VEGAN RECIPES
This is everything that is great about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a cookie. They are soft, sweet and delicious. The best part is that these cookies are guilt free.
Continue reading “Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies (Vegan and GF)”
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.
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.
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.
The Super Bowl is the only football game that I watch all year. It is really just an excuse to eat a lot of yummy food. It can be a really hard day to stay on track though, especially if you are going to a party. Here are some of my favorite foods that would be great for a party and please non vegans as well.
Chili cheese dip is the best. It is so simple (only 2 ingredients) and so good. It is always the first thing gone when I make it for a party, so I make a lot.
Chili cheese dogs are another great party food. Just get veggie dogs, top with canned or homemade chili and sprinkle with Daiya cheese. Amy’s makes really good vegan canned chili. Don’t forget to use whole grain hot dog buns.
A layer dip is so easy to make vegan. There is a great recipe on The Kind Life. http://www.thekindlife.com/post/cheesy-oozy-guacamole-bean-dip-2 . Think about using veggies to dip with instead of chips or try to find baked chips.
1 can vegan chili (Amy’s makes really good ones)
1 container vegan cream cheese
Heat the chili and cream cheese together over medium heat. Stir until the cream cheese is all melted and mixed with the chili. Serve warm with tortilla chips.