth and tastes amazing and I love that I can get my daily dose of CBD while enjoying chocolate with the CBD hearts.

    The cookie dough for this tasted amazing. If you have read my blog in the past, then you know I am all about the dough when it comes to cookies. Well this stuff was something I could have eaten with a spoon. But then I would not have my giant cookie so I had a few tastes then baked it. It turned out so good! Rich, decadent and soft with gooey dark chocolate chips and those delicious hearts on top! This is especially good served while still warm, about 30 minutes after baking. If you have some vegan ice cream to top it off with even better! If you are in the mood for some chocolate, give this a go! It is easier to make than rolling out cookies!

    Giant Vegan Double Chocolate Skillet Cookie
    Makes one large 9 inch cookie

    Ingredients:

    Directions:

    1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seed and filtered water.  Set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
    2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, coconut oil and pecan butter with sugar and mix until well combined
      Mix in the vanilla extract and flax mixture until well combined.  Add the baking soda and salt then the flour, a cup at a time, mixing between each addition, until well combined.  Mix in the chocolate chips and pecans. Place in the freezer for about 10  minutes until it is firm enough to scoop (if it is too soft at all, it may not be, in that case proceed with scooping. It just depends on how warm the coconut oil was).
    3. To bake, Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Oil a 9 inch cast iron skillet and put in the oven to heat for 10 minutes.
    4. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully (you don’t want to burn yourself on the pan) press the cookie dough into the pan using the back of the spoon so it is even. Bake for about 15-17 minutes, until puffed and just starting to brown slightly.  Remove from the oven, and press in the chocolate hearts to decorate the top.
    5. Move to a wire rack and let cool about 30 minutes before enjoying.
  • Vegan Pink Velvet Truffles

    Vegan Pink Velvet Truffles

    I was watching the local news and both of the anchors were wearing red, and one of them said “It just feels right to wear pink and red this week because it is Valentine’s Day week!” Well, I can totally relate, I feel kind of the same way and my favorite color pink so why not be festive? Since I am feeling festive I thought I should make some truffles. Because chocolate and Valentine’s Day go together like peanut butter and jelly. Plus they just sounded good! They weren’t going to be just plain chocolate truffles though.

    You know me, I like to make things a little more interesting so I decided to make some pink velvet truffles, keeping with the pink and red theme. I do love red velvet cake or pink velvet cake, just not the kind with artificial color. I prefer natural color, so these truffles were going to be made with some beet powder and not red food coloring. Don’t worry, you can not taste it at all, it just gives them that beautiful pink color! I think the color of beets is absolutely beautiful and I love that I can use them in things like this!

    The filling for these truffles with super delicious! It had a cacao butter base, to give it a kind of white chocolate flavor, and I combined that with some coconut butter and cashew butter to give these a lovely rich smooth texture. Of course it had to have a dash of vanilla as well, because I love it in desserts! I could have just eaten the filling with a spoon, but of course then I would not have truffles.

    Once they were shaped, and chilled and dipped in the vegan dark chocolate I could not wait to try them! I find the process of making things like this kind of relaxing. Especially the part at the end where I get to indulge! These were super delicious! The filling was a rich and luscious melt in your mouth texture with a sweet vanilla flavor and the intense dark chocolate on the outside was the perfect pairing with it! If you are in need of something of the chocolate variety, satisfy that craving and make these!

    Vegan Pink Velvet Truffles 
    Makes 14 truffles

    Ingredients:

    Filling:

    Dark Chocolate:

    • 2 cups chopped vegan dark chocolate or vegan dark chocolate chips

    Directions:

    1. Combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes until it is firm enough to scoop. Scoop into 14 balls, rolling them with your hands.   Place on a parchment lined tray, and place back into the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile,  melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.
    4. Once the filling has firmed up, dip each chocolate into the dark chocolate, being sure to let the excess drain off, and place back onto the tray (I like to set mine on a fork to allow it to drain better). Once they are all dipped, set them in the freezer until hardened.
    5. Store any leftover truffles in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Lava Cakes

    Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Lava Cakes

    I had some leftover raspberry jam from another recipe, and I thought it would be amazing in a chocolate cake. But I didn’t really feel like making a big, tall layer cake. It had been a really crazy hectic week and something more low maintenance was more appealing. Don’t get me wrong, I love making layer cakes, they are so fun to decorate and it’s kind of relaxing to do so. But not when I don’t have a lot of time after work and don’t want to have to rush, because making desserts should never be rushed, it is supposed to be fun. So I came up with a way to enjoy some delicious chocolate raspberry cake that was actually quick and easy to make. I made lava cakes!

    I love lava cakes. After all, gooey filling in a warm chocolate cake is amazing. Not only that, they bake up in a short amount of time, because you want the filling to be a little gooey. These ones are ready in about 30 minutes, which I love! Not only that, I already had all of the ingredients on hand!

    For the cake, I use a batter made with dates instead of sugar because they keep the cake nice and moist but still light. The perfect texture. Also, this cake contains no oil in the batter (just for the dishes so they come out nicely), I use almond butter instead and it works great! For the filling I used a fruit sweetened raspberry jam to keep it easy instead of making a filling. I think my favorite fruit to pair with chocolate is raspberries.

    The cakes baked up beautifully and I could not wait to try one! They were so good! Rich, decadent soft dark chocolate cake with a gooey raspberry center and some molten chocolate chips because I added those in as well and you have to serve these warm! I even drizzled them with some fudge sauce to make them pretty! I did not have any coconut milk ice cream on hand, but if you did, it would be perfect with these! I love a warm dessert with a cool ice cream for a nice contrast! These would be perfect for Valentine’s Day next week. So if you want to impress someone, make these for them! Or just make them for yourself, that is ok too and totally acceptable!

    Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Lava Cakes
    Makes  four 1 cup cakes

    Ingredients:

    4 1 cup custard dishes

    Cake:

    • 3/4 cups quinoa flour (or all purpose gluten free flour)
    • 2 Tbsp cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 cup packed soft medjool dates, pitted, soaked in water for 30 minutes and 1/2 cup of the water reserved
    • 2 Tbsp almond butter
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/2  cup filtered water
    • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

    Filling:

    • 1/2 cup fruit sweetened raspberry jam
    • 1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips or chunks

    Chocolate fudge sauce:

    • 2 Tbsp almond butter
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp cacao powder
    • pinch sea salt
    • filtered water as needed

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and position rack in center of oven.
    2. Oil four 1 cup custard dishes or ramakins with coconut oil.
    3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt in a large bowl to blend well.
    4. Place dates, reserved water, almond butter, water, and vanilla extract into a blender, and blend until smooth, then whisk this blended mixture into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in the cider vinegar until bubbles form.
    5. Transfer half of the cake batter to prepared dishes filling them half full, then sprinkle some chocolate chips over each one, and drop 2 Tbsp of the jam mixture into each in the center. Sprinkle more chocolate chips over that.  Spoon the remaining batter over each one, place on a tray, and place in the oven.
    6. Bake cakes until they are set, but not over-baked about 15-18 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool for about 10 minutes.
    7. Meanwhile, whisk together the fudge sauce ingredients until smooth (adding a little filtered water if necessary if too thick, I used about 2 Tbsp, you want it to be pour-able but not runny).
    8. When the cakes have sat 10 minutes, un-mold, drizzle with the fudge sauce and enjoy warm.
  • Vegan Dark Chocolate Raspberry Shortbread Cookies

    Vegan Dark Chocolate Raspberry Shortbread Cookies

    I have been all about making cute Valentine’s Day treats lately. After all, it is next week already. Maybe it is just because I am a true girly girl and I love all things pink and festive and heart shaped, or just that I love things with chocolate, or berry or any of the other sweet flavors associated with Valentine’s Day. The chocolates are my favorite of course, but I have been making cookies this week as well!

    I made some raspberry linzer cookies earlier in the week and more recently some dark chocolate short bread ones that I am sharing with you today! I had always wanted to make this type of cookies, the ones with the jam peeking out through the window in the top cookie of a sandwich. I made the classic ones to begin with because I wanted to see if they would work out, then made the non-traditional ones for my blog and they happened to be my favorite of the two.

    I made them with a dark chocolate shortbread base, so I am not calling them linzer cookies since that base has nuts and is typically vanilla. This base is super delicious though! I modeled it after a dark chocolate shortbread cookie I used to make back in the day before I went vegan that I loved and they turned out very similar!

    These are a little bit time consuming to make, I am not going to lie, after all they require rolling out dough, cutting it and chilling it then the assembly with the jam and being careful with the delicate top cookies. But it is all totally worth it, and I find doing activities like this calming. Maybe it is just the artist in me that likes to spend weeks on one painting or sculpture, but doing little detailed things makes me happy sometimes. These cookies turned out super delicious by the way, the rich, buttery dark chocolate cookies the perfect pairing for the gooey sweet raspberry jam! If you are in the mood for a Valentine’s Day project, give these cookies a try!

     

    Vegan Dark Chocolate Raspberry Shortbread Cookies 
    Makes about 16

    Ingredients:

    • 1 3/4 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour*
    • 1/4 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp maple sugar
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
    • 1/4 cup avocado oil (or other neutral oil liquid at cool temperatures)
    • 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • about 1/2 cup raspberry jam 

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 325F degrees, and line three baking sheets with parchment.
    2. To make the dough, mix all ingredients together in a bowl until combined and smooth (it may be slightly crumbly, and that is ok, just squeeze it back together), then place on a piece of parchment paper and roll out 1/4 inch thick.  Cut into heart shapes with a medium sized cookie cutter (I used a heart shape) and place them onto two of the prepared pans. Re-roll any scraps squeezing them back together and rolling them out, and cutting into more shapes until all of the dough is used. 
    3. Place the cookies on the pans into the freezer to chill for 5 minutes (or until the dough is more firm but still slightly pliable), then remove one of the pans and cut smaller hearts out of the centers of the hearts on that pan. Remove the hearts and set them on the third pan. Place all of the pans back into the freezer until the cookies are completely firm, about 10 minutes.
    4. When they are firm enough, place the pans in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until set and just barely beginning to brown at the edges.
    5. Remove the pans from the oven and let cool completely on wire racks.
    6. When the cookies have cooled completely, spread a thin layer of raspberry jam over each of the larger cookies without the holes, then place the cookies with the holes on top of them (being careful as they are fragile, I used a spatula to move them.
    7. Then spread jam over half of the smaller cookies and sandwich them together with the other half of the cookies.
    8. Enjoy!  Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

     

  • Vegan Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

    Vegan Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

    It’s my 9 year blogaversary! 10 years ago, I randomly decided to start a blog to share recipes with friends and family since I was always posting them on Facebook anyhow. Little did I know that I would still be doing it 10 years later, or be reaching this many people! I have had fun with it though, and it’s been a pleasure sharing with you all! So here’s to another year of new recipes! I figured I would make something good to celebrate my blogaversary, and I decided on something chocolate despite the name of my blog.

    I am in a chocolate sort of mood lately. I made some raspberry almond butter cups earlier this week, and some turmeric white chocolates, and some peanut butter cups, and I really enjoyed them all, but I wanted something a little more decadent and bigger like a cake for the weekend. I didn’t feel like baking though, so I went for a no bake cheesecake! To be honest, I have never baked a vegan cheesecake because all of the ones I make are no bake and it is so much easier! They turn out all perfect and creamy without the use of the oven. This one was going to be all chocolate.

    Not just dark chocolate though, even though it is my favorite when it comes to chocolate bars. I was envisioning 3 different layers of chocolate in the cake. I was recently asked if I could make a French silk cheesecake, and this was kind of that, only better because that would have only had 2 layers only one of which would have been chocolate. This one would have white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate layers.

    For the base of the whole thing, I used a combination of full fat coconut cream and chickpeas. Now you may be thinking that it sounds odd to put chickpeas in a cheesecake, but they are my equal swap for cashews (which are standard in a lot of vegan cheesecakes). The cake is already pretty rich thanks to the coconut milk, so the chickpeas taste the same as cashews in the cake when combined with it. Also, this makes the cake nut free for those who have allergies. I added in some melted cacao butter to give it a white chocolate flavor along with the coconut butter to thicken the cake and it was a heavenly cheesecake base. Just a touch of vanilla as well to give it that amazing white chocolate scent.

    For the chocolate layers I added in some cacao powder and dark chocolate chips, and they were amazing as well. I knew this was going to be good! It turned out beautiful! But it needed some decoration on top so I had some fun with some vegan dark chocolate I had on hand and made some shapes. OMG was the cheesecake ever good! It was silky smooth! The dark chocolate layer really rich and intense, the milk one more mellow, and the white chocolate more sweet with the aroma of vanilla! All together a heavenly combination! If you are in the mood for something of the chocolate variety, give this a try! It would be perfect for upcoming Valentine’s Day!

    Vegan Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
    Makes one 6 inch cake

    Crust:

    • 1/4 cup finely shredded coconut
    • 1/2 cup organic gluten free rolled oats, or quinoa flakes
    • 1/4 cup pitted medjool dates (if not soft, soak them in filtered water first and drain well)
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt

    Filling:

    • 1 1/2 cups full fat coconut cream (I used the thick part of a can of Thai Kitchen coconut cream, but their full organic full fat coconut milk will also work*)
    • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp cooked chickpeas
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
    • 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbp coconut butter (NOT OIL), warmed to liquid
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp cacao butter warmed to liquid (or additional coconut butter if unavailable)
    • 4 Tbsp cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder (divided)
    • 2 Tbsp vegan dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

    Instructions:

    1. Oil a 6 inch spring form pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper.
    2. To make the crust, place all ingredients in a food processor, and process until crumbs and starting to hold together (if they are not holding together when squeezed, add a few tsp filtered water and blend). Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
    3. Meanwhile, to make the filling, combine all ingredients but the cacao powder and chocolate chips in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
    4. Divide the filling mixture between 3 bowls. Pour one back into the blender along with 1 Tbsp cacao powder and blend until smooth. Pour back into the bowl and set aside.
    5. Pour the next bowl into the blender and add the remaining 3 Tbsp cacao powder and the chocolate chips and blend until smooth. Pour this layer over the crust in the pan, and put in the freezer for 10 minutes to set the layer.
    6. Pour the second layer (the one with 1 Tbsp cacao powder) over the first layer in the pan, then set in the freezer for 10 minutes.
    7. Pour the remaining vanilla filling over the other layers in the pan, then place bac
    8. Place back in the freezer to set for about 4 hours (or overnight in the refrigerator if you are not in a hurry).
    9. Remove from the freezer, un-mold and enjoy!  Store any leftover cake in the refrigerator.

    *I use Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk.  If you are using a different brand, just make sure it is the thick type, 2/3 of the can at least should be very thick when chilled.

  • Golden Almond Turmeric Latte

    Golden Almond Turmeric Latte

    I recently posted a recipe for Vegan Golden Turmeric White Chocolates, and you all seemed to love them so thank you for all the love! But I also have had many requests for a golden turmeric latte recipe, since I mentioned in the post that I have been loving those and buying and making them in the past few weeks. Well, last weekend I wrote it down, so I could share it with you all! It is pretty simple and straight forward which is always good when it comes to recipes you are making when you just want to sit back and relax. Trust me, this drink is perfect for sitting back and relaxing with!

    The first golden latte I had a few weeks back at a coffee shop was made with oat milk, but I made mine with almond milk. It was delicious but at home I usually make almond milk. Why don’t I just buy it at the store? Well, I find I like my home made stuff the best when it comes to nut milks (no weird additives or too much sugar etc.), and it is so quick and easy to make anyhow! So I have included my recipe for that as well. But if you prefer to use your own favorite almond milk (or other milk if you are allergic to nuts). I just love the almond milk flavor with the spices! I know I use a lot of coconut milk in everything else, and that is good in this too but I wanted it a little bit less thick.

    You can make this in the time it takes you to heat up milk on the stove (so just about 3-4 minutes), so it takes no time at all! Not only that, your kitchen will smell amazing as you make this. I love turmeric not only for its beautiful color and flavor, but the fact that it is anti-inflammatory! So is the ginger that is used in this latte, and because I am combining it with a milk that contains fat, it is more readily absorbed into the body. I have also added cinnamon and black pepper to this, as is traditional for a golden latte and the combination of the spices is heavenly!

    It is so good! Warming and delicious, a little rich from the almond milk, and the aroma of the sweet cinnamon, spicy ginger turmeric and pepper just made my happy. I actually didn’t add the optional maple syrup that I list in the ingredients, because I don’t like my drinks very sweet, but if any of you are like Eric my boyfriend (who likes everything sweet) you may like to add a little maple syrup too. I hope you try this the next time you are in the mood for a warming drink! This is a little healthier than hot cocoa and this is also perfect for before bed relaxation time!

     

    Golden Almond Turmeric Latte

    Serves 1

    Ingredients:

    • 1 1/2 cups vanilla almond milk (recipe follows)
    • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
    • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
    • pinch black pepper
    • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp maple syrup or to taste (optional if you like things a little sweet)

    Instructions:

    1. Add all ingredients to a small pot on the stove, and bring to a simmer, whisking as you go to ensure that all of the spices incorporate well.
    2. When it is boiling, remove from heat, and pour into your cup.
    3. Enjoy!

     

    Vanilla Almond Milk

    Makes about 4 cups

    • 1 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight and drained
    • 4 cups filtered water
    • 1/4 cup pitted medjool dates (or 3 Tbsp maple syrup (or to taste)
    • pinch sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

     

    Instructions:

    1. Add the almonds, filtered water, dates, sea salt and vanilla to the blender and blend until smooth.
    2. Pour through a nut milk bag into a glass jar or container with a lid, and enjoy!
    3. Keeps for one week in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Golden Turmeric White Chocolates

    Vegan Golden Turmeric White Chocolates

    Eric and I recently went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art because it was a super cold day and doing things outside isn’t so fun when it is below 10F degrees. That place is amazing. So many beautiful and historic pieces of art, and it is so large that you could get lost in there. Every time I go I see something new even the things that haven’t necessarily changed because it is such a large building. We spent a few hours in there enjoying the art and artifacts, and then they were closing and since we had a long walk to our car in the cold, we decided that warm drinks were the way to go, and so we stopped at Spyhouse coffee which was near by.

    I had never been in there, but I was pleased that they had vegan options for their drinks besides just plain tea like some coffee shops. I don’t usually get fancy drinks, but a their golden turmeric latte caught my eye. It was amazing. Made with oat milk, turmeric of course, ginger, maple syrup, and a hint of black pepper. Sooo good. And I loved that it was served in an actual porcelain cup and not a paper one. I haven’t been to anything but a Caribou or Starbucks for a long long time so that was rare. Anyways, this drink was so good that I have since made my own version at home a couple of times since that was a few weekends ago, and I decided that the flavors would be amazing in a dessert as well.

    So, I decided to make some Golden Turmeric White Chocolates! It was literally -30F below last wednesday morning and -20F for a high temperature so when I got off work the last thing I wanted to do was go outside and making some candy seemed like the perfect idea.

    Vegan Golden Turmeric White Chocolates 

    Makes 24

    Ingredients:

    • 1/3 cup cacao butter (2 oz)
    • 3 Tbsp raw cashew butter
    • 1/3 cup coconut butter
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup (or to taste)
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    •  1/2 tsp ground turmeric powder
    • 1/4 ground tsp ginger

    Instructions:

    1. Combine cacao butter, cashew butter, vanilla, maple syrup,  and sea salt over a double boiler, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Whisk the turmeric and ginger into the white chocolate.
    3. Pour into chocolate heart molds, and place in the freezer until heard, which can take 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on how warm it is.
    4. Pop chocolate out of molds and enjoy!
    5. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a few months.

    *I get my cacao butter from Amazon HERE.

  • Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies

    Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies

    When I was little, pretty much the only sandwiches I wanted to eat were grilled cheese, and peanut butter and jelly. I was not a fan of sandwiches with lunch meat. So my lunches were always peanut butter and jelly. I didn’t complain. It was always raspberry jam if my Mom made it and Strawberry if my Dad did, not any concord grape or anything adventurous. I considered the concord grape kind of special if I ever got that at my friend’s houses. I still love peanut butter and jelly or jam to this day. Even if I don’t make myself sandwiches anymore. I love it in the form of dessert. Because if you think about it, it kind of is dessert. Rich, creamy peanut butter, and sweet jam.

    So last weekend, I was craving peanut butter and jelly and I decided to make some PB and J sandwich cookies. It has been really cold here in Minnesota, below zero temps at night, and in the next few days we are supposed to have wind chills in the -30F and -15F actual temps so it is the perfect time to stay inside and bake. Don’t get me wrong, it is beautiful out in the Winter, but I don’t want to freeze my face off if I don’t have to.

    The cookies were actually pretty quick and easy to make too, which is always a win! I used my favorite vegan sandwich cookie recipe with my home made peanut butter, but made them smaller since I like my sandwich cookies to be cute and little. The dough was delicious and they smelled amazing while baking. I could not wait to try the finished product!

    Once they were all cooled I sandwiched them together with a fruit sweetened raspberry jam. I like the chunky jam with all the seeds! The cookies were so good with the rich, slightly salty peanut butter dough, and the gooey flavorful sweet jam! If you are feeling a little nostalgic and love peanut butter and jelly whip up a batch of these babies for yourself. Of course you can use whichever jam is your favorite!

    Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies
    Makes 10 sandwiches

    Ingredients:

    Cookies:

    • 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
    • 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1 cup coconut sugar
    • 1 cup organic peanut butter (the plain with just peanuts and salt)
    • 1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 cup gluten free all purpose flour
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt

    Filling:

    • Fruit sweetened raspberry jam

    Instructions:

    1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seed and water.  Place the bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes, this is your flax egg.
    2. In a large bowl, with a wooden spoon, mix together the sugar, peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla and flax egg, until smooth.  Then mix in the flour, soda, baking powder, and sea salt in until the mixture is smooth.
    3. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.  Line a sheet pan with parchment.
    4. Shape the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on your baking sheet a few inches apart and flatten with a fork, like you would with peanut butter cookies.
    5. Place in the oven and bake at 375F for 12 minutes or so, until lightly browned and set.  Allow to cool completely on a rack.
    6. Flip half of the cookies over, and spread about 1 tsp of jam over them. Top with the remaining cookies.
    7. Enjoy!
  • Vegan Hazelnut Flourless Chocolate Cake

    Vegan Hazelnut Flourless Chocolate Cake

    I appreciate rich, dark chocolate much more this time of the year for some reason. Maybe because it is kind of like sweet comfort food, or because Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so I feel like chocolate is in order, but whatever the reason, I find myself enjoying it more lately. Mostly just dark chocolate candy, but I bought a big block of unsweetened chocolate for baking, and decided that making a flourless chocolate cake was a good idea.

    I figured it would be something that other people might want to make for Valentine’s day, it sounded good to me at the time, and I knew Eric would love it since he is the biggest chocolate lover I know, so I went for it! I haven’t made a flourless chocolate cake in a few years, so it was about time! I wanted this one to include hazelnut too though along with the chocolate because those two flavors are amazing together. I had some hazelnut meal and hazelnut butter on hand so it was perfect!

    Flourless chocolate cake is kind of odd compared to other cakes. It is mostly just chocolate and eggs if not vegan so I used flax eggs in mine and they work perfectly! This cake has 4 oz of unsweetened chocolate plus cacao powder so it is intensely chocolaty. I tasted some of the unsweetened chocolate as I was chopping it up for the cake and surprisingly I liked it. It was like savory chocolate! Once it was all melted together with the coconut sugar, hazelnuts and meal and flax eggs it tasted like brownie batter!

    It smelled amazing while baking! My house filled with the heavenly aroma of dark chocolate. I could not wait to try the cake! Luckily you don’t have to wait long for this one to cool, it is best served warm after all. It was amazing. Like a super decadent rich brownie. A small piece would satisfy, but of course I had to cut myself a large one. If you wanted to tone down the dark chocolate or make this even more decadent you could serve it with coconut whipped cream, or ice cream as well!

    Vegan Hazelnut Flourless Chocolate Cake
    Makes one 6 inch cake

    • 3 Tbsp ground flax seed
    • 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 4 ounces vegan unsweetened chocolate, chopped
    • 1/4 cup hazelnut butter or almond butter
    • 1/4 cup pureed pear or apple
    • 1 cup coconut sugar
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/4 cup hazelnut meal*
    • 1/2 cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling
    • hazelnuts and chopped dark chocolate for garnish

    Instructions:

    1. In a bowl, whisk together the flax seed and water. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to gel. This will be your flax eggs.
    2. Meanwhile, oil a 6 inch spring form pan with coconut oil and preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
    3. In the top of a double boiler, combine the chocolate and nut butter.  Allow to melt, whisking often.
    4. Whisk in the pear puree, sugar, sea salt, and vanilla until smooth.
    5. Add the flax eggs and allow to warm for a couple minutes with the other ingredients whisking often until completely smooth and uniform.  Whisk in the cacao powder and hazelnut meal until very well combined (you want to make sure the oil is emulsified in or it will separate when baking). 
    6. Pour into the prepared pan.
    7. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until dried on the top and mostly set.
    8. Once finished baking, remove from the oven, allow to cool 15 minutes, then release from the pan and dust with cacao powder.  
    9. Garnish with hazelnuts and chopped dark chocolate and serve!

    *To make the hazelnut meal, grind whole hazelnuts in the blender until flour consistency, but not too long or you will get butter. Or you can buy Bob’s Red Mill brand hazelnut meal on Amazon or Vitacost.

  • White Chocolate Cinnamon Brazil Nut Butter

    White Chocolate Cinnamon Brazil Nut Butter

    You would think I would run out of possible nut butters to make, but I am making new ones all the time! I was recently at the store in the bulk section when the brazil nuts caught my eye. They are really good for snacking on, and I used to buy them a lot when I ate completely raw foods all the time because they made a nice nut meat, but I hadn’t had any in a while. I had made a brazil nut butter a few years back (I have tried making nut butter out of pretty much every kind of nut) and I remembered it being good so I decided to make some again.

    The thing about brazil nuts is if you blend them in a high speed blender completely to butter it is somewhat liquid since they have a high fat content (healthy fat of course). But I wanted my nut butter a little thicker, so I decided to add some cacao butter, which gets solid at room temperature to thicken it. At that point it tasted like white chocolate but not sweet. I decided to turn this into a dessert nut butter that I could eat with a spoon, and added some coconut sugar, cinnamon and vanilla and it was heavenly! People think of making nut butters with peanuts, cashews and almonds all the time, but don’t discount the brazil nut!

    They are cheaper than cashews and almonds (at least where I buy them), and they are good for you too. Did you know that they are a good source of selenium, a heart healthy antioxidant? They also have calcium, magnesium and potassium which are good for regulating your blood pressure. So you can feel good about snacking on them, or enjoying them in this nut butter! So the next time you are cruising the bulk section and see some brazil nuts, consider giving this recipe a try!

    White Chocolate Cinnamon Brazil Nut Butter
    Makes about 3 cups

    • 3 1/2 cups toasted brazil nuts
    • 1 1/2 oz cacao butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup raw coconut sugar
    • 2 tsp cinnamon
    • seeds of one vanilla bean

    Instructions:

    1. In a high-speed blender, combine the nuts, cacao butter and sea salt and blend until smooth, using the tamper to push the mixture down into the blades.
    2. Add the coconut sugar, cinnamon and vanilla beans to the blender and blend until well incorporated.
    3. Pour into a jar.
    4. Enjoy!  Keeps for a few months at room temperature and up to 6 when kept in the refrigerator.

    *Note: This nut butter is very firm once refrigerated (because of the cacao butter and high fat content of the brazil nuts). If you want it soft enough to spread, leave it out at room temperature.

  • Salted Caramel Tahini Fudge

    Salted Caramel Tahini Fudge

    Back in the day when I was in high school, my Mom used to take me to this natural foods restaurant (you know, the type that had oats milk ice cream, carob cookies, and fresh squeezed juices) which I wasn’t used to back then because there wasn’t a lot of at the time.  They had a famous tahini lemon salad dressing that my Mom used to always talk about. It was a really good dressing, but it made me think that the only way to use tahini was as a sauce or dressing.  Little did I know that there were so many other things you can do with tahini.  I thought it just made amazing dressing until I got more adventurous with food when I was in college and I discovered that it was an ingredient that made hummus amazing, and it could even be used in desserts like halva. 

    I now know that it is pretty versatile, and I actually love it in desserts.  I have made salted caramel tahini brownies and chocolate drizzled tahini cookies and those were amazing.  So when Raw Guru recently sent me some Dastony sesame tahini, I decided that some salted caramel tahini fudge sounded amazing. I have made many other nut butter based fudges before and they are always so easy and so good so I knew I could count on this turning out.  I was also having kind of a busy week where I felt like I wasn’t getting everything done that I needed to, so this sort of dessert was perfect!  I am sure you can relate, it is always nice to make something easy.

    I combined the Dastony sesame tahini with some soft, pitted medjool dates to make this caramel, since dates are nature’s caramel.  I mean seriously.  If you are craving caramel but want to not eat straight refined sugar eat a date, they are so satisfying and about as natural as it gets when it comes to sweeteners. The dates blended up with the tahini, some water, vanilla, sea salt, and coconut butter to allow this fudge to firm up, made it super delicious.  It tasted like caramel.  Simply heavenly.  I could not stop sampling it.

    It just needed to set in the freezer for about an hour before it was ready.  It turned out so good though!  Gooey, delicious healthy caramel with a slightly nutty flavor thanks to the tahini.  If you are a big caramel lover but are trying to stay away from the refined stuff, give this a try!

    Salted Caramel Tahini Fudge
    Makes 16 pieces

    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup Dastony sesame tahini
    • 1 cup Dastony coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • ¾ cup filtered water
    • 3/4 cup soft, pitted medjool dates (soak in water for 30 minutes first if not soft and drain very well)
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt plus more for sprinkling

    Instructions:

    1. In a high speed blender or food processor, combine the tahini, coconut butter, water, dates, vanilla, and sea salt and process until smooth. 
    2. Spread out into a 1/2 inch thick square on a piece of parchment on a board or sheet pan (to make moving it easier). 
    3. Sprinkle with a little sea salt.
    4. Place back in the freezer for about an hour or more until firm. 
    5. Cut into 16 squares and enjoy! 
    6. Store in the fridge in an airtight container up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to a few months. 
  • Vegan Strawberry Frosted Vanilla Cookies

    Vegan Strawberry Frosted Vanilla Cookies

    Back when I was in high school I didn’t cook a lot, but what I did do once in a while was make cookies.  I especially loved my Grandma’s cookie recipes, frosted sugar cookies being one of my favorites.  I used to make a big batch, and share them with my friends and family.  They were really rich delicious cookies with about a pound of butter in the dough, sugar plus powdered sugar and of course I topped them off with buttercream frosting that had more butter and sugar.  So just one was plenty or you might go into a sugar coma.  Well, several different people I gave a plate to ate the entire plate in one day!  So I guess that means they were pretty darn good.  Well, I don’t make those cookies any more because they were obviously not vegan and I try to make things that are a bit healthier.  But I do still like frosted vanilla cookies.

