Tag: dessert

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Banana Bread

veganlivingbydanielle

This is my GO TO banana bread recipe when I am baking for other people. I love my wheat-free banana bread, and so does my husband, but it is a bit more of an acquired taste and a different texture since it’s made with oats instead of flour.

This recipe is one that I veganized out of my mom’s cookbook from when I was growing up. It is so easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.

direct notes from Mom’s cookbook

She makes it every year for family in little mini-loaf pans, and I prefer to make mini-muffins for bite-sized baked goods when I make them. The original recipe has the bake time for a regular loaf (9 inch x 5 in x 3 in) so I have bake times for all the above and more!

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp flax seed, ground
  • 6 Tbsp water
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 – 3 medium bananas, mashed (yields about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325º F.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax seed and water.
  3. Grease the pan or tin you will be using with spray or some of the vegetable oil. You can also use muffin tin liners if you are making muffins.
  4. In a large bowl, mash your banana. Then, using a wooden spoon, mix in the flax seed/water mixture, sugar, and oil.
  5. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
  6. Spread the batter into your greased or lined tin or pan.
  7. Bake until you can insert a toothpick or tool and it comes out clean. Times vary based on your oven, but here are the times we’ve found that work:
    • Full sized loaf: 60 – 70 min
    • Mini-loafs (makes 4 tins): about 35 min
    • Full sized muffins: 20 – 25 min
    • Mini-muffins (makes about 3 dozen): about 15 min

Enjoy!

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Apple Fritter Donut Holes

veganlivingbydanielle

When fall time comes around, do you favor pumpkin everything, or apple harvest? Well, I’ve done the dirty work, so you don’t have to decide! Personally, if I had to choose, I choose apple, so I had to experiment with my pumpkin recipe to make it apple-y.

Below, I have shared the ingredients and directions and then some useful tips that I found while cooking below that (substitutions, brand recommendations, etc.)

Ingredients:

Donuts:

  • 1 Tbsp flax meal1
  • 3 Tbsp water
  • 1 3/4 cup sifted flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ginger (optional)
  • 1 large apple, peeled and diced2
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar3
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup any non-dairy milk

Topping:

  • 1 stick unsalted vegan butter4
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure the rack is centered.
  2. Generously grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan with nonstick spray or some vegetable oil with a paper towel.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp flax meal with 3 Tbsp water and let it sit for at least 3 minutes. This allows the mixture to become gelatinous, egg-like.
  4. Sift5 flour into medium mixing bowl. Mix in baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger.
  5. Put the diced apple and apple sauce in a separate large mixing bowl and mix in brown sugar. Make sure this bowl is bigger because you’re going to mix the dry ingredients into this bowl!
  6. Mix in the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and add the flax egg. Pour in milk, and mix until smooth.
  7. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until the dry mixture is completely mixed in, no clumps. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
  8. Scoop the batter into a 24-cup mini muffin pan, about ¾ full each cup, and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.6
  9. While the donuts are baking, melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave (about 1 minute). Allow the butter to cool before dipping the donuts in the butter. Also, mix the sugar and cinnamon together and pour part of the mixture on a plate or leave in the bowl to get ready to roll the donuts. Last thing before the donuts come out, set up a baking sheet or plate with parchment paper to set the donuts on after coating in sugar.
  10. Remove the donuts from the oven and allow to cool just enough to handle.7
  11. Dip the donut holes in the melted butter, and roll to coat in cinnamon sugar.
  12. Serve warm if possible. Fall donuts are better warm!8 Enjoy!

Makes about 3 dozen donut holes

Tips!

