Desserts Archives - Page 3 of 6

Lemon Almond Cookies

March 6, 2011 by epicureanvegan

These cookies are pretty darn easy to make, soft, and aren’t overly sweet—my kind of cookie. If you have a bigger sweet tooth, use honey (which isn’t vegan) instead of agave, or these would be ideal to sprinkle with powdered sugar.

INGREDIENTS:
1 C vegan margarine
3/4 C agave
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
Zest from one small lemon
1/2 C ground almonds
1/2 C chopped almonds
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream together margarine and agave. Add the almond extract, lemon juice, lemon zest; combine well. In another bowl, combine the ground and chopped walnuts with the flours and add to the margarine mixture. The batter will be sticky—it’s supposed to be, so don’t add any more flour.

Roll dough into 1 to 1-1/2″ balls and place onto a lightly greased cookie sheet; press down slightly.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the bottom edge of the cookies begin to turn a golden brown.

Enjoy!

Lemon Almond Cookies

These cookies are pretty darn easy to make, soft, and aren't overly sweet---my kind of cookie. If you have a bigger sweet tooth, use honey (which isn't vegan) instead of agave, or these would be ideal to sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Author: Epicurean Vegan

Ingredients

1 C vegan margarine
¾ C agave
½ tsp almond extract
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
Zest from one small lemon
½ C ground almonds
½ C chopped almonds
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C all-purpose flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream together margarine and agave. Add the almond extract, lemon juice, lemon zest; combine well. In another bowl, combine the ground and chopped walnuts with the flours and add to the margarine mixture. The batter will be sticky---it's supposed to be, so don't add any more flour.
Roll dough into 1 to 1-1/2" balls and place onto a lightly greased cookie sheet; press down slightly.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the bottom edge of the cookies begin to turn a golden brown. Enjoy!

Strawberry-Pear Tarts

February 23, 2011 by epicureanvegan

For about a month, I’ve had some puff pastry in freezer because I accidentally bought it, thinking I was getting phyllo sheets. So, instead of letting it continue to sit and freeze, I decided to make these tarts. Now, even though puff pasty is vegan, it isn’t the healthiest stuff out there and we probably shouldn’t gorge on this stuff on a regular basis—vegan or not. It’s a treat and that’s okay. And these treats you’ll love—not too sweet and ready to eat before you know it.

INGREDIENTS:
1 puff pastry sheet, thawed
1 pear, peeled, sliced thin and cored
6 strawberries, sliced
2 Tbs brown sugar
2-1/2 Tbs vegan margarine, melted and divided
1/3 C walnuts, chopped
4-4″ tart pans

DIRECTIONS:
To thaw puff pastry, remove from bag and place on counter. It will thaw in about 40 minutes at room temperature. Preheat oven to 400. Unfold pastry sheet and place the bottoms of the tart pans on it, cutting around the circles.

Place bottom of pan and cut out dough back into the tart shell. In a medium bowl, combine the pears, strawberries, brown sugar, walnuts, and two tablespoons of melted margarine.

Divide the fruit mixture evenly among the 4 tart pans. Roll out the extra dough and using a cookie cutter, cut out a heart or other beautiful shape you wish to make. Place on top of each tart. Brush the cut-out with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of melted margarine.

Bake for 20-22 minutes and enjoy!

Strawberry-Pear Tarts

For about a month, I've had some puff pastry in freezer because I accidentally bought it, thinking I was getting phyllo sheets. So, instead of letting it continue to sit and freeze, I decided to make these tarts. Now, even though puff pasty is vegan, it isn't the healthiest stuff out there and we probably shouldn't gorge on this stuff on a regular basis---vegan or not. It's a treat and that's okay. And these treats you'll love---not too sweet and ready to eat before you know it.

