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Cinnamon-Almond Croissants

December 8, 2014 by Epicurean Vegan

Cinnamon-Almond Croissants -- Epicurean VeganPuff pastry can sometimes be a vegan’s best friend. I had one sheet of it in the freezer, so I stuck it in the fridge the night before so that it would be thawed by morning. Otherwise, it takes about 45-60 minutes if you take it out and set it on the counter to thaw. These were ready in no time and were the perfect breakfast treat for a lazy weekend morning.

INGREDIENTS:
1 puff pastry sheet, thawed
Flour for dusting
2 Tbs vegan margarine
1/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp almond extract/flavoring
2-3 Tbs almond milk

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400. In a small saucepan, melt the vegan margarine over low-medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon and almond flavoring.
Cinnamon-Almond Croissants -- Epicurean VeganNext, roll out the pastry sheet over a lightly floured surface until you have roughly a 10″x 10″ square. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Cut the dough into four even squares and spread a 1/4 of the sauce on a square.
Cinnamon-Almond Croissants -- Epicurean VeganTake one corner and fold it over to the opposite corner. Roll the folded side toward the corner, turn over and curl the ends in.
Cinnamon-Almond Croissants -- Epicurean VeganPlace onto a baking sheet and brush with the almond milk. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Enjoy!

Cinnamon-Almond Croissants
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Total time
25 mins
 
Puff pastry can sometimes be a vegan's best friend. I had one sheet of it in the freezer, so I stuck it in the fridge the night before so that it would be thawed by morning. Otherwise, it takes about 45-60 minutes if you take it out and set it on the counter to thaw. These were ready in no time and were the perfect breakfast treat for a lazy weekend morning.
Author: Epicurean Vegan
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 puff pastry sheet, thawed
  • Flour for dusting
  • 2 Tbs vegan margarine
  • ¼ C brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp almond extract/flavoring
  • 2-3 Tbs almond milk
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 400. In a small saucepan, melt the vegan margarine over low-medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon and almond flavorin
  2. Next, roll out the pastry sheet over a lightly floured surface until you have roughly a 10"x 10" square. It doesn't need to be perfect. Cut the dough into four even squares and spread a ¼ of the sauce on a square.
  3. Take one corner and fold it over to the opposite corner. Roll the folded side toward the corner, turn over and curl the ends in.
  4. Place onto a baking sheet and brush with the almond milk. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Enjoy!
3.4.3177

 

Filed Under: Breakfasts Tagged With: almond, breakfast croissants, brunch, cinnamon, fast and easy, puff pastry, vegan croissants

Lemon Almond Cookies

March 6, 2011 by epicureanvegan

Lemon Almond Cookies -- Epicurean VeganThese 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.

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

Lemon Almond Cookies -- Epicurean Vegan

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

Lemon Almond Cookies -- Epicurean Vegan

Enjoy!

Lemon Almond Cookies
 
Print
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
  1. 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.
  2. Roll dough into 1 to 1-1/2" balls and place onto a lightly greased cookie sheet; press down slightly.
  3. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the bottom edge of the cookies begin to turn a golden brown. Enjoy!
3.5.3208

Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: almond, cookies, dairy-free, egg-free, fast and easy, lemon

It’s A Cheeze Extravaganza!

December 25, 2010 by epicureanvegan

It's a Cheeze Extravaganza! -- Epicurean Vegan

Well, first of all, Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has had a wonderful, fabulous holiday full of family, friends and happiness. Even Moe-Dog is having a happiness hangover:

And apparently, he’s a little embarrassed about it:

My mom surprised me with a copy of The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook and I have had uncheese on the brain since.  For Christmas Eve, we typically do drinks and appetizers, games and movies, so I made three different cheezes from the recipe book and one from Vegetarian Times. A few of the cheezes will require a couple days’ worth of time—but rest assured—they’re easy and worth it. You will need to blanch almonds, something I had never attempted before, but found it to be quite an easy process.

First up:

Port Wine Uncheese


This is super simple to throw together. The pinto beans give it that dry cheese taste and texture and even if it doesn’t taste exactly like cheese, it still has excellent flavor. I recommend adding some nutritional yeast–maybe a 1/4 C for more of a cheesy flavor if you feel it needs it. Otherwise, it’s fab on its own. The recipe calls for nonalcoholic red wine, but I went with an actual port.

INGREDIENTS:
2 C (1-15 or 16 oz can) pinto beans
1/4 C nonalcoholic red wine or port wine
3 Tbs sesame tahini
1 Tbs light or chickpea miso (I used light miso)

DIRECTIONS:
Throw it all in a food processor then let it chill several hours or overnight. You could then roll it in roasted walnuts or pecans for extra flavor, if desired.

Source: The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

Incredible Almond Creme Cheez


This one has a fluffy, lemony flavor that pairs really well with herbed crackers. The taste is very mild, so herbed crackers work great with this one. You will need to blanch the almonds for this, which is very easy: place almonds in a saucepan with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes, then drain and allow to cool. Pinch the skins between your finger and the skins will slide right off. Dry them off well.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C blanched almonds
1/2 C hot water
1/2 C cold water
2 Tbs  lemon juice
2 Tbs kuzu, arrowroot, or cornstarch (I used cornstarch)
1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:
Grind the almonds to a fine powder. Transfer to a blender (I did as the recipe said, but I’m sure just using the food processor is fine) and add the hot water; process until thick and creamy. Add the cold water and remaining ingredients; blend until smooth and creamy.  Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Once it thickens, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly for another minute. Let it cool. Fluff with a fork or whisk and transfer to a storage container.

