This is my daughter’s recipe. SHe loves to cook and she came up with this all on her own. She has also started her own blog, so here is the link if you want the recipe for the wontons. They are crispy, sweet and delicious, plus they are super easy to make.
The wild blackberries are all ripe where we live. This was just one of the three baskets that we picked. Needless to say we have a ton of berries already and there are a lot more to pick in the next few weeks. After a few hours of picking, we decided to make cobbler. Blackberry cobbler is on of my Dad’s favorite desserts, so he was super happy. The cobbler is great as is or with vegan vanilla ice cream.
6-8 cups of fresh or frozen berries (just use your favorite ones)
1/4 c sugar (use a little more or less depending on how sweet you like your berries)
3 TBSP flour
Cobbler Topping:
2 cups of unbleached flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 TBSP non hydrogenated vegetable shortening or Earth Balance
3/4 cup of soy or almond milk
Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease a large baking dish. In the dish combine the berries, sugar and flour.
For the topping: In a large mixing bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the shortening and mix it in with your fingers until it feels course. Add in the milk and mix it in with a fork just until it is combined. It should be a wet dough. Spoon the dough on top of the berries. Bake the cobbler about 25 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Remove it from the oven and let it cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
We have a strawberry farm close to us, so for a few weeks we had tons of strawberries. We actually bought so many that I had to freeze some because we could’t eat them all. I made this pie to help use some of the berries and it was a delicious way to use them. The crust was nice and flaky and was filled with fresh sweet strawberries. I topped the pie with a little granola just to give it a little crunch. The basic recipe for this pie actually came off the bottom of an old pie dish that my mom had.
1 9 or 10 inch pie shell (here is my recipe for vegan pastry dough from a previous post or you can use store-bought)
About 2 quarts of fresh strawberries, washed and sliced in quarters
1 1/3 cups of water divided
3 TBSP of cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of granola (optional for topping)
vegan whipped cream (optional for topping)
To blind bake the pie crust:
Preheat the oven to 375. Place prepared dough in the pie pan and trim it to fit. Cover the bottom with parchment and then cover it with pie weights or some dried beans to keep it form puffing up while it is baking. Bake the pie crust about 15-20 minutes until it is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
For the filling:
Dissolve the cornstarch or arrowroot in 1/3 cup of water. Mash about 1 cup of the berries in a small bowl. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a medium saucepan and add in the mashed berries. Let boil of a few minutes and then add in the sugar. Stir until all the of the sugar has dissolved. Add in the cornstarch mixture and stir until it becomes clear. Remove from the heat, strain out the pieces of strawberry and let cool completely.
Once the glaze is cool mix it with the rest of the strawberries. Pour it into the crust and then refrigerate the pie for at least 30 minutes. Top with granola just before serving.
There is almost nothing better than soft, chewy cookies and a glass of cold soy milk. These oatmeal raisin cookies are so good, but without the guilt of regular cookies. You can always replace the raisins with chocolate chips, which would be equally delicious.
Makes about 16 cookies (if you don’t eat a lot of the dough)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup Earth Balance butter at room temperature
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP peanut butter
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1-2 TBSP soy milk (as needed)
Preheat the oven to 350. Sift together the whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add in the oats and mix.
In another bowl or in a mixer cream the Earth Balance and the sugar together until it is light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla, peanut butter, applesauce and mix again until it is well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until the dough comes together. If it is a little too dry add in 1-2 tablespoons of soy milk.
Drop heaping tablespoons of the cookie dough unto an ungreased baking sheet at least 3 inches apart. Press the dough down a little. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Berry crisp is a great summertime dessert. I made it while we were visiting Florida where it definitely felt like summer. It is best served warm with vegan ice cream, yum! I used frozen fruit, but you could always use fresh berries. I also used a mixture of all different berries, but just use your favorite. The crisp topping is delicious with the warm, juicy berries. I actually ate the leftovers of the berry crisp for breakfast the next morning. Now that we are back in North Carolina I can’t wait to make a berry crisp with the fresh strawberries that are in season now.