Author: Epicurean Vegan

Ingredients

1 puff pastry sheet, thawed
1 pear, peeled, sliced thin and cored
6 strawberries, sliced
2 Tbs brown sugar
2-1/2 Tbs vegan margarine, melted and divided
⅓ C walnuts, chopped
4-4" tart pans

Directions

To thaw puff pastry, remove from bag and place on counter. It will thaw in about 40 minutes at room temperature. Preheat oven to 400. Unfold pastry sheet and place the bottoms of the tart pans on it, cutting around the circles.
Place bottom of pan and cut out dough back into the tart shell. In a medium bowl, combine the pears, strawberries, brown sugar, walnuts, and two tablespoons of melted margarine.
Divide the fruit mixture evenly among the 4 tart pans. Roll out the extra dough and using a cookie cutter, cut out a heart or other beautiful shape you wish to make. Place on top of each tart. Brush the cut-out with the remaining ½ tablespoon of melted margarine.
Bake for 20-22 minutes and enjoy!

Raspberry Cake (and don’t give away your heart . . .pan)!

February 14, 2011 by epicureanvegan

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Yesterday as The Husband and I were moseying through an antique shop, he asked me, “Did you get me anything for Valentine’s Day?” Having not even thought about this (card company) holiday, I truthfully answered, “Uh, no.” He suddenly looked relieved. “Good! I didn’t get you anything!” Frankly, I was relieved, too. I told him I’d bake him something. So when I got to that today I realized I no longer had my red, ceramic, heart-shaped pan anymore. I think I Goodwilled it because I never used it. I was quite disappointed, as it would have been perfect for this cake. Oh well. The sentiment is still there! This recipe is essentially the same as my muffin recipe from a year ago, but I used raspberries instead of blueberries.

INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
1/4 C vegan margarine
1/2 C apple sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sugar
2 C flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C almond milk
2 C fresh or frozen raspberries (If using frozen, thaw and drain liquid)
Crumb topping:
1/4 C sugar
1/8 C flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs vegan margarine

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Using an electric mixer, combine all the muffin ingredients, except the raspberries. Mix well. Fold in the raspberries.

To make the crumb topping, combine all the crumb topping ingredients in a bowl and mix well using a fork.

Lightly grease an 8×8″ baking pan. You can also use a bundt pan, just remember to put the crumb topping on first, before pouring in the batter.

Top with crumb topping and bake for 30-33 minutes.

Let cool 5-10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Raspberry Cake (and don't give away your heart . . .pan)!

Author: Epicurean Vegan

Ingredients

Cake:
¼ C vegan margarine
½ C apple sauce
½ tsp salt
1 C sugar
2 C flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
½ C almond milk
2 C fresh or frozen raspberries (If using frozen, thaw and drain liquid)
Crumb topping:
¼ C sugar
⅛ C flour
¾ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs vegan margarine

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Using an electric mixer, combine all the muffin ingredients, except the raspberries. Mix well. Fold in the raspberries.
To make the crumb topping, combine all the crumb topping ingredients in a bowl and mix well using a fork.
Lightly grease an 8x8" baking pan. You can also use a bundt pan, just remember to put the crumb topping on first, before pouring in the batter.
Top with crumb topping and bake for 30-33 minutes.
Let cool 5-10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

My First Guest Blogger! Vegan, Wheat-free, and Nearly Sugar-free Blueberry Muffins

February 8, 2011 by epicureanvegan

I’m very excited to introduce you to my first guest blogger, Kerrie Flanagan, director of The Northern Colorado Writers and freelance writer-extraordinaire. Kerrie has been a great sport when testing out some of my vegan creations. Some have been great, others not so much. She’ll even manage to smile when choking down one of the not-so-much ones. Thanks for being here, Kerrie!

Kerrie and I

I am thrilled to be the guest blogger today for my good friend and roof buddy (long, but fun story) April and take a break from working on my writers conference. When it comes to food, April and I agree on a few things; we both like to cook, we both want to provide healthy meals for our family and we both like to experiment in the kitchen. But when it comes to what we eat, we are on different sides of the fence. I am not a Vegan. I do eat meat (but I buy it from a local rancher and it is all free-range, grass-fed beef) and dairy. But I have the utmost respect for April and other Vegans. I love sampling her amazing food and trying some her recipes on my family.