  1. Flax meal works best, but flax seed also works! You can also throw flax seed in a blender, bullet, or food processor to get flax meal.
  2. Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples recommended. You can also Google “good apples for baking.” Once they’re diced up, it should be about 2 cups. I think my apple was about 1 3/4 cup and they were perfect.
  3. Don’t have brown sugar? In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix 1/2 cup white sugar with 1/2 Tbsp of maple syrup or molasses.
  4. You can buy sticks of butter that are vegan brands like earth balance, but brands like Country Crock and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter have vegan butter as well. A quick hack with these brands that aren’t fully vegan, look at the ingredients list to see if it says at the bottom of the list “Contains: Milk.” If it does not say contains milk, you should be good! Milk is an allergen and by law must be clearly labeled.
  5. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use a spaghetti strainer or similar to sift. I have a metal spaghetti strainer that I use when a recipe calls for sifted flour.
  6. If your last batch of donuts does not fill the whole muffin tin, before popping them in the oven, fill the empty spots up about 1/4 of the way with water to ensure even baking of the batter.
  7. After removing the donuts from the oven, I took them out of the tin as soon as I could so they would cool faster and so I didn’t burn my fingers on the pan. I just dumped them out on a clean cookie sheet, but you can also use a spoon to scoop them out onto a plate or pan.
  8. If you have leftover donuts, place the donuts on top of a paper towel in a container put them in the fridge overnight. Try to make sure the donuts aren’t touching if you can.



Recipes, Uncategorized

Pumpkin Donut Holes

veganlivingbydanielle

Happy Fall! Around this time of year, I love apple picking, pumpkin patches, haunted houses…the usual festivities, but I miss those dang fall donuts! It occurred to me, I need to veganize a pumpkin donut recipe! They were so much easier than I expect for making donuts too!

Below, I hav shared the ingredients and directions and then some useful tips that I found while cooking below that (substitutions, brand recommendations, etc.)

Ingredients:

Donuts:

  • 1 Tbsp flax meal1
  • 3 Tbsp water
  • 1 3/4 cup sifted flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pumpkin spice2
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar3
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup any non-dairy milk

Topping:

  • 1 stick unsalted vegan butter4
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure the rack is centered.
  2. Generously grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan with nonstick spray or some vegetable oil with a paper towel.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp flax meal with 3 Tbsp water and let it sit for at least 3 minutes. This allows the mixture to become gelatinous, egg-like.
  4. Sift5 flour into medium mixing bowl. Mix in baking powder, salt, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice.
  5. Put the pumpkin puree in a separate large mixing bowl and mix in brown sugar. Make sure this bowl is bigger because you’re going to mix the dry ingredients into this bowl!
  6. Mix in the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and add the flax egg. Pour in milk, and mix until smooth.
  7. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until the dry mixture is completely mixed in, no clumps. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
  8. Scoop the batter into a 24-cup mini muffin pan, about ¾ full each cup, and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.6
  9. While the donuts are baking, melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave (about 1 minute). Allow the butter to cool before dipping the donuts in the butter. Also, mix the sugar and cinnamon together and pour part of the mixture on a plate or leave in the bowl to get ready to roll the donuts. Last thing before the donuts come out, set up a baking sheet or plate with parchment paper to set the donuts on after coating in sugar.
  10. Remove the donuts from the oven and allow to cool just enough to handle.7
  11. Dip the donut holes in the melted butter, and roll to coat in cinnamon sugar.
  12. Serve warm if possible. Fall donuts are better warm!8 Enjoy!

Makes about 36 donut holes

Tips!

  1. Flax meal works best, but flax seed also works! You can also throw flax seed in a blender, bullet, or food processor to get flax meal.
  2. Pumpkin spice sure makes the recipe easier, but if you don’t have pumpkin spice, you can substitute 1/4 tsp of each of the following: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves/allspice.
  3. Don’t have brown sugar? In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix 1/2 cup white sugar with 1/2 Tbsp of maple syrup or molasses.
  4. You can buy sticks of butter that are vegan brands like earth balance, but brands like Country Crock and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter have vegan butter as well. A quick hack with these brands that aren’t fully vegan, look at the ingredients list to see if it says at the bottom of the list “Contains: Milk.” If it does not say contains milk, you should be good! Milk is an allergen and by law must be clearly labeled.
  5. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use a spaghetti strainer or similar to sift. I have a metal spaghetti strainer that I use when a recipe calls for sifted flour.
  6. If your last batch of donuts does not fill the whole muffin tin, before popping them in the oven, fill the empty spots up about 1/4 of the way with water to ensure even baking of the batter.
  7. After removing the donuts from the oven, I took them out of the tin as soon as I could so they would cool faster and so I didn’t burn my fingers on the pan. I just dumped them out on a clean cookie sheet, but you can also use a spoon to scoop them out onto a plate or pan.
  8. If you have leftover donuts, place the donuts on top of a paper towel in a container put them in the fridge overnight. Try to make sure the donuts aren’t touching if you can.