6 cups fresh or frozen mixed berries
3 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup flour plus 2 TBSP
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup melted Earth Balance
Preheat the oven to 375. Place the berries in a large baking dish and toss with the 2 TBSP of flour until all the berries are coated. In a mixing bowl combine the oats, 1/2 cup of flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and Earth Balance to make the topping. Mix it until it is well combined. Crumble the topping evenly over the berries. Bake 40 – 50 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the berries are bubbling. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve the berry crisp with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream.
I made this baklava mostly for my daughter. Honey is her favorite food and she would eat it out of the jar if I let her. Most baklava recipes call for a ton of sugar, but I used some dates and honey for sweetness instead of refined sugar. You can always substitute agave for the honey if you don’t use it. The baklava was sweet and nutty with a nice crispy top from the phyllo dough.
1/2 package of phyllo dough thawed (about 20 sheets)
1/2 – 3/4 cup melted Earth Balance
Filling :
1 cup of dates soaked in hot water for at least 30 minutes
4 cups of finely chopped nuts (I used walnuts, almonds and pecans and ground them in the food processor)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
Put the nuts, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl. Strain the dates and reserve 1 cup of the soaking water for the syrup. Puree the dates in the food processor and add to the nuts. Mix the dates in thoroughly, you will need to use your fingers. sett aside.
Syrup:
1 cup of the water from the dates
3/4 cup of honey or agave
1 tsp cinnamon
juice of 1 lemon
Put all of the syrup ingredients into a medium sized sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Let it boil for 10 minutes and then remove it from the heat to cool.
To assemble the baklava:
Preheat the oven to 350. Unwrap the phyllo dough and cover it with a damp cloth (keep it covered as much as possible, it will dry out really fast). Spread some melted butter in the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Lay in one piece of phyllo and brush it lightly with melted butter (make sure to keep the rest f the phyllo covered). Repeat with seven more sheets of phyllo. Sprinkle on about a 1/3 of the nut filling, spreading it evenly over the dough. Cover the filling with 2 sheets of phyllo brushed with butter. Put on half of the remaining filling and cover with two more sheets of buttered phyllo. Add the remaining filling and then cover with 8-10 sheets of phyllo buttering each one. Brush butter on the top sheet making sure it is completely covered.
Before baking cut the baklava into four long strips lengthwise. Then make about 8 diagonal cuts to make diamond shaped pieces. Bake the baklava for 40-45 minutes until the top is a nice golden brown.
While the baklava is baking make the syrup.
When the baklava is finished baking set the pan on a rack to cool. Let it cool for about 20 minutes then pour on the syrup. Make sure you get it down into all the cuts. Let the baklava cool completely, at least a couple of hours, before serving.
My kids picked the recipes for the mini pizzas and date cookies for this post, so needless to say they are family friendly. The mini pizzas are really simple to make and are great for a quick lunch or dinner. I like that the kids can make their own and put on their favorite toppings, so they get their pizza just how they want it (no complaining involved). My kids, and my husband, love to have the Date Cookies for snack and they usually disappear the same day I make them. They are full of oats and nuts, but no refined sugar. There is no baking involved for these cookies, all you need is a food processor. Kids can help make these cookies too. You can have them measure ingredients and help roll the cookies. I love to get my kids involved in cooking and they love to eat things that they make, even if it is a new food.
For each pizza:
Sprouted grain or whole grain English muffin (Like Ezekiel brand)
1 Tbsp tomato sauce
2 Tbsp vegan mozzarella cheese
pizza toppings of your choice: spinach, black olives, vegan pepperoni, vegan sausage
Split open the English muffin and toast it for a couple of minutes under the broiler (watch it carefully). Remove it from the oven and top the muffin with sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice. Put the pizza back under the broiler to melt the cheese. Remember to watch it carefully. Remove them from the oven and let cool for just a minute. Serve the pizza with a salad or chopped veggies for a quick meal.