So why am I here on the Epicurean Vegan? (besides the obvious, that I want to help my friend) it is because of my teenage daughter. Her acupuncturist wanted her to go on an elimination diet. So for 6 weeks, Delaney was to avoid wheat, dairy products and refined sugar. This was not an easy task, but we are on week 6 and she is doing great. One of the biggest things she missed was baked goods. The dairy part was no problem, the wheat; a little more of a challenge, but the sugar free part; nearly impossible. I am happy to say though, I found a recipe for muffins with oat flour and made a few adjustments (with April’s help) to substitute the dairy products. Delaney gave them a thumbs up.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup oat flour

1 cup rolled oats

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3 Tbs honey (or 1/2 cup sugar if you want them sweeter)

2 tsp lemon zest (or 1/2 tsp. lemon juice)

1 tsp egg replacer + 2 Tbl water (whisk together)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup Almond milk

1 cup blueberries (thawed frozen, or fresh)

DIRECTIONS:

Combine everything except the blueberries in a large mixing bowl and mix with a whisk. Don’t use a mixer, as it will chop up the rolled oats.

Cover the bowl and set it aside for 10 minutes to allow the batter to thicken. Once complete, fold in the blueberries with a spoon. Grease a muffin pan with baking spray or use paper baking cups and fill 2/3 full with batter.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.
*These were a little crumbly straight out of the oven. Once they cooled they were fine. You might want to try increasing egg replacer a little bit.

Chocolate Avocado Banana Bread

February 3, 2011 by epicureanvegan

That’s right. Chocolate. Avocado. Banana. I figured since the Glazed Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes worked so well, why not give it a try with other stuff? I had two avocados a banana begging to be baked into something, so there you go. The Sixth Grader loves this bread and I have to make sure he doesn’t make a sandwich using it–he loves it that much. Unlike the cupcakes, you can taste the avocado, but for one, we love this green fruit over here and two, the taste is subtle. The chocolate really balances the flavors nicely. Now if the green color is off-putting, I suppose you can add about a 1/4 C of cocoa, but I kind of like the Grinchy green!

INGREDIENTS:
1 banana
2 avocados
1 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 C flour
2 Tbs canola oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1/8 C almond milk
1 C dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli semi-sweet are vegan)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, mash the banana and avocado together. It will look like guacamole . . . yet smell like bananas. Stir in the canola oil and lemon juice.

Add the avocado/banana mixture and almond milk to the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Grease and flour a large loaf pan. You can also use an 8×8″ baking dish or even a bundt pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. The top will brown, but insert a knife in the middle to make sure it comes out clean before taking out. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan and slicing. Enjoy!

Chocolate Avocado Banana Bread

That's right. Chocolate. Avocado. Banana. I figured since the Glazed Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes worked so well, why not give it a try with other stuff? I had two avocados a banana begging to be baked into something, so there you go. The Sixth Grader loves this bread and I have to make sure he doesn't make a sandwich using it--he loves it that much. Unlike the cupcakes, you can taste the avocado, but for one, we love this green fruit over here and two, the taste is subtle. The chocolate really balances the flavors nicely. Now if the green color is off-putting, I suppose you can add about a ¼ C of cocoa, but I kind of like the Grinchy green!

Author: Epicurean Vegan

Ingredients

1 banana
2 avocados
1 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 C flour
2 Tbs canola oil
1 tsp lemon juice
⅛ C almond milk
1 C dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli semi-sweet are vegan)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, mash the banana and avocado together. It will look like guacamole . . . yet smell like bananas. Stir in the canola oil and lemon juice.
Add the avocado/banana mixture and almond milk to the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Grease and flour a large loaf pan. You can also use an 8x8" baking dish or even a bundt pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes. The top will brown, but insert a knife in the middle to make sure it comes out clean before taking out. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan and slicing. Enjoy!