    So last weekend I decided to make some vanilla frosted cookies.  They are more shortbread buttery type cookies than the softer sugar cookies I used to make, but I like the texture of these even better. The cookie base is pretty simple and easy to make, not fussy at all. I use a mixture of whole wheat pastry flour plus a little tapioca flour to make the texture more tender. And for the fat in the dough I use a mixture of avocado oil and coconut oil because if it were all just coconut oil they would be harder at room temperature but the avocado oil makes the consistency more like actual butter or buttery spread.  I am just not a fan of using store bought buttery spreads and would rather mix my own oils.  The result is a delicious tender buttery cookie! 

    They smell amazing while baking too because of course you can’t go wrong with vanilla.  For the frosting on these cookies I thought about making a buttercream style vegan frosting, but decided to go with more of a glaze one instead.  It is much easier to make and still good. I made a simple coconut butter glaze.  I wanted a pink frosting, so I ground up some freeze dried strawberries into a powder to color it and it was so good!  Like sweet strawberries and cream frosting! Lastly, I sprinkled the frosted cookies with some little candy balls, because why not make them pretty.  These would be perfect for upcoming Valentine’s Day, don’t you think?

    Vegan Strawberry Frosted Vanilla Cookies 
    Makes about 16

    Ingredients:

    • 1 3/4 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour*
    • 1/4 cup tapioca flour**
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp maple sugar
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp avocado oil (or other neutral oil liquid at cool temperatures)
    • 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

    Frosting and Topping:

    • ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water (or as needed)
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp strawberry powder***
    • vegan sprinkles (optional)

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 300F degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
    2. To make the dough, mix all ingredients together in a bowl until combined and smooth (it may be slightly crumbly, and that is ok, just squeeze it back together), then place on a piece of parchment paper and roll out 1/4 inch thick.  Cut into shapes with a medium sized cookie cutter (I used a heart shape) and place them onto the prepared pan. Re-roll any scraps squeezing them back together and rolling them out, and cutting into more shapes until all of the dough is used.  Place the cut shapes on the pan into the freezer to chill for 10 minutes before baking.
    3. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until set and just barely beginning to brown at the edge.
    4. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely on a rack.
    5. Mix together the coconut butter, maple syrup and dried strawberries until smooth adding a touch more filtered water if it is too thick (you want it a thick glaze consistency). 
    6. Spread a thin layer of the frosting over the cookies, and sprinkle with the sprinkles.  Set the glazed cookies in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes until set.
    7. Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

    *If you wanted to make these cookies gluten free, you could use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour instead of the pastry flour.

    **If you do not have tapioca flour you can substitute cornstarch.

    ***To make strawberry powder, grind freeze dried strawberries to a fine flour consistency with a mortar and pestle, or grind in a clean dry spice grinder.

  • Vegan Almond Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with White Chocolate Cream

    Vegan Almond Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with White Chocolate Cream

    When I was little, I liked Little Debbie snacks.  In fact, I considered them the best part of my lunch back in the day when my Mom would pack my lunch in middle school.  I liked those vanilla cake rolls with the strawberry cream filling and those little pink frosted heart cakes, but what I really loved were the oatmeal cream pies.  I don’t know why they are called “pies” because they are actually oatmeal cookie sandwiches, but they were so delicious to my younger self.  Since I love to veganize things I loved as a kid, I thought I would make some oatmeal cream pies.  These would be a little more fancy though, and hopefully even more delicious.

    For the oatmeal cookies, I used my normal recipe that uses coconut oil as the fat, but I also included some Dastony almond butter I recently received from Raw Guru as well to make for some chewy cookies with a light almond flavor.  They also had to have a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg because I love those two spices with anything oatmeal including my breakfast every morning.  The cookie dough was super delicious.  I am one of those people that likes to make cookies just to eat the dough so you betcha I tasted it. Or more like ate a couple of cookies worth of dough.  I made the cookies smaller because I wanted cute little cookie sandwiches, and they baked up beautifully!  My kitchen smelled amazing too!  Like caramel (thanks to the Raw Guru coconut sugar), a hint of spice, and a hint of almonds. That is part of why baking makes me so happy, all of the good smells.

    Once they had cooled I had to make a really good cream filling.  I used a coconut milk base with a little bit of the Dastony almond butter to give it a slight almond flavor, plus some melted cacao butter to give it a white chocolate flavor and some coconut butter to thicken the cream.  It was heavenly!  It tasted like white chocolate almond mousse.

    Once the cookies were all filled and sandwiched together I could not wait to try them!  They were sooo good though!  The cookies were sweet and chewy like oatmeal cookies should be, with a hint of almond and spice and that white chocolate almond frosting was the perfect partner for them.  Rich, smooth and creamy!  If you were ever a fan of oatmeal cream pies, or you just love oatmeal cookies, give these a try!  My Mom always said she liked oatmeal cookies the best because they were healthier.  I would have to agree.  After all, they have more fiber than most cookies!  I think that is a pretty good reason to enjoy them, don’t you?

    Vegan Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with White Chocolate Cream 
    Makes about 18 sandwich cookies

    Ingredients:

    Frosting:

    • 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk at room temperature (you want the kind that is mostly thick, I used Thai kitchen organic)
    • 2 Tbsp Dastony almond butter
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/4  tsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/4 cup coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 2 Tbsp Raw Guru cocoa butter, warmed to liquid (or additional coconut butter if you don’t have cacao butter)

    Directions:

    1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut oil, almond butter, and sugar until well blended. Add flax eggs, vanilla, and beat until well combined (the mixture will become very thick).
    2. Mix in the flour, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt until well blended. Mix in the oats until well combined.
    3. Heat the oven to 350F degrees with the rack set at the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
    4. Roll the dough into small 1 1/2 inch balls, and spread them out on the 2 cookie sheets with plenty of room in between, and flatten them out slightly. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until golden, but not over baked. Let cool on sheet a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack lined with parchment to cool completely.
    5. To make the filling, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl, and set in the freezer, whisking every 5-10 minutes or so until it has thickened to heavy whipped cream consistency.
    6. Once the filling has thickened, place it in a pastry bag.  Flip half of the cookies over, and pipe the frosting onto them.  Top with the rest of the cookies.
    7. Enjoy!  Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
    *Whisk together 2 Tbsp ground flax seed, 1/4 cup and 2 Tbsp water in a small bowl.  Allow to sit in the fridge for 15 minutes until the mixture has set up (or become kind of thick).
  • Vegan Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle Hearts

    Vegan Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle Hearts

    Valentine’s Day is a month away now, so I figure I can start making Valentine’s Day treats.  Because one can never have too many of those, right?  When I was little, I loved the candy part of Valentine’s Day the most.  I know, it should be about celebrating love and all, and that is what I most appreciate about it now, being able to spend time with the ones I love and not about receiving candy and flowers and what not.  But when you are 8 you just want to eat candy and don’t know much about love.  Valentines candy was awesome because in my school you would get a bunch from your classmates along with the Valentines in your box that you would all give to each other. Not only that, my Grandma also always gave me a nice big box of chocolates.  It was awesome to go through the box and try to guess what they were while eating them. I still like to make Valentine’s Day treats though.  Any excuse for me to make things that are heart shaped, or pink, or chocolate I am in. And I even sometimes share them, haha.

    So on my day off I decided to make some Vegan Raspberry White Chocolate Hearts.  I haven’t made any chocolates since Christmas and I am kind of missing them.  These are fun to make too. You get to shape the filling sort of like play dough.  Or at least that is what I do, because I don’t have the right size of fancy heart molds and I like plenty of filling.  For the filling on these I used some Raw Guru cacao butter for the base, as it is the foundation and the essential ingredient for white chocolate.  At least real white chocolate.  None of that fake other oil stuff going on here that you might find if you were buying store bought candy.  Trust me it makes all the difference if you use real cacao butter in your chocolate and white chocolate.  The Raw Guru cacao butter smells amazing too.

    Next, I added in a little cashew butter and Dastony coconut butter to make the filling creamy.  Lastly some freeze dried raspberries, vanilla and maple syrup.  You might be wondering why I use freeze dried berries and not fresh.  I do so because they don’t add extra moisture to the chocolates, they are really intensely flavored and it keeps these a little more shelf stable. I also use the freeze dried berries for things like a raspberry frosting where I want color and flavor but I don’t want any extra moisture.  They work perfect!  I get mine at Trader Joes, they have several different types of berries.

    The filling for these truffles was super delicious.  I could have eaten it with a spoon.  But of course then I wouldn’t have truffles. Once they were all shaped and set, I dipped them in a home made dark chocolate.  Now of course if you didn’t want to make your own, you could use your favorite store bought dark chocolate, but I had all of the ingredients to make it so I thought, why not?  These turned out super delicious.  They would be the perfect little treat to make for Valentine’s day for your loved ones.  If you can share them after you taste one that is.

    Vegan Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle Hearts
    Makes 10 chocolates

    Ingredients:

    White Chocolate:

    • 1/4 cup Raw Guru cacao butter (2 oz) or coconut oil if unavailable
    • 2 Tbsp raw cashew butter
    • 1/4 cup Dastony coconut butter
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 cup freeze dried raspberries
    • 1/4 cup filtered water

     

    Dark Chocolate:

     

    Directions:

    1. Combine all of the white chocolate ingredients but the berries and water over a double boiler, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Pulverize the berries in a blender until fine, then whisk into the white chocolate along with the water. Place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes until it is firm enough to scoop. Scoop into 8 balls, rolling them with your hands and shaping them into little hearts.   Place on a parchment lined tray, and place back into the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile, to make the dark chocolate, combine all ingredients in a double boiler, and whisk until combined and melted.
    4. Once the filling has firmed up, dip each chocolate into the dark chocolate, being sure to let the excess drain off, and place back onto the tray (I like to set mine on a fork to allow it to drain better). Once they are all dipped, set them in the freezer until hardened.
      Store any leftover truffles in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Lemon Cheesecake

    Vegan Lemon Cheesecake

    I have always loved all things lemon when it comes to dessert. Growing up, I loved those tart lemon curd bars with the powdered sugar on top, and lemon poppy seed muffins, or a good lemon meringue pie.  I think I get it from my Mom, because she was the same way and tended to like to make desserts with lemon.  We definitely made those bars, although we made the ones from the box not from scratch.  But they were still good. There is just something so delicious about tart lemon in desserts.  And it has to actually be tart to be up to my current standards.  None of this so full of sugar that it is more sweet than tart stuff or just lemon flavor and no juice.  It has be real lemons and make me pucker a bit.  I hadn’t really made anything featuring lemon lately and it is the season when they are at their best so I picked up a bag of organic lemons at the store and hoped for inspiration.  Luckily it came fast. I decided that a lemon cheesecake with a lemon curd topping sounded perfect.

    About 10 years ago, before I went vegan I made a non-vegan lemon cheesecake with a vanilla lemon filling and tart lemon curd topping that was super delicious.  I wanted this cake to taste just like that one, only better.  I wanted the cheesecake filling to be creamy, rich and taste like traditional cheesecake, and the way I achieved that was a mixture of the cream from a can of full fat coconut milk, and chickpeas.  Now, you may be thinking I have gone crazy using chickpeas in my cheesecake filling but hear me out.  I used to use a mixture of coconut cream and cashews all of the time, and that was the perfect texture, but I have a hard time digesting cashews and they are expensive so I tried swapping the cashews with chickpeas last year to see if they would be a good substitute to make the cake nut free.  It worked perfect!  You end up with a cake that has the exact same consistency, and same flavor!  So now I just use the chickpeas.  I always have them on hand in my freezer portioned out anyhow for meals and soups because I make a huge batch every few weeks. Just trust me on this one, they make the filling perfect!

    It also had to have plenty of tart lemon, so I added both zest and juice to the filling plus maple syrup to sweeten it and some vanilla of course.  It was super delicious even before I poured it into the crust.  Once that set, I made a nice tart lemon curd to top it off.  It was a lovely hue of yellow.  I could not wait to taste this cake!  But I had to wait until the next day for it to set because I was making it at night after work.

    I knew this was going to be good, but it turned out even better than I imagined!  The filling was the perfect consistency, smooth, creamy and rich, the perfect balance of tart and sweet with plenty of lemon and a hint of vanilla.  The curd on top was nice and tart, and the perfect contrast to the filling.  It tastes like sunshine in cake form, which we could all use a bit of right now since we are smack dab in the middle of Winter (at least where I live).  If you are a fan of lemon, definitely give this a try!  I hope you are all having a wonderful January!

    Vegan Lemon Cheesecake
    Makes one 6 inch cake

    Crust:

    • 1/4 cup finely shredded coconut
    • 1/2 cup organic gluten free rolled oats, or quinoa flakes
    • 1/4 cup pitted medjool dates (if not soft, soak them in filtered water first and drain well)
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt

     

    Filling:

     

    Curd Topping:

    • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
    • 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1/2 Tbsp organic lemon zest
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
    • pinch of sea salt
    • pinch turmeric (optional, for color)
    • 1 Tbsp full fat coconut milk
    • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil

     

    Instructions:

    1. Oil a 6 inch spring form pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper.
    2. To make the crust, place all ingredients in a food processor, and process until crumbs and starting to hold together (if they are not holding together when squeezed, add a few tsp filtered water and blend). Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
    3. Meanwhile, to make the filling, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
    4. Pour the filling over the prepared crust, and place cheesecake in the freezer until the top starts to set, at least 30 minutes. Once the top has set, you can make the filling.
    5. To make curd topping, combine the lemon juice, water, zest, maple syrup, cornstarch, sea salt and coconut milk in a saucepan and cook over medium heat just until it thickens.  Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and coconut oil.
    6. Pour the lemon curd over the filling, and place back in the freezer to set for about 4 hours (or overnight in the refrigerator if you are not in a hurry).
    7. Remove from the freezer, un-mold and enjoy!  Store any leftover cake in the refrigerator.

     

    *I use Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk.  If you are using a different brand, just make sure it is the thick type, 2/3 of the can at least should be very thick.

     

  • Creamy Coconut Curried Split Pea Soup

    Creamy Coconut Curried Split Pea Soup

    We went from 40F degrees here at the beginning of the week to a cold snap of below zero temps in a matter of one day.  It is kind of a shock to the system, and sometimes I wonder how as a high schooler I spent every day in the Winter practically outside at nordic skiing practice.  Lots of layers I guess and moving around a lot.  But it feels so much colder now for some reason.  I shouldn’t complain though, we are having a warmer than average Winter over all and it is supposed to warm up again soon.  Either way, I have been making warming comfort food dishes to take the chill off after being outside.  One of which was a Creamy Coconut Curried Split Pea Soup!

    One of my coworkers in the deli I work at had recently made a split pea soup for the customers and I thought it sounded good.  I hadn’t made any in a really long time at home, and I had a bunch of split peas in the cupboard ( I bought way to many the last time I bought them) and I knew that use them up soon.  The reason I hadn’t made split pea in a while was because the last time I made it was kind of a disaster.  I am one of those people who tries to squeeze in too many things at once to multi task at because I want to get a lot done, and I had the split pea soup cooking on the stove while I did other things and I burned it on the bottom.  That is like the worst feeling in the world, when you have to throw a pot of soup away because it tastes burnt (I hate wasting things).  And, it happens quickly with split pea because it is thick.  So just so you all know, I have kitchen disasters too.  One time someone said to me she imagined me like I had a magic kitchen where everything goes perfect and I had spices dancing around and whatnot, but that is so far from the truth.  It is sometimes a disaster area and it is not usually neat until I am done cooking and clean up.  So never feel bad if you mess up once in a while when you are making things.  Anyways, back to my soup I made this week.

    I made it similar to a classic split pea, and included the carrots, onions and celery as well as hearty potatoes.  But for the flavor, I used mild curry powder to give it a nice warming spices quality. It was so good with the split peas!  I wanted to add a little richness too, since this recipe actually isn’t made with any oil, so I added in some full fat coconut milk at the end.  It made the texture smooth and silky.  This soup is so good!  Even though split peas take a while to cook, this really doesn’t require much hands on time or anything and is pretty simple to make.  So if you are a split pea soup fan or you just want some healthy warming comfort food because it is cold right now where you live too, give this a go!

    Creamy Coconut Curried Split Pea Soup
    Serves 2

    Ingredients:

    • 1 small onion, chopped
    • 2 stalks celery, sliced
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 cup dried split peas
    • 3 cups filtered water
    • 1 Tbsp mild curry powder
    • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less depending on the spice level you want)
    • sea salt to taste
    • 2 medium organic carrots, sliced
    • 3 medium organic red potatoes, diced
    • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

     

    Instructions:

    1. In a pot, combine all ingredients but the carrots and potatoes, and bring to a boil.
    2. Lower to a simmer, and cook until the split peas are softened, about 40 minutes, then add the carrots and potatoes and cook until they are tender and the split peas are falling apart.
    3. Stir in the coconut milk until well combined and serve!
  • Vegan Lavender Vanilla Shortbread Cookies 

    Vegan Lavender Vanilla Shortbread Cookies 

    Lavender is one of my favorite scents.  Next to vanilla, it is something that I enjoy using the essential oil of fairly often for scenting my personal products (like lotions, deodorants, and shampoo), as well as putting in the diffuser in my home or car to keep me calm and relaxed.  Besides just enjoying the aroma of lavender though, I like to use the dried flowers in my desserts once and a while. It is heavenly when paired with citrus, chocolate or vanilla.  I used to make shortbread quite a lot before I went vegan, and one of the ones I made was a  lavender vanilla shortbread that was really delicious.  So I decided last weekend that I needed to recreate it. I hadn’t made any sort of shortbread in years as of last weekend and I don’t know why because shortbread is damn delicious.  It may be simple with few ingredients but I love the buttery texture.  So it was about time I got on making it again!

    I had all of the ingredients I wanted to use on hand so it was perfect!  For the dough, I used a combination of organic whole wheat pastry flour and tapoica flour.  Why tapoica flour?  Well it works similarly to cornstarch to lighten up the dough and make it more tender and I happened to have some on hand. But if you don’t have any on hand you could substitute cornstarch.  For the fat in the recipe, I used a combination of coconut oil and avocado oil.  They are both pretty neutral oils, and when combined they have a buttery flavor and give a rich texture to baked goods.  A little maple sugar, a dash of sea salt, some lavender and vanilla and the dough was delicious. Yes, I always have to eat some of my cookie dough before baking it!

    I could have just baked the shortbread in one big square in a pan and scored it, but I decided that it would be cuter and more fun to cut it out into little hearts instead. So I made little hearts, popped them in the oven at a low temperature (sine shortbread is delicate and you don’t want it too brown). They smelled heavenly while baking!

    They were lovely as they were, but since I like to dress up cookies, I dipped them in dark chocolate and sprinkled some with lavender and some with sprinkles. They turned out lovely, but more importantly they turned out delicious.  Melt in your mouth, rich and buttery with a hint of lavender and vanilla, the smooth dark chocolate the perfect partner for it all. These are the perfect thing to bake on a chilly Winter day when you don’t feel like going outside!

    Vegan Lavender Vanilla Shortbread Cookies 
    Makes about 16

    Ingredients:

    • 1 3/4 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour*
    • 1/4 cup tapioca flour**
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp maple sugar
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp avocado oil (or other neutral oil liquid at cool temperatures)
    • 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 Tbsp organic dried lavender flowers

    Decoration:

    • 1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips or vegan dark chocolate chunks
    • vegan sprinkles or dried lavender flowers

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 300F degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
    2. To make the dough, mix all ingredients together in a bowl until combined and smooth (it may be slightly crumbly, and that is ok, just squeeze it back together), then place on a piece of parchment paper and roll out 1/4 inch thick.  Cut into shapes with a medium sized cookie cutter (I used a heart shape) and place them onto the prepared pan. Re-roll any scraps squeezing them back together and rolling them out, and cutting into more shapes until all of the dough is used.  Place the cut shapes on the pan into the freezer to chill for 10 minutes before baking.
    3. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until set and just barely beginning to brown at the edge.
    4. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely on a rack.
    5. Melt the dark chocolate in the top of a double boiler.
    6. Dip each cookie into the dark chocolate partially then set on a parchment lined tray.
    7. Sprinkle the dipped part of the cookies with dried lavender flowers or sprinkles.
    8. Let the chocolate set (or pop into the freezer for about 10 minutes until it sets).
    9. Enjoy!  Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

     

    *If you wanted to make these gluten free, you could use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour instead of the pastry flour.

    **If you do not have tapioca flour you can substitute cornstarch.

  • Vegan Caramelized Citrus Galette

    Vegan Caramelized Citrus Galette

    Now that we are past the shortest day of the year, and we are into January, I feel like things are looking up.  Not that the Holidays were bad or anything.  I am just one of those people who likes to not have to worry about too many plans in a short period of time, and likes routine and normalcy.  I feel like I didn’t know what day of the week it was for the past couple of weeks with the Holidays in the middle of the week, and different days off than I am used too.  It feels so good to be back to normal and just do things at a more relaxed pace and enjoy things like just going for a walk outside or making new recipes and relaxing with a book or movie at night. It has been really warm here too for the last couple of days, which is awesome!  It is like Spring in January, so I have been trying to get outside everyday instead of just treadmilling it.  Also, it has been nice and sunny, not like December which is one of the cloudiest months.

    One of those new recipes that I had time to make this week, was a caramelized citrus galette.  I typically make galettes with apples, pears or berries, but since it is the peak of citrus season, I thought why not use it in a delicious dessert. I thought about using just oranges, but I love grapefruits and clementines too so I used all three!  It ended up being the perfect balance of tart and sweet. I tossed them with a little maple syrup, and a dash of cardamom and I knew this filling was going to be good.  I wasn’t sure it they would work out though, since citrus tends to be very juicy, but I solved that problem by saving the extra juices and making a caramel like syrup with rosewater and vanilla to top the finished galette off with.

    I love galettes because they are so much easier to make in pies and they bake much faster!  No fussy crusts, just one crust to roll and if it doesn’t look perfect, it is ok because it is rustic.  It smelled amazing while baking.  I love the sunny sweet scent of citrus, and the crust smelled almost buttery.  When it was done baking I drizzled it with a reduced orange rosewater caramel syrup and sprinkled it with some crunchy pistachios.  It turned out beautifully and it was super delicious!  I like it served warm with a scoop of coconut milk ice cream!  Take advantage of the lovely citrus this season and give this a try!

    Vegan Caramelized Citrus Galette

    Crust:

    • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour*
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1/3 cup coconut oil in solid state, cut into chunks
    • 1/4 cup almond butter
    • 5-6 Tbsp ice water

     

    Filling:

    • 1 grapefruit, peeled and sliced into rounds, juices reserved
    • 2 oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds, juices reserved
    • 3 clementines, peeled and sliced into rounds juices reserved
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
    • 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
    • pinch of sea salt
    • maple sugar or coconut sugar for sprinkling

     

    Orange Caramel Glaze:

    • 3/4 cup orange juice
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/2 tsp rose flower water or orange flower water (optional)
    • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

     

    For finishing:

    • chopped pistachios for garnish

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make crust, combine flour, sea salt, sugar, coconut oil, and almond butter in a bowl, and use a pastry blender to cut into the mixture until it resembles pea sized chunks (you can also use your hands).  Add water and mix into the dough.  Knead a few times until it comes together (you may need to add an additional Tbsp more water).  Shape into and roll out into a 1/4 inch thick circle on a sheet of parchment (you will want to dust the parchment underneath with a little flour and dust the rolling pin too to avoid sticking. If the dough has gotten too warm, place in the refrigerator).  Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
    2. Put a fine meshed strainer over a bowl, and press each citrus slice one by one into the bottom of the strainer (pressing out some of the juice, but not so hard that you smash them and they don’t look pretty anymore) and set them aside in a bowl.  Reserve the juices in the bowl under the strainer for later.
    3. Add 3 Tbsp maple syrup, the cornstarch, cardamom, and sea salt to the bowl with the citrus and toss to combine. Arrange fruit mixture on top of the dough, leaving a  1 1/2-inch border all the way around. Fold border over the fruit mixture, overlapping where necessary and pressing gently to adhere the folds (it doesn’t have to be perfect, it is rustic).
    4. Brush edges of dough with melted coconut oil, sprinkle with sugar, and bake until crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling, 45 minutes or so. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool the galette.
    5. Meanwhile, add all of the reserved citrus juices plus 3/4 cup orange juice to a small sauce pan along with 3 Tbsp maple syrup. Bring to a boil, and simmer until it is reduced to the consistency of syrup.  Add the rose water and vanilla and stir in.  Drizzle over the warm galette.
    6. Sprinkled the galette with pistachios, and serve warm or at room temperature.
    *You may use whole wheat pastry flour if you do not wish to make this gluten free.
  • Vegan Salted Caramel Millionaire Bars

    Vegan Salted Caramel Millionaire Bars

    I recently watched an episode of America’s Test Kitchen when I was downstairs running on my treadmill on a Saturday morning (that is what I usually do on weekends while I work out, watch cooking shows to get ideas for recipes and learn things), and they were making Millionaire Bars.  They looked sooo good.  A layer of rich caramel on a shortbread crust with dark chocolate on top.  Now mind you they were not vegan at all, but I said to myself I have to make those sometime, they seem totally do-able.  When I was talking to my Mom a few days later, she told me she had seen the episode too and told me I should recreate a vegan version.  I decided that I needed to make them on New Years Day, since I was off work and had extra time.

    I cut the size of the recipe in half, since I don’t have a large family and I only wanted an 8×8 inch pan instead of a 9×13.  I was a little nervous about the crust I admit, because I have tried to veganize a shortbread crust before and it did not work at all.  The oil just bubbled out and it was all greasy.  So this time I cut back on the fat, using 2 Tbsp less than the one I was trying to veganize, and I swapped out the butter for coconut oil and avocado oil. If I had used straight coconut oil the crust would have gotten too hard once chilled but that little bit of avocado oil makes it more like if I had used butter.  I am not a fan of store bought buttery sticks, so this is why use the oils I do and I have had success so far with the combo.  Also, I didn’t think the original recipe had enough flour so, I added a good amount of tapioca flour along with the pastry flour in the crust to make it tender in the same manor cornstarch would.  If I had just added more flour it might have been more tough but cornstarch makes a nice melt in your mouth texture.

    It baked up beautifully!  I was super excited to make the rest of it.  For the caramel, I used dates as the main ingredient since they are nature’s caramel after all.  I combined them with pecan butter because it has an almost caramel like flavor, but of course you could use almond butter if you don’t have any.  I had to thicken the caramel as well, so that it would stay nice when the bars were cut and keep its shape, so I added Dastony coconut butter from Raw Guru to it to make the caramel more firm, plus give it richness and a more sweet flavor.  The original recipe called for sweetened condensed milk or some kind of milk, so it took the place of that in my recipe. I decided to make it salted caramel, since I love sea salt with my caramel. It makes it all the more crave worthy.  And, OMG was the caramel ever amazing.  I could have just eaten it with a spoon.

    It got even better once I made the chocolate ganache to top off the caramel, and decided to sprinkle pecans over it to make it more pretty.  The pecans aren’t traditional, but this is my spin on the classic bars.  They were sooo crave worthy!  I make a lot of desserts, but I can honestly say these are some of the best bars I have ever made, and I am totally please with how all of the elements of them turned out.  The crust was tender and buttery, the filling was gooey, sweet and tasted like traditional caramel, plus firm enough to slice nicely, and the rich dark chocolate ganache and crunchy pecans were the perfect pairing with it!  These are crave worthy.  If you love caramel you must make these.

    Vegan Salted Caramel Millionaire Bars
    Makes 16

    Crust:

    • 1 3/4 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour*
    • 1/4 cup tapioca flour
    • 1/2 cup maple sugar
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp avocado oil (or other neutral oil liquid at cool temperatures)

     

    Caramel:

    • 1 1/2 cups soft, pitted medjool dates (if they are not soft, soak them in filtered water 30 minutes & drain before use)
    • 1/2 cup pecan butter or almond butter at room temperature
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Dastony coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/3 tsp sea salt

     

    Chocolate:

    • 8 oz vegan chocolate chips, or chopped dark chocolate
    • 1/2 cup coconut cream (you want the thick part of the coconut milk from the top of the can I used Thai Kitchen brand)

     

    Topping:

    • 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and line an 8×8 inch square pan with parchment paper (so that it goes up the sides too).
    2. To make the crust, mix all ingredients together in a bowl until combined, then press into the  bottom of the prepared pan.
    3. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
    4. To make the caramel, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and process until smooth. If you do not have a high speed blender and you still have little date bits you may strain the caramel through a fine meshed strainer to remove them.  Pour the caramel over the prepared crust.  Place in the freezer until firm, a few hours.
    5. Melt the dark chocolate in the top of a double boiler with the coconut milk and whisk together until smooth.  Pour over the bars, and spread to the sides until smooth. Then sprinkle with the pecans.
    6. Place the bars in the freezer until the chocolate sets.
    7. Cut into 16 bars. Enjoy!
    8. Store any extra bars in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

     

    *If you wanted to make these gluten free, you could use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour instead of the pastry flour.

  • Vegan Mocha Almond Chocolate Waffle Cake 

    Vegan Mocha Almond Chocolate Waffle Cake 

    When we get to the end of the year, sometimes I decide that I need to make a recipe that I have had in my head for a while, yet never got around to making.  Well, this year it was a waffle cake.  I have been wanting to make a waffle cake since last year around this time to be honest, but I either just decided on a standard cake, or for a while I was afraid to make Belgian waffles (the kind I would need for the cake) because every time I tried to make them in my old waffle iron they didn’t turn out. Then I finally ruined the waffle maker in the end when I messed up a recipe and added too much liquid (halving the rest of the recipe but forgot the liquid needed to be halved), and it ended up burning onto the iron so bad I had to toss it. It was about 30 years old because it was used when it was given to my Mom when I was little, so I didn’t feel too bad. But no chance for waffle cake without a maker.

    Well, luckily my Dad gave me a Belgian waffle maker for Christmas so I could make my waffle cake!  It is a nice Cuisinart waffle maker, and although the waffles are smaller than the ones my old maker made and are square instead of round, I like that I can make four at a time now.  It is so much more efficient and they come out beautifully!  No sticking! So I was super excited about the cake.  I couldn’t decide between flavors for a while, because fruit sounded good, but I figured I would save that for next Summer when berries are at their best.  So what I came up with was a mocha almond chocolate waffle cake!

    Raw Guru had recently sent me some Dastony sprouted almond butter and I knew it would work perfect in my recipe to give it a lovely almond flavor, as well as make some almond butter fudge with to drizzle over the cake, and I had plenty of cacao powder, so it was perfect!  Plus for some reason I have been making a lot of chocolate stuff lately.  I know the name of my blog has “vanilla” in it but I don’t discriminate!

    The waffles came out lovely, chocolate with a hint of coffee and almond and all they needed was some delicious things to layer them with for the cake.  I made a mocha almond cream, and the fudge I mentioned earlier to sandwich them together with and the combination was heavenly!  I also topped it all off with some crunchy toasted almonds and chocolate chips, because I love different textures!  If you don’t feel like actually heating up the oven and baking, this is a great way to make a cake, or if you want a really decadent indulgent waffle treat for brunch this would be awesome as well!  Hope you all are having a wonderful New Years eve, and I wish you all an amazing 2019!