Makes 12 cookies
1/4 Cup old fashioned oats
1/4 Cup raw almonds
1/4 Cup raw cashews
25-30 dried dates (make sure they are pitted)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp maple syrup
Grind the oats in the food processor and put into a bowl. Grind the almonds and cashews and add them to the oats (your want them finely ground but not made into nut butter). Puree the dates and then add the oats and nuts back in along with the cinnamon, salt and syrup. Pulse the food processor to combine all of the ingredients together. Put in all into a bowl and roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter. If it is sticky wet your hands a little.
This was our dessert on Valentine’s Day. My daughter saw a non-vegan version of fruit pizza in one of her magazine’s and kept asking me to make it. I am so glad that I finally gave in and made it. It was so good and I have never seen kids so eager to eat fruit before. This is a great recipe to get the kids involved in making. They can help with the cookie dough and help with decorating it with the fruit. I replaced half of the white flour in the cookie recipe with whole wheat white flour and it turned out really good. I think fruit pizza may be my new favorite dessert (except for chocolate of course).
1/2 recipe for Grandma’s Sugar Cookies well chilled (the other 1/2 can be frozen)
1 container of vegan cream cheese at room temperature or 1 recipe for frosting (on link above)
1/4 Cup of powdered sugar, if using cream cheese
3 cups of sliced fruit: Strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, bananas
Preheat the oven to 400. Roll out the sugar cookie dough to about a 1/2 inch thick. You can make it round or rectangle depending on the shape of your baking pan. Line your baking pan with parchment or use a silpat. Bake the cookie for 12 minutes until the edges begin to brown. Keep the cookie on the pan for at least 1o minutes to harden enough to move to a cooling rack or you can leave it on the pan. Let the cookie cool completely. If you are using cream cheese mix it with the powdered sugar. Frost the cookie with cream cheese mixture or the frosting. Top with the fruit and chill for at least 30 minutes. Slice and serve.
Happy Valentine’s Day! I can’t believe that Valentine’s is here already. It kind of snuck up on me this year, but I still wanted to make some special cookies for my family. This recipe is so simple it feels like I am cheating by making them these cookies. They are made with puff pastry, which believe it or not is vegan (at least the Pepperridge Farm brand is). I hope you all enjoy your Valentine’s Day!
1 box of puff pastry thawed (I know Pepperridge Farm brand is vegan)
4 TBSP Earth Balance melted
4 TBSP sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 400. Cover a baking sheet in parchment or a silpat. Place 1 sheet of pastry on a well floured surface. Sprinkle is with a little four to prevent sticking and roll it out a little bit. You want to make it about 2 inches longer. Brush it with 2 TBSP of the Earth Balance. Sprinkle the pastry with half of the sugar and half of the cinnamon in an even layer. Roll up the dough starting on one of the shorter ends. Roll it to about the middle and then roll up the other side of the pastry until it meets in the middle. Slice the pastry into 1/2 inch slices and place on the baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Make sure the cookies stay rolled up tight. Bake for 10 minutes until they cookies are puffed and nicely browned. Let the cookies cool on a rack.
Repeat with the other sheet of pastry.
Happy New Year! Last night I made vegan cheese fondue for dinner and vegan chocolate fondue for dessert. I haven’t had cheese fondue since becoming vegan and I really wanted it, so I gave it a try. It was delicious. The chocolate was unbelievably good and of course I ate way too much of it. It was a great way to start a new year.
1 package Daiya Cheddar Cheese (vegan)
1 Package Daiya Mozzerella (vegan)
1 cup soy milk
1 TBSp dijon mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle of beer
What ever you want to dip: raw or roasted veggies, bread, vegan sausages
Combine all the ingredients except the beer in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until the cheese starts melt. Slowly add in the beer a little at a time until the cheese reaches the consistency that you want for dipping. I used about 1/2 the bottle. Serve warm.
1 bag of vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup soy milk
2 TBSP Earth Balance
1 tsp vanilla extract
What ever you want to dip: Strawberries, bananas, pretzels, cookies
Combine the soy milk and the butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Once the butter is melted add in the chocolate chips and the vanilla. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Serve warm.
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