{never}homemaker’s recipe is fantastic – and very simple to make. I make it even simpler by making the recipe as muffins, rather than a loaf, so the baking time is much shorter. I also use canola oil instead of olive oil and double the chocolate chips…
I tried PPK’s classic chocolate chip recipe a few days ago – I didn’t make any intentional adjustments but I did accidentally leave out the tapioca flour. Also: I rolled the dough into balls but forgot to flatten them. As a result, they took twice as long to cook. I wasn’t too keen on the texture, but that may have been the result of the missing tapioca flour (which you can sub with arrowroot or cornstarch). They did have a nice, slightly caramel flavour which I liked.
I was pretty skeptical about these – I don’t like dates, and whenever I see them in a recipe I usually just think “forget it”. BUT Angela at Oh She Glows claimed that these date-based caramels taste almost like the real thing, so I figured I’d give them a try. Personally, I think they’re some ways off from tasting like actual caramel, but these little candies are definitely very tasty and the date flavour is very much in the background. Now, these caramels sound so “healthy” because they’re just dates and nuts and some dark chocolate, but dates are a dried fruit and therefore have pretty concentrated sugars, so don’t go stuffing your face with them.
200 g medjool dates (if they feel quite hard, soak them in some hot water first)
1/2 tbsp peanut butter
pinch of salt
If you’ve soaked your dates, make sure to drain them really well – any extra liquid will make the caramel impossible to roll into balls. Add the dates, salt and pb to a food processor and blend to a paste. Refrigerate for about 30 mins, or until it firms up enough to roll into balls. Roll the date paste into large marble-sized balls and freeze for about 20 mins.
1/2 c dark chocolate chips
1 tsp coconut oil
Melt together in a double boiler or in 30 sec increments in your microwave.
Dip each caramel ball into the chocolate (I found using two small dessert forks the easiest method). Transfer to a wax paper-lined tray and return to the freezer for at least 30 mins, till chocolate sets.
Keep the caramels refrigerated or frozen, as they will get melty at room temp (the date flavour is a bit stronger at room temp, too).
This is a veganized version of a very old-fashioned New Zealand sweet loaf.
Heat your oven to 375 F. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
Cream together
1/2 tbsp egg replacer
1 1/2 tbsp water
2 oz Earth Balance
6 oz golden syrup
4 oz sugar
Then add the following in small, alternating, amounts, mixing well in between
3/4 c unsweetened soy milk
9 oz flour, sifted with
1 tbsp ground ginger
Lastly dissolve
1 tsp baking soda in
1/4 c hot water
Add to the bowl and mix well. The batter should be fairly runny. Pour into your lined tin and bake about 65 mins: the loaf is done when a skewer comes out clean. Start testing at about the 45 min mark, as baking time will depend on your oven and tin size.
Once baked, remove from tin by lifting up the edges of the parchment paper and let it cool on a cookie rack for about 30 mins. Can be served warm or cold, plain or with butter/jam.
My New Roots has some great recipes, and this is the latest. I swear to god these don’t taste even the littlest bit beany. They are very, very rich and relatively ‘healthy’ (lol). See nutritional info below.
UPDATE: if you can resist eating these as soon as they’re cool, they taste even better after a night in the fridge – mine were a little cakey out of the oven, but today GODDAMN they were like the richest, most decadent fudgy pieces of heaven. They also tasted a little sweeter, but i will probably try making these with semi sweet choc chips next time anyway. it seriously has taken me all my will power to not devour the whole batch and make another immediately – somehow, over 2 days, we’ve still got one remaining cookie (A MIRACLE! although i’m totally sneaking it for my lunch [who am i kidding – BREAKFAST] tomorrow).
Makes 8 large-ish cookies
2 tbsp chia seeds (or flax seeds, or egg replacer)
1/3 c golden syrup (or maple syrup, honey, agave)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix together and set aside.
1 can of black beans (15 oz) rinsed well and drained
2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
1/3 unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 tsp coarse sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne or chili powder
Add to the food processor and blend till smooth. Should form a thick batter. Add the the chia seed mix and pulse to combine. Turn out into a bowl and fold in the following:
1/3 c roughly chopped 70% Chocolate (use best quality)
1/3 c raw walnuts
1/4 c dried cherries
Heat oven to 375 F, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spoon the batter out into 8 blobs. Flatten with the back of wet spoon (these cookies don’t spread). Sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt and bake for about 15 mins. Let them cool completely before eating.