Apple Pastries

February 2, 2011 by epicureanvegan

Happy Groundhog Day!

It also happens to be another day off from school due to sub-zero temperatures. We’re looking at a high of -1! I’m beginning to get cabin fever. So it was a good thing our delivery from Green Buffalo Food came on Monday since I haven’t ventured to the store. Thanks to them, I was able to throw together a wonderful stir-fry for dinner last night using the green pepper, shallots, and zucchini they provided. And this morning, I used a couple of apples they sent, too. The Sixth Grader and I are enjoying pastries and watching Groundhog Day, of course.

INGREDIENTS:
For 8 pastries:
10 sheets of phyllo dough
2 apples, peeled and diced
1/4 C walnuts, chopped
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 Tbs vegan margarine, melted
4-oz Tofutti cream cheese
1/2 tsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375. Combine apples, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Whip the cream cheese and lemon juice in a food processor; transfer to a small bowl.

Take 5 sheets of the phyllo and cut into fourths. (You’ll do the same with the other 5 sheets.)

To make the pastries, brush the top layer with the melted margarine, a large spoonful of cream cheese, then some apple mixture.

Roll into a log and transfer to a baking sheet lined with lightly greased foil; brush with margarine.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the pastries are golden brown. Enjoy!

Apple Pastries

Author: Epicurean Vegan

Ingredients

For 8 pastries:
10 sheets of phyllo dough
2 apples, peeled and diced
¼ C walnuts, chopped
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
⅛ tsp nutmeg
4 Tbs vegan margarine, melted
4-oz Tofutti cream cheese
½ tsp lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Combine apples, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Whip the cream cheese and lemon juice in a food processor; transfer to a small bowl.
Take 5 sheets of the phyllo and cut into fourths. (You'll do the same with the other 5 sheets.)
To make the pastries, brush the top layer with the melted margarine, a large spoonful of cream cheese, then some apple mixture.
Roll into a log and transfer to a baking sheet lined with lightly greased foil; brush with margarine.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the pastries are golden brown. Enjoy!

Glazed Chocolate-Avocado Cupcakes

December 22, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Avocado and chocolate? Absolutely! You can’t taste the avocado, but it takes the place of eggs, as well as some of the oil. These cupcakes are so rich, moist, fluffy and decadent. Even the Husband said, “Oh man, these are dangerous.”

INGREDIENTS:
Cupcakes:
1-1/2 C flour
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1 C pure maple syrup (I used light pancake syrup)
3/4 C plain soy milk (I used almond milk)
1/3 C canola oil
2 tsp vanilla

Glaze:
1/4 block soft silken tofu (from a 14-oz container), drained and patted dry
3 Tbs pure maple syrup (again, I used light pancake syrup)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
4 oz semisweet chocolate chips, melted

DIRECTIONS:
To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Puree the avocado in a food processor until smooth. Add the maple syrup, almond milk, oil, and vanilla; blend until creamy. Whisk into flour mixture.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin cups. I wasn’t sure how much to fill them because you never know with muffins, but as long as you evenly divide the batter among the cups, you’ll be fine.

Bake for 25 minutes.

To make the glaze, blend the tofu, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in the food processor. Add the melted chocolate and blend thoroughly.

Transfer to a bowl.

Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the glaze, pulling up straight to form peaks. Enjoy!

Recipe: Vegetarian Times

Swirled Mint Cookies

December 22, 2010 by epicureanvegan

These cookies were always a classic Christmas treat growing up—they seriously date back to 1987. They’re from an old school Better Homes and Gardens cookie cookbook.

I just had to veganize the recipe by using Earth Balance and egg replacer. They remind me of my childhood and are now a fav with the Sixth Grader.