    Vegan Mocha Almond Chocolate Waffle Cake 
    makes 1 6 layer waffle cake

    Ingredients:

    Batter:

    • 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour*
    • 1/4 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 3 Tbsp ground flax seed, whisked together with 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 2 Tbsp melted avocado oil or coconut oil
    • 1 cup freshly brewed coffee
    • 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
    • 1/4 cup Dastony almond butter

     

    Fudge:

    • 1/2 cup Dastony almond butter
    • 1/2 cup maple syrup
    • 1/4 cup cacao powder
    • pinch sea salt
    • filtered water as needed

     

    Mocha Almond Cream:

     

    Topping:

    • toasted almonds
    • chocolate chips

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make the waffles, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cayenne and cacao powder and sea salt in a large bowl.
    2. Then whisk the flax mixture, coconut oil, and coconut milk until smooth.
    3. Oil, and pre-heat waffle iron. Once it is heated, pour about 1/3 cup batter onto the waffle iron or until the iron is just covered (but not so much that it will ooze out) and close it.  Cook according to waffle iron package directions.  Remove from the waffle maker and let waffles cool completely on a wire rack.  If you have a waffle maker the size of mine (regular belgian waffles), you may have more than 6 waffles.  In that case, reserve 6 for the recipe, and enjoy the others!
    4. To make the cream for in between the waffles, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor until smooth.  Pour into a bowl, place in the freezer, and whisk every 15 minutes until it is thick like whipped cream (it will probably take about 45 minutes). Once it is thick enough move it to the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the cake.
    5. To make the fudge, whisk together all ingredients until smooth (adding a little filtered water if too thick.  You want it to be pour-able).
    6. To assemble, place a waffle on a plate, spoon

     

    *If you do not wish to make a gluten free cake, whole wheat pastry flour will work as well!

     

     

     

  • Tuscan Chickpea Vegetable Soup 

    Tuscan Chickpea Vegetable Soup 

    We make soup like crazy in the deli I work in this time of the year, so you would think I would hate making soup at home. But that is not the case at all!  I love soup just as much as the customers do, I just prefer to make a big batch for myself and eat it for a few days (less work to get dinner on the table later in the week is always a good thing).  I tend to be boring and monotonous with my soup that I make though, often times it is the same two soups every week.  What can I say, I know what I like.  But This week I decided to be a little different and make a soup very similar to one that I make at work, a Tuscan bean soup. It is actually my recipe that I make at work, that I first made at home back when I was just out of college, but I haven’t made it in a really long time and I have never shared it on my blog before surprisingly.  I decided to make it this week mostly because I was making dinner for me and Eric and I think he is getting just a little sick of chili every week.

    This soup is actually pretty easy to make too.  It requires a little cooking time, but it is ready to enjoy in under an hour.  I have to say too, it is even better the next day if you let it all sit together overnight.  I love that this soup is loaded with good veggies!  Although I consider it essential for my soups to be mostly veggies.  I am not a fan of soups that are mostly completely broth, or just a cream base and pureed. I have to have chunky veggies in there!  This soup is so aromatic while it cooks, the scent of Italian herbs, basil, oregano, and rosemary fill the air along with sweet tomatoes and garlic.  I know some people hate garlic but I love it, and we all need it to stay healthy this time of the year.

    This soup always turns out super delicious.  Not only that, I love the heartiness of it, without it being heavy at all.  At the end, I even stirred in kale because I like to try to get greens with at least once of my meals every week.  And stirring them into your soup at the last minute when you pull it off the stove (so they don’t get over cooked) is a great way to get a bunch in (since they wilt and you can fit more).  If you are in need of some healthy comfort food, give this a try!

    Tuscan Chickpea Vegetable Soup 
    Serves 3-4

    Ingredients:

    • 1 tsp olive oil
    • 1/4 cup diced red onion
    • 2 stalks celery, sliced
    • 2 large carrots, cut in half and sliced
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 tsp dried basil
    • 1/2 tsp fennel seed
    • 1 tsp dried oregano
    • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
    • 3 cups crushed canned tomatoes or fresh roasted*
    • 2 cups flavorful vegetable stock
    • sea salt
    • 3 cups diced potatoes
    • 2 cups cooked chickpeas
    • 2 cups fresh kale, torn into small pieces

     

    Instructions:

    1. Heat the olive oil in a medium pan.
    2. Add onions, carrots and celery and sauté until tender.
    3. Add the garlic, tomatoes, herbs, sea salt, pepper, vinegar, and filtered water.
    4. Bring to a simmer, and allow to cook until the tomatoes are very soft and the flavor has melded, about 30 minutes.
    5. Add the potatoes to the pot, and let cook for about 10-15 minutes.
    6. When the potatoes are tender, stir in the chickpeas and kale until kale has just wilted.
    7. Serve!

     

    *To roast the tomatoes, cut them into 2 inch wedges, and spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Place in a 400F degree oven and roast for about 30-45 minutes until tender and starting to brown at the edges. Remove from oven and you are ready to use them in this recipe.

  • Vegan Matcha Mint Hemp Truffles 

    Vegan Matcha Mint Hemp Truffles 

    You would think that I would be sick of treats from Christmas, but I am not.  In fact, I still am in the mood for delicious treats, especially of the chocolate variety.  The Holidays are not technically over after all, so why not make more?!  Raw Guru recently sent me some Rawmio dark chocolate bars and Dastony coconut butter and so I decided that some peppermint truffles sounded amazing.  But to make them even more amazing I added matcha into the mix as well because I love it!  In fact I drink it daily instead of coffee but it is so good in desserts too.  I was super excited about the truffles, because not only are they easy to make and I get to enjoy the finished product fairly quickly, I get to lick all of the excess chocolate from the bowls.  My favorite part of the process.

    These were going to be good.  But I decided to make them even better and add some Veggimins 500mg full spectrum hemp extract that Raw Guru had sent me as well, so I could get my daily dose of CBD oil with my dessert.  I take CBD oil daily anyhow to combat inflammation and stress, so I love the idea of getting some in with my truffles.  Also, I figured I would share some with Eric because he benefits from CBD oil too.  This particular Veggimins oil is flavored with peppermint as well, so it was perfect for these truffles! If you are wondering if the truffles tasted like hemp, no they did not.  All you can taste is the delicious mint, matcha and chocolate!

    For the filling I wanted it to be rich and creamy, so I used a combination of cacao butter, coconut butter and cashew butter to give it a white chocolate flavor base.  I added a good amount of matcha, vanilla and mint so the filling and it was so heavenly I could not stop tasting it.  The flavor was kind of like the Andes mints I grew up eating, they always had a mellow smooth vanilla mint flavor.

    I melted down the Rawmio essentials bars for the coating, and since some were chocolate mint, I had a double mint thing going on with the truffles.  OMG were they ever heavenly!  Creamy, rich, chocolaty, minty and cooling and satisfying.  Although, I might have trouble just eating one a day (which is what I usually do when I make chocolates like this), I might need two of these babies.

    Vegan Matcha Mint Hemp Truffles 
    Makes 14 truffles

    Ingredients:

    Filling:

     

    Dark Chocolate:

     

    Directions:

    1. Combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes until it is firm enough to scoop. Scoop into 14 balls, rolling them with your hands.   Place on a parchment lined tray, and place back into the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile,  melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.
    4. Once the filling has firmed up, dip each chocolate into the dark chocolate, being sure to let the excess drain off, and place back onto the tray (I like to set mine on a fork to allow it to drain better). Once they are all dipped, set them in the freezer until hardened.
    5. Store any leftover truffles in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Eggnog Cupcakes 

    Vegan Eggnog Cupcakes 

    I wanted to make a festive cake for Christmas this year, but I had a lot going on, so I opted for festive cupcakes instead since they are quite a bit less time consuming but every bit just as delicious as cake.  Plus the frosting to cake ratio is perfect when I pile it high.  I am one of those people who likes almost as much frosting as cake.  I already made some gingerbread cake this year, and I have made a lot of chocolate mint stuff lately, so I decided on eggnog cupcakes.  Funny thing I didn’t really like eggnog growing up because my Dad called it “egg snag” because he didn’t like it and I assumed it was gross.  When I finally did try it as an adult it was actually soy nog the vegan version and I actually enjoyed it!  Ever since then I do love the eggnog flavor profile when it comes to desserts.

    I made this cake batter a little more traditional than most of my cake batters.  I use dates a lot to sweeten my cakes, but that is mostly when I want a caramel flavor or don’t mind a caramel flavor, which is not what I wanted for this particular cake.  I wanted it to have a more vanilla eggnog type of flavor.  So I used coconut milk and avocado oil (which has a buttery flavor) to keep it moist and soft.  It also had to have a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg and of course bourbon, which are my choice of flavorings when making my own home made eggnog.  The cupcakes baked up beautifully, and they smelled amazing.  But they needed an equally amazing frosting.

    The frosting had to be rich and creamy like eggnog.  So I made it with coconut milk and cashew butter for a super creamy luscious base, with vanilla, bourbon, cinnamon and nutmeg.  It was so good I could have eaten it with a spoon like mousse.  But then I wouldn’t have had any for the cupcakes!  I frosted them piled high, because that is how I like them, and topped them off with some vegan sprinkles I recently bought.  They were so good!  They tasted like eggnog, but in cupcake form!  The cake was the perfect consistency.  I am super picky, it can’t be too dry or too wet and dense, these were just right.  Not only that they were so much less time consuming to make than a cake, but just as delicious!  I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday!

    Vegan Eggnog Cupcakes 
    Makes 8 cupcakes

    Cake:

    • 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    • 1 cup xylitol or maple sugar or coconut sugar (the last two yield a more brown cupcake)
    • 1/4 cup avocado oil
    • 1/2 cup almond milk or coconut milk at room temperature
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 Tbsp bourbon
    • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

     

    Frosting:

    • 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk at room temperature (you want the kind that is mostly thick, I used Thai kitchen organic)
    • 1/4 cup raw cashew butter
    • 1 tsp lemon juice
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/4  tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 Tbsp bourbon
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid

     

    For decorating:

    • Vegan sprinkles

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and position rack in center of oven. Line 8 muffin tins with liners.
    2. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt in a large bowl to blend well.
    3. Whisk sugar, oil, milk, vanilla extract and bourbon together in small bowl to blend well, then whisk into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in vinegar and stir quickly.
    4. Transfer cake batter to prepared tins, then place in the oven, and bake until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool completely before frosting.
    5. Meanwhile, to make the frosting, combine all ingredients but the coconut butter in a food processor and process until smooth.  With the motor running, add the coconut butter and process a minute more.  Pour the cream into a bowl and let sit in the fridge until the consistency of whipped cream.
    6. Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes, sprinkle with sprinkles and enjoy!
    7. Store cake in the fridge.

     

    *If you make these with the xylitol do not feed them to dogs, as it is toxic to them.

  • Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Presents

    Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Presents

    I am obsessed with chocolate and peanut butter, it is no secret as I have probably 40 recipes featuring the combo on my blog.  But you know what my favorite chocolate and peanut butter dessert is? Just plain old PB cups.  Well, not plain, it is actually a party in my mouth when I eat one.  So for every holiday pretty much I find excuses to make some festive ones.  I have been seeing Reese’s peanut butter cups and peanut butter trees commercials, so that made me want some too.  But I don’t just got to the store and buy them, I make them at home because not only is it easy, they taste so much better in my opinion.   Well, I thought it might be nice to gift some as well this year, so I whipped up a batch.  I wanted to make them cute though, so I decided to make little peanut butter presents using square molds (well, actually it is a silicone mini brownie pan but same deal).

    These didn’t take long to make at all!  I melted down some good quality dark vegan chocolate to keep it simple, but of course if you wanted to make your own, by all means go right ahead (you can find a recipe to make your own HERE, just double the recipe, and leave out the hazelnuts and hazelnut butter).  I used my own home made peanut butter as well, and since I like a salty and sweet combo I didn’t even sweeten the filling at all, because the chocolate is sweet enough and I like the peanut butter just as is.  Of course if you like things a little sweeter, feel free to add a dash of maple syrup to it.

    The little chocolates came out lovely and I made some quick white chocolate colored with beet powder and matcha powder to pipe into bows on top of them so that they looked like little presents.  Don’t worry, you can’t taste the powders they just give them a lovely pastel color.  These peanut butter cups were so good!  The rich dark chocolate with the salty peanut butter is amazing, but that little dash of white chocolate on top makes them a little more mellow and creamy. I almost didn’t want to share.  Yes, and this recipe makes 20.  But of course, I am not greedy so I shared some.  If you know someone who loves peanut butter cups, impress them and make these for them for the Holidays!  Or maybe just for yourself, that is ok too. I would love to be gifted a box of these!

    Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Presents
    Makes about 20 candies

    Chocolate:

     

    Filling:

    • about 1/4 cup organic peanut butter refrigerated

     

    White Chocolate Bow:

    • 1 Tbsp raw cashew butter at room temperature
    • 2 Tbsp Dastony coconut butter warmed to liquid
    • 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 1/2 tsp maple syrup at room temperature
    • pinch sea salt
    • red beet powder or matcha green tea powder for coloring

     

    Instructions:

    1. Melt the dark chocolate in the top of a double boiler until smooth.
    2. Spoon a little chocolate into the bottoms of 20 small square candy molds set on a tray, filling them about 1/4-1/3 full.  Place in the freezer until hard, about 10 minutes.
    3. Place the peanut butter in a pastry bag (or ziplock bag with the tip of corner cut off) and pipe into the center of the hardened dark chocolate layer (not too much though or it will ooze to the sides), then pour the remaining dark chocolate over it in the cups until the peanut butter is covered, and tap the tray on the counter to level it.  Place in the freezer to harden for about 15-20 minutes. Once hard, unmold and place back in the freezer while you prepare the white chocolate.
    4. To make the white chocolate bow, combine coconut butter, cashew butter, vanilla, maple syrup,  sea salt, and either a little bit of beet powder or matcha powder to color it (start with about 1/4 tsp and add more if you want it darker) in a bowl, and whisk until smooth.
    5. Take the white chocolate and put it in a ziplock bag, and cut off the corner to create a small hole.  Pipe the white chocolate into a bow onto the top of each square of chilled chocolate.
    6. Place them in the freezer until set, about 5 minutes.
    7. Enjoy! Store any extra in the refrigerator.

     

  • Vegan White and Green Bean Casserole

    Vegan White and Green Bean Casserole

    Casserole sounds so sophisticated, but in Minnesota we usually call things baked in the oven hot dishes.  So I find it funny that we don’t call green bean casserole green bean hot dish here! Green bean casserole is a Holiday staple, it was pretty much at every Thanksgiving and Christmas when I was little.  But I haven’t had it in many years because It usually isn’t vegan, and I am not a fan of using cream of mushroom soup in things.  Surprising I haven’t veganized it until now, but this year after Thanksgiving my Mom asked me if I could veganize them for her.  Also, she had a specific recipe she wanted me to veganize that had a mixture of green beans and white beans.  Because one can never have too many beans, and they have always been a big part of cooking for me and my Mom.  We used to always use them in soups and stews growing up, as well as on salads, or with pasta.  Pretty much a lot of our meals.  White beans were what we used the most, so this recipe is fitting for her.

    I veganized the recipe as well as made a few upgrades to make it even more delicious.  The original recipe had a bechemel sauce, but I made a creamy sauce from coconut milk and cashew butter with garlic, shallots, white wine, nutritional yeast, a touch of lemon and thyme.  It was super flavorful and delicious and you would swear that it had dairy in it!  It was perfect with the green and white beans, and tasted so much better than any cream of mushroom soup would have.

    Instead of the usual fried onions, the recipe I was veganizing had bread crumbs on top.  But I decided just bread crumbs were kind of boring, and so I used my home made bread crumbs mixed with hazelnuts and nutritional yeast.  It made for a satisfying crunchy topping!  The casserole turned out super delicious!  The green bean casserole I grew up eating was just ok.  But this one was so incredibly good.  I consider this a full meal in and of itself.  I mean, you have protein and fiber from the beans, plus they are a vegetable, and why not eat them in a creamy sauce like mac and cheese and call it a dinner?  Well, my Mom loved it as well, and I think this might end up being something that we make every year for the Holidays!  If you are still looking for a delicious side dish for this Christmas and Holidays, definitely consider this!

    Vegan White and Green Bean Casserole
    Serves 2-4

    Ingredients:

    • 2 tsp avocado oil, or olive oil
    • 2 small shallots, diced
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
    • 2 Tbsp white wine
    • 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk at room temperature
    • 3/4 cup raw cashew butter*
    • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tsp lemon juice
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
    • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
    • pinch of cayenne (optional)
    • 1 1/2 cups cooked cannelini beans
    • 16 oz frozen green beans, thawed (or fresh green beans, blanched)

     

    Topping:

    • 1 cup breadcrumbs
    • 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
    • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 2 Tbsp avocado oil
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
    2. In a large ceramic pan, heat the oil, and add the onions.  Sautee until soft and tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated.
    3. Whisk together the coconut milk, brazil nut butter, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, pepper, and cayenne in a bowl, then pour over the onions and cook until heated.
    4. Add the beans, and stir to combine.  Pour into a 2 quart oven proof baking dish.
    5. Mix the breadcrumbs with the hazelnuts, nutritional yeast, avocado oil and sea salt in a bowl for the topping.
    6. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the beans, and place in the oven.  Bake until the top is browned, about 10-15 minutes.
    7. Serve!

     

     

     

  • Vegan Pfeffernusse Cookies

    Vegan Pfeffernusse Cookies

    One of my Mom’s all time favorite Christmas cookies is Pfeffernusse.  If you haven’t heard of them, the name means “pepper nut” but they don’t have nuts in them, they are just delicious little spice cookies rolled in powdered sugar.  And they are darn delicious!  Also, they are not too difficult to make.  No fancy piping or anything required!  Funny story though, when I was still in high school and college, my Mom and I used to go to the library and check out cook books and make recipes from them back in the days before everyone just googled recipes.  This included Christmas cookie recipes, and one time we chose to make a new recipe for pfeffernusse.  We were all excited for it, but it turned out to be a horrible flop.  The dough was way too dry and hard to roll and they baked up like rocks.  I think it was one of our worst cookie fails.  But that didn’t stop us from still loving the pfeffernusse, we just stuck to our other recipe from then on.

    I had never actually made a vegan version though.  Until last weekend that is.  I am surprised I haven’t, but I guess I was sort of afraid that they wouldn’t turn out the same as the originals.  Well, my Mom asked me if I could recreate them and I couldn’t say no.  I mean, what was the worst that could happen?  They couldn’t possibly be worse than the ones I made back in the day that were a fail.  So I went for it.  I looked at a many different recipes for them, then did my best to create a winning version.  Luckily it worked out the first time!  I love when that happens.

    The cookie base for these is filled with so many good aromatic spices, it smells wonderful when you are making them.  What keeps the dough soft is the molasses that they include in them.  Instead of the butter in the classic recipe, I used a mixture of coconut oil and avocado oil because I wanted them to stay soft at room temperature (coconut oil alone gets too hard sometimes in certain cookies).   It worked out just as I wanted!  The cookies baked up beautifully!

    They had to have the classic powdered sugar as well, but since that is not something I keep on hand since I try to stay away from refined sugars for the most part, I made my own powdered sugar concoction.  I used a mixture of finely shredded, dried coconut, xylitol (to keep it white), and cornstarch blended up really fine.  It worked out perfect and tasted so good on the cookies!  I think I actually like this version of the pfeffernusse better than the original, and my Mom loved them as well because of course I had to share them with her since they are one of her favorites! If you are a fan of any sort of molasses or spice cookies, you will love these!

    Vegan Pfeffernusse Cookies
    Makes about 18

    Ingredients:

    Cookies:

    • 2 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp ginger
    • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
    • 1/4 tsp ground cardamon
    • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
    • 1/2 tsp ground anise
    • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed to liquid)
    • 1/4 cup avocado oil
    • 3/4 cup xylitol or maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1/4 cup molasses
    • 1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp filtered water and allowed to sit for 15 minutes before using
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

     

    Coating:

    • 1/2 cup finely shredded, dried unsweetened coconut
    • 1/4 cup xylitol or maple sugar or coconut sugar*
    • 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and line a sheet pan with parchment.
    2. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, anise, pepper, and sea salt.
    3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the two oils, sugar, molasses, flax mixture, and vanilla.
    4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until well combined, and a uniform dough.
    5. Roll the dough into balls and set on a tray.  Place in the freezer for 20 minutes, until they are more firm.
    6. Remove from the freezer and place on the prepared baking sheet a few inches apart.
    7. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the cookies are set.
    8. Meanwhile, while they are baking, to make the coating, combine the coconut, sugar, and cornstarch in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.  Put through the holes of a fine meshed strainer if there are any remaining lumps.  Place the coating in a bowl.
    9. When the cookies have finished baking, remove them from the oven, let cool a minute or two, then carefully roll each in the coating then place back on the tray.
    10. Let cool, and dust with a little more sugar if you wish (I just put it in a fine meshed strainer and tapped it to dust them).
    11. Enjoy!
  • White Christmas Martini

    White Christmas Martini

    White Christmas is one of my favorite Christmas movies.  I would watch it with my Mom when I was little, and I always have to watch it at least once every year.  I love classic old movies like that, with the women all elegant in their fancy dresses and the spectacle of it all.  I am not always a musical person, but the songs from this movie are classics that I enjoy because they remind me of when I was little and my parents used to play them around this time of the year. Hopefully this year in Minnesota we will have our own white Christmas, with just the right amount of snow on the ground.  It is looking a little brown right now, so more snow by Christmas would be nice so I can go skiing!
    A few years back, when we had no snow for Christmas and it was brown outside, I created my own “White Christmas” in the form of a delicious drink.  It is kind of like eggnog, only I didn’t go buy a carton at the store and just add some liquor to it, I created my own martini instead.  It is my own twist on the classic made creamy with coconut milk, spiced with a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg and scented with vanilla and almond.  This has become something that I make at least once a year around the Holidays.

    People like different types of liquor in their eggnog, but I skip the rum and do a combination of cognac and bourbon which is what I usually have on hand.  It is some of the best eggnog I have ever had (if you can really call it that because it is technically not eggnog, but it is my blog so I will).  It is smooth and boozy but also contains light and beautiful flavors thanks to the vanilla and almond.  I garnish it with some sprinkles because I can and I just can’t resist being festive!  It tastes like Christmas!  Whether you have snow on the ground where you live or not, you deserve to enjoy one of these, kick back and forget about Holiday stress, and you should totally make yourself one.  Cheers!

    White Christmas Martini
    Makes 1

    Rim:

     

    Drink:

    • 4-6 large ice cubes
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/4 tsp almond extract
    • 1 1/2 oz bourbon*
    • 1 1/2 oz cognac*
    • 2 Tbsp vanilla bean syrup*
    • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (well mixed together)
    • a dash of cinnamon
    • nutmeg for sprinkling

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make rim, Spread sprinkles out on a small plate. Coat the rim of the martini glass with the syrup by dipping it into it on a plate, then dip the syrup coated rim into the sprinkles and set aside.
    2. In a martini shaker add the ice, vanilla, almond extract, liquors, vanilla bean syrup, coconut milk, cinnamon and place top on shaker.
    3. Shake until well blended. Pour through a strainer into a the prepared martini glass, dust with a little nutmeg and serve!

     

    *Vanilla Bean Syrup:

    • 1/4 cup water
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • seeds of one vanilla bean

     

    Heat water until boiling, remove from heat and whisk in syrup and vanilla beans, until nectar is dissolved. Chill well before using in drinks. Makes 1/2 cup syrup

    *You can find out if your liquors are vegan on Barnivore.

     

  • Vegan Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie Dough Truffles

    Vegan Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie Dough Truffles

    I like cookie dough better than actual cookies.  Don’t get me wrong, cookies can be amazing, especially when fresh baked warm from the oven, but the dough is so good (and so addictive) to me.  I can never stop sampling it.  So of course my favorite part of baking cookies is eating the dough.  Well, sometimes I just like to make cookie dough for the purpose of eating.  But I figured I would be a little bit more fancy with it and make some cookie dough truffles!  This time of the year is the time to enjoy sugar cookies, so that is the filling I chose.  When I was little, my Grandma made the best sugar cookies.  They were rich and buttery, sweet and delicious, even better when topped off with a buttercream frosting.  I made them a lot before I went vegan too, and they were the sort of thing I liked to give people a plate of for a gift, and one of those people told me that they ended up eating them all in one day. I wanted the filling in these truffles to taste just like those. Because they were so amazing.

    I am a vanilla girl above chocolate after all, so vanilla sugar cookie dough ranks pretty high. These are actually pretty easy to make.  For the filling, I used a combination of cashew butter and coconut butter to make them soft and rich plus vanilla extract and vanilla beans because why not?!  I consider vanilla beans kind of special so I think using them in a holiday recipe is perfect!  I could not stop sampling this filling by the way.  It is amazing it made as many truffles as it did.

    Once the filling was all shaped into pretty little balls, I dipped it in vegan dark chocolate.  I suppose you could go for white chocolate and that would be amazing too, but I figured the dark would be a nice contrast.  I sprinkled them with some vegan sprinkles I just got in the mail and they were so cute! But most importantly they tasted amazing!  The filling tasted just like a combination of those sugar cookies with their frosting, and it was so good with the dark chocolate!  If you are looking for a holiday treat to gift to someone instead of a plate of cookies, these would be perfect!

    Vegan Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie Dough Truffles 
    Makes 12 truffles

    Ingredients:

    Filling:

    • 3/4 cup raw cashew butter at room temperature
    • 3/4 cup raw coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • seeds of 1/2 1 vanilla bean
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 3 Tbsp filtered water

     

    Dark Chocolate:

    • 2 cups chopped vegan dark chocolate

     

    Vegan Sprinkles for decoration

     

    Directions:

    1. Combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes until it is firm enough to scoop. Scoop into 12 balls, rolling them with your hands.   Place on a parchment lined tray, and place back into the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile,  melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.
    4. Once the filling has firmed up, dip each chocolate into the dark chocolate, being sure to let the excess drain off, and place back onto the tray (I like to set mine on a fork to allow it to drain better). Then sprinkle them with sprinkles.  Once they are all dipped, set them in the freezer until hardened.
    5. Store any leftover truffles in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Frosting

    Vegan Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Frosting

    I realized this week that I haven’t made a layer cake in a really long time.  Really long to me is 3 months, because it used to be that I made them at least every other week, or some sort of cake every weekend.  I have just been pretty busy with the holidays and other stuff going on that I opted for more simple desserts.  But the fact is I love cakes!  They are one of my favorite things to create! I love baking them, because I get to lick the batter from the bowls and eat the extra frosting and cake scraps, and of course have fun frosting and decorating them.  I was craving gingerbread this week, so I made a gingerbread cake last weekend.  I know it is standard to put white icing or some sort of white frosting on it but I wanted to make mine a little different and I wasn’t feeling the white frosting this time.  I was having a hard time deciding between caramel and chocolate frosting so I asked my Facebook friends to help me decide.  Caramel it was!  That I can totally live with.  I have loved caramel ever since the first time I tasted it as a kid!

    I wanted this cake to be fairly healthy as far as cakes go.  So I used a quinoa flour in it, which also happens to be gluten free!  Don’t worry, you will not notice that it doesn’t have regular flour, it has a nice soft texture like cakes with wheat flour.  Also, the cake was oil free and fruit sweetened.  I like to use dates in my cake base instead of sugar not only because they are about as natural as you can get and have a nice caramel flavor, but they also keep the cake soft and moist.  I hate dry cakes and this prevents the cake from ever getting dry. The batter tasted amazing even before I baked it, spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.  I always taste my cake batter to make sure it is good before baking it, luckily this one needed no tweaks and was perfect!  It baked up beautifully as well and my kitchen smelled amazing!

    Then it was time to make the caramel frosting.  No cooking sugar needed here!  I used a secret healthy ingredient as the base.  White fleshed sweet potatoes!  They are naturally sweet, and when you blend them up with dates, vanilla and a little nut butter it tastes just like caramel!  It is smooth, spreadable and easy to work with too!  Plus you know me, I am always trying to hide veggies in things.  The cake turned out so good!  You would never guess that it was gluten free, fruit sweetened and oil free!  It just tasted like super delicious spiced gingerbread with a nice moist but light texture and sweet gooey caramel frosting!  Also, although it is a layer cake, it is one of the easier ones I have made as the frosting is simple and non-finicky so if you haven’t baked a lot, don’t let it intimidate you.  This would be perfect for a Holiday gathering!  I hope you all are having a wonderful December!

    Vegan Gingerbread Cake with Caramel Frosting
    Makes one 6 inch cake

    Ingredients:

    2 6 inch cake pans

    Cake:

    • 1 1/2 cups quinoa flour (or all purpose gluten free flour)
    • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 2 tsp ginger
    • 2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    • 1/4 tsp cloves
    • 1 1/4 cups packed soft medjool dates, pitted, soaked in water for 30 minutes and 1 cup of the water reserved
    • 1/4 cup raw pecan butter (or almond butter)
    • 2 Tbsp molasses
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1  cup filtered water
    • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

     

    Frosting:

    • 2 1/2 cups cooked white fleshed sweet potatoes*
    • 1 1/4 cups soft, pitted medjool dates (soaked in water for 30 minutes and drain well if not soft)
    • 1/4 cup pecan butter or almond butter
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • a few Tbsp filtered water or as needed

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and position rack in center of oven.
    2. Oil two 6 inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
    3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and sea salt in a large bowl to blend well.
    4. Place dates, reserved water, pecan butter, molasses, water, and vanilla extract into a blender, and blend until smooth, then whisk this blended mixture into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in the cider vinegar until bubbles form.
    5. Transfer the cake batter to prepared pans, and place in the oven.
    6. Bake cakes until they are set, but not over-baked about 35 minutes (or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs attached.  Remove from oven, and let completely.
    7. Once the cake is cooled, slice it in half horizontally so that you have 4 layers.  Set aside.
    8. To make the frosting, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
    9. To assemble the cake, place a cake layer on a plate, and spread about 1/3-1/2 cup of the frosting over it.  Cover with the second layer and spread another 1/3 cup frosting over it, then another cake layer and the same amount of frosting then the last cake layer.  Spread the remaining frosting over the top and down the sides of the cake.
    10. Enjoy!  Refrigerate any leftovers.

     

    *I peeled my sweet potatoes, and cut them into cubes, then steamed them until tender in a steamer basket.  But you could also roast them in the oven.  Simply preheat the oven to 400F degrees, prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and place them on a baking tray, then roast for about an hour until tender.  Let cool and scoop the flesh out.

  • Vegan Rocky Road Brownies

    Vegan Rocky Road Brownies

    It’s kind of like rocky road here in Minnesota when you try to go running or walking outside right now on the trails.  Because it was warm and it froze, there is a lot of ice and snow which can make footing tricky, but I still love to get out and get some fresh air.  But all that rocky icy road business got me to thinking, some rocky road brownies or cookies sounded good!  I say brownies or cookies because I couldn’t decide.  I had some mini vegan marshmallows on hand so either way it was perfect!  Eric broke the tie for me and said brownies sounded better so that is what I made.  I know baking might seem like a weekend or day off activity, and it is, but I love baking things like brownies after work.  It is a great stress reliever.  I mean, you get to have the aroma of chocolate wafting through your home, you get to lick the brownie batter form the bowl and of course enjoy the finished product.  Bonus points if you can listen to good music while you are making them too.  It is just an all around happy experience!