These are RIDICULOUS… ridiculously good! Recipe taken from here.
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 raw cashews
Put in your food processor and blend to a powder.
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
Add the above and pulse.
3 tbsp peanut butter
3-5 tbsp golden syrup or maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
Add the above and pulse till you get a dough-like consistency. Add 3 tbsp of syrup to start and gradually add more if the dough is too dry. If you over-do it, just add more flour to make it drier.
Tip out into a bowl and stir in:
1/4 c chocolate chips
1/4 peanuts
1/4 rice bubbles (rice crispie things)
Roll into balls and eat! (I think you’re supposed to refrigerate or freeze them first… but why bother?!)
At the opposite end of the smoothie spectrum:
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER SLUDGE
half of a little tub of non-dairy icecream
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c chocolate hazelnut milk
chocolate chips
Throw into a blender and blend till smoooooth.
OREO MINT COOKIE MAGNIFIQUE
half of a little tub of choc mint non-dairy icecream
1/2 c almond chocolate milk
chocolate chips
Blend till smooth, then stir in crushed newman-o’s (mint).
This is my new favourite vegan cooking (baking) website! The first time I made these they were delicious but a bit too dry and cakey for my liking. The original recipe is here, and below is my adaptation, which produce much more fudgey, dense brownies.
4 tbsp melted earth balance margarine
3.5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 c sugar
1/8 c boiling water, maybe a little more if it doesn’t seem wet enough to blend easily
3/4 c flour + 1/8 c
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 walnuts or hazelnuts
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and move one of the racks to the lower third. Line an 8 x 8″ pan with tin foil (make sure it’s sticking out over the edge of the dish so you can remove the brownie easily.
Place the cocoa and choc chips in a bowl and pour the boiling water over: mix with a spoon till silky and lump free. Add the sugar, melted marg and vanilla. Whisk really well till completely combined.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda with a fork till well combined, then add the chocolate mixture. Mix in with a wooden spoon or spatula – don’t overmix it, though, just till combined. Fold in the nuts.
The batter should be really, really thick and quite dry – almost like a dough. Press it into the pan with the spatula and bake for about 30 mins.
Good luck trying not to eat these all at once!
ANZAC biscuits are chewy, sugary, buttery chunks of deliciousness. They’re traditionally made with butter but I just subbed in an equivalent amount of Earth Balance and they tasted just like mum used to make BUT they turned out more like a … cake, rather than cookies. I think it’s the marg that causes them to spread. But it’s no big deal: cut these into squares while they’re still hot.
100g margarine
1/4 c golden syrup (you could probably sub maple syrup, but GS is BEST and available from Cost Plus World Market or try the Commonwealth food aisle at your local market)
1 t vanilla essence
1 c sugar
1 c rolled oats
1 c coconut
1 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
2 T warm water
Melt the margarine in a saucepan. Measure the golden syrup in a 1/4 c measure rinsed in very hot water, so the syrup tips out easily.
Stir the essence and golden syrup into the barely liquid butter, then remove from the heat.
Mix in dry ingredients then baking soda dissolved in warm water.
Roll into balls and flatten on a greased tray.
Bake at 325 F for 20-25 mins until golden and then slice into squares.
UPDATE: line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, roll tablespoon-sized balls of the dough in your hands (squishing it together – they don’t have to be perfectly round balls) and lay them out approximately 1.5-2″ apart (you may have to bake two separate batches if you make the whole recipe) and bake at 325 F for 22 mins. Remove from oven immediately and let them cool completely: they will seem too soft/gooey when you first take them out but they WILL harden up.
UPDATE ii: after mixing everything together, fold in half a cup of chocolate chips and 1/4 c of crushed pecans. Don’t bother trying to make cookies – plop the whole mixture down on a parchment-lined sheet and press into some kind of shape (or press into a lined baking pan/dish), bake at 325 F for 22 mins for chewy cookies, or about 25 mins for crunchy. If you turn the oven off at 22 mins and just leave the cookies in there for about 30 mins, they’ll harden up to crunchy as well.
vegantester 