Chill for a few hours. Before serving, beat again with a fork or whisk.

Source: The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

Onion, Dill and Horseradish Cheez

If you like cheese with a kick, you’ll love this one. The horseradish is perfect in this and makes for a great sliced cheese. I’m not crazy about dill, so next time I will go easy on it and not add the full two teaspoons, but aside from that, it’s a great addition to any cheese platter.

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 C water
5 Tbs agar flakes
1/2 C chopped raw cashews
1/4 C nutritional yeast
3 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs tahini
2 Tbs white horseradish (not creamed)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried onion flakes
2 tsp dried dillweed

DIRECTIONS:
Lightly oil a 3-cup plastic (I used glass) container and set aside. Combine the water and agar flakes in a saucepan and boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently 5-10 minutes, or until flakes are dissolved. Transfer to a blender and add the cashews, nutritional yeast, tahini, horseradish, mustard, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Process until smooth. By hand, add the onion flakes and dillweed. Pour into the prepared container and cool uncovered in the fridge. Once it is completely cooled, cover and chill several hours to overnight. Before serving, slice thin.

Source: The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

Almond Cheese: Spreadable and Feta-Style

(Spreadable)

(Feta-Style)

Now this is probably my favorite. This one comes from Vegetarian Times and despite the time and effort, I’ll be making it over and over again. I doubled the recipe because it can be made into a spreadable version and a feta-style. The only difference is that the feta-style requires baking—a very simple step.

INGREDIENTS: (undoubled)
1 C blanched almonds
1/4 C lemon juice
3 Tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled (I used minced)
1-1/4 tsp salt
Cheesecloth

DIRECTIONS:
Place almonds in a medium bowl and cover with 3″ of water; soak for 24 hours. Drain and rinse twice with running water.

Puree the almonds, lemon juice, 3 Tbs olive oil, garlic, salt and 1/2 C of cold water in a food processor until smooth.  Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and line the strainer with a triple layer of cheesecloth. Spoon mixture into cheesecloth.

Bring the corners and sides of the cheesecloth together and twist around the cheese, squeezing out any excess moisture. Secure with a rubber band.

Chill 12 hours or overnight. Discard any excess liquid—I squeezed a little more out. One half I left in the fridge and for the feta-style: Preheat oven to 200. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and unwrap cheese and transfer it from the cheesecloth to the baking sheet. Flatten to a 6″ round with a  3/4″ in thickness on the sheet.

Bake for 40 minutes. Let cool. I then transferred it to a bowl and used a fork to break it up into feta-like chunks. Place in a storage container and refrigerate for several hours.  Add to salads or soups—you’ll love it! Enjoy!

I’m sure Moe will recover from his Christmas overload soon . . .

Filed Under: Appetizers, Dressings/Condiments Tagged With: almond, cashews, cheese, Cheeze, feta cheese, nut cheese, Port wine, Uncheese Cookbook, vegan cheese, Vegetarian Times

Almond Sour Cream Coffee Cake

September 27, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Almond Sour Cream Coffee Cake -- Epicurean VeganI love almond anything. I even love anything almond-scented. This cake was a breeze to make and has a cake/cookie consistency. In fact, the dough is very cookie dough-like, so don’t be alarmed–it’s supposed to be that way! A slice of this is perfect for dessert or with that morning tea or coffee.

INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
1/2 C  Earth Balance margarine
1 C sugar
3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
4 Tbs water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp  almond extract
1/4 C Tofutti sour cream
2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
Strudel:
1/2 C brown sugar
1 Tbs flour
2 Tbs butter
Glaze:
1/2 C powdered sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
2-3 tsp non dairy milk

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer and water; set aside. In a large bowl, cream together margarine and sugar. Add “egg” mixture to butter mixture and combine well. Add vanilla and almond extracts and stir well to combine. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour and sour cream to the butter mixture, but do it alternatively; starting and ending with the flour. The mixture will resemble cookie dough.

For the strudel, chop up the butter, add the brown sugar and flour and use a pastry blender to make it crumbly. Grease a bundt pan and sprinkle 1/3 of strudel in the pan. Next, take take 1/2 of the dough and using your hands, spread it somewhat evenly in the pan, on top of the strudel. Add another 1/3 of the strudel, then the other half of the dough. Sprinkle with remaining strudel.

Almond Sour Cream Coffee Cake -- Epicurean Vegan

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Almond Sour Cream Coffee Cake -- Epicurean Vegan

Meanwhile, to make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, almond extract, and the nondairy milk. Drizzle over warm cake and enjoy!

Almond Sour Cream Coffee Cake -- Epicurean Vegan

(It will most-likely look like an over-grown doughnut)!

Recipe: Adapted from cooks.com

Filed Under: Breakfasts, Desserts Tagged With: almond, brunch, Cake, coffee cake, fast and easy

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The Epicurean Vegan is devoted to those wanting to eat healthy, save animals, and reduce their carbon footprint. My decision to go vegan started out as a quest to get healthier, but the more I learned about veganism, the more I realized how damaging the meat and dairy industries are to the environment and, of course, the animals. And it is for these reasons, that I would never go back to eating or wearing animal products. Ever.
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