    So I had some me time and baked brownies.  I like all of my brownies to have a nice fudgy base.  None of that cakey fluffy stuff going on.  These were super fudgy.  I made a rich brownie base that included some almond butter instead of just straight oil for richness and it was the perfect combo for fudgy.  Not only that, as if a fudgy base wasn’t enough I added a swirl of fudge too.  Because rocky road is supposed to be over the top, right?!  The fudge had dates as the base so it was nice and gooey.  If you are new to vegan baking and don’t know the hype about dates, they are like nature’s candy!  The funny thing is I thought that they were gross when I was little simply because they looked weird and like giant beetles, but when I finally tried one I fell in love with them!  They make a really good caramel, and also an amazing fudge if you add cacao powder.

    Back to the brownies though.  OMG was the batter ever amazing once I stirred in the almonds, marshmallows and chocolate chips!  I could not wait to try the finished product!  But of course they had to bake and cool first.  They made my house smell amazing and I was getting really hungry.  These would be really amazing warm, but being a food blogger I usually have to wait for things to cool and set before cutting.  These were well worth the wait though, sooo good!  The fudgy base was perfect, the gooey fudge making it irresistible!  The sweet vanilla marshmallows, crunchy nutty almonds and dark chocolate chips were the perfect add ins!  I can understand why people love rocky road so much!  If you are in the mood for some amazing brownies, give these a try!

    Vegan Rocky Road Brownies
    Makes 16

    Fudge:

    • 1 cup soft medjool dates, pitted (if they are not soft, soak them in water and drain well first)
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 3 Tbsp cacao powder or cocoa powder
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 cup filtered water (or as needed)

     

    Brownies:

    • 1/2 cup avocado oil
    • 1/4 cup almond butter
    • 1 cup coconut sugar
    • 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water)
    • 1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 cup cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
    • 3/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips plus more for sprinkling top
    • 3/4 cup vegan marshmallows, plus more for sprinkling on top
    • 3/4 cup chopped almonds, plus more for sprinkling on top

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
    2. To make the fudge, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth (adding a little water if necessary, it should be the consistency of pour-able but still thick fudge). Pour into a bowl and set aside.
    3. Whisk together the sugar, oil and almond butter until well combined and the sugar is starting to break down. Add the flax eggs and beat until smooth. Add the flour, cacao powder and sea salt and beat until smooth.  Stir in chocolate chips, marshmallows and almonds.
    4. Scrape the batter into a greased 8×8 inch pan, then drop the fudge over it in 2 Tbsp amounts, and swirl it with a knife.  Sprinkle with more marshmallows, chocolate chips and almonds.
    5. Place in the oven, and Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until set (but do not over bake).
    6. Let cool before cutting into bars.

     

  • Gingerbread Almond Butter

    Gingerbread Almond Butter

    If you read my blog often, it is no secret that I am obsessed with nut butter of any kind.  It all started with peanut butter and Nutella when I was little.  When I discovered other types of nut butter they blew my mind!  I remember begging my Mom for a jar of gourmet peanut butter with raspberries and white chocolate because I had never seen such a thing.  It was pretty amazing but kind of expensive.  Now luckily, I know how to make my own so it is not as expensive for me to make my own with ingredients that I have on hand.  I recently saw some Gingerbread butter somewhere, I don’t remember what type of nuts were in it, but I am pretty sure cookies were included too.  It might have actually been a cookie butter but it got me to thinking a Gingerbread almond butter would be awesome. When it comes to my nut butters the main ingredient should be nuts as far as I am concerned.  Not like commercial Nutella that has sugar as the main ingredient.  I want to be able to taste the nut butter as well as the flavors I choose to add to it.

    For this one it was straight roasted almonds.  Sometimes I mix different nuts but I thought that sweet almonds would be perfect with gingerbread spices.  So I blended the almonds up with a little sea salt, then added in some coconut sugar for sweetness, but not a lot because I don’t like too much sugar in my nut butter.  Then of course I had to add classic gingerbread staples, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves plus a little molasses. It smelled really good when I opened the blender!

    It was so good!  The almond flavor was not lost with all of the spices. In fact, the sweet almonds shined through, and it tasted just like gingerbread cookies at the same time.  I could not stop sampling it.  But then again I am the type of person who eats nut butter just with a spoon.  This would be amazing on toast though, or stirred into oatmeal, or for drizzling over some fruit!  The possibilities are endless!  If you enjoy gingerbread and nut butter, this will be right up your alley, so give it a try!  I think it would also make a great edible gift.  I  would be so happy if someone gave me a jar of nut butter for Christmas!

    Gingerbread Almond Butter
    Makes about 16 oz

    Ingredients:

    • 3 1/2 cups raw or roasted almonds
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup maple sugar
    • 1 Tbsp molasses
    • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
    • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
    • 1/2 tsp ground cloves

     

    Instructions:

    1. In a high speed blender, combine the nuts and sea salt and blend until smooth, using the tamper to push the mixture down into the blades.
    2. Add the sugar, molasses and spices to the blender and blend until well incorporated.
    3. Pour into a jar.
    4. Keeps for a few months in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

    Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

    Stroganoff is a dish that is big here in Minnesota.  People usually make it with venison or beef, and it is considered comfort food and who doesn’t need comfort food when it is 20F degrees below zero in the Winter?!  I grew up eating it and actually liked it, mostly because of the noodles and creamy sauce, not the meat and because I thought it was kind of fancy since we didn’t eat it often.  Back when I was vegetarian I used to make a meat free version of it once in a while that still had dairy that was good.  But up until now I hadn’t veganized it.  Surprising because it is kind of a classic!  Well, last week my Mom asked if I could veganize it and so I finally made some.

    It was a win all around because I feel like the vegan version is so much easier to make and less fussy than the original and even the vegetarian recipes were.  In place of the meat, I used plenty of meaty mushrooms.  I love mushrooms.  I know they are kind of a polarizing food that people either love or hate but I love their earthy  umami flavor and meaty texture.  They give this dish so much good flavor along with the garlic and onions I included in it.

    For the sauce, it had to be silky and rich, so I added some coconut milk to it as well as some Dastony brazil nut butter from Raw Guru.  I know that may sound like an odd combo, but the brazil nut butter is perfect for savory dishes just like cashew butter is, it is rich, creamy  and silky smooth.  I used a gluten free pasta made from chickpeas, so this had protein in it as well, and was a complete satisfying meal!  Yes it is rich, and something I would consider serving for a special occasion with maybe a light salad on the side.  Maybe for the Holidays!  It was super delicious though!  I enjoyed it way more than the meat version I ate as a kid.  This comes together in about 35 minutes, so it is also a good weeknight dinner option. It certainly made the snowy day we had the night I made it seem a little less chilly!

    Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff
    Serves 2-4

    Ingredients:

    • 8 oz gluten free fusilli pasta
    • 2 tsp avocado oil, or olive oil
    • 1 small onion, diced
    • 4 cups sliced organic mushrooms (I used crimini, button and shiittake mushrooms)
    • 3 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
    • 2 Tbsp white wine
    • 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk at room temperature
    • 3/4 cup Dastony brazil nut butter* or raw cashew butter
    • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tsp lemon juice
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
    • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
    • pinch of cayenne (optional)
    • 3 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley

    Instructions:

    1. Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, place back in the pan, cover and set aside on the stove.
    2. Meanwhile in a large ceramic pan, heat the oil, and add the onions and mushrooms.  Sautee until soft and tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated.
    3. Whisk together the coconut milk, brazil nut butter, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, pepper, and cayenne in a bowl, then pour over the mushroom mixture and cook until heated.
    4. Pour the mushroom mixture over the pasta in the pot, and stir to combine.
    5. Add the parsley and mix until incorporated.
    6. Serve!

    *If you do not have brazil nut butter, you can use the same amount of raw cashew butter in the recipe.

  • Vegan Hot Chocolate Waffles

    Vegan Hot Chocolate Waffles

    I loved hot cocoa or hot chocolate growing up.  We always had a box of those little packets ready to just add water to.  You know, the ones with the mini marshmallows in them?  My 8 year old self loved that stuff!  Now, I prefer to make my own instead of using a mix.  I usually melt actual real dark chocolate into coconut milk and add peppermint or vanilla and it is heavenly dessert!  Definitely much richer than the stuff I had as a kid but when I want dessert I want dessert that tastes really good, not something that is just ok. Add whipped cream on top and I am good, it is as tasty as a slice of chocolate pie, but warm and perfect for Winter.

    I recently saw a hot chocolate waffle mix at the store, and I said to myself I need to make some of those!  I am not a boxed mix type of person though, I prefer everything to be home made.  I figured it would be easy enough to make my own, I have made different flavored waffles before. I have a super cute Disney “Frozen” waffle maker shaped like a snowflake so they were festive looking as well!  It is Christmas time here as far as I am concerned because there is snow on the ground, Thanksgiving is over and I am listening to Christmas music!

    I used my classic gluten free waffle base, but added in good quality cacao powder and some warming spices, cinnamon and cayenne.  So sort of like a Mexican hot chocolate flavor, which is another way I like to embellish my hot chocolate.  They turned out perfect in the waffle maker!  I like to top my waffles with delicious things too, so I made a gooey chocolate fudge, and sprinkled them with some mini vegan marshmallows I found on sale at the store.  They were super tasty!  They would be the perfect weekend brunch treat, but of course I wouldn’t say no to having them for dinner.  I made them after work one night.  If you are a fan of all things chocolate, definitely give these a try!

    Vegan Hot Chocolate Waffles
    makes 8 regular sized waffles

    Ingredients:

    Batter:

    • 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
    • 1/4 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/8 tsp cayenne (optional)
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 3 Tbsp ground flax seed, whisked together with 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 2 Tbsp melted avocado oil or coconut oil
    • 2 cups full fat coconut milk

     

    Fudge:

    • 1/4 cup almond butter
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp cacao powder
    • pinch sea salt
    • filtered water as needed

     

    Other Possible Toppings (pick your favorites):

    • coconut whipped cream
    • ice cream
    • vegan mini marshmallows*
    • chocolate chips
    • crushed candy canes
    • maple syrup

     

    Instructions:

    1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cayenne and cacao powder and sea salt in a large bowl.
    2. Then whisk the flax mixture, coconut oil, and coconut milk until smooth.
    3. Oil, and pre-heat waffle iron. Once it is heated, pour about 1/3 cup batter onto the waffle iron or until the iron is just covered (but not so much that it will ooze out) and close it.  Cook according to waffle iron package directions.  Remove from the waffle maker and keep warm in an oven at low heat (150F degrees).
    4. To make the fudge, whisk together all ingredients until smooth (adding a little filtered water if too thick.  You want it to be pour-able).
    5. Serve with topped the fudge and with whatever else suits you (see ideas above)!  I used mini marshmallows and chocolate chips.  Feel free to be creative!

     

    *You can find vegan marshmallows at most health food stores (Dandies brand is what I used here), or Trader Joe’s has them as well.

     

  • Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Popcorn

    Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Popcorn

    I stayed away from all of the crazy black Friday stuff last weekend.  I really prefer to do most of my shopping online if I can since I hate crowds and chaos.  The only store I shopped at was Goodwill, and I was lucky enough to find 3 nice sweaters for $8 since they were having a sale.  When I got home I decided to listen to Christmas music and make some goodies.  I have baked a few Christmas cookies this week, but I also love Christmas cookie inspired desserts as well.  So I decided to make some snickerdoodle cookie dough popcorn.   If you follow my blog, then you know I like to make my own gourmet popcorn.  I have at least 10 different recipes for it on here.  I mean, I love just plain coconut oil popcorn with sea salt, but sometimes I like to make something a bit more exiting, usually something sweet.  I first started making them a few years back after I had visited a gourmet popcorn store when I was on vacation in another state to get some popcorn for Eric.  They had the most amazing sounding flavors. I love popcorn, too so I said to myself, I need to make some of these at home with healthier vegan ingredients! This past weekend I made Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough.

    I consider snickerdoodle cookies Christmasy, so it was perfect!  I made the “dough” flavored base with Dastony coconut butter that I got from Raw Guru and smooth cashew butter.  It makes for a somewhat neutral but rich base that tastes like it could be cookie dough.  I added some maple sugar for sweetness, and cinnamon to make them snickerdoodle flavored and a touch of vanilla and the coating for the popcorn was super delicious!  It reminded me of cookie cookie dough and I could have sat there and ate it with a spoon but that would have defeated the purpose. So I tossed it with the popcorn and I was pretty excited about it!

    It was super delicious, crunchy, sweet, a touch of sea salt and of course the warming cinnamon.  It tasted just like snickerdoodles!  I love cinnamon this time of the year, the scent of it makes me happy!  This popcorn is super addictive, I have to warn you, you may eat half the pan like I did before it even makes it into a bowl.  If you are a popcorn fan, definitely give this a try!  It would be perfect for sitting on the couch in your PJs with and munching on while watching one of those Holiday Hallmark movies.  Yes, I am an introverted nerd and I love that type of stuff!

    Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Popcorn
    Makes 10 cups

    Ingredients:

    • 1/3 cup Dastony raw cashew butter
    • 1/2 cup Dastony coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/4 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar plus more for sprinkling
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 10 cups plain popcorn

     

    Instructions:

    • To make the coating, whisk together all ingredients until smooth, then pour over the popcorn in a large bowl.
    • Toss together until all of the popcorn is coated, and spread out on a parchment lined sheet pan.  Sprinkle with a little more maple sugar.
    • Place the pan in the freezer for 15 min until the coating is hard.  Enjoy!
  • Vegan Eggnog Creme Caramel

    Vegan Eggnog Creme Caramel

    For Eric’s Birthday I always ask him if he wants me to make him a cake or some sort of dessert.  Because he has the biggest sweet tooth I know, and I am always happy to make one!  In past years it has always been cake, but this year he said he wanted a creme caramel with cinnamon and bourbon.  I thought to myself, that kind of sounds like eggnog, so it would be perfect for this time of the year too!  I was totally game to try making some!  I have never actually made a creme caramel before.  Well, a non raw traditionally cooked one with thickening agents at least. I made a raw pumpkin one in the past but that was different because I just used coconut butter to thicken it.  I wanted these to taste as traditional as possible.  So, I looked at many recipes online to see how other people made them, and then made one with the best concepts combined.

    I wanted to make these without refined white sugar, so I made them with maple sugar.  The maple flavor is so delicious with the ingredients in this as well, so it was perfect! I will admit, I was a bit intimidated when I started this because I was concerned about the caramel not being the right texture and the custards not setting and whatnot, but I went for it.  The caramel part turned out good, and made my kitchen smell like a maple syrup factory!  So then it was time for the custards.  First off, I tried making them with coconut milk and a little cashew butter mixed in because I thought it would make them richer and less coconutty tasting.  Well, it worked…sort of.  They turned out a bit lumpy and cracked, with a little bit of an odd texture not smooth but ended up tasting good.  I did not consider that a win however even though they tasted good because I wanted them to be perfect for Eric’s Birthday (and because I am kind  of a perfectionist when it comes to making things for people), so I tried making the custard again, only with just coconut milk and no cashew butter this time.

    The second round came out perfect!  Nice and smooth, with a good flavor.  I had added a hint of cinnamon, nutmeg and bourbon and they tasted just like eggnog. You couldn’t really taste the coconut.  I crossed my fingers as I un-molded them because I was afraid that they might crack.  But they all came out really nicely and I was super happy with them!  But the most important thing was that Eric liked them!  These are an easy dessert to make, and it can be done ahead of time, so they would be the perfect dessert for a Holiday meal!

    Vegan Eggnog Creme Caramel
    Makes 4

    Ingredients:

    4 1 cup ramekins

    Caramel:

    • 1/4 cup of maple sugar
    • 2 Tbsp filtered water
    • 2 tsp bourbon

     

    Custard:

    • 1 3/4 cups full fat coconut milk
    • 3 Tbsp maple sugar
    • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
    • 1 Tbsp bourbon (make sure it is vegan on Barnivore)
    • 3/4 tsp agar powder
    • 1 Tbsp cornstarch

     

    Instructions:

    1. Set 4 one oz ramekins on a tray.
    2. In a small saucepan, combine the maple sugar, bourbon and water and bring to a boil.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly until it begins to darken in color and all sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat, and pour into  the bottoms of the ramekins.
    3. To make the cream, combine the coconut milk, maple sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
    4. Mix the bourbon with the vanilla, agar powder, and cornstarch in a small bowl, and then whisk into the hot coconut milk.  Whisk until just thickened, then pour into the prepared ramekins over the caramel.
    5. Place the tray of ramekins in the refrigerator until chilled completely.  For at least 2 hours, or overnight.
    6. Once the custards have set and you are ready to serve, place a plate on top of each one, then flip it over.  If they are sticking at all, run a knife along the sides to loosen being careful not to disturb the custard.
    7. Enjoy!  Refrigerate any leftovers.

     

     

  • Vegan Chocolate Mint Hazelnut Thumb Print Cookies 

    Vegan Chocolate Mint Hazelnut Thumb Print Cookies 

    I love making Christmas cookies.  When I was little, my Mom and I would always pick out many different kinds then spend the day in the kitchen listening to Christmas music making them and afterwards we would put them all in a big container to enjoy for the Holidays and to give away.  We would always make the classics, like pecan tassies, frosted vanilla sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies and pfeffernüsse (German “pepper nut” cookies, or spiced cookies rolled in powdered sugar), but we would also pick some new ones every year to try.  That was the most exciting part for me.  We used to get cook books at the library and page through them looking for new recipes.  I like to keep that tradition going.  Make a few favorites and whip up some new ones.  The only difference is that I usually come up with my own new recipes instead of finding them in cook books.  I still share them with my Mom though, she loves having cookies on hand to enjoy with her coffee mid-morning.

    Raw Guru recently sent me some goodies including some Rawmio Chocolate Mint Hazelnut Spread and I thought it would be just the thing to use in some Christmas cookies. I mean, mint kind of screams holidays.  Plus I love nut butter in cookies, it makes them rich, chewy and delicious!  What I ended up making were some delicious thumb print cookies.  I haven’t made any in a few years and in the past I have filled them with jam, but I thought the chocolate mint spread would be perfect as a filling!

    For the cookie dough, I modified the dough I use for my peanut blossom cookies swapping some hazelnut butter for the usual peanut butter and adding in cacao powder to make them chocolaty rich and delicious!  It was some bomb tasting dough too!  I always taste my cookie dough.  Not just because I love it and it is the best part of baking cookies, but to make sure I am not missing any ingredients.  Funny story, last week I was making some cookies and I was somewhat distracted and I ended up forgetting to add the sugar. It was a good thing I tasted the dough because I prevented having to throw away the batch of cookies!  Luckily I was still able to add it.  I make mistakes too sometimes so don’t feel bad if you ever have an off day in the kitchen!

    Back to the cookies though, they smelled amazing while baking!  As soon as they came out of the oven, I filled them with the Rawmio Chocolate Mint Hazelnut Spread and I could not wait to try them!  They looked so good!  I admit I did try one while they were warm and the filling was all oozy and gooey and it was amazing!  But if you want them to look nice I recommend waiting until they cook and the centers solidify completely.  They are soft, chewy, rich and chocolaty, and minty fresh!  These make perfect Christmas cookies!  If you are a chocolate fan definitely give these a try!

    Vegan Chocolate Mint Hazelnut Thumb Print Cookies 
    Makes about 14 cookies

    • 3/4 cups maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 3/4 cups Dastony hazelnut butter
    • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
    • 1 Tbsp ground flax seed, and 3 Tbsp filtered water mixed together and allowed to sit for 15 minutes before using in the recipe
    • 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
    • 1 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free baking flour*
    • 1/4 cup Raw Guru cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • Rawmio chocolate mint hazelnut spread (warmed to liquid if solid)*

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, hazelnut butter, and coconut oil until well combined.  Add the flax mixture, peppermint extract, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Stir in all the remaining ingredients with a spoon, except for the hazelnut spread until smooth. The dough will be thick and soft.
    3. Form into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on lined baking sheets a few inches apart.
    4. Place in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes until set.
    5. Remove from the oven and immediately press your thumb or the bottom of a small 1/2 tsp measuring spoon into the center of each to create an indentation (before they cool otherwise it won’t work).
    6. Spoon or pipe a little of the chocolate mint hazelnut spread into the center of each.  Allow to cool completely.

     

    *If you can not get the Rawmio spreads where you live, you can substitute 1/4 cup melted vegan dark chocolate whisked together with 2 Tbsp hazelnut butter, and 1/4 tsp peppermint extract until smooth.

    Notes:

    If you don’t like hazelnuts or can’t get hazelnut butter or make it, then you could use your favorite nut or seed butter, like almond butter for this recipe where the hazelnut is required.

    If you are not gluten free, you may use the same amount of whole wheat pastry flour in place of the GF flour.

     

     

  • Peppermint CBD Hot Chocolate

    Peppermint CBD Hot Chocolate

    I have been saying to myself for weeks now that hot chocolate sounds good.  I caught a whiff of someone’s chocolate creamer going into their coffee at my work and ever since then I have been craving it.  I really don’t make it often enough.  I used to make it quite a bit when I was younger and we had those packets that you just stirred water into.  I know, not the best stuff but I liked it back in the day because it had sugar. The best hot chocolate I ever had back then though was when we were traveling through Europe when I was in high school.  That hot chocolate tasted like it had real chocolate melted into it.  It was so rich and delicious.  So that is what I try to recreate when I make it now as an adult.  I think of hot chocolate as a dessert in and of itself.  Something perfect for sipping after a meal.

    So, I decided to make some just for that reason last weekend. I wanted something fancy, so I made it a peppermint hot chocolate.  And, I heard about a coffee shop opening around here recently that had CBD coffee, so I thought, why not make some CBD hot chocolate?!  Get my daily dose of CBD oil with my dessert.  Raw Guru recently sent me some 300 mg Veggimins CBD oil and I love it!  I have been taking CBD oil before bed and in the morning for a few months now, and it really helps me sleep better and calms my nerves.  CBD is also good for relieving inflammation, which I need help with sometimes since I work out a lot.  If you have never tried this oil, it does not contain THC the psychoactive part of cannabis, so you don’t get high, it just helps with things like decreasing anxiety, fighting inflammation, relieving nausea and decreasing depression among other things.  Definitely check it out, it is worth it!

    But back to the hot chocolate.  It is really simple to make, I just heated the coconut oil, and whisked some cacao powder AND chocolate into it for a double chocolate affect!  I of course had to add some peppermint and vanilla to to give it that delicious peppermint flavor, plus a little maple syrup for sweetness.  And of course I had to add the CBD oil.  I think that this hot chocolate might become a favorite this Winter.  It is rich, creamy, intensely chocolate flavored, aromatic with mint and vanilla and of course it has a calming affect.  This is the perfect thing to relax with all cozy in your PJs!

    Peppermint CBD Hot Chocolate
    Serves 2

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make the hot chocolate, heat the coconut milk in a saucepan until it comes to a boil.
    2. Once it has come to a boil, turn off the heat and add all other ingredients, whisking until smooth and uniform in color.
    3. Pour into mugs and serve!
  • 30 Vegan Savory Thanksgiving Recipes

    30 Vegan Savory Thanksgiving Recipes

    Sometimes I feel like people think that vegans don’t get to enjoy good food on holidays like Thanksgiving.  But on the contrary, we feast just like the omnivores!  There is just as much delicious vegan food out there as there are is food containing animal products and I never feel deprived with what I cook on holidays.  I also love bringing vegan dishes to gatherings and having those who think that vegan food is gross actually end up loving them.  If you are still looking for ideas for what to serve your family or bring to a gathering, this post is for you!  I am sharing my Thanksgiving worthy dishes that I would be proud to have on my table.  Of course I can’t make them all, but I want you to have lots to chose from!  Whether you are feeding a small family, or a large one there is something or everybody here.  Some are raw, some are cooked, most are gluten free and all are delicious!  So, enjoy, I hope you are inspired!

    Cranberry-2BRelish-2Band-2BChevre-2B1

    Pine Nut Chevre with Cranberry Pear Relish

    Vegan Pumpkin Cranberry Chevre 

    Greens-2BSalad-2B1

    Lemony Autumn Greens Salad

    Vegan Pumpkin Cornbread

    Sweet and Tangy Roasted Brussels Sprouts 

    Sweet and Spicy Roasted Brussels Sprouts

    Mushroom Wild Rice Casserole

    Butternut Squash Cranberry Casserole 

    Vegan Green and White Bean Casserole 

    Root Vegetable Mash 

    Vegan Creamed Spinach 

    Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole 

    Sweet and Spicy Asian Roasted Brussels Sprouts 

    IMG_1437

    Sweet and Spicy Double Squash Salad

    Pom-2BPilaf-2B2

    Raw Pomegranate Almond Couscous

    Vegan Squash Cornbread Stuffing 

    Cranberry Apple Wild Rice Stuffing 

    Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole

    Jalapeno-Cheddar-Taters

    Vegan Jalapeno Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

    Chickpea Cutlets in Mushroom Gravy 

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    Festive Quinoa Stuffing

    Savory Lentil and Wild Rice Stuffed Squash 

    Vegan Sweet Potato Lasagna 

    Lentils-in-mushroom-gravy-with-sweet-and-gold-mashed-potatoes-1

    French Lentils in Mushroom Gravy with Sweet and Gold Mashed Potatoes

    0071

    Apple Stuffed Squash

    Vegan Lentil Walnut Meatloaf

    Vegan-Tater-Tot-Hotdish-3

    Vegan Tater Tot Hotdish

    Mushroom-Meatballs

    Vegan Mushroom Walnut “Meatballs” with Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

    Vegan-Shepards-Pie

    Vegan Shepard’s Pie

    TGD-2B1

    Raw Miso “Roasted” Mushrooms and Green Beans with Rich Parsnip Puree

     



  • Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Swirled Pumpkin Pie

    Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Swirled Pumpkin Pie

     

    I made a double chocolate pecan pie last weekend, and saved half in the freezer for Thanksgiving, and I thought I should make a pumpkin pie too, since it wouldn’t be right not to have both.  I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, I thought that the dessert was the best part of the Thanksgiving meal, and I would always have a slice of each pie.  Usually pumpkin, pecan and apple. Now I usually make the apple pies earlier in the Fall and just make pecan and pumpkin because they seem more special and Thanksgiving exclusive.  This year I seem to have a chocolate theme going on.  I made the pecan pie with the chocolate I mentioned earlier and Raw Guru sent me some Dastony hazelnut butter and I was inspired to make some chocolate hazelnut pecan pie.  Their hazelnut butter is super silky and perfect for using in desserts.  Plus I figured “nutella” and pumpkin sounded amazing together so why not try it?!

    First, I made my classic pie crust using gluten free flour and coconut oil for the fat.  This always turns out good for me, and the coconut oil gives it a nice sweetness that is perfect for pie.  For the hazelnut part, I wanted a combination that was rich, creamy and delicious so I whisked together the hazelnut butter with some coconut cream and cacao powder plus a little maple syrup to sweeten and it was heavenly!  Before being baked, it tasted like smooth hazelnut mousse. Sooo good.  Yes, I always have to sample all of the elements of my desserts to make sure they are good before baking.  I am mainly testing to see if they are sweet enough or spiced enough in the case of the pumpkin part of this pie, plus it is kind of a little treat that only the baker gets to enjoy.  Same thing with licking the bowls. Best part of baking next to enjoying the finished product. You may be wondering how you get a pumpkin pie to set up without eggs, well for this one it is a combination of cornstarch and agar powder and it works wonders once the pie cools.  It sets up beautifully into a smooth custard.

    This pie smelled heavenly while baking.  The aromas of chocolate, nuts and spice filling my kitchen!  Unfortunately I had to wait until the next day to enjoy it because I baked it at night and it had to cool completely and set.  But it was well worth the wait!  This was seriously one of the best pumpkin pies I have tried/made.  I know I say that every year, but this was amazing!  A silky smooth texture, a layer of rich creamy chocolate filling, and sweet spiced pumpkin filling in a buttery tender crust!  Sooo good!  This is so much better than I remember pumpkin pie tasting when I was younger.  It was probably my least favorite of the 3 we always ate (pumpkin, pecan, apple), but now I think they are all tied. If you haven’t made your pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving yet, consider making this one.  I have a feeling you and your family will love it!

    Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie
    Makes one 9 inch pie

    Crust:

     

    Chocolate filling:

     

    Filling:

    • 2 cups organic cooked pumpkin (canned is ok too), packed
    • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
    • 3/4 cup full fat organic coconut milk
    • 2 tsp coconut oil
    • 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 1 /4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
    • 3/4 teaspoon agar powder

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make the crust, in a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, sea salt, and spices. Cut in coconut oil with a pastry blender or 2 knives until it is in pea sized pieces. Mix in  just enough water to create a smooth dough that holds together but isn’t too sticky. Add more water if needed, and knead slightly until a smooth dough is created. Roll out into a 10 inch circle on a sheet of parchment paper, then use the paper to help you transfer it to an 8 inch pie dish.  Flute the edges, and set aside in the refrigerator.
    2. Pre-heat the oven to 350F degrees.
    3. To make the chocolate filling, whisk together all ingredients until smooth and set aside.
    4. To make the pumpkin filling, place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
    5. To assemble the pie, pour most of the chocolate hazelnut filling layer over the crust (reserving about 1/4 cup), then pour the pumpkin filling over that.  Drop the remaining chocolate filling over the pumpkin filling in about 1/2 tsp amounts and swirl with a knife to create a pretty design.
    6. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 1 hour and 20- 1 hour and 30 min. until the edges of the crust are lightly brown, and pie is still jiggly in the center but set at the edges (it will firm up once cool).  Allow to cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator for a few hours at least before serving (I chilled mine in the refrigerator overnight).
    7. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

     

  • Vegan Maple Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bread

    Vegan Maple Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bread

    Sweet potatoes are one of my all time favorite things to eat.  Baked to perfection with the sweet flavors intensified, then stuffed, or mashed with a hint of lime and sea salt, or cut into yam fries and baked, or roasted crispy in salads, or in chunks in soups…the possibilities are endless and I include them in my savory dishes all the time.  It is rare that I have some leftover, but on the occasion that I do, I always find uses for them.  I love them in sweet things as well, so I had some leftover and I decided to make some maple cinnamon sweet potato bread.  You know, like banana bread, but with sweet potatoes instead of bananas, and with some delicious maple added.  I don’t make sweet quick breads often, but when I do I always appreciate them.  They remind me of when I used to bake banana bread or pumpkin bread with my Mom when I was little and I would get super excited about it. They are so easy to make and so good!

    This one comes together in less than an hour, and you can be enjoying warm bread quick! This bread happens to be gluten free and oil free  but you would never guess by tasting it.  I used Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free baking flour in case you are wondering what brand. I use this in most of my cakes and they always come out with a nice texture. I wanted this bread to have lots of maple flavor, so I used maple sugar in the batter as well as a bit of maple extract. I added also a bit of warming spices in the form of cinnamon and nutmeg since they are so lovely with sweet potatoes.  Instead of the oil that would be in a traditional quick bread recipe I added some almond butter instead.  I like to swap out oil for nut butter sometimes because I always have it on hand and I feel like it is a bit better for you since it has protein and healthier fats.

