Good Thanksgiving Gingerbread Recipe!

This post is a re-post of one of my favorite vegan treats, Oh She Glows' Frosted Gingerbread, originally posted here.

One of the best vegan blogs is my personal favorite, ohsheglows.com. I depend on her blog for inspiration and fool-proof recipes. That's one of the best parts of cooking blogs: the blogger (usually!) has tried the recipe a few times and only recommends what works. And I love passing along to my readers easy, sensible recipes that work!

Adapted from Fat Free Vegan.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (or canola), softened (a little pricey, but worth it)
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• Chia egg (1 tbsp chia + 3 tbsp water) (I did the same, but with ground flax seed)
• 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (OR 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ginger)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 th tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a regular sized loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly oil on top. Toast the walnuts on a baking sheet for about 10-12 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and set aside. Combine the following ingredients (pumpkin, maple syrup, sugar, coconut oil, molasses, chia egg) in a medium-sized mixing bowl and blend well. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir well. Stir in the toasted nuts. Pour the batter into the pan, smooth out with wet spoon, and bake for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from pan. While it is baking, make your spiced buttercream frosting (see below). Serves eight 1-inch slices.

Spiced Buttercream Frosting

Buttery, sweet, fluffy, spicy…and vegan to boot! The perfect Fall-spiced frosting.
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance Butter Stick, softened
• 1 3/4 cup icing sugar (aka: confectioner’s sugar)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (yes, a full tablespoon!)
• 1 tbsp almond milk (as needed to thin out to desired consistency)

Directions: Whip the Earth Balance with a mixer until smooth. Now add half of the icing sugar and blend well, stopping to scrape the side of bowl as needed. Now add in the vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and almond milk (if needed). Mix well. Add in the remaining icing sugar and blend for several minutes, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl. Once the Gingerbread has fully cooled, spread on the icing using a wet spatula.

Veganmama note: this frosting is the bomb, and I'm not a frosting lover.

What the bulk?

One of our favorite desserts are "raw balls" as we like to call them. They're so simple to make that my daughter has been making them on her own (note to self: don't celebrate this fact until she also does the dishes after making them!)

This was a recipe I had pinned on Pinterest and finally got around to making :) Have you made the effort to actually prepare some of your pinned recipes? It's so easy to pin and forget about them!

Yes, I make my own vanilla extract. I'm sort of a geek that way :)

Don't they look delicious? They don't have much of a shelf life in our house! It's the perfect mid-afternoon snack and the kids don't complain when there are one or two in their lunch :)

From the blog: http://www.howsweeteats.com

Quick + Easy No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bites

Yield: 12-15 bites
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup sliced almonds, chopped
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup ground peanuts or ground almonds, to roll the balls in (I skipped this)

Directions:

Combine oats, almonds, flaxseed, chia seeds, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir.
Melt peanut butter and allow it to cool slightly (I melted mine in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then stirred), then stir in honey and vanilla extract until it's combined. Once peanut butter has cooled a bit, pour it over the oat mixture and mix well with a spoon then bring together with your hands. Once mixture is sticking together, fold in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into golf-ball sized (or slightly smaller) balls, then roll in ground peanuts or ground almonds. These can be eaten at room temp but we really like them stored in the fridge!

What the bulk? Chocolate Chunk Toffee Bars

The Blog "Oh She Glows" Chocolate Chunk Toffee Bars 

Hi Readers! This is a recipe I just found and am dying to try. They are a big treat, but would really hit the spot on a cool fall afternoon with a cup of tea, no?

From Oh She Glows:


"Everything I love in a granola bar- a crisp, toffee-like exterior with a chunky and chewy middle. Be sure to allow the bars to cool completely before slicing. "

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cup oats
• 1/4 cup whole grain spelt flour
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
• 2 tbsp Earth Balance (or other non-dairy spread)
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all natural peanut butter (my PB is very ‘drippy’- if yours is dry add another tbsp Earth Balance)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chunks or chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8-inch pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper (one going each way), so the bars do not stick to pan.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (oats, flour, chia seeds, cinnamon, salt, walnuts).

3. In a microwavable bowl, stir together the brown rice syrup, Earth Balance, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Microwave on high for 45 seconds. Alternatively you can heat this on the stovetop.

4. Pour wet mixture onto dry and stir well. The mixture will be very tough to stir (it’s a thick dough!) so don’t be alarmed. Allow the dough to cool a bit before mixing in the chocolate (otherwise, if you add in the chocolate too soon, it will melt, and it’s best chunky).

5. Scoop into prepared pan and with a wet spoon spread out the mixture. The dough will be very thick and sticky. I dipped a pastry roller into water and rolled it out. Try to get it as even as possible!

6. Bake for 30-32 minutes at 350F. Allow to cool in the pan, on a cooling rack, for at least 15 minutes. Remove carefully from pan and allow to cool on the rack for another 20-30 minutes. If you cut the bars before completely cooling, they will crack, so it’s a good idea to wait as they will firm up.

My Dessert Presentation at Whole Foods

What a pleasure it was to teach a class at my local Whole Foods on the benefits of making our desserts a little bit healthier. I started off by telling the group that the best desserts are fruit, however, I fully understand and appreciate the desire (and a big desire it is in some of us!) to whip up something that is sweet. It's also a nice way to introduce children to new tastes and new ideas about what dessert should to be.

Me with Terri, the store's Healthy Eating Specialist!

During the class, I had a ton of good ingredients spread on the table to show attendees the types of things they might want to stock in their pantry, including: old fashioned oats, maple syrup, raisins, dates, carob chips, unsweetened coconut, sliced almonds, sesame seeds, almond butter, peanut butter, etc.

With the help of a very fancy Vitamixer (!) we whipped up 3 kinds of raw balls. The reason I chose to feature raw balls is because they are EASY, fun, you can eat them raw, and most people love them.

We started with a chocolate ball from The Kind Diet book.

Next it was my personal favorite:

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No Bake Energy Bits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 1 cup toasted coconut flakes (I like unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup raw sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla
•  

Method:

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed.  Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.  Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like.  (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.)  Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Makes about 20-25 balls.

Lastly, a new recipe, a carrot cake ball.

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Carrot Oatmeal Raisin Balls

http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/

No-Bake Oatmeal Raisin Carrot Cake Bites
1/ 2 c dry old-fashioned oats + 2 tbsp reserved
1/4 c carrots
1/4 c pitted medjool dates (I used 4 large, moist dates)
1/4 c raisins (I used a raisin medley blend) + 1/4 c reserved
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
Blend the oats and carrots in a Vita or food processor for about 10 seconds.  Then add everything else (except the reserved ingredients) and blend for another 20 seconds or until incorporated.  Don’t overblend.
Remove the dough and by hand, stir in the reserved:
2 Tbsp dry oats
1/4 c raisins
Form into bite-sized balls or cookie shapes.  If needed, refrigerate or freeze the dough for 15 minutes to make it less sticky and easier to work with.
Yields: 1 dozen bites the size of a quarter gumball.  