Recipes, Uncategorized

Easy PB Cookies

veganlivingbydanielle

Vegan Living by Danielle | Easy PB Cookies

These vegan, gluten-free cookies are super quick and easy to make. The ingredients are simple and healthy, and the results are amazing! My boyfriend is super picky and he loves these. He had one the other day and assumed they are loaded with sugar…SURPRISE! They aren’t. When I told him the only ingredients are peanut butter, maple syrup, almond flour/oat flour, and a sprinkle of sugar he was so surprised and had another!

I normally use almond flour for these cookies, but I was craving them the other day and didn’t have any almond flour left. I was not going out to the store for it either, so I experimented with ground oats. It worked just as well as the almond flour, and it’s cheaper! I used the same technique as my banana bread recipe: put 1 1/4 cup oats in the blender/food processor and grind until it forms a powder like flour. Substitute in the recipe for the almond flour.

Vegan Living by Danielle | Easy PB Cookie Dough

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of almond/oat flour
  • 1/2 cup creamy unsweetened peanut butter (if PB doesn’t have salt, add 1/4 tsp salt)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • a few Tbsp of unrefined sugar (to roll dough in)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, or use a stone cookie sheet like I have.
  2. Mix flour, peanut butter, and syrup with a wooden spoon until smooth.
  3. Take chunks of the dough and roll the dough in your palms to make 1-inch cookie dough balls.
  4. Put sugar on a plate and roll each cookie dough ball until covered in sugar.
  5. Evenly space the cookie dough balls on the cookie sheet.
  6. Squish the cookie dough ball down with a fork in an “x.”
  7. Bake for 8 minutes. They do not need more time or they will be very dry.
  8. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.
  9. Allow to cool completely on a plate.

Enjoy!

Recipes, Uncategorized

Wheat-Free Banana Bread

veganlivingbydanielle

Vegan Living by Danielle | Wheat-Free Banana Bread

These banana bread muffins are so satisfying and delicious! I don’t feel guilty eating them either because all the ingredients are healthy (in moderation).

If you want the bread to be gluten-free, make sure that the oats are certified gluten-free. Sometimes oats are mixed with other, non-wheat, grains.

Some people are, but I’m not a huge fan of the hint of coconut flavor, so I love to use butter flavored coconut oil in the batter and to grease the pan too! Vegetable oil is another oil you could substitute for coconut oil.

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium-size ripe bananas
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 and 3/4 + 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, divided
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease or line muffin tin or pan.
  2. In a mixing bowl, mash the 2 bananas.
  3. Mix in peanut butter, nut milk, syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. (Highly recommend adding the peanut butter first. I dropped it in after the milk and syrup…things got messy.)
  4. Use a blender or food processor to grind the 1 and 3/4 cup oats to a very coarse flour as shown below. (Finer flour will yield a final product with a gummy texture.)

Vegan Living by Danielle | Oats for Banana Bread

  1. Mix the coarse oat flour, the 1/2 cup whole oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the batter.
  2. Once you have a relatively smooth batter, mix in chocolate chips!
  3. Scoop into your pan or muffin tin.
  4. Use a spatula or knife to spread the batter across the pan. (It doesn’t need to be perfect, just get it into all the corners.)
  5. Cook the bread for 30 minutes, muffins for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the muffins. (I cooked my 6 large muffins for 20 minutes.)
  6. Check if the middle of the bread is cooked with a toothpick or fork.
  7. Set bread to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
  8. If you greased the pan instead of using a liner, use a fork or knife to carefully remove the bread from the pan.

Enjoy!