    The batter for these tasted delicious so I knew they would be awesome once baked.  They filled my kitchen with the most heavenly aroma!  Once they were done baking I thought they deserved a maple glaze to make them prettier as well!  They were so good!  Moist and soft with a light texture, lightly spiced and sweet with maple.  These would be the perfect thing to make if you have leftover mashed sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving!

    Vegan Maple Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bread
    Makes 4 mini loaves

    Ingredients:

    • 1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
    • 1 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 2 Tbsp cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 3/4 cup pureed sweet potatoes
    • 1/4 cup almond butter
    • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 tsp maple extract
    • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp filtered water
    • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
    • 2 Tbsp coconut butter
    • 2 tsp maple syrup
    • 1/2 tsp vanilla
    • 2 Tbsp filtered water (or as needed)

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and position rack in center of oven. Oil four small bundt pans.
    2. Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, salt, and sugar in a large bowl to blend well.
    3. Whisk sweet potatoes, nut butter, and vanilla extract together in small bowl to blend well, then whisk into the flour mixture until well blended.
    4. Whisk in cider vinegar until pale swirls form in the batter and it is well combined.
    5. Transfer batter to prepared pans and bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
    6. Remove from the oven, and cool in pan on rack, about 30 minutes. Then un-mold.
    7. To make the glaze, whisk together coconut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and water until smooth (adding a little more water if needed to create a smooth pour-able glaze), and drizzle over the breads.
    8. Enjoy!
  • Vegan Double Chocolate Pecan Pie 

    Vegan Double Chocolate Pecan Pie 

    One important tradition for Thanksgiving in my family is pecan pie. I know pumpkin and apple are the most popular, but my Grandma and Mom’s favorite pie was always pecan. I have to agree.  It is pretty decadent and delicious and I consider it special because I only got to enjoy it for Thanksgiving.  No other time of the year. So now every year I make a pecan pie.  Since I like to switch things up a bit though when it comes to recipes, it is not my Grandma’s pecan pie, it is even better.  And I know my Grandma would approve because when she was still alive, she always loved my desserts that I would share with her, especially ones involving pecans and caramel.  I know Thanksgiving isn’t here quite yet, but I decided to bake a pecan pie last weekend.  I decided to enter the Tresomega “Organics For Life” Blogger Recipe Challenge contest, and I decided what better recipe than a fabulous pecan pie featuring their coconut oil!

    After all, coconut oil is essential to my flaky tender pie crusts.  When I first switched over to a vegan diet, I used buttery sticks for my pie crusts because I thought they would be closer to butter. But I actually discovered that coconut oil is perfect for pie crust and it doesn’t have preservatives in it that you usually find in those sticks, also I am not keen on canola or palm oil which are often found in butter substitutes.  I like to keep things as unprocessed as possible.  Coconut oil gives your crust a lovely sweet flavor and tender texture.

    For this pie, I made my classic pie crust and it was the perfect base for the gooey pecan pie filling.  I decided to be decadent this time and make a double chocolate pecan pie.  So I made a date caramel filling with a touch more of the coconut oil and some pecan butter for richness plus a little cacao powder to make it chocolaty.  It was so good, almost like a fudge caramel!  In addition to the pecans, since this is double chocolate pie I stirred in vegan chocolate chips. I could not wait to try this pie!

    It smelled amazing as it baked.  Like caramel and chocolate heaven!  It was a bummer I had to let it cool overnight because I made it pretty late, but it was well worth the wait.  This pie is pure decadent delicious goodness!  Rich, gooey chocolate caramel filling, crunchy pecans and chocolate chips in a buttery crust!  You won’t even miss the sugar and corn syrup that you would find in regular pecan pie, this is plenty sweet.  You would never guess that it is vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free!  If you love pecan pie for the Holidays as much as I do, definitely give this version a try!  I have a feeling your family will love it even if they aren’t all vegan.

    Vegan Double Chocolate Pecan Pie 
    Makes one 8 inch pie

    Ingredients:

    Crust:

    • 1 1/4 cups all purpose gluten free flour
    • 2 Tbsp coconut sugar or maple sugar
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Tresomega virgin coconut oil in its solid state
    • about 3-4 Tbsp cold water

     

    Filling:

    • 1 cup soft pitted medjool dates (if they are not soft, soak them in filtered water for 30 minutes and drain well
    • before using)
    • 1/4 cup pecan butter
    • 2 Tbsp cacao powder
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup, plus more for brushing the top of the pie
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/3 cup filtered water
    • 1 Tbsp Tresomega virgin coconut oil
    • 1 cup toasted pecans, plus more for top of tart
    • 1 cup vegan chocolate chunks, plus more for top of tart

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
    2. To make the crust, in a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and sea salt. Cut in coconut oil with a pastry blender or 2 knives until it is in pea sized pieces. Mix in  just enough water to create a smooth dough that holds together but isn’t too sticky. Add more water if needed, and knead slightly until a smooth dough is created. Roll out into a 9 inch circle using floured parchment underneath and floured rolling pin. Transfer dough to an 8 inch tart pan or pie pan (don’t worry if it tears, just patch it up and nobody will know).  Set aside in the refrigerator.
    3. To make filling, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor except the pecans and chocolate. Process until smooth, then scrape into a bowl and stir in the pecans, and chocolate. Spread the filling over the crust, and top with more pecans and chocolate. Brush the top lightly with maple syrup. Place in the oven.
    4. Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the crust is starting to brown lightly. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.
  • Vegan Eggnog Truffles 

    Vegan Eggnog Truffles 

    I know it is not Christmas yet, but I have seen eggnog in stores, so that means it is officially eggnog season, right?!  Not that I usually buy mine from the store, I like to make it so that it has healthier ingredients and not any stabilizers or anything in it.  I like a good vegan eggnog with a little splash of bourbon, now that is delicious!  The funny thing is I didn’t really like it growing up, but I think that was due to the fact that my Dad called it “egg snag” and said it was gross.  I have since learned that it can be super delicious if it is good quality.  One time I helped Eric make a giant batch of eggnog and he ended up drinking the entire gallon in 1 day.  I am still laughing about it to this day.  That is sooo much eggnog!  I myself consider it kind of a dessert or treat, something that you sip in a fancy holiday glass.  I haven’t made any this year yet, but I decided to make some eggnog truffles last weekend.

    I had made some 4 years ago on the blog, but I decided that the recipe needed to be revamped and made easier and more delicious so I remade them. Eggnog truffles sounded amazing so it was perfect!  These are really quite easy to make.  The filling is just whisked together and chilled and then you shape it kinda like playdough!  That is the fun part.  That and eating some of the filling as you go.  It is super delicious!  It is actually a mixture of cashew butter and coconut butter along with some maple and vanilla to sweeten, some bourbon and of course a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg!  Sooo good!

    Once you have your truffles formed, you melt some vegan dark chocolate and give them a little dip into it and voila! Delicious truffles!  Whenever I dip truffles, I always think of that famous I Love Lucy episode when they decide to get jobs and work in a chocolate factory.  I used to love that show (well still do).  Luckily there is no rush for me when dipping my truffles!  These are so good with the creamy, dreamy eggnog filling with a hint of bourbon, dipped in the rich dark chocolate for a contrast!  If you enjoy eggnog, give these a try!  Or, they might be the perfect thing to put out at a holiday party this year!

    Vegan Eggnog Truffles 
    Makes 12 truffles

    Ingredients:

    White Chocolate:

    • 3/4 cup raw cashew butter at room temperature
    • 3/4 cup raw coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/4 cup filtered water
    • 1 Tbsp bourbon or rum
    • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
    • pinch of nutmeg

     

    Dark Chocolate:

    • 2 cups chopped vegan dark chocolate

     

    Directions:

    1. Combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl, and whisk until smooth.
    2. Place in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes until it is firm enough to scoop. Scoop into 12 balls, rolling them with your hands.   Place on a parchment lined tray, and place back into the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile,  melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.
    4. Once the filling has firmed up, dip each chocolate into the dark chocolate, being sure to let the excess drain off, and place back onto the tray (I like to set mine on a fork to allow it to drain better). Once they are all dipped, set them in the freezer until hardened.
      Store any leftover truffles in the refrigerator.
  • Root Vegetable Lentil Stew

    Root Vegetable Lentil Stew

    In the deli I work at, we sell so much soup it is unreal.  We sell at least 24 quarts a day.  I understand.  We do make really good soups  and stews from scratch, using organic ingredients.  I am the vegan soup maker.  Of all of the soups I make, my favorites are the soups involving beans and lentils.  Chili of course, but also just hearty comfort food lentil soups or curries.  After making so much soup at work lately you would think I would not want to make soup when I got home, but I have made 3 already at home this week!  The latest was a delicious lentil root vegetable soup that was so good I decided to share the recipe with you all.  It was snowing and sleeting outside the day I made this and I was feeling a bit chilled after work and needed warming stew.

    The best part was, I had all of the ingredients on hand.  That is usually the deciding factor on what I make for dinner.  Even though I work at a health food store and I could buy ingredients for things on a whim, I like to save money and use what I already have.  As far as I am concerned, soups have to have a lot of vegetables.  In fact, they should be the main ingredient. For this soup, I used a mixture of root veggies.  They are so good this time of the year in pretty much anything.  I had made a root vegetable mash as a side dish the night before and I had just the right amount left over for the soup.  Rutabagas, sweet potatoes, and yukon gold potatoes.  Starchy, delicious veggies are just what I was in the mood for.

    I use sweet potatoes and potatoes all year round in things, but rutabagas are a bit more special because I only use them in the cooler months when they are in season.  As a kid I disliked them just because I thought they were weird (even though I don’t think I had ever actually tried them but you know how kids are about things), but I grew to love them in college when branched out with veggies and I discovered that they are delicious roasted or included in your mashed potatoes.  They are nice in a soup like this because they do not fall apart and get mushy.

    I included lentils in the soup for protein, and aromatic thyme, sage, garlic and onions and it smelled wonderful while cooking.  It tasted even better than it smelled too!  I served it with some fresh parsley and it was lovely!  This is the sort of comfort food I love, things that are hearty and delicious but also healthy!  If you are looking for a warming weeknight meal, give this a try!

    Root Vegetable Lentil Stew

    Serves 2-4

    Ingredients:

    • 1 small red onion, diced
    • 3 garlic cloves, minced
    • 2 stalks celery, sliced
    • 2/3 cup french lentils
    • 4 cups vegetable broth or filtered water
    • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
    • 1/4 tsp dried sage
    • 1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
    • 2 medium rutabagas (2 cups), cubed
    • 1 medium yukon gold potato, cubed
    • 1 medium sweet potato (2 cups) cubed
    • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

     

    Instructions:

    1. Combine the onions, garlic, celery, lentils, water, thyme, sage salt and pepper in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer, add the rutabagas and cook until the lentils are starting to soften, about 30-40 minutes.
    2. Add the sweet potatoes and potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 more minutes.
    3. When the lentils and veggies are tender, add the fresh parsley and serve!
  • Vegan Black Bottom Cupcakes 

    Vegan Black Bottom Cupcakes 

    When I was little, my Mom would bake some pretty amazing things.  Mostly things that were passed down from my Grandma or from the old church cookbooks.  Things like 7 layer bars, banana chocolate chip bread, or black bottom cupcakes. Black bottom cupcakes were amazing, especially to my 8 year old self.  If you haven’t heard of them, they are a chocolate cake with some vanilla cream cheese and chocolate chips dropped onto the top before baking. What’s not to love about that?!  It was like cheesecake in my chocolate cupcake!  I was obsessed with anything cheese or cheesecake when I was little so I was all about these.  They were the sort of thing that I got excited about helping bake, because I got to lick the excess filling and cake batter from the bowls.  Best part of baking for me sometimes, still to this day.

    I decided last weekend that I needed to make a vegan version of those cupcakes, so I went for it.  I have made some vegan pumpkin cream cheese muffins before and I figured they would be similar and turn out just as good.  I had some Raw Guru cacao powder that they recently sent me, which has a really wonderful rich chocolate flavor so it was the perfect time to make something like this involving chocolate.  I whipped up my classic chocolate cake filling with it, because I know it always turns out good and tastes delicious.  It is actually fruit sweetened because I use dates in it instead of any kind of sugar.  They also keep the cake moist and soft without making it heavy.

    For the filling, I used a mixture of thick full fat coconut milk and cashew butter.  Once you add in a few other ingredients, it tastes just as good as cream cheese (if not better).  I mixed in some chocolate chips and topped the cupcakes off with it.  They smelled amazing while baking.  Like chocolate and vanilla, almost like marble cake but better.  Now I could have gone traditional and just left the cupcakes as they were once they cooled.  But as you know I am not traditional.  I like to make things my own way.  So I decided that I wanted frosting on these too.  I made a cream cheese frosting to top them off. Because one can never have too much frosting or creamy things on cupcakes, and it didn’t feel right to me to have cupcakes with flat tops (like the old fashioned ones).  I like my cupcakes with rich frosting.  Most of the time as much frosting as the cupcake, but I went more conservative with these guys.

    OMG, they were sooo good!  The cake was rich and chocolaty, the texture soft and moist but not heavy, and that sweet vanilla cream cheese and frosting were the perfect contrast with it!  If you are in the mood for something chocolate, give these guys a try!  You will not even be able to tell that they are vegan and gluten free!

    Vegan Black Bottom Cupcakes 
    Makes 12 cupcakes

    Ingredients:

    12 muffin tins fitted with liners

    “Cream Cheese” Filling:

    • 1/4 cup thick coconut milk (from the top of a chilled can)*
    • 3/4 cup cashew butter (or almond butter will also work here)
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/4 tsp cider vinegar or lemon juice
    • 1/16 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

     

    Cake:

    • 3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour**
    • 2 Tbsp Raw Guru cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 3/4 cup packed soft medjool dates, pitted, soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained
    • 2 Tbsp cashew butter
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 cup filtered water
    • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

     

    For topping:

    • 1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

     

    For Frosting:

    • 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (the thick part from the top of the can)*
    • 1/4 cup raw cashew butter
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • pinch sea salt
    • 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid

     

    For Topping:

    • vegan dark chocolate chips

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and position rack in center of oven, and line a 12 hole muffin tin with liners.
    2. To make the cream cheese, whisk together all of the cream cheese ingredients until smooth, and set aside.
    3. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt in a large bowl to blend well.
    4. Place dates, water, cashew butter, and vanilla extract into a blender, and blend until smooth, then whisk this blended mixture into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in the cider vinegar until bubbles form.
    5. Pour the cake batter into prepared tins, filling them 3/4 full, then spoon a heaping Tbsp of the filling onto them.
    6. Place in the oven, and bake cakes until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool completely.
    7. To make the frosting, combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until completely smooth.  Pour into a bowl and place in the freezer until the consistency of stiffly whipped cream (about 30-45 minutes depending on how warm it has gotten.  Once it is ready place in the refrigerator until ready to frost.
    8. Place the frosting in a pastry bag, and pipe onto the tops of the cupcakes.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips and enjoy!
    9. Store any leftover cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

    *Be sure to use a brand of coconut milk with thick cream, like Thai Kitchen coconut milk or coconut cream.  You want the thick part from the top of the can, not the runny part.

    **If you don’t want to make these gluten free, you can swap organic whole wheat pastry flour for the gluten free flour 1:1.

  • Vegan Tahini Salted Caramel Brownies

    Vegan Tahini Salted Caramel Brownies

    I am finding I love tahini even more for sweet applications than savory.  I used to think it was just something to make hummus and dressing with, but it is great in place of nut butter in things as well.  Like for instance in caramel.  Tahini caramel is amazing.  Raw Guru recently sent me a jar of Dastony sesame tahini and some raw cacao powder so I decided to make some vegan tahini salted caramel brownies.  Their tahini is so nice and smooth it is perfect for baking.  I love making brownies.  Not only do they make your house smell amazing and chocolaty, I love licking the extra batter from the bowl and of course the finished product.  If you need a chocolate fix, brownies are so much easier than baking a chocolate cake but just as good as far as I am concerned.  I can never make just plain chocolate brownies as I like to be creative in the baking department, so these were perfect!  I had never used tahini in brownies before.

    For the base, I used a good amount of tahini in place of 2/3 of the oil in my normal brownie recipe.  Tahini is rich and delicious so I knew these brownies were going to be good!  The batter tasted amazing.  Yes, I like to taste all of my batter to make sure it is good before baking it.  One time I forgot to add the coconut sugar to something and it was a good thing I tasted it before baking it!  Not only that, I just like eating batter haha.  Who doesn’t?!  I whipped up a luscious silky smooth tahini date salted caramel in the blender and it was so good I couldn’t stop sampling it.  But it was even better swirled into the brownies!

    They smelled heavenly as they baked, the aromas of chocolate and caramel filling my home.  When they were cool enough to cut I couldn’t wait to try one.  They were sweet, rich and gooey with that caramel swirled into them.  The tahini has a nutty flavor similar to peanut butter, so if you have tahini on hand give them a try!  Also, these are perfect for if you are someone with a nut allergy because they are rich and delicious without the nuts or nut butter!

    Vegan Tahini Salted Caramel Brownies

    Makes 16

    Caramel:

    • 1 cup soft medjool dates, pitted (if they are not soft, soak them in water and drain well first)
    • 2 Tbsp Dastony sesame tahini
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 3/4 cup filtered water (or as needed)

     

    Brownies:

    • 2 Tbsp finely ground flax seed
    • 1/2 cup filtered water 
    • 1/4 cup avocado oil or olive oil
    • 1/2 cup Dastony sesame tahini 
    • 1 cup Raw Guru coconut sugar
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all-purpose baking flour
    • 1/2 cup Raw Guru cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
    • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips, or vegan dark chocolate (chopped)

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make the caramel, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth (adding a little water if necessary, it should be the consistency of pour-able but still thick caramel).  Pour into a bowl and set aside.
    2. To make the brownies, mix the ground flax seed with 1/2 cup filtered water and set aside for 15 minutes.
    3. Pre-heat the oven to 350F degrees.
    4. Whisk together the sugar, oil and tahini until well combined and the sugar is starting to break down.  Add the flax mixture and vanilla and mix until smooth.  Add the flour, cacao powder and sea salt and beat until smooth, then stir in the chocolate chips.
    5. Scrape the batter into a greased 8×8 inch pan, then drop the caramel over it by the heaping tsp, and swirl it with a knife.  Place in the oven, and Bake for about 25 minutes or until set (but do not over bake or they will get too dry).  Let cool before cutting into bars.

     

  • Sweet and Spicy Roasted Brussels Sprouts

    Sweet and Spicy Roasted Brussels Sprouts

    One of my all time favorite items to make in the Fall is roasted brussels sprouts.  They are like savory candy honestly.  Tender on the inside, crispy and salty on the outside…sooo good!  I make them all the time at work with just a little olive oil and sea salt and they are amazing.  I could seriously eat a giant bowl of them and be happy.  Funny because as a kid I thought brussels sprouts were gross.  Probably because my Grandma steamed them for Thanksgiving and they were kind of mushy and stinky (they are a cruciferous vegetables after all).  I would take some just because I felt like I needed to take a little of everything but they were definitely not my favorite. It all depends on how you cook them though!  They are so delicious when roasted to crispy perfection!  So that is mainly how I make them.  Sometimes I will add them halved to a stir fry, but I don’t over-cook them.

    My Mom gave me a bag of them that she had picked up at Trader Joes and asked me to try making a side dish with Asian flavors that could be used for Thanksgiving with them.  Of course I was down for that, I do enjoy them after all!  So I created a simple dish that was easy to make, and I was enjoying delicious roasted brussels sprouts in about 45 minutes! I wanted them to be salty, sweet and have a little kick to them.  So I combined some home made chili oil, maple syrup, tamari, lime juice and garlic as a sort of marinade, tossed the brussels sprouts with that, and roasted them to flavorful perfection.

    They turned out so good!  Sweet, spicy, salty and tender. I think these would make a perfect Thanksgiving side dish!  I shared them with my Mom and she approved as well.  I think that if people served these instead of steamed brussels sprouts a whole lot more people would learn to love them!  I will definitely be making these again soon! Speaking of Thanksgiving side dishes, what is your favorite?  Mine were always mashed potatoes and stuffing, but of course now I can add brussels sprouts to the list!

    Sweet and Spicy Roasted Brussels Sprouts
    Serves 4

    • 2 Tbsp chili oil
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp tamari
    • 1 Tbsp lime juice
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • 2 lbs fresh organic brussels sprouts, trimmed
    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and oil a sheet pan.
    2. Add all ingredients to a bowl, and toss the brussels sprouts until coated in the mixture.
    3. Spread out on the sheet pan, place in the oven and roast until the brussels sprouts are tender, about 45 minutes.
    4. Remove from the oven, and enjoy!

     

     

  • Baked Stuffed Apples with Cinnamon Ice Cream

    Baked Stuffed Apples with Cinnamon Ice Cream

    Apple pie may be the most popular apple dessert, but you know what else is delicious? Baked apples.  Not only that, they are a little bit lighter option with all of the same delicious apple flavor.  There was a time back in my early 20s that I made baked apples and pears all the time all Fall and Winter long because I enjoyed them so much.  Not only that, I appreciated that it was a healthier but still satisfying dessert.  Sometimes I would stuff them with things, and sometimes I would just bake them and then fill them with ice cream or chevre. All three of the variations were delicious.  I was watching a movie last weekend and they were talking about making baked apples and I started craving some.  Then I realized I haven’t actually made any for at least 6 years and remembered how good they used to be.  I decided that I needed to get on making some.  They are really easy and not hard to make after all.  So much easier than pie.

    So I picked up some giant organic honeycrisp apples at work that were on sale.  I was super excited since I haven’t had these in a while.  I used to just stuff them with walnuts and maple syrup, maybe some crasins, but I wanted a less heavy filling so I decided to make a oat streusel to stuff them with.  I nave never actually stuffed apples with streusel before, I usually just put it on top of pie, but I thought it would be delicious as a stuffing as well.  I can never resist streusel.  I did add a few pecans to it as well for a little more crunch. If you wanted to make a gluten free version of this, you could just swap out the oats for quinoa flakes, and the whole wheat flour for gluten free all purpose flour.  I also drizzled a little maple onto the apples  and it became kind of a thick caramel sauce in the pan that I spooned over them once they were baked.

    They smelled amazing!  They baked up to tender perfection and I couldn’t wait to try them!  I made a cinnamon ice cream the day before to serve with them also because I love cool creamy ice cream with warm fruit desserts.  It was so good together!  The sweet crunchy streusel was perfect with the tender cinnamon scented apples and rich ice cream! If you have apples on hand, definitely give these a try!

    Baked Stuffed Apples with Cinnamon Ice Cream
    Makes 3

    Apples:

    • 3 large organic honeycrisp or other sweet apples
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

     

    Filling:

    • 3 Tbsp organic rolled rolled oats
    • 3 Tbsp organic whole wheat pastry flour
    • 1 Tbsp maple sugar
    • 1 Tbsp chopped pecans
    • 1 Tbsp pecan butter or almond butter
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

     

    Caramel:

    • 3 Tbsp pecan butter
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup

     

    Cinnamon Ice Cream for serving (recipe follows)

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees and oil a pie dish.
    2. Core the apples (but not all the way to the bottom), and scoop out a couple Tbsp of flesh from the cavity so that you have a place to put your stuffing.  Place the apples in the pie dish.
    3. Mix together the maple syrup and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and drizzle over the apples (it is ok if it goes to the bottom of the pan, it makes a nice caramel while they bake).
    4. Mix together the filling in a bowl, scrunching it together with your hands until larger crumbs of filling are formed.
    5. Spoon the filling into the apples, and press it in but leave the top a little mounded.
    6. Tent with foil, and place in the oven.  Bake for about 30 minutes uncovered, then remove the foil and bake until the topping has lightly browned and the apples are tender.  Remove from the oven, and spoon the sauce at the bottom of the pan over the apples.   Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
    7. Meanwhile, to make the caramel, whisk together the pecan butter and maple syrup until smooth.  Drizzle over each apple.
    8. Serve warm with the cinnamon ice cream!

     

    Vegan Cinnamon Ice Cream
    Makes about 3 cups

    Ingredients:

    • 1 15 oz can organic full fat coconut milk
    • 1/2 cup maple syrup (or to taste)
    • ½ cup raw cashew butter
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

     

    1. Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
    2. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to package directions.
    3. Once the ice cream has finished churning, pour it into a freezer safe container with a lid.
    4. Place the lid on, place in the freezer and freeze for about 4 hours or until firm enough to scoop. Enjoy!

     

    *Note, if you do not have an ice cream maker you may also freeze it this way. Pour into a bowl, and place in the freezer. Whisk once every half hour until it has frozen to the consistency of soft serve. Then continue to pour into your freezer safe container as the above directions state.

    *If your ice cream gets hard after freezing, let sit out about 15-20 minutes before scooping.

     

  • Vegan Chocolate Covered Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

    Vegan Chocolate Covered Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

    There is always the age old debate when it comes to classic oatmeal cookies.  You have the chocolate chip side and the raisin side.  I find that most people hate one but love the other.  The deli I work in makes both, and I find that the oatmeal chocolate chip tend to go faster than the raisin. I understand that, chocolate is after all delicious, but there is something nostalgic about raisins in oatmeal cookies that I kind of love.  Funny because I am not the type of person who would eat raisins alone as a snack.  Not until I tried the Rawmio chocolate covered golden raisins from Raw Guru.  These are not the Raisinetes you grew up eating (which I was not a fan of because they were milk chocolate and had some sort of weird coating on them). These are organic golden raisins covered in good quality rich vegan dark chocolate!  I would be happy to eat a bag of them.  But I  decided that they would be perfect in oatmeal cookies.  Why not make everyone happy and include both raisins AND dark chocolate?!

    Any excuse to bake cookies and eat cookie dough, I am in. These are really quick and easy to make too.  I always love making cookies that are not fussy as opposed to ones that take a lot of extra time and TLC.  You can be enjoying these babies in under an hour!  Back when I was in college, I would always bake cookies to share with my cross country team for every meet.  So I developed a pretty good recipe back then that I veganized later and it is always a hit.  Especially with my Mom, because they are her favorite cookie so I always have to share with her.  She always said that they were healthier than other cookies because they have fiber, and I have to agree!  I like to include a little cinnamon and nutmeg in my oatmeal cookies also to give them that something extra.  The dough was super delicious with those chocolate covered raisins stirred in!  I also added some crunchy walnuts, because I love them in oatmeal cookies.

    They baked up beautifully and I couldn’t wait to try them!  They made my kitchen smell amazing.  They were so good warm with the chocolate a little gooey still!  Soft and chewy in the center and crispy at the edges just how oatmeal cookies should be with the sweet chocolate raisins and crunchy walnuts it was perfection!  You can have the best of both worlds with these no need to pick between raisins and chocolate chips in your oatmeal cookies!

    Vegan Chocolate Covered Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
    Makes 1 dozen large cookies

    Ingredients:

     

    Directions:

    1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut oil, and sugar until well blended. Add flax eggs, vanilla, and beat until well combined (the mixture will become very thick).
    2. Mix in the flour, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt until well blended. Mix in the oats until well combined, then add walnuts and chocolate covered raisins and mix until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
    3. Heat the oven to 350F degrees with the rack set at the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
    4. Roll the dough into 12 large balls, and spread them out on the 2 cookie sheets with plenty of room in between, and flatten them out slightly. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden, but not over baked. Let cool on sheet a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack lined with parchment to cool.
    *Whisk together 2 Tbsp ground flax seed, 1/4 cup and 2 Tbsp water in a small bowl.  Allow to sit in the fridge for 15 minutes until the mixture has set up (or become kind of thick).

     

  • Vegan Chai Spiced Pear Cakes with Hazelnut Chocolate Glaze

    Vegan Chai Spiced Pear Cakes with Hazelnut Chocolate Glaze

    So far Fall in Minnesota has been a rather chilly rainy one, the temperatures in the 30s and 40s most days with rain for 2 weeks straight it felt like until this week so we have all been bundling up. But finally we got a few lovely dry days in the 60s. This is the type of Fall I dream about, where it is warm enough to not have to wear jackets, and you can go out and enjoy the Fall colors on a hike and be comfortable.  I made sure to get outside, but I also decided to do some Fall baking to celebrate the perfect Fall days, and because cake sounded good.  I had some perfectly ripe Minnesota grown pears that a coworker had given me, and so I decided on pear bundt cakes.  Apple gets all the attention most of the time, you don’t hear about people going to the pear orchard to pick pears.  But they are super delicious so I am not sure why they don’t sell like apples do.  Heck, I would go to a pear orchard.  If you get a perfectly ripe, fragrant pear it is sweeter than an apple sometimes.  Back when I was in college, in the Fall one of my favorite things was to poach pears in the oven in a dish with spices, then eat them with ice cream.  Super delicious easy dessert.

    Anyways, back to those bundt cakes.  I suppose I could have made one large cake, but I like the idea of mini cakes, and they are perfect for sharing.  Not only that, they bake so much faster!  Only 20 minutes for these babies. For the batter, I pureed my pears, then blended them up with dates, spices, almond butter as a base to add the flour and other ingredients too.  This batter is actually fruit sweetened and oil free!  And, it is plenty sweet from the pears and dates.  It baked up beautifully and smelled amazing!

    But bundt cakes need a little glaze to decorate them so I decided to use some Veggimins Hemp CBD Chocolate Hazelnut Butter that Raw Guru sent me recently so drizzle over the cakes.  After all, pears, hazelnuts and chocolate are a match made in heaven.  This spread is bomb by the way, like the best nutella you will ever taste and what’s not to love about CBD oil being included in it.  It was amazing on the cakes!  They were so good… soft and sweet from the pears with a hint of spice and the rich dark chocolate. If you have pears on hand, give these a try!

    Vegan Chai Spiced Pear Cakes with Hazelnut Chocolate Glaze 
    Makes four 1 cup bundt cakes

    Ingredients:

    2 6 inch cake pans

    Cake:

    • 3/4 cups quinoa flour (or all purpose gluten free flour)
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp ginger
    • 1/2 tsp cardamom
    • 1/4 tsp cloves
    • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    • 1/2 cup packed soft medjool dates, pitted, soaked in water for 30 minutes and 1/2 cup of the soaking water reserved
    • 2 Tbsp almond butter
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/2 cup pureed ripe pears
    • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

     

    Glaze:

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and position rack in center of oven. Oil 4 mini bundt pans.
    2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and sea salt in a large bowl to blend well.  Set aside.
    3. Place dates, reserved water, almond butter, pear puree, and vanilla extract into a blender, and blend until smooth, then whisk this blended mixture into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in the cider vinegar until bubbles form.
    4. Transfer cake batter to prepared pans and bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool cakes completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour.
    5. Un-mold onto a piece of parchment on a sheet pan.
    6. Warm the hazelnut butter slightly in a double boiler just until it is liquid enough to pour (but don’t over-heat), and drizzle over the cakes.
    7. Enjoy!