INGREDIENTS:
2 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 C Earth Balance margarine
1 C sugar + plus some for sprinkling
1-1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg replacer + 2 Tbs water
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
10 drops red food coloring
10 drops green food coloring

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together the egg replacer powder and water; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together margarine until softened. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add “egg,” vanilla, and peppermint extract and beat well. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder, then mix it into the butter mixture. Divide the dough into thirds. Stir red food coloring into one third, green in another third, and leave the last third.

Cover each and chill about an hour.

Preheat oven to 375. Divide each dough into fourths. Roll out each fourth into a 1/2″ diameter rope. You’ll need just a tad of flour–mostly just for your hands.

Place each one side by side and twist together. Pour some extra sugar into a bowl and set nearby.

Slice into each rope:

You can carefully roll into balls, or just place the cut pieces 2″ apart on a cookie sheet.

Using a flat-bottomed glass dipped in the sugar, flatten the dough to a 1/4″ thickness.

Bake for 7-8 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 72 cookies. Enjoy!

Swedish Tea Cookies

December 19, 2010 by epicureanvegan

These treats are also called Mexican Wedding Cookies, but growing up, they were known as Christmas cookies around my house. I suppose since I’m also a fraction Swedish, I’ll go with the Scandinavian title. The recipe is my mom’s and all I had to do to veganize them was to use Earth Balance.

INGREDIENTS:
1 C Earth Balance Margarine
2 C Confectioner’s sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 C almonds, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Place the oven rack in the middle—maybe a bit higher, otherwise the bottom of the cookies will get too brown. Preheat oven to 400. Cream together butter, 1 cup of the Confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. In a small bowl, combine flour, salt and nuts; add to the butter mixture. Combine well until the dough holds together.

Form dough into 1″ balls and place on a baking sheet. Once you get down to the last 1/2 dozen, the dough will be crumbly, but just squeeze it together—works great.

Bake 10 minutes.

Once the cookies are cooled, roll them in the remaining cup of Confectioner’s sugar and enjoy!

Makes 3 dozen

Lemon Poppy Seed and Cranberry Bread/Cake

November 30, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Vegan MoFo, Day 30!!

Well, it’s the final day of Vegan MoFo! I can’t believe I blogged everyday this month except for one stinkin’ day! Oh well—it was definitely a fun challenge, but I’m a little relieved at the same time.
This cakey bread is not overly sweet since I just used agave as a sweetener, so icing it will definitely give it more of a sweet punch. You can also make this in a 9×5 loaf pan, or two smaller loaf pans, making it more of a bread than a cake. I like having options. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 C almond milk
1/3 C poppy seeds
3/4 C agave nectar
3/4 C Earth Balance, softened
3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer + 4 Tbs water
2 Tbs lemon juice
1-1/2 C flour
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C dried cranberries

Icing:
About a cup of Confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325. Grease a bundt pan. Whisk together egg replacer powder and water; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the milk. Once it begins to boil, remove from heat and stir in the poppy seeds; set side. In a large bowl, cream together butter and honey until smooth, then add egg replacer. In a small bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Take half of the flour mixture and add it to the butter mixture and combine well. Add milk mixture, then the rest of dry ingredients. Stir in the cranberries. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Turn oven down to 300 and bake another 7-8 minutes, or until it is golden brown.

Let it cool slightly on a rack, then transfer to a large plate.

To make the icing, combine sugar and lemon juice, add more of either ingredient to reach desired consistency. Once bread is cool, or just slightly warm, drizzle with icing. Enjoy!

Recipe: Adapted from Beyond the Moon Cookbook

Lemon Almond Cookies

Strawberry-Pear Tarts

Raspberry Cake (and don’t give away your heart . . .pan)!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

My First Guest Blogger! Vegan, Wheat-free, and Nearly Sugar-free Blueberry Muffins

Chocolate Avocado Banana Bread

Apple Pastries

Happy Groundhog Day!

Glazed Chocolate-Avocado Cupcakes

Swirled Mint Cookies

Swedish Tea Cookies

Lemon Poppy Seed and Cranberry Bread/Cake

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