     

    *If you can’t get the CBD hazelnut butter, or would rather make your own glaze, you can instead whisk 1 Tbsp cacao powder into 1/4 cup hazelnut (or almond) butter, along with 1 Tbsp maple syrup and just enough water to make it pourable and use the same way you would use the CBD hazelnut butter.

     

  • Poison Apple Martini

    Poison Apple Martini

    I have been craving some apple cider lately, so when I saw some honeycrisp apple cider at Trader Joes for a good price I had to get some.  The most important thing for me when it comes to store bought cider is that it has one ingredient, apples of course.  This one fit that requirement, and it turns out it was delicious!  Some ciders are too sweet but this one was perfect.  Since I had a big bottle of it I thought making apple martinis with some of it sounded good last weekend. So I decided to revamp one of my old recipes from a while back.  The “Poison Apple Martini”.  I figured it was appropriate since Halloween is right around the corner.  I make my apple martinis a bit different than most people do.  The ones I have had before at bars or restaurants are almost always too sweet for me and made with artificial stuff so I gave up on ordering them a long time ago and just made my own.  I prefer real apple in mine and that honeycrisp cider was the perfect base.

    So why is this a poison apple martini?  Well, let’s just say it has a bit of a kick.  The first time I made the recipe up back in 2011 I had just broken up with an ex boyfriend and I felt like making a really good drink with a bit of pain along with the pleasure. Now I really just like spicy things so it sounded good.  I tweaked my old recipe slightly because the old one was super boozy and I wanted this a bit more balanced.  I combined the cider with bourbon and a dash of lemon juice and cinnamon and although that would have been delicious as it was, it needed that kick, so I added some home made ginger habanero syrup (made with maple syrup instead of sugar).

    This is sooo good!  It is sweet, spicy, and just a hint of tartness.  Definitely a warming drink perfect for a cool fall day.  I love hot peppers year round, but this time of the year I appreciate them even more.  Of course if you were not a fan of hot peppers you could just make a ginger syrup and the drink will still be delicious. Trust me, this is the most delicious apple martini you will ever drink!

    Poison Apple Martini
    Makes 1

    For rim:

    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp turbinado sugar
    • a pinch of ground cayenne pepper
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

     

    Drink:

    • 6 large ice cubes
    • 3 oz apple cider
    • 2 oz bourbon (make sure it is vegan on Barnivore.com)
    • 1 oz fresh lemon juice
    • 2 Tbsp ginger habanero syrup*
    • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

     

    Instructions:

    1. To coat rim, place syrup on a plate and coat rim edge with it by dipping it upside down into it.  On another plate, combine turbinado sugar, cayenne, and cinnamon and dip coated glass rim into it coating it evenly, set aside.
    2. To make drink, in a martini shaker add the ice, cider, bourbon, lemon juice, syrup, and cinnamon and place top on shaker. Shake until well blended.
    3. Pour through a strainer into a the martini glass, and serve!

     

    *Ginger Habanero Syrup:

    • 1/2 cup water
    • 1/2 cup maple syrup
    • 1 inch piece fresh ginger
    • 1 habanero pepper, halved

     

    Heat water until boiling, remove from heat and whisk in syrup, ginger and pepper, until syrup is dissolved. Chill well before using in drinks.

    Makes 1 cup syrup

  • Vegan Pumpkin Spice Waffles

    Vegan Pumpkin Spice Waffles

    When I do recipe experiments, they don’t always turn out perfect. In fact sometimes they are fantastic flops.  Like when I tried to make pumpkin waffles about a month ago.  I was all excited to make them, and the batter looked good and all but turned out that it was way to sticky and it ended up just getting all stuck to the inside of my waffle iron and burning, and I had to throw the waffle batter and waffle maker away because it was so bad I couldn’t clean it.  I was so sad. I hate throwing things away and I hate when recipes don’t work out.  But I am not one to give up if something goes wrong the first time, so I decided to try making them again this week since I had some leftover pumpkin from another recipe. I think what happened last time is I was trying to make half the recipe (I often do this because I am only one person so I don’t want a giant batch if I am the only one eating them) but I forgot to use half the coconut milk and pumpkin so it was too wet.  It happens, sometimes I am just having one of those days where I get distracted and I measure wrong.  So never feel bad if you accidentally do the same, it happens.

    So this time I was sure to read my recipe carefully and it turned out perfect! I had to use my snowflake waffle maker though, because my other one had to get thrown out, but oh well.  It was kind of appropriate since it snowed here in Minnesota the day I made the waffles.  These are pretty easy to make, you just whisk together the ingredients, make them and voila!  Delicious waffles!  None of that whipping the egg whites and folding them in stuff that I used to have to do before I went vegan and wanted fluffy waffles.  I made sure these had plenty of spice because I wanted them to be aromatic and smell like pumpkin pie!

    These are the perfect Fall treat for a brunch, topped off with maple syrup and pecans, or maybe if you are feeling dessert like some coconut whipped cream or ice cream.  I wouldn’t limit them to brunch though, when I was little my Mom used to make waffles and pancakes for dinner and I thought it was awesome that I got to have something that tasted like dessert for dinner. Honestly when I make them now as an adult it is almost always in the evening because that is when I have the most time.  Also, I like to freeze them if I have extra and just pop them in the toaster!  The next time you have some leftover pumpkin I hope you give these a try!

    Vegan Pumpkin Spice Waffles
    makes 12 regular sized waffles

    Ingredients:

    Batter:

    • 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
    • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 2 tsp cinnamon
    • 2 tsp ginger
    • 1/2 tsp cloves
    • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    • 3 Tbsp ground flax seed, whisked together with 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp filtered water (and allowed to sit 15 min. before using)
    • 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
    • 1 cup full fat coconut milk
    • 1 cup pumpkin puree

     

    Instructions:

    1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt and spices in a large bowl.
    2. Then whisk the flax mixture, coconut oil, coconut milk and pumpkin until smooth.
    3. Oil, and pre-heat waffle iron. Once it is heated, pour about 3/4 cup batter onto the iron (or until the iron is just covered but not so much that it will ooze out) and close it.  Cook according to waffle iron package directions.  Remove from the waffle maker and keep warm in an oven at low heat (150F degrees).
    4. Serve with topped with whatever suits you!

     

     

  • DIY Vegan Halloween Candy Recipes

    DIY Vegan Halloween Candy Recipes

    When I was little, I loved dressing up for Halloween.  I think I was a cat the most, since that was always my favorite animal.  I wasn’t very imaginative when it came to costumes.  I also enjoyed the candy. I mean, who didn’t as a child?!  My friends and I would always dump out or big pumpkin full of loot on the living room floor after the night was over and trade candy.  I was all for the chocolate, and my best friend liked more of the sweet sugary fruity candy so it worked out.  My favorite were the Snickers, Milky Ways, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  If I got a lot of those, I hit the jackpot.  I now make my own candy as an adult, and not only is it fun, that way I can enjoy the candy knowing it is vegan, and healthier than the store bought since I used only real ingredients, and no refined sugars.  Since it is almost Halloween, and maybe you want to make your own candy too, I decided that a little bit of Halloween candy food porn was in order.  So, I have compiled photos of my favorite Halloween worthy candy on my blog.  As you can see, most of it involves chocolate because like I mentioned earlier, that is my favorite kind and what I make the most. If you like what you see, you should take some time for yourself, have fun and make one of these recipes so you can enjoy them too!  After all, there is nothing more satisfying than eating your own candy that you prepared yourself.  Enjoy!
     
    Candy Corn Macaroons 1
    Chipotle Caramel Apple Chocolates 2



  • Vegan Birthday Cake Popcorn

    Vegan Birthday Cake Popcorn

    Nothing compares to vanilla Birthday cake as far as I am concerned.  I used to love the boxed funfetti cake mix stuff when I was little, until I started baking my own desserts but then nothing compared to the home made.  I went through a phase in  my early twenties when I baked quite a few vanilla cakes.  The most delicious of which was for an ex boyfriend (boyfriend at the time), a 4 layer beautiful vanilla birthday cake with a vanilla buttercream frosting that took me a really long time to decorate.  I was so proud of that cake!  It was the best tasting cake I had made up to that point, and I used a fancy recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Cake Bible.  It tasted amazing.  But when my ex boyfriend tasted it all he could say was “This doesn’t taste like the cake from the grocery store.  I think I like that better.”  There is a reason he is an ex boyfriend haha.  That cake was bomb, and he just didn’t appreciate the real ingredients.  I think that was the last non-vegan vanilla cake I made because I didn’t make any vanilla for a while after that.  But as you know, I still love a good vanilla cake, hence the name of my blog.  I also love making vanilla cake flavored things.  So when I saw some birthday cake popcorn for sale at a store recently I said to myself, I have to make some.  I knew Eric would enjoy it as well since he is obsessed with popcorn so I made a big batch.

    It was easy to make.  First I just needed a base that tasted like vanilla cake batter.  I accomplished this with a mixture of cashew butter and coconut butter sweetened with a bit of maple syrup, some vanilla of course, and then a little almond extract.  I know this is a vanilla cake, but both my Grandma and my Mom would always add a little almond extract along with the vanilla when making a vanilla cake or vanilla sugar cookies (and the frosting).  It just gave it that something extra that made it taste special.  The mixture I made did taste just like cake batter! It was even better once I mixed it with the popcorn!

    I then had to add sprinkles to make it pretty.  Because it wouldn’t be birthday cake popcorn without some celebratory flair!  I know, it isn’t anyone’s birthday, but why not enjoy some birthday cake any time you want?!  It was super delicious!  It tasted like vanilla birthday cake complete with sprinkles and all, but with the delicious crunch of popcorn plus a hint of sea salt.  Totally crave worthy, but I am always a sucker for a salty, sweet and crunchy combination! If you love vanilla cake as much as I do, give this a try!  It is way better than the gourmet popcorn you can buy at the store.

    Vegan Birthday Cake Popcorn
    Makes 8 cups

    Ingredients:

    • 1/3 cup raw cashew butter
    • 1/3 cup coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/2 tsp almond extract
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup (or to taste)
    • 8 cups plain popcorn
    • 1/3 cup vegan sprinkles

     

    Instructions:

    • To make the coating, whisk together all ingredients but the sprinkles until smooth, then pour over the popcorn in a large bowl.
    • Toss together until all of the popcorn is coated, and spread out on a parchment lined sheet pan.  Sprinkle with the sprinkles distributing them evenly.
    • Place the pan in the freezer for 15 min until the coating is hard.  Enjoy!
  • Vegan Maple Pecan Scones

    Vegan Maple Pecan Scones

    The deli I work in makes the most delicious smelling scones.  I say delicious smelling because I have never actually tasted them since they aren’t vegan.  I don’t actually bake at work, surprising I know considering my blog.  But it keeps making desserts and baked goods enjoyable to me.  I am the one who makes all of the salads and the vegan soups, plus vegan hot food bar.  My work station is next to the cooling rack and as I am chopping my veggies, the heavenly aroma always makes me happy.  I mean, yes the cookies and everything else smells good too, but a couple of the scone flavors are my favorite smells.  In the Summer it is the strawberry, but in the Fall, it is the maple pecan.  Whenever my coworker makes them I always want to go home and bake some vegan ones so I can enjoy one.  Surprisingly though, I have never made them until this week.  I have been telling myself I should make some for years.  I have made other flavors but not the maple pecan.  Finally I got decided I had to.

    I actually learned the art of making scones from my coworker that makes the scones at work.  I have a pretty darn delicious vegan scone base I have developed over the years.  The trick is not to mix the dough too much, you don’t want it smooth, you want to leave clumps of coconut oil and to make sure that the milk and coconut oil are nice and cold before starting. For this specific scone dough, since I made pecan scones, I also added pecan meal to the dough.  It makes it extra rich and delicious!  I love adding nut meal to scones, and also pie crust sometimes for this reason.

    I didn’t actually use maple syrup in these, although you could brush them with it when they are done baking.  I used maple sugar because it has that same lovely maple flavor without the moisture.  The dough for these tasted amazing before they were baked, and I sampled quite a bit.  Yes I always have to test my dough for everything and give it a taste.  It is part of the fun of baking!  But they were even more amazing once they were done!  My kitchen smelled amazing, just like the scones at work.  Only this time I could eat them!  They have the most delicious tender buttery texture with crunchy nutty pecans and the scent of sweet maple. These would make the perfect addition to your weekend brunch!  Trust me, these aren’t your standard dry dense coffee shop scones, these are crave worthy deliciousness!

    Vegan Maple Pecan Scones
    Makes 8

    Ingredients:

    Scones:

    • 2 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill all purpose gluten free baking flour*
    • 1/2 cup pecan meal*
    • 1/2 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/2 cup solid virgin coconut oil, cut into chunks (if your house is above 65F degrees, chill it first)
    • 1 cup cold full fat organic canned coconut milk (whisked until smooth if chunky)
    • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 tsp maple extract (optional)
    • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
    • coconut milk for topping (if needed)
    • maple sugar or coconut sugar for sprinkling

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees with the rack set at the middle position.
    2. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
    3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, pecan meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the coconut oil with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture starts to clump into pea sized pieces. In a small bowl, stir the vanilla into the coconut milk. Add the coconut milk to the dough, and stir a few times, but do not over-mix. The dough should hold together when squeezed, but still be clumpy.
    4. Fold in pecans until evenly distributed.
    5. Place dough on a floured work surface, and shape into a 4 inch wide log. Use a bench scraper to cut into 8 triangles.
    6. Place scones on the prepared baking sheet, reshaping slightly if necessary.
    7. Brush the tops lightly with the coconut milk (only if they seem dry, you want the sugar to stick), and sprinkle with coconut sugar.
    8. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown (after about 15 minutes you may need to reshape with 2 bench scrapers if the scones are spreading, then place back in the oven).
    9. Cool on a wire rack.
    10. Enjoy!

     

    *If you prefer to make these not gluten free, you can swap the gluten free flour for organic whole wheat pastry flour.

    *For the pecan meal, blend about 3/4 cup pecans in a blender or food processor just until ground finely, but not too long or they will become butter. This should give you enough for the recipe.

  • Autumn Apple Fig Salad with Lemon Maple Tahini Dressing

    Autumn Apple Fig Salad with Lemon Maple Tahini Dressing

    I still haven’t been to an apple orchard yet this year.  Maybe next weekend.  But I have bought some amazing local apples at the grocery store.  The Honeycrisp apples are still my favorite.  The local ones are the best though, and taste slightly different than the ones that are flown in from elsewhere.  Not only do I enjoy using them in desserts like a really good apple pie, I love them in savory things like salads as well.  Since I had an abundance of apples I had bought last weekend, I decided to use one in a salad.  Now when I make salads, I like them to be substantial.  None of this just greens with a dressing stuff that doesn’t fill you up.  You know, like the ones you get in a restaurant that has no vegan entrees that you have to order because it is all that you can possibly get from the menu that won’t have animal products in it?  Or the ones that people who don’t know much about the vegan diet think that we all eat.  I like lots of delicious add ins.  I was at a restaurant up in Duluth (MN), Canal Park Brewery  with my family last weekend, and I ordered a salad and I was pleasantly surprised.  Not only was it large, it was filled with delicious stuff.  Berries, and beets, and pecans, and cranberries, fresh greens, and some grilled portabello mushroom (that I ordered extra to top it because it sounded good). It was not a wimpy salad.  It was a meal.  Now that is how I like my salads!

    So this salad is substantial too.  I gave it an arugula base, because it is my favorite type of greens, and I have it on hand at all times. It has the apples of course, but I added figs and cranberries as well.  Yes, I know it is kind of a sweet salad, but trust me on this it is so good.  I love dried figs, they have such a satisfying chewy texture and delicious flavor.  I also added in some Sunbiotics probiotic truffle almonds that Raw Guru sent me.  That might sound odd in combination with the other ingredients, but these almonds are amazing.  Not chocolate truffle by the way, truffle as in the expensive mushrooms that give things a delicious flavor.

    The salad needed a good dressing as well, and I get a little tired of vinaigrettes sometimes so I went for my favorite type of dressing a creamy nut/seed butter dressing. Tahini dressing has always been one of my favorites, so I used some Dastony tahini whisked together with some lemon juice and maple syrup to make a delicious dressing.  I usually make it very savory with just the lemon juice and a little cumin.  But since this salad has fruit I decided to add the sweet maple syrup instead.  I wasn’t sure how it would taste, but it was so good! It was perfect with the sweet fruit and peppery arugula on the salad! If you like big salads too, and are in the mood for something with apples, give this a try!

    Autumn Apple Fig Salad with Lemon Maple Tahini Dressing
    Serves 2

    Ingredients:

     

    Instructions:

    1. Combine the arugula, apple, figs, almonds, and cranberries in a bowl, and toss until combined.
    2. In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, and sea salt, along with water if needed if it seems to thick to pour (you want it thick enough to coat your salad, but not so thick that it stays in clumps).
    3. Pour some of the dressing on the salad and toss to coat. Then divide between plates and drizzle a little more dressing on the salad.  Serve!
  • Vegan Macadamia Nut Cheesecake Brownies

    Vegan Macadamia Nut Cheesecake Brownies

    I have always considered macadamia nuts as kind of special. They are more rich and buttery than other nuts, a little bit more spendy most of the time since they have to grow 7 years before they are harvested and are really hard to crack.  But for special occasions they are so good!  I have made some really good vegan macadamia nut cheese before and it was amazing.  Even those in my family who are not vegan loved it.  Another recipe I love is my Macadamia Coconut White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, a veganized version of a bakery classic. And, I have to also mention one of the most popular recipes on my blog that happens to contain macadamia nuts, my Raw Banana Macadamia Coconut Cream pie.  It  is epic.  So when Raw Guru sent me a jar of their Dastony macadamia nut butter I was super excited.  I knew it would be amazing in whatever I chose to use it in.  But I wanted it to be something extra delicious so I decided to combine it with chocolate in the form of cheesecake brownies!

    It had been an incredibly busy stressful week, so brownies were the perfect thing to make!  I consider baking to be an awesome stress reliever and mood booster.  One can not stay stressed while baking brownies.  I mean, it is a happy experience!  Licking the excess batter from the bowl, taking in the heavenly aroma while your brownies bake, and of course enjoying the finished product!  Bonus points if you listen to good music while you are making them and wear your comfy pjs.  For these brownies, I used my usual gluten free brownie base with a little of the macadamia nut butter added and it was chocolaty deliciousness!  Super easy to make too, you just whisk it together.

    For the “cheesecake” part, I used a mixture of coconut cream (the unsweetened kind) and the macadamia nut butter sweetened with a little vanilla and maple syrup.  It was heavenly!  Once the brownies were assembled, I also sprinkled them with some macadamia nuts and chocolate chips to make them pretty and to add some texture.  They baked up beautifully!  I couldn’t wait to try them, but since I wanted them to look pretty for you all in my pictures I had to wait until they cooled completely to cut them.  If you are making them and don’t care how they look though, by all means dive in when they are still warm and the chocolate chips are gooey.  These are sooo incredibly good!  Rich fudgy brownie base with luscious cream cheese, crunchy macadamia nuts and chocolate chips!  You would never guess that they are vegan by tasting them. These might be the perfect thing to share with someone you want to convince that vegan food is amazing.

    Vegan Macadamia Nut Cheesecake Brownies
    Makes 16

    Ingredients:

    Cheesecake:

    • 3/4 cup thick coconut cream (I used Thai Kitchen, you want one that is unsweetened without additives)
    • 1/2 cup Dastony macadamia nut butter*
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch or cornstarch

     

    Brownies:

     

    Instructions:

    1. Whisk together the flax seeds and water, and allow to sit for 15 minutes.  Set aside.
    2. To make the cheesecake, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into a bowl and set aside.
    3. To make the brownies, pre-heat the oven to 350F degrees. Whisk together the sugar, oil and nut butter until well combined and the sugar is starting to break down.  Add the water and flax mixture and vanilla and beat until smooth.
    4. Add the flour, cacao powder and sea salt and beat until smooth.  Scrape the batter into a greased 8×8 inch pan, then drop the cheesecake over it in 2 Tbsp amounts, and swirl it with a knife.  Sprinkle with macadamia nuts.
    5. Place in the oven, and Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until set (but do not over bake).  Let cool before cutting into bars.

     

    *If you prefer cashew butter, or can’t get macadamia nut butter, you can use cashew butter instead of the macadamia nut butter.

  • Vegan Chocolate Coffee Hazelnut Butter Cookies 

    Vegan Chocolate Coffee Hazelnut Butter Cookies 

    When I was little I loved Nutella.  I mostly just spread it on toast and thought I was having dessert for breakfast.  I mean how else could I get away with just eating chocolate for breakfast?!  When I took a trip to Europe in high school, when we were in France I ate Nutella on croissants or baguettes every day at the hotels we stayed in.  So healthy, I know but I didn’t really care about the nutritional value of the foods I ate back then.  It was funny though, I loved Nutella but didn’t even know what a real hazelnut should taste like.  I gave up eating things with refined sugars so the Nutella went by the wayside, and I forgot about it for a while, thinking I wouldn’t enjoy it again.  But years later I finally made my own home made nutella with plenty of real hazelnuts and it was so different from the stuff I ate as a kid, so much better.  Real hazelnuts as the main ingredient is key to good chocolate hazelnut spread!  Although I like making my own, Rawmio has some that are seriously amazing and 100 times better than the original Nutella too for if you don’t fee like making it yourself.  They are like little jars of heaven and you could honestly just eat them with a spoon.  One of the flavors that reminds me of Nutella is their Hazelnut Coffee chocolate spread. It is epic.  The texture is like a really rich chocolate frosting with a hint of coffee. Raw Guru recently sent me some, and I decided it would be awesome in cookies.

    So I got to work baking some!  I was craving some buttery, rich cookies with plenty of nut butter in them.  For these ones I used a combination of the hazelnut coffee spread and hazelnut butter for extra hazelnut flavor.  The dough was super delicious.  Cookie dough is the best part of making cookies as far as I am concerned (second is the warm ones), so I had to sample plenty of it!  They smelled amazing while baking!  Nutty hazelnut and sweet chocolate heaven!  I could have just left them as they were but I decided to add a little more chocolate in the mix.

    I dipped them in vegan dark chocolate.  I am in a chocolate eating sort of mood lately.  These cookies were sooo good!  They were buttery and rich with the flavors of hazelnuts, a hint of coffee and dark chocolate! These would be the perfect thing to enjoy with your coffee come to think of it!  I hope you are all having a wonderful start to your October!

    Vegan Chocolate Coffee Hazelnut Butter Cookies 
    Makes 18 cookies

    Ingredients:

    Cookies:

     

    For dipping:

     

    Instructions:

    1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seed and water.  Place the bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes, this is your flax egg.
    2. In a large bowl, with a wooden spoon, mix together the sugar, chocolate hazelnut spread, hazelnut butter, coconut oil, and flax egg, until smooth.  Then mix in the flour, soda, baking powder, and sea salt in until the mixture is smooth.
    3. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  Line a sheet pan with parchment.
    4. Shape the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on your baking sheet a few inches apart press down slightly.
    5. Place in the oven and bake at 350F for 12 minutes or so, until lightly browned and set.  Allow to cool completely on a rack.
    6. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler (or your preferred method), and dip half of each of the cookies into the chocolate allowing the excess to drain off.  Set on a parchment lined tray to set the chocolate (it will set faster if you pop them in the freezer for about 5 minutes). Enjoy!

    *If you can not get the Rawmio spread or want to just use your own hazelnut butter, just mix 3 Tbsp cacao powder, 1 Tbsp coconut sugar and 1 Tbsp finely ground coffee into 3/4 cup hazelnut butter.

  • Vegan Pumpkin Spice Truffles

    Vegan Pumpkin Spice Truffles

    This is the time of year when I always keep canned pumpkin on hand.  It is so useful.  You can make pancakes, or cake, or pumpkin spice overnight oats, or make a pasta sauce etc.  All of which require partial cans, so inevitably I am left with some to use up in another recipe.  I made some pumpkin cheesecake last weekend and had some leftover and decided to make something new with it instead of whisking it into my oatmeal or something. I decided on pumpkin spice truffles.  They just sounded good.  Yes, I know you can buy this sort of thing in the store, but I would much rather make it!  I added a special ingredient to these ones as well, some Sunbiotics Vanilla Probiotic with Prebiotics Powder that Raw Guru recently sent me.  Because why not get your daily dose of probiotics when you enjoy a delicious truffle!  Not only that, they have a lovely vanilla flavor, so I didn’t need to add vanilla extract to these.  This powder is also good stirred into your morning oatmeal, which is how I tried it first.  They are good quality, and have 20 billion probiotics per serving, so I was excited to try them since I have been looking for a new one to use. They worked out perfect in the truffles.

    I made them Sunday when it was a bit chilly outside.  I had been out for a walk and wanted to warm up doing something fun.  And, what better thing to do on a chilly day to warm up than make deliciousness in the kitchen!  So I put on some cozy PJs, made myself some warm tea and got to work.   These are pretty easy to make, which is always a win.  For the filling, I used a mixture of pumpkin, almond butter and coconut butter sweetened with a little maple syrup and seasoned with classic pumpkin pie spices.  The combination is rich and delicious!  It kind of reminded me of a pumpkin pie frosting before I chilled it and rolled it into the truffles.  I like making truffles because I feel like a little kid when I roll them out.  Kind of the way I enjoy decorating cakes, because I feel like that is fun and playful too.

    After the filling was all set, I melted some dark chocolate to dip them in. Because dark chocolate is amazing with pumpkin.  They turned out so cute! But more importantly they were delicious.  The filling tastes like pumpkin pie cream.  I say cream because it is richer than actual pumpkin pie and better then pumpkin pie (in my opinion). It pairs so well with the chocolate which balances out the sweetness.  If you are in the mood for something pumpkin but don’t want to make a pie, give these a go!  If you don’t prefer to use the probiotics powder in them, you can make them without it and they will still turn out.  I just love the fact that I can get a daily dose of probiotics with my sweet dessert.  I hope you all are having a wonderful Fall so far!

    Vegan Pumpkin Spice Truffles
    Makes 18

    Ingredients:

     

    Instructions:

    1. In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, almond butter, coconut butter, maple syrup, probiotic powder, spices and sea salt until smooth.  Place the bowl in the freezer until it starts to firm up to the consistency of dough (about 30-45 minutes) and scoop-able.
    2. Scoop the filling out by the Tbsp, and roll into balls.  Place them on a parchment lined tray, and place the tray in the freezer until the balls are completely firm.
    3. Melt the dark chocolate in the top of a double boiler, and dip each filling ball into it (letting the excess drain off, I like to set it on a fork for this), and place back onto the tray. When they are all dipped, place back in the freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate.
    4. Enjoy!  Store any leftover truffles in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake 

    Vegan Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake 

    I see food items and recipes all the time that I say to myself I would like to veganize.  There was a magazine next to the checkout line when I was at the store and said it was all pumpkin desserts.  On the cover was the most glorious looking pumpkin turtle cheesecake.  But of course it was not vegan.  So I said to myself and to the cashier, I have to veganize this!  It looks sooo good! That was about a month ago, and I told myself I would wait until October to make it, but hey it was a couple of days away so close enough for me!  I get kind of excited about pumpkin stuff, because it means that we are in the midst of my favorite season, not to mention it is so good!  Especially the desserts that involve spices.  Like the Pumpkin Spice Caramel Lava Cakes I made recently.  This cheesecake won’t be the last pumpkin thing I make this year by any means, I am just getting started.

    I have actually made a pumpkin turtle cheesecake in the past, but it was a raw cheesecake. This one is a bit easier because it doesn’t require cracking open any coconuts, just a few steps in the food processor and some whisking to make the caramel and fudge.  Although I love date caramel, sometimes I want a quicker option so I reach for the almond butter and make a simple quick caramel with maple syrup whisked into it with a little vanilla and sea salt.  It seriously tastes like caramel, is a lot easier to make, and you can make it as sweet (or not sweet) as you like by adjusting the maple syrup amount.  For the fudge on this cake, I whisked some cacao powder into half the caramel.  So easy and so good!  Luckily Raw Guru recently sent me a box that contained some really good quality Dastony Sprouted Almond butter to make my caramel and fudge for this cake with.  It is silky smooth with a sweet nutty flavor and is honestly some of the best almond butter I have tried and it worked perfectly for this recipe!

    The cake had a smooth, creamy lightly spiced pumpkin cheesecake filling, and I swirled the caramel, fudge and pecans into it. Then I topped it off with a coconut whipped cream, more caramel, fudge and pecans plus some really adorable Rawmio Dark Chocolate Hearts I also received in the box from Raw Guru.  The cake was super delicious!  I was very pleased with how it turned out and my family loved it as well!  If you are looking for a decadent Fall treat, give this a try! If you would like some of the Dastony Raw Sprouted Almond Butter or Rawmio Dark Chocolate Hearts for yourself, you can find them on their website!

    Vegan Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake 
    Makes one 6 inch cake

    Crust:

    • 1/4 cup finely shredded coconut
    • 1/4 cup organic rolled oats or you may use almond meal for gluten free
    • 1/4 cup pitted medjool dates (if not soft, soak them in filtered water first and drain well)
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

     

    Filling:

    • 3/4 cup (about half a 15 oz can) Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk* (make sure you shake the can before you measure)
    • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
    • 1 Tbsp Dastony sprouted raw almond butter
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp ginger
    • 1/8 tsp cloves
    • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    • 3/4 cup Dastony raw coconut butter (NOT OIL), warmed to liquid

     

    Caramel and Fudge:

     

    Topping:

    • 3/4 cup (about half a 15 oz can) Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk*
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Dastony raw coconut butter (NOT OIL), warmed to liquid

     

    For topping:

     

    Instructions:

    1. Oil a 6 inch spring form pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper.
    2. To make the crust, place all ingredients in a food processor, and process until crumbs and starting to hold together (if they are not holding together when squeezed, add a few tsp filtered water and blend). Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
    3. Meanwhile, to make the filling, combine the coconut milk, pumpkin, maple syrup, spices, vanilla and sea salt in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Add the coconut butter and process until smooth.  Set aside.
    4. To make the caramel and fudge, whisk together the almond butter, maple syrup, and sea salt until smooth, then add 1 Tbsp filtered water (or a little more if it is too thick to be a pour-able caramel consistency) and whisk until smooth.  Divide between 2 bowls, and whisk the cacao powder and 1 Tbsp filtered water into one (or a little more water if too thick to be pour-able fudge).
    5. To assemble the cake, pour the filling over the crust, then drop some of the caramel and fudge (about half of each) over it by the tsp, sprinkle the 1/4 cup pecans over it and swirl with a knife.
    6. Place cheesecake in the freezer while you make the cream.
    7. To make the cream, blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth, then pour into a bowl and place in the freezer (whisking about every 5-10 minutes) until it thickens to the consistency of heavy cream.  At that point spoon it over the top of the cake and smooth to the edges.  Place back in the freezer for 4 hours (or until set) or you can place it in the refrigerator (covered) overnight.
    8. Once cake is set, un-mold, and drizzle it with the rest of the caramel and fudge, and decorate with pecans and dark chocolate hearts. Serve!
    9. Store any leftover cake in the refrigerator.

     

    *I use Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk.  If you are using a different brand, just make sure it is the thick type, 2/3 of the can at least should be very thick.

  • Vegan Snickerdoodle Crepes with Caramelized Apples 

    Vegan Snickerdoodle Crepes with Caramelized Apples 

    I had never tasted a snickerdoodle cookie until I was about 16 years old.  Surprising I know, I had tried most of the other classics, like chocolate chip, sugar, oatmeal, spice cookies, almond cookies etc.  But never the snickerdoodle. I tried one for the first time at a little coffee shop at a ski lodge up north I was at for a Nordic skiing training trip.  My friend  wanted to split one and I wasn’t about to say no to a cookie!  It was so delicious!  Like the sugar cookies that I grew up eating, but better thanks to the little sprinkle of cinnamon along with the sugar.  Perfect for Fall and Winter seasons when I am wanting cinnamon and spice.  After that I decided that I liked snickerdoodles and even made some of my own from time to time.  Cinnamon sugar is a great topping for things after all.  If you didn’t grow up with your Mom making you cinnamon sugar toast once in a while you have been deprived of something delicious.  Eric always asks me to make cinnamon sugar crepes, so I thought why not make some snickerdoodle crepes this week.  It is now Fall after all, and they just sounded good.   But me trying to always sneak fruits and veggies into everything decided that they needed an apple filling as well.

    I had bought 8 lbs of apples for some wine, but didn’t need them all, so I was looking for ways to use them in something delicious.  As excited as I was about the crepes, I was a little apprehensive because the last time I tried to make crepes about a month ago, they stuck to the pan, were all gummy and didn’t turn out.  I wasn’t sure why, and most likely it was because I forgot an ingredient or mis-measured or something but since I hate throwing things out, it made me sad.  So I prayed that these would turn out.  Lucky for me, they came out perfect this time!  This is a pretty simple crepe recipe that you just whisk all together and go for it, so it comes together fast!  I made them gluten free and nut free as well, because I know that is important to a lot of you and it was easy enough to make them that way.  They smelled amazing while cooking.  I didn’t just sprinkle the cinnamon on top, I put a little in the crepes as well, so the aromas of vanilla and cinnamon were in the air as they cooked.

    After they were done, I made some quick maple caramelized apples to fill them with. It was all super delicious once assembled and the cinnamon sugar was sprinkled on top!  If you wanted to go in more of a dessert direction with these, you could also serve them with coconut whipped cream warm with ice cream!  These would make the perfect weekend brunch treat, but of course don’t limit yourself to that, I won’t judge if you make them for dinner.

    Vegan Snickerdoodle Crepes with Caramelized Apples 

    Crepes:

    • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
    • 3/4 cup filtered water
    • 1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
    • 3 Tbsp maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
    • pinch sea salt
    • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
    • 1 1/2 cups light coconut milk
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

     

    Apples:

    • 2 medium organic sweet tart apples (honeycrisp or pink lady are good options), sliced
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

     

    Topping:

    • 2 Tbsp coconut sugar mixed with 1/4 tsp cinnamon

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make the crepes, mix together the flax seed and water in a bowl, and set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes until it is the consistency of egg whites.
    2. Meanwhile, whisk together the coconut sugar, flour, and sea salt in a bowl, then whisk in the coconut oil. Slowly whisk in the milk little by little to make sure the mixture stays free of lumps. Next, whisk in the vanilla, followed by the flax mixture you had set aside.
    3. Heat a non-stick ceramic 6 inch pan over medium heat, then pour in 1/3 cup batter, and swirl the pan so that it spreads out to the edges.  Cook for about 3 minutes on the first side, then flip over and cook the second side. Once the crepe is done, set aside on a plate.  Repeat with the remaining batter, separating the crepes with parchment paper on the plate so that they don’t stick together.
    4. To make the apples, place them in the same pan you cooked the crepes in (wipe it out if necessary), and add the apples, maple syrup and cinnamon.  Cook over medium heat until the apples are soft, and the maple syrup has thickened.  Remove from heat.
    5. To serve the crepes, spoon some of the apples into the middle of each, fold them up, and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar topping mixture.
    6. Enjoy!
  • Hazelnut Pecan Maple Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Butter

    Hazelnut Pecan Maple Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Butter

    The weather was so perfect last weekend!  About 45F degrees in the morning and 70F degrees in the afternoon.  As far as I am concerned it could stay like that all year long and I would be happy. It was the prefect weather to do my long run on Saturday, the crisp cool air a nice switch from the sticky humidity we have all Summer.  It always makes me feel fast and refreshed instead of worn out when it is cool.  It was so nice out that Eric and I decided to take a trip down to Alexis Bailly Vineyards down in Hastings MN.  They have a really lovely outdoor area to enjoy your wine, and not only that, they are a vegan friendly vineyard!  All of their wines are vegan, and they even have a vegan cheese selection with cheeses from Herbivorous butcher which I think is awesome. I have not seen that any place else around here. We sat and enjoyed our wine, walked through the vineyard, played a few games of cornhole, and it was a really fun afternoon!

    I spent a lot of the day outside on Sunday as well, and so I didn’t have much time to make any recipes.  But I was really craving some good fancy nut butter so I decided to make some since it is quick, easy and painless if you have a high speed blender. Also, I had a bunch of hazelnuts on hand that I had been saving for something like this, so it was perfect!  I ended up making a Hazelnut Pecan Maple Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Butter.  Yes, I know it is a mouthful to say, but that doesn’t mean it is complicated.  I like to mix hazelnuts with a softer more oily nut like pecans, because they don’t always blend up super smooth.  Plus mixed nut butters usually taste amazing. This one was no exception.

    I blended up the hazelnuts and pecans with a bit of cinnamon and maple sugar and it tasted fabulous just like that.  If you are wondering why I used the maple sugar instead of  maple syrup, it is because if you use maple syrup, the texture will become crumbly and not nice and spreadable which is not what you want.  So do not swap them.  If you must use a different sweetener, coconut sugar would be a suitable substitute (and just add maple extract if you want that maple flavor).  I added in chocolate chips too even though it tasted good it was because it just sounded good.  Kinda like cookie dough in nut butter form. Omg was it ever delicious!  The chocolate chips were a little melty and gooey once I stirred them in because the nut butter was warm, and the flavor of the butter itself was nutty and sweet!  If you are as nut butter obsessed as I am, give this a try!

    Hazelnut Pecan Maple Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Butter
    Makes about 16 oz

    Ingredients:

    • 1 1/2 cups raw hazelnuts
    • 2 cups raw pecans
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/4 cup maple sugar
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 3/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

     

    Instructions:

    1. In a high speed blender, combine the nuts and sea salt and blend until smooth, using the tamper to push the mixture down into the blades.
    2. Add the sugar to the blender and blend until well incorporated, then stir in the chocolate chips.
    3. Pour into a jar.
    4. Keeps for a few months in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Pumpkin Spice Caramel Lava Cakes

    Vegan Pumpkin Spice Caramel Lava Cakes

    Happy first official day of Fall!  I thought it would be appropriate since it is to share my first pumpkin recipe of the season with all of you!  My Mom recently asked me if I would make some pumpkin lava cakes, and of course I could not say no because they sounded amazing.  I have been eyeing the cans of pumpkin at the store for a few weeks now, but since Fall was a couple of days away I bought some and decided to make those cakes.  I love pumpkin in cake.  It gives it such a soft, moist tender crumb when cooked for the proper amount of time.  I was always excited when my Mom decided to make a pumpkin cake with that fluffy white whipped cream frosting or a pumpkin struesel cake when I was little.  It was the type of treat I loved coming home to and I knew Fall had begun.  So now that Fall has begun it is time (even thought I made them a few day early because it felt like Fall with a chill in the air).  The day I decided to make these, it was raining like crazy and I was totally soaked and cold when I got home from work, since my shoes got submerged in a giant puddle walking out to my car, and the rain was blowing so my umbrella didn’t do much good.  So when I got home, I put on my comfy warm fleece PJs and got to work on my cakes.  There is nothing better than being comfy, firing up the oven, and baking something delicious while listening to good music when it is a chilly day.

    I have made lava cakes before, and every time I do, I ask myself why I don’t make them more often, because they bake up fast, and they are always good.  When most people think of lava cakes, they think of chocolate, but I went outside the box here and filled them with caramel.  Because caramel and pumpkin are a match made in heaven!  These cakes actually happen to be mostly fruit sweetened as well because I sweetened the cake with dates to give it a nice caramel flavor.  The batter tastes so good!  Of course it had to have all of the usual pumpkin spices too, because spice cake should be warming and aromatic.  For the “caramel” filling I used a mixture of pecan butter and a little maple syrup.  I know it is not technically caramel, but it tastes like caramel, and is much healthier than refined sugar caramel typically used in this sort of thing.

    They baked up nicely and smelled amazing when I pulled them from the oven. I couldn’t wait to try one, but of course I had to wait 10 minutes to un-mold them.  It was so worth the wait though!  I spooned some of the extra caramel over the top, because why not?!  And I dove in.  The texture was soft, and they had just enough spices, and the gooey caramel in the center was amazing with the pumpkin!  You can enjoy these in under an hour, so they are the perfect dessert for Fall when you want something fast without having to put too much effort into them.  Anyone else all excited about pumpkin?

    Vegan Pumpkin Spice Caramel Lava Cakes
    Makes  four 1 cup cakes

    Ingredients:

    4 1 cup custard dishes

    Cake:

    • 3/4 cup quinoa flour (or all purpose gluten free flour)
    • 3/4 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1 tsp ginger
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
    • 1/8 tsp cloves
    • 1/2 cup packed soft medjool dates, pitted, soaked in water for 30 minutes and 1/2 cup of the water reserved
    • 2 Tbsp raw pecan butter (or almond butter)
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1/2  cup pumpkin puree
    • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

     

    Caramel Filling:

    • 1/2 cup raw pecan butter (or almond butter)
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp filtered water (or more if needed)
    • pinch sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

    Directions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and position rack in center of oven.
    2. Oil four 1 cup custard dishes or ramakins with coconut oil.
    3. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt in a large bowl to blend well.
    4. Place dates, reserved water, pecan butter, pumpkin, and vanilla extract into a blender, and blend until smooth, then whisk this blended mixture into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in the cider vinegar until bubbles form.
    5. Whisk together the caramel ingredients until smooth (adding more water if you think it is too thick).
    6. Transfer half of the cake batter to prepared pans filling them half full, drop 1 Tbsp of the pecan butter caramel mixture into each in the center. Spoon the remaining batter over each one, place on a tray, and place in the oven.
    7. Bake cakes until they are set, but not over-baked about 15-18 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool for about 10 minutes, then un-mold, drizzle with more of the caramel, and enjoy warm.
  • Thai Red Curry Vegan Mac and Cheese

    Thai Red Curry Vegan Mac and Cheese

    When Eric and I were at Twin Cities Veg Fest last Sunday, the Herbivorous Butcher food truck had some Thai Red Curry Mac and Cheese that sounded good, but we didn’t get any because we had already spent our money.  It sounded good really though, good enough to inspire me to make my own at home.  I loved mac and cheese growing up, but after a while when I got older and started learning more about nutrition I realized that it really wasn’t that good for me.  So I didn’t eat any for a really long time.  That is until I became vegan.  I couldn’t justify to myself eating that much cheese and refined flour (from the noodles) and no vegetables for dinner.  I guess I tended to go more unhealthy in the form of dessert if I wanted to indulge back then. But when I became vegan I discovered making mac and cheese with healthy things that I wanted to put into my body that would make it feel good.  The mac and cheese that I make now is loaded with veggies in the sauce!  Now don’t let that deter you, you don’t really notice that it is there, it just tastes good.  In fact, I pretty much nailed the mac and cheese my Mom made out of a box when I was little.  Yes, I liked that box stuff.  My secret ingredient for the sauce?  Sweet potatoes! Or sometimes butternut squash too!

    I always have sweet potatoes on hand anyhow, so I thought one day, why not use them to make a cheese sauce?  I had seen other people make it with potatoes and carrots and I have tried that and it wasn’t my favorite but the sweet potatoes are perfect! I didn’t want a completely fat free sauce because I still wanted the rich mouthfeel of actual cheese for my mac and cheese, so I added in some raw cashew butter.  That combo was a winner!  Of course I add in other seasonings as well, some of which may sound odd like the vinegar, miso and nutritional yeast, but just trust me on this one, it is delicious!  I made this batch with plenty of Thai red curry paste, and a bit of cayenne for a little kick, plus some green onions and red bell pepper for color.  The sauce was super delicious, like cheese but it didn’t leave me feeling heavy or yucky after eating it.  Probably because I was getting a serving of veggies instead of just cheese like in non vegan mac and cheese.

    For the pasta I actually used a gluten free elbow pasta made from quinoa and brown rice.  It actually tastes just like traditional pasta too!  If you are looking for a healthier mac and cheese packed with flavor, give this one a try!  It is actually really quick and easy to make too so perfect for a weeknight when you are in need of some comfort food!

    Thai Red Curry Vegan Mac and Cheese 
    Serves 4

    Ingredients:

    • 2 1/2 cups mashed sweet potato*
    • 1 cup hot filtered water (or as needed)
    • 1/2 cup raw cashew butter
    • 2 medium garlic cloves
    • 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
    • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp white miso (optional)
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
    • 3/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
    • 16 oz organic gluten free elbow pasta
    • 1 red bell pepper, cut into small dice
    • 2 green onions, thinly sliced

     

    Instructions:

    1. Combine the sweet potato, water, cashew butter, garlic, Thai red curry paste, cider vinegar, miso, yeast, cayenne, and sea salt in a high speed blender and blend until smooth and the consistency of cheese (if it is too thick add a little more water).  Set aside.
    2. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, then place back in the pot, add the cheese, red peppers and green onions, and stir to coat.  Pour into a serving dish, and serve!

    *To cook the sweet potatoes, I like to roast them in the oven.  Take a large sweet potato, poke a few holes in it, and cut in half lengthwise.  Place cut side down on a sheet pan lined with parchment and bake for about an hour at 400F degrees or until tender.  Remove from oven and let cool before mashing.

  • Vegan Chai Spice Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Vegan Chai Spice Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

    It was a good weekend!  Eric and I hit up Twin Cities Veg Fest on Sunday, and although it was 90F degrees, it was still a lot of fun and a really nice day.  Where else can you get such a variety of all vegan food to choose from?!  They had much more options than the last two years, and it was awesome to see so many people out there enjoying it!  I feel like there are more vegans than ever in the Twin Cities.  One of the first things we bought was some frozen yogurt, because it was just so hot, and we had walked about a mile from the car in the sun.  It was kinda cool, a self serve frozen yogurt station with different flavors to mix and match plus toppings.  We chose coconut and chai frozen yogurt and fresh fruit. It really hit the spot!  Also, it reminded me of how much I love chai spice in things and I decided that I needed to make something chai spice when I got home.  We also enjoyed some food from the Herbivorus Butcher Food Truck, but I didn’t have enough cash on me after that to buy much else because I decided to buy a really cute vegan shirt and some hot sauce there too.

    When I got home I decided to make cookies with chai spice because that ice cream made me hungry for it.  Partly because I was in the mood for some cookie dough, and chai spice cookie dough sounded fabulous.  I also had a bag of hazelnuts on hand that I wanted to include in the cookies, so I made chai spice hazelnut chocolate chip cookies.  My favorite part of making cookies is not even the finished baked cookies, it is eating the dough.  The warm baked cookies are a close second though.  Let me tell you, this dough was super delicious!  I added the chai spices to my classic chocolate chip cookie dough as well as hazelnut butter and I could not stop eating it.  i love Fall spices in cookies.  These aren’t quite as aggressive as say, actual spice or gingerbread cookies, it is more subtle, but amazing with the classic chocolate chip cookie flavor and the nutty hazelnuts.

    Enough of them made it into the oven after me sampling dough to still get a good sized batch to share. My kitchen smelled amazing while they were baking!  I couldn’t wait to try one of the warm ones.  It was fabulous!  The gooey rich chocolate chips were perfect with the aromatic spiced cookie and crunchy hazelnuts!  If you are in the mood for chocolate chip cookies, but also want something Fall-ish, give these a try!  I have a feeling you will love them too!

    Vegan Chai Spice Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
    Makes 16 large cookies

    Ingredients:

    •  2 Tbsp ground flax seed
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquid
    • 1/2 cup hazelnut butter
    • 1 1/2 cups organic coconut sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp cardamom
    • 1/2 tsp ginger
    • 1/8 tsp cloves
    • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
    • 3 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour
    • 3/4 cup chopped Hazelnuts
    • 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
    2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seed and filtered water.  Set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, coconut oil and hazelnut butter with sugar and mix until well combined
      Mix in the vanilla extract and flax mixture until well combined.  Add the baking soda, salt and spices then the flour, a cup at a time, mixing between each addition, until well combined.  Mix in the hazelnuts and chocolate chips.
    4. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
    5. To Form the cookies take about a 1 1/2 inch chunk of dough, form into a ball, and place on on prepared cookie sheets a couple inches apart, and press down just slightly. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until puffed and just starting to brown slightly.
    6. Remove from the oven, and let cool on the pan a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
    7. Repeat with remaining cookies and let cool for at least 15 minutes before enjoying.
  • Vegan Maple Brandy Apple Hand Pies 

    Vegan Maple Brandy Apple Hand Pies 

    I am so ready for Fall.  It was still 90F degrees here this weekend, and it still feels like Summer, but you can tell that Fall is starting to creep in.  Some of the trees are just starting to change color or drop their leaves and it has been cooler at night.  There is nothing like waking up to a cool morning and going for a run with the crunchy leaves on the ground and aroma of Fall in the air.  I can’t wait for that. Also, wearing cozy clothes like flannels and sweaters and drinking hot toddies and baking apple pies.  It is my favorite season in case you can’t tell.  Just one more week and it will technically be here.  But I am getting started early with the baking.  The apples are already really amazing right now, so I decided that apple pie was in order.  I haven’t made it out to the apple orchard to get my bag of Haralson apples, my favorite for baking, but I had some delicious honeycrisps on hand so that is what I went with. They are the perfect balance of tart and sweet, and hold up well, so they are perfect for using in pies.

    I love a good mile high apple pie loaded up with filling, but I decided to go with cute little hand pies this time so I could easily share them.  Also, I like to switch up flavors in my desserts, so I decided to give these a little brandy and maple to make them extra good instead of just classic apple pie. I didn’t think that the difference would be all that noticeable, but it totally was!  The brandy is so good with the apples, and of course you probably already know that maple is amazing with them too so it was all together a heavenly combination! I made these a little different than most people make hand pies, and cooked the filling first before stuffing it into the dough.  That way you don’t have to bake them as long (it is only about 30 minutes baking time), and you know that the inside is done when the crust is browned.  I find that sometimes it gets way too dark by the time the filling is cooked so this eliminates that.

    They smelled so incredibly good while baking!  I love the heavenly aroma of apple pie, it reminds me of when my Mom used to make apple pie or crisp when I was little.  She always made the best pies!  Now I share my pies with her, because I know they are one of her favorites too. These hand pies turned out so good!  The filling was gooey, sweet and that scent of brandy and maple just put it over the top!  The crusts were tender and rich, and I had drizzled a maple brandy glaze over them that made them extra good.  If you have apples on hand, give these a try!  If you don’t wish to make them gluten free, just swap out the gluten free AP flour for organic whole wheat pastry flour.

    Vegan Maple Brandy Apple Hand Pies 
    Makes 6

    Crust:

     

    Filling:

    • 4 cups organic sweet apples (such as honeycrisp) cut into small 1/2 inch cubes
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 2 Tbsp brandy (make sure it is vegan on Barnivore)
    • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 2 tsp cornstarch (dissolved in 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice)

     

    Glaze:

    • 3 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 Tbsp brandy
    • pinch sea salt
    • 3-4 Tbsp filtered water or as needed

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make filling, heat the apples, maple syrup, brandy and cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium heat, and cook them until they are very soft, about 10 minutes.  Add the vanilla, and cornstarch and lemon juice mixture and cook until thickened.  Remove from heat, and set aside and let cool completely before using with the pastry (you don’t want it too warm or it will make the crusts melt too much).
    2. To make the crust, in a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, sea salt, and spices. Cut in coconut oil with a pastry blender or 2 knives until it is in pea sized pieces. Mix in just enough water to create a smooth dough that holds together but isn’t too sticky. Add more water if needed, and knead slightly until a smooth dough is created.
    3. Roll out into a large rectangle and cut into 12 squares or rectangles.  Chill briefly in the refrigerator if too soft before assembling.  You want the dough a little pliable so you don’t want to chill it more than a few minutes, but not so warm that it will break (temperature is key to the success of this dough). Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
    4. To assemble, place about 3 Tbsp apple filling mixture in the middle of half of the dough rectangles (leaving a boarder so you can attach the dough at the sides). Cover with the remaining pieces of dough (I used a small spatula to carefully move them), pressing the edges and crimping with a fork or the edge of something with a flat edge, like a spatula. Bake for about 30 minutes until the crusts are starting to brown lightly. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack until warm.
    5. Whisk glaze ingredients together until smooth (adding more water if too thick, you want it to be pour-able). Spoon some of the glaze over each pie, and smooth it out to cover the top. Let set before serving.
  • Triple Chocolate Popcorn

    Triple Chocolate Popcorn

     

    I have always loved popcorn.  Growing up, I would make microwave popcorn all the time, and we always had plenty on hand.  Never mind the fact that it probably had artificial stuff in it that wasn’t good for me, I didn’t start thinking about that until I got out of high school.  At that time I discovered making my own popcorn (not in a store bought bag) from the bulk section and popping it on the stove in my Mom’s Whirly Pop popcorn maker.  She made it with coconut oil and sea salt and it was so good!  This is how I always make my popcorn now, and it is so good just like that, but I also like to embellish it sometimes.  It is important though that you start with a good popcorn as a base, so I like to buy organic pop corn kernels from the bulk section at the health food store I work in. You don’t want to be buying non-organic GMO corn after all.  Or at least I don’t.

    I usually end up making popcorn once a week or so, and I like to make all different flavors to keep it interesting.  I make savory the most, but of course sweet is good sometimes too.  I usually share with Eric, because he loves popcorn even more than I do.  I was telling him last week that a triple chocolate popcorn sounded good, and sounded excited about it, so of course I had to make some.  Couldn’t tease and not make it!  Plus, I was craving it too by the time I got around to making it.  I have made just a plain chocolate popcorn before with a light dark chocolate coating and sea salt, and that was amazing, but I figured I would be a little fancy with this one and use 3 different chocolates!

    I made a white chocolate coating to toss the popcorn with first, this has been the base for other sweet popcorn recipes I have made, and it is always super delicious and coats it just enough.  It is a mixture of cacao butter, cashew butter and coconut butter and trust me it is the perfect combination for white chocolate!  Totally crave worthy, but even more so with other things added to it…like even more chocolate in this case!  I melted dark chocolate and drizzled that over it too, and I made a milk chocolate by combining the dark chocolate with coconut butter and by the end it looked kind of like a Jackson Pollock painting.  But I thought some chocolate chips would be good too, so I sprinkled those over as well.  It was sooo good!  Sweet, rich dark chocolate, the creamy flavors of the milk and white chocolate and of course the satisfying crunch of the popcorn and hint of sea salt…it was heavenly!  I don’t know whether to classify this as dessert or a snack. Maybe a snacky dessert, the best kind as far as I am concerned.  It is crave worthy. Just try to only eat a small bowl, I bet you will go back for seconds!  I certainly did!

    Triple Chocolate Popcorn
    Makes 8 cups

    White Chocolate:

    • 1/4 cup cacao butter, melted
    • 2 Tbsp raw cashew butter
    • 1/4 cup coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup (or to taste)

     

    Dark and Milk chocolate

    • 1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips or chopped vegan dark chocolate
    • 1/3 cup coconut butter, warmed to liquid

     

    Popcorn:

    • 8 cups plain popcorn
    • 1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips or chopped vegan dark chocolate

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make the white chocolate, whisk together all ingredients until smooth, and set aside.
    2. Melt 1 cup dark chocolate chips in a double boiler, then pour 2/3 into one bowl, and 1/3 into the other bowl.  Mix the coconut butter into the bowl with 1/3 cup, this is the milk chocolate.
    3. Toss the white chocolate with the popcorn in a large bowl, then spread out on a parchment lined tray.  Drizzle the dark chocolate and the milk chocolate over the popcorn, then sprinkle with the dark chocolate chips.
    4. Place in the freezer until the chocolate dries (I put it in the freezer for 15 min).  Enjoy!
  • Vegan Pine Nut Cookies

    Vegan Pine Nut Cookies

    I consider pine nuts to be special.  Mostly because they are pretty expensive in my neck of the woods at most places where you buy them.  So, I don’t usually buy them unless it is for a special occasion.  But my Mom bought a bag of toasted ones at Trader Joe’s (for a very good price I might add), and asked me if I could make her some pine nut cookies.  I can’t say no to that.  I haven’t enjoyed pine nuts in ages!  She wanted a sugar cookie style cookie with the buttery pine nuts mixed in, and that sounded good to me!

    I used my usual sugar cookie recipe, which is actually a veganized version of my Grandma’s recipe that I loved growing up.  I swapped flax eggs for the eggs, and coconut oil for the butter, and maple sugar for the granulated.  The first time I made them I was a bit skeptical, but I like this version so I make it every time I want sugar cookies.   This time though, I added a hint of lemon zest and juice with the vanilla to give it that extra something special.  Pine nuts are amazing with lemon.  My Mom made a salad when I was younger that had shaved fennel bulb, lemon, and pine nuts and it was amazing so I knew she would love the lemon in these cookies too.

    They smelled amazing while baking!  Like traditional sweet sugar cookies but with a slight nuttiness thanks to the pine nuts.  Once they were all cooled, I thought that they would be even more amazing with a little chocolate drizzle, so I melted some vegan dark chocolate and made them prettier with it.  They were so good!  Rich and buttery with a light scent of lemon and toasty pine nuts!  Most importantly my Mom loved them too!  If you get your hands on some pine nuts, or maybe have them leftover from another recipe, give these delicious cookies a try!

    Vegan Pine Nut Cookies
    Makes 28 cookies

    Ingredients:

    Cookies:

    • 2 Tbsp ground golden flax seed
    • 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 Tbsp lemon zest
    • 1 cup virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquid
    • 1 1/2 cups maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
    • 3 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour
    • 3/4 cup toasted pine nuts

     

    Dark chocolate drizzle:

    • 1/2 cup vegan dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate chopped

     

    Instructions:

    1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seed, filtered water and lemon juice and zest.  Set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
    2. In a large bowl, mix coconut oil with sugar and mix until well combined.
    3. Mix in the vanilla extract and flax mixture until well combined.
    4. Add the baking soda, salt, and the flour, a cup at a time, mixing between each addition, until well combined. Mix in the pine nuts.
    5. To bake, Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll balls into about 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on prepared cookie sheets at least two inches apart.
    6. Place in the oven, and bake for about 15-18 minutes, until puffed and just starting to brown slightly.  Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.  Repeat with remaining cookies and let cool completely.
    7. Melt the dark chocolate in the top of a double boiler, and drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.
    8. Place the cookies in the freezer until the chocolate is set.
    9. Enjoy!

     

  • Vegan Marble Cake Waffles

    Vegan Marble Cake Waffles

    I have recipe fails sometimes.  Like once I made a mac and cheese (before I went vegan, back in college) and it was supposed to be souffle like and baked and it ended up tasting so horrible with a bad texture I just threw it away because I couldn’t bear to eat it let alone have it for leftovers.  Or, when I tried to make some raw brownies one time that were lower fat than normal and they just did not taste good or have good texture, so they ended up in the garbage too.  Sometimes I have a really good idea (well what I think is a good idea) and I am certain that it will turn out, but then it just doesn’t and I end up wasting ingredients.  I really hate that.  Wasting food, time and money.  Well, luckily it doesn’t happen often.  But one of the last times it did, I was making Belgian waffles.  I had used the waffle maker many times, and it had never failed me, but I tried to make some mocha waffles and for some reason they were all sticking to the waffle maker despite it being oiled and ripping instead of staying together.  It was a fail, and I hadn’t touched that waffle maker since.  That was a couple of years ago. I have a different smaller waffle maker that I had been using since then instead but they aren’t the big Belgian waffles.  Well, I decided that it was about time I try the Belgian waffle maker again, partly because someone requested that I make some, so I had to go for it.

    I decided that vegan marble cake waffles sounded good, vanilla waffle batter, and chocolate waffle batter both in the waffles.  It sounded like a good idea, and I crossed my fingers and prayed that they would turn out this time. The batter is really pretty simple compared to the non-vegan waffles I made back in the day that required whipping of egg whites and folding them into the batter.  This is just a whisk and go thing.  They smelled amazing while cooking.  That is part of what I love about waffles.  The delicious aroma that reminds me of sleeping in and having a delicious brunch of a weekend.  Or my Mom making Belgian waffles for dinner, because she did that sometimes when I was little and I loved it!   The first waffle turned out perfect and I was super happy!  The next four were successes too!  So, it wasn’t my Belgian waffle maker that was the problem the last time apparently it was my recipe experiment that was too sticky.

    These turned out so good!  I was a marble cake fan growing up because I figured I was getting the best of both worlds with chocolate and vanilla, and these remind me of that so much!  But of course they have the perfect crispy on the outside and soft in the middle texture that Belgian waffles should.  None of that soggy waffle business going on that I can’t stand.  I topped them off with some vanilla coconut whipped cream and sprinkles because it seemed appropriate being that they were marble cake waffles, and it was perfect. So the next time you are in a waffle making mood, give these a try!

    Vegan Marble Cake Waffles
    makes 4 Belgian (large) waffles

    Ingredients:

    Batter:

    • 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
    • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
    • 1/2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp aquafaba*
    • 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
    • 2 cups full fat coconut milk
    • 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

     

    Possible Toppings (pick your favorite):

    • coconut whipped cream
    • ice cream
    • fruit
    • sprinkles
    • chocolate chips
    • maple syrup

     

    Instructions:

    1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt in a large bowl.
    2. Then whisk the aquafaba, coconut oil, and coconut milk until smooth.
    3. Divide the batter between 2 bowls, and whisk the cocoa powder into one of them.
    4. Oil, and pre-heat waffle iron. Once it is heated, drop each of the waffle batters to the iron, alternating between the vanilla and chocolate until the iron is just covered (but not so much that it will ooze out) and close it.  Cook according to waffle iron package directions.  Remove from the waffle maker and keep warm in an oven at low heat (150F degrees).
    5. Serve with topped with whatever suits you!  I topped mine with coconut whipped cream (but if you use this option, be aware that it melts quickly if the waffles are hot).   Other good options are ice cream, fruit, sprinkles, chocolate chips, maple syrup, etc. But feel free to be creative!

     

    *Aquafaba is chickpea liquid.  You may used canned, or if you are using the liquid from home cooked chickpeas, reduce it to the consistency of egg whites.  Alternatively, you may use 3 flax eggs for the recipe (3 Tbsp ground flax seed, whisked together with 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp filtered water).

  • Vegan Strawberry Pop-Tarts

    Vegan Strawberry Pop-Tarts

    I was kind of a picky eater when I was little when it came to normal quick breakfast foods.  I didn’t like cereal or milk, I didn’t like oatmeal (which is funny because now, that is what I eat, and I have done so for the last 15 years), and I wasn’t much for regular toast. But what I really liked were toaster pastries.  Strawberry Pop Tarts or Strawberry Toaster Streudels were my favorite.  Now of course they weren’t the healthiest, and they probably had artificial stuff and loads of sugar in them, but I loved those things. Now I would think of them as dessert not breakfast, because of how sweet they were.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t think about them and how good they were sometimes.  But you know what?  I can make home made ones now and they are 10 times better.  I have made other types before, but never strawberry pop tarts, so that is what I decided to make last weekend.  I had some lovely strawberry jam I had recently made so it was perfect!  They actually don’t take as much time to make as you think that they will.  It is far less time than say making an actual pie with loads of filling that has to cook or something.

    They actually only took me about 15 minutes to make the dough, roll it out and fill it, and about 30 minutes to bake, so under an hour!  Not including the glaze of course, but that takes no time at all to make.  I made a simple pie crust dough, and it was fun to roll it out, and cut it into the rectangles. I am someone who gets satisfaction from cutting straight even perfect lines in things like this or cutting a cake evenly.  Weird I know.  If you wanted to get more fancy, I suppose you could cut these into hearts or something but I went with the classic shape.  Having the jam on hand already was much easier than making a filling, and it behaved better because there was less moisture in it as well.  Sometimes hand pies like this ooze but it stayed in place which I was happy about! They smelled amazing while baking, and I couldn’t wait to try them!

    Of course I gave them a pink strawberry glaze first like traditional pop tarts have.  No refined powdered sugar in it though!  Only coconut butter, strawberries, maple syrup and a little water. It kind of tasted like strawberry ice cream!  The pop tarts turned out so good!  The sweet jammy strawberry filling, flaky rich crust, and smooth glaze were heavenly together!  I consider these more of a dessert than breakfast, but I won’t judge you if you eat them in the morning like other toaster pastries.  The next time you are craving pop tarts, give these a try!  You could freeze some for when your mood to eat them strikes and have them on hand like regular toaster pastries (just don’t actually put them in the toaster or you will get sticky glaze in your toaster, just thaw them out and enjoy them instead) only if they last that long though, they are pretty delicious and they might just get eaten first!

    Vegan Strawberry Pop-Tarts
    Makes 8

    Crust:

     

    Filling:

    • about 1/2 cup strawberry jam (I used THIS RECIPE minus the jalapeno, but you can use your favorite jam)

     

    Glaze:

    • 3 Tbsp coconut butter, warmed to liquid
    • 1 Tbsp strawberry powder (I ground up freeze dried strawberries with a mortar and pestle)
    • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
    • pinch sea salt
    • 3-4 Tbsp filtered water or as needed

     

    Instructions:

    1. To make the crust, in a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, sea salt, and spices. Cut in coconut oil with a pastry blender or 2 knives until it is in pea sized pieces. Mix in just enough water to create a smooth dough that holds together but isn’t too sticky. Add more water if needed, and knead slightly until a smooth dough is created.
    2. Roll out into a large rectangle and cut into 16 identical rectangles.  Chill if too soft before assembling.  You want the dough a little pliable, but not so warm that it will break. Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
    3. To assemble, spread about 2 Tbsp jam over half of the dough rectangles (leaving a boarder so you can attach the dough at the sides). Cover with the remaining pieces of dough (I used a small spatula to carefully move them), pressing the edges and crimping with a fork or the edge of something with a flat edge, like a spatula. Bake for about 30 minutes until the crusts are starting to brown lightly. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack until warm.
    4. Whisk glaze ingredients together until smooth (adding more water if too thick, you want it to be pour-able). Spoon some of the glaze over each pop tart, and smooth it out to cover the top. Let set before serving.
  • Strawberry Peach Avocado Quinoa Salad 

    Strawberry Peach Avocado Quinoa Salad 

    We have a quinoa salad in the deli I work in that has Summer fruits in it and it is pretty popular.  You wouldn’t think that quinoa and fruit would be a pair unless it was a breakfast quinoa or something but it actually really works as a savory salad!  I actually have made quite a few quinoa salads with fruit at home too, and they are always delicious.  The fruit has to be ripe and flavorful though. Buying fruit that is in season and ripe is the key to success when making dishes that include it.  Especially if it is going to be raw.  I decided to make one last weekend because I had extra peaches and strawberries from making a crisp, and didn’t feel like using them for dessert.  They were perfectly ripe, the peaches had that delicious aroma and the strawberries were packed with flavor.  So I thought that a simple salad would be best to let the flavors shine through.

    I love that quinoa is quick to make, contains protein and is a neutral flavor so it can be combined with pretty much anything.  I make it several times a week for those reasons.  I had made some ahead of time for a different meal, so this salad came together fast!  In addition to the fruit I felt like the salad needed something rich.  I usually pair a home made vegan chevre (goat cheese) with fruit in quinoa and it is delicious but I don’t always have it on hand, so sometimes I use avocado instead.  Trust me, it is just as satisfying as the cheese, and I always have some on hand because I buy a bag of avocados every week since I love them so much. You may be thinking avocado and fruit sounds weird together but they totally pair with each other!

    I also added some greens in the form of arugula to the salad, because I always try to get a serving of greens in every day.  I stir them into soups, toss them into salads like this or use them as a base for a salad, but they are something that I always have in my refrigerator and work into my diet every day.  Lastly, I made a simple lemon dressing with a hint of thyme and it was so good once it was all mixed together!  It is satisfying, balanced, and you will feel great after eating it!  If you are looking for a more substantial Summer salad, give this a try!  Only a few weeks of Summer left, so might as well enjoy it while you can!

    Strawberry Peach Avocado Quinoa Salad 
    Serves 2-4

    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
    • 2 cups filtered water
    • 1/4 cup lemon juice
    • 1 Tbsp organic lemon zest
    • 2 Tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
    • sea salt to taste
    • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
    • 1 cup organic peaches, cut into 1 inch pieces
    • 1 cup organic strawberries, quartered
    • 1 good handful arugula
    • 1 large avocado, cut into large dice

     

    Instructions:

    1. To prepare the quinoa, place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed about 15 minutes, or when all the grains have turned from white to transparent, and the spiral-like germ has separated. Drain, and set aside.
    2. Whisk together the lemon juice, avocado oil, sea salt and thyme in a small bowl.
    3. To assemble the salad, combine all remaining ingredients in a bowl  and the dressing, and toss together until well combined.
    4. Enjoy!
  • Vegan Strawberry Peach Crisp

    Vegan Strawberry Peach Crisp

    There was a time a few years back (well more like 10 years back) that I made fruit crisps every weekend.  I mean, they are healthy, delicious and really easy to make.  Yes, I love things like cheesecake and pie but they are a little more work to make, and crisp is a little lighter with its higher fruit content.  So it was my weekend treat for a while.   It was always satisfying and I made sure that I was able to enjoy it soon after it was made while it was still warm.  Also, it had to have cool coconut milk ice cream too.   I love that contrast of warm and cool, the jammy fruit and the creamy rich ice cream.  Maybe I get my love of fruit crisps from my Mom.  I can remember back when I was in high school, when I would get home from my cross country or ski practice and she would have made some apple crisp that had scented the house with the most delicious aroma.  She always used oats in the topping for extra crunch (and fiber, but I didn’t care about fiber at that point in my life) instead of just the flour and butter most people used.   It was always so good!  I love a good apple crisp in the Fall, but nothing compares to sweet berry crisps in the Summer.  Not that I would ever turn down any fruit crisp.

    I realized this week when I was talking to my Mom and she mentioned how much she loves crisp, that I haven’t made one at all this Summer!  Now, that is just absurd, because it is not like I haven’t had fruit on hand.  I also realized how much I missed it suddenly and wanted to make some!  So on Friday, I picked up some organic peaches and strawberries and thought that they would make an amazing crisp flavor combination.  The peaches were just perfectly ripe and juicy, none of that woody dry stuff going on (like when they pick them too early sometimes), and the strawberries were sweet and flavorful.  That is why it is important to buy fruit when it is in season, so that you get the most delicious end result with your recipes.  Plus, if they are sweet, you don’t need to add as much sweetener to your recipe.

    These didn’t need much.  This recipe is very easy to make, you just mix the fruit together, bake it covered for a while, sprinkle it with the topping, bake it a little longer and it is done!  That is what I love about crisp, it is like pie just no bottom crust and a lot less work to make.  My kitchen smelled amazing while it was baking! I add a little coconut to the topping and it gives it a little something extra and just adds to the heavenly aroma!  I could not wait to dive in!  It had to be served with ice cream of course. I had some Bourbon Peach Ice Cream on hand, which was perfect with it!  The crisp was sweet, the fruit baked to jammy perfection, and the crisp topping the perfect contrast with it.  It is kind of like really good oatmeal cookies but more crunchy.  If you are looking for an easy but delicious dessert, give this a try!  Summer is almost over so get on it!

    Vegan Strawberry Peach Crisp
    Serves 2

    6 inch wide ovenproof bowl or pie plate

    Fruit:

    • 1 1/2 cups organic peaches, sliced
    • 1 1/2 cups organic strawberries, quartered
    • 2 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • pinch sea salt
    • 2 Tbsp gluten free all purpose flour

     

    Topping:
    • 3 Tbsp gluten free all purpose flour
    • 3 Tbsp large flake dried unsweetened coconut
    • 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
    • 3 Tbsp coconut sugar
    • 1/8 tsp sea salt
    • 3 Tbsp coconut oil

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees with the rack at the center position. Place a baking sheet lined with parchment paper on the rack. Oil a 6 inch wide pie plate or bowl with coconut oil. In a large bowl, toss together the fruit, maple syrup, vanilla, sea salt, and flour. Spoon into prepared bowl or pie plate, and cover with foil. Place plate on baking sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes until fruit is cooked through and bubbling.
    2. Meanwhile, when the fruit in the oven is almost at 45 min, to make the topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together with your hands scrunching together to form small clumps until there are no floury spots left.
    3. Remove baking fruit from oven. Top with the crumble topping, spreading it out evenly over the fruit. Bake for about 15 minutes until lightly brown and toasted on top (keep a close eye on it could burn very quickly). Remove from oven and let cool until warm, and top with some ice cream or coconut vanilla whipped cream and…enjoy!
  • Strawberry Jalapeno Jam

    Strawberry Jalapeno Jam

    My Grandma did lots of preserving fruits and vegetables through canning. My favorite was the strawberry jam it was so good!  I mean, I don’t think anything can compare to home made berry jam. Maybe that is why my Dad always bought strawberry jam when I was little, because his Mom made it for him growing up.  My Mom would buy raspberry which is my favorite now as an adult (strawberry a close second).  We never had grape jam at my house, so when I had it at a friend’s house I thought it was special.  I have always wanted to make my own home made jam, and I finally got around to it this week.  I guess it kind of intimidated me, the whole canning process.  But I read some recipes online and realized it isn’t that complicated at all!  So I went for it.  First I made a mixed berry jam.  Something simple to start off with.  My problem is sometimes when I am making something for the first time I try to make it too complicated or switch it up too much from the recipes I have read.  The first one turned out delicious!  I made a low sugar jam using maple syrup instead of the usual cane sugar or white sugar because I prefer to not use lots of processed sugar in things. So I was pleased that it tasted just as good as the jam I have grown up eating without all of the extra sugar.  I mean, if your fruit is flavorful and ripe, you should not need much sugar.

    I wanted to make another jam since the first one turned out so well, which is the recipe I am sharing with you all today!  I decided on a Strawberry Jalapeno Jam!  Strawberries were a good price, and I wanted something a little non-traditional so I decided to add the kick of jalapenos as well!  Eric is always telling me I should add chilies to things (like desserts not just savory stuff), so I figured he would appreciate me sharing the finished product with him as well!

    It wasn’t really that complicated to make.  Don’t let making jam intimidate you like it did me.  I don’t know why I didn’t just try making it 10 years ago!  My kitchen smelled amazing while the jam was cooking, like I was baking a strawberry pie or something.  I could not wait to try it.  But I had to wait until the next day once it cooled to taste the finished product.  I know the purpose of canning things isn’t to dig into them right away, but I am impatient.  It was super delicious!  Sweet intense strawberry flavor with just a hint of a kick of the jalapenos but not so much that they overwhelmed it. If you have fresh, ripe strawberries, make your self some of this so that you can enjoy it in the Winter when you are missing fresh berries!

    Strawberry Jalapeno Jam
    Makes about 4 cups (2 16 oz jars)

     

    • 2 clean 16 oz canning jars
    • 5 cups fresh organic strawberries, hulled
    • 1 large organic jalapeno, sliced (or diced if you don’t like big pieces)
    • 2/3 cup apple juice
    • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
    • 1/2 cup maple syrup
    • 1 1/2 Tbsp Pomona’s Universal Pectin (it works with low sugar jams)
    • 2 tsp calcium water*
    • 1/2 cup maple syrup

     

    Instructions:

    1. Bring a large pot of water with a canning rack at the bottom to a boil for sterilizing the jars.  Place the jars on the rack, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat, add the lids to the pot, and let sit until you are ready to use.
    2. In another pot, combine the berries, jalapeno, apple juice, and lemon juice .  Bring to a hard boil, and stir constantly.
    3. Mix together the pectin, calcium water and maple syrup until pectin is fully dissolved and there are no lumps.  Add to the jam, and continue to boil for 2 minutes, still stirring to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. remove from heat.
    4. Remove the jars from the water bath, and dry off the outside.
    5. Spoon the jam into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top. Wipe the tops of the jars clean if any fruit spilled on them.
    6. Top with the lids, and screw on the bands until just tight (or fingertip tight, screwed on with light pressure from your fingers not cranked on to the tightest possible).
    7. Place jars back in the pot on the rack making sure they are covered by 1 inch of water and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
    8. Remove cans from water and let cool.  Let sit for 1 day, then check to make sure they sealed properly (you should not be able to push the lid up and down in the center it should stay put if sealed properly).
    9. Store jam in a cool place out of sunlight (like a basement shelf or cupboard).

     

    *If you buy the pectin I suggest in the recipe, the calcium comes with the pectin in the package.  All you need to do to make the water is mix 1/2 tsp white calcium powder with 1/2 cup of water to make the calcium water.  I mixed it in a jar and put it in the refrigerator for future batches (you only need 2 tsp for the recipe).

     

  • CBD Peppermint Chocolate Cups

    CBD Peppermint Chocolate Cups

    Maybe it is because it is Summer, it is hot, and I need things that are refreshing, but I have been really into peppermint lately.  Peppermint in my drinks, home made peppermint body mist and baths (if you are feeling overheated, just sprinkle a few drops of organic good quality peppermint oil into your bath water, it is super cooling), and of course eating peppermint goodies.  Mint chip ice cream is classic of course, and one of my favorite Summer things but I like to eat other peppermint desserts as well, which is why I was happy when I got my hands on some Rawmio Essentials peppermint dark chocolate bars recently.

    Raw Guru recently sent me a box of goodies including those as well as some Veggimins CBD chocolate bars.  So I decided to make some Vegan Chocolate Mint Cups with them, a layer of their dark chocolate on the bottom, and a layer of sweet vanilla mint white chocolate on the top, also with a touch of CBD in the form of oil, which also happens to be from Veggimins.  It is 300 mg Veggimins organic CBD oil , and I love it.  I have been taking CBD oil before bed and in the morning for a few months now, and it really helps me sleep better and calms my nerves.  CBD is also good for relieving inflammation, which I need help with sometimes since I work out a lot.  If you have never tried this oil, it does not contain THC the psychoactive part of cannabis, so you don’t get high, it just helps with things like decreasing anxiety, fighting inflammation, relieving nausea and decreasing depression among other things.  Definitely check it out, it is worth it!  I think it is awesome that they make products besides just the oil too, like the chocolate bars.  Why not get your daily dose of CBD in the form of chocolate?!

    These cups are easy to make and so good!  The mint in them is refreshing, so perfect for Summer, and the dark chocolate against the white chocolate is a heavenly combination.  These remind me of the flavor of Andes mints only better.  They melt in your mouth, and they have just the right amount of sweetness.  If you are in need of a chocolate fix, give these a try!

    CBD Peppermint Chocolate Cups
    Makes 6 large cups

    Chocolate:

    White Chocolate:

    Instructions:

    1. Melt the dark chocolate in the top of a double boiler until smooth.
    2. Spoon a little chocolate into the bottoms of 6 peanut butter cup molds, filling dividing evenly between the cups.  Place in the freezer until hard, about 10 minutes.
    3. Combine cacao butter, cashew butter, vanilla, maple syrup,  and sea salt over a double boiler, and whisk until smooth.  Add the CBD oil and matcha powder and whisk until blended.
    4. Pour the mint white chocolate over the dark chocolate in the cups and place them in the freezer until set, about 20 minutes.
    5. Enjoy! Store any extra in the refrigerator.
  • Vegan Hazelnut Bliss Bars

    Vegan Hazelnut Bliss Bars

    About 5 years ago, I made some really amazing raw hazelnut bars with some hazelnut spreads that Rawmio sent me.  They had a chocolate crust, a layer of plain hazelnut cream and a layer of chocolate hazelnut cream with chocolate on top.  They were amazing!  Well, fast forward to now, when I was looking through my recipes from back in the day and I said to myself, I need to make these again!  But the old ones required cracking raw coconuts open, and a spread that no longer exists, so I decided to revamp the recipe to make it easier to make (no cracking young coconuts this time, or sprouting buckwheat groats for the crust).  And I was in luck, because Raw Guru had recently sent me 2 jars of hazelnut butter!  One Dastony Hazelnut Butter and one Rawmio Hazelnut Coffee Spread.  The plain hazelnut butter is silky smooth with intense hazelnut flavor and the hazelnut coffee is crave worthy, like something you could just eat with a spoon.  I totally wanted to, but I needed it for the recipe.  But seriously it tastes like they melted their dark chocolate right into it and added a hint of coffee. So much better than any other store bought hazelnut chocolate spread I have tried. Definitely check them both out on their website!

    For these bars, I wanted the crust to be about the same as the old one, so I made only one swap.  I traded the sprouted dehydrated buckwheat groats for organic gluten free rolled oats.  Back in the day I had the buckwheat on hand at all times because I was eating a fully raw diet, but since I am not anymore I don’t make them often.  Hence the oat substitution.  I prefer to use the things I have on hand and didn’t want to go through the 2 day process of making the buckwheat groats.  The crust tastes the same with the oats, so it all works out.  It ends up tasting like chocolate cookie dough!  For the fillings, I made a hazelnut cream and a coffee chocolate hazelnut cream. They were so freaking delicious I wanted to keep sampling it.  But I had to stop so I had enough for the bars. They reminded me of cheesecake crossed with mousse.

    Lastly I sprinkled the top of the bars with hazelnuts and chocolate, because I thought that they needed a bit of  texture and I didn’t want a layer of melted chocolate like the other bars because it doesn’t look nice when you cut it.  I could not wait to try these!  But unfortunately I had to wait until the next day because I was making them at night after work. I have to say though, they are well worth the wait!  The creams are silky smooth with a rich hazelnut and chocolate flavor, and the rich chocolate crust is perfect paired with it! These are the perfect thing to make in the Summer because they don’t require the oven at all!

    Vegan Hazelnut Bliss Bars
    Makes 16 bars

    Crust:

    • 1 cup Raw Guru hazelnuts
    • 1 cup finely shredded dried coconut
    • 3/4 cup organic gluten free rolled oats (or you may also use quinoa flakes)
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt
    • 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
    • 3/4 cup soft medjool dates, pitted (if not soft, soak them until they are and drain them)

     

    Creams:

     

    Topping:

    • 1/2 cup chopped Raw Guru hazelnuts
    • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips or chopped vegan dark chocolate

     

    Instructions:

     

    1. For the crust, combine hazelnuts, coconut, oats, sea salt, cacao powder and dates in the food processor and process until fine crumbs and starting to hold together when squeezed. Press the mixture into a 8×8 inch square pan lined with parchment paper. Set aside in the refrigerator.
    2. To make the creams, combine all ingredients but the hazelnut butter and hazelnut coffee spread in a food processor and process until smooth.  Remove from the food processor and divide into 2 bowls.  Place one back into the food processor and add the hazelnut butter.  Process until smooth, then place back in the bowl.  Add the second bowl to the food processor and add the hazelnut coffee.  Process until smooth, then pour over the crust, smoothing out.  Pour the plain hazelnut over that and smooth out. Sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips.  Place in the freezer until firmed up, for a couple of hours.  Or you can put it in the refrigerator overnight (but cover the top).
    3. When the bars have firmed up, cut into squares and enjoy!
    4. Store in the fridge.

     

  • Blueberry Sweet Corn Salad

    Blueberry Sweet Corn Salad

    Some people think it is weird to eat sweet corn raw, right off of the cob, but when you get really good fresh organic sweet corn, it is so delicious that way!  We have loads of fresh sweet corn here in Minnesota right now, it is the peak season, and nothing compares to it.  Sure you can get frozen corn all year round but it is not sweet and the texture is not the same.  I learned about the eating it off of the cob thing from Eric, because he always does that.  Growing up, I was taught to cook my corn and drown it in butter (which is the most popular way to eat it here probably), but it is so sweet and delicious raw, I can’t believe I hadn’t tried it until about 5 years ago.  I now like to include it in my salads raw.  I was gifted some organic sweet corn and blueberries earlier this week, and I decided that they would make a delicious salad together!

    I wasn’t in the mood to make anything complicated or time consuming, and this was perfect!  It only took me about 5 minutes to make minus cutting the corn kernels off of the cobs.  I wanted to keep the ingredients simple, because the corn and berries were so fresh and flavorful even before adding anything to them.  I added some arugula, because I love greens in pretty much 95% of my salads, and I love the peppery bite it gives.  Just a little scallions and thyme for a savory flavor, and some pistachios for crunch and I had all of the components but the dressing.

    My favorite go to dressing is a blend of just lemon juice, avocado oil and sea salt, and that was perfect with this!  The corn and blueberries were sweet, and the lemon juice balanced it out so it all blended together well.  This is so good!  I think it would be the perfect thing to bring to a picnic, or to make ahead of time to include in your lunches. I get kind of excited when I have a good salad I brought to work for lunch.  Yes, I know I am a nerd and I am motivated by food, but what can I say?!  Good food is important!

    Blueberry Sweet Corn Salad

    Serves 4

    Ingredients:

    • 3 cups fresh organic sweet corn kernels
    • 2 cups organic blueberries
    • 2 cups organic arugula
    • 1 scallion, sliced
    • 1/2 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
    • 1/4 cup lemon juice
    • 3 Tbsp avocado oil
    • 1/2 tsp dried thyme, or 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
    • 1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste

     

    Instructions:

    1. In a large bowl, combine the corn, blueberries, arugula, scallions, and pistachios.
    2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, avocado oil, thyme and sea salt.
    3. Pour the dressing over the salad in the bowl, and mix together gently until it is all combined.
    4. Serve!
  • Vegan Caramel Cashew Chocolate Chunk Cookies

    Vegan Caramel Cashew Chocolate Chunk Cookies

    I had a day off all to myself, and it was kind of nice.  I slept in, went for a 30 mile bike ride, then decided to make cookies.  Why not?  The truth is I had been thinking about those cookies my entire bike ride.  I come up with some of my best recipes while I am running and biking because I have few distractions, and it is a good time to just think and daydream.  I had some lovely cashews and chocolate from Raw Guru and I wanted to make something with them that wasn’t raw cheesecake (which used to always be my go-to raw cashew dessert).  What came into my head was Caramel Cashew Chocolate Chunk Cookies. I hadn’t baked chocolate chip (or chunk) cookies in a while and they sounded fabulous!  Why not include some rich crunchy cashews?  My Grandma always used to include walnuts, so I like nuts in my chocolate chip cookies (I know cashews are not technically a nut, but you know what I mean).  They also sent me some Rawmio Essentials dark chocolate, so it was perfect!  I got the idea for the whole caramel cashew thing from a Rawmio Caramel Cashew Bark that they also sent me that was amazing.  So amazing I had to repeat the flavor combination.

    For the cookie base, I used my classic chocolate chip cookie dough, but swapped my usual almond butter for cashew butter since they are cashew cookies. You might be thinking why nut butter in cookies, well, I used to make my cookies with all coconut oil, but I find that a blend of nut butter and coconut oil instead of just all oil is a better texture and less greasy.  So that is what I use now.  Plus it makes a lovely soft in the middle crisp at the edges cookie which is my favorite.  Although these are called caramel cashew, they don’t actually have any real caramel in them, just my favorite healthy caramel swap, dates!  Yes, dates nature’s caramel, the perfect thing to chop up and throw in a recipe like this if you want little chunks of “caramel” throughout!  The dough for these cookies was so good!  Crunchy cashews and chewy dates in the smooth dough…I could not stop sampling it!  But as you probably know if you have read my past posts, I like to make cookies just so I can eat the dough so it is nothing unusual for me!

    They smelled so good while they were baking!  I could not wait to try one!  Immediately after they came out of the oven, I added the Rawmio Essentials dark chocolate and I was getting excited.    I did not wait until they were cooled completely to try one, because the second best thing besides cookie dough is warm cookies!  OMG, they were crave worthy!  The sweet gooey dates, crunchy pecans and rich dark chocolate were perfect together in the sweet cookies!  If you are in a baking mood, or maybe just need a mood boost, make yourself a batch of these babies!  They are sooo good!

    Vegan Caramel Cashew Chocolate Chunk Cookies
    Makes 16 large cookies

    Ingredients:

    •  2 Tbsp ground flax seed
    • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water
    • 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, warmed to liquid
    • 1/2 cup raw cashew butter
    • 1 1/2 cups Raw Guru organic coconut sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
    • 3 cups gluten free all purpose flour
    • 3/4 cup chopped Raw Guru raw cashews
    • 1/2 cup dates, chopped into smaller pieces
    • 3/4 cup Rawmio essentials dark chocolate, cut into chunks or vegan dark chocolate chips

     

    Directions:

    1. Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
    2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flax seed and filtered water.  Set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, coconut oil and cashew butter with sugar and mix until well combined
      Mix in the vanilla extract and flax mixture until well combined.  Add the baking soda and salt then the flour, a cup at a time, mixing between each addition, until well combined.  Mix in the cashews and dates.
    4. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
    5. To Form the cookies take about a 1 1/2 inch chunk of dough, form into a ball and on prepared cookie sheets a couple inches apart, and press down just slightly. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until puffed and just starting to brown slightly.
    6. Remove from the oven, and press the chocolate chunks into the cookies (I do this instead of mixing them in because they look prettier and don’t melt so much that way), and let cool on the pan a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
    7. Repeat with remaining cookies and let cool for at least 15 minutes before enjoying.
  • Vegan Almond Poppy Seed Cake

    Vegan Almond Poppy Seed Cake

    Did you know there is such a thing as poppy seed butter?  Well I certainly didn’t until it popped up in my Facebook news feed from Raw Guru!  I was intrigued, and I really wanted to try some!  So, I was super excited when it was included in a box of goodies that they sent me last week!  I immediately decided that I wanted to include it in a delicious cake.  I have always been a fan of poppy seed cakes, especially those that include almond extract too, so that is exactly what I made!  The poppy seed butter has a smooth, rich texture, a beautiful black color and it tastes unlike any nut or seed butter I have ever tried. I was going back and forth between a layer cake and a coffee cake to include it in, but I finally decided on the layer cake, since I haven’t made one in a long time and I love the process.  Plus I was in a frosting mood.

    For the cake portion, I used a vanilla cake batter that I normally use with avocado oil to keep it moist and maple sugar to sweeten it.  This one is not gluten free, because I used whole wheat pastry flour, which is what I prefer right now, but if you wanted to make it gluten free you could use 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour and 3/4 cup tapioca flour subbed for the whole wheat pastry flour.  It will work just as well.  The batter is sweet, and tastes just like I remember birthday cake batter tasting when I was little and my Grandma let me lick the bowl.  I added a touch of almond extract as well, because I love it with poppy seeds.  I also whisked in a good amount of the poppy seed butter into the cake batter. It tasted sooo good!  I couldn’t wait to see what it turned out like.  My kitchen smelled amazing as it was baking!

    Once the cakes were all cooled, I made some cream cheese style vanilla almond frosting, and a little bit of poppy seed filling with more of the butter to include in the center of the cake.  I was so excited to try it!  I mean, I had been sampling bits of all of it while I made it, but once it is all together you get the full affect!  The cake was soft, sweet, moist and rich thanks to the poppy seeds, and the fluffy frosting was perfect with it!  If you are a poppy seed fan, definitely get yourself some Dastony poppy seed butter from the Raw Guru Website!

    Vegan Almond Poppy Seed Cake
    Makes 1 6 inch 2 layer cake

    Ingredients:

    2 6 inch cake pans

    Cake:

    • 1 3/4 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt
    • 3/4 cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
    • 1/4 cup maple syrup
    • 1/2 cup avocado oil
    • 1 1/4 cups light coconut milk (at room temperature)
    • 1/2 cup Dastony poppy seed butter
    • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 2 Tbsp lemon juice

     

     

    Frosting:

    • 1 1 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk, at room temperature
    • 3/4 cup raw cashew butter
    • 1/3 cup maple syrup
    • pinch sea salt
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 1 tsp almond extract
    • 1 tsp lemon juice
    • 3/4 cup Dastony coconut butter (NOT OIL), warmed to liquid

     

    Filling:

    • 1/3 cup Dastony poppy seed butter
    • 2 Tbsp full fat coconut milk (or  coconut cream, the thick part from the top of the can)
    • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
    • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

     

    Garnish:

    • black poppy seeds

     

    Instructions:

    1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and position rack in center of oven.
    2. Line two 6-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper and pan sides lightly with oil so that the cake doesn’t stick
    3. .Whisk flour, baking soda, sea salt, and sugar in a large bowl to blend well.
    4. Whisk maple syrup, oil, coconut milk, poppy seed butter and vanilla and almond extracts together in small bowl to blend well, then whisk into the flour mixture until well blended.  Whisk in lemon juice until bubbles form.
    5. Transfer cake batter to prepared pans and bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean with a few crumbs attached.
    6. Let the cakes cool completely in the pan, then chill in the refrigerator until cold, and slice each cake in half horizontally so that you have 4 layers (very carefully as it is delicate). Separate the layers with parchment and place in the freezer until you are ready to frost the cake.
    7. For the frosting, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Pour into a bowl and place in the freezer until it is thick like whipped cream (whisking every so often), about 45 minutes to one hour.
    8. Meanwhile, to make the poppy seed filling, whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
    9. To assemble the cake, put one cake layer on a plate (using the parchment to assist you), and spread 1/3 of the filling over it, followed by some of the frosting (about 1/4 cup). Top with another cake layer, then repeat, then another cake layer and repeat, followed by the last cake layer.  Spread the frosting over the top and down the sides of the cake.
    10. Sprinkle with poppy seeds, then chill for an hour at least in the refrigerator.
    11. Enjoy!  Keep cake refrigerated when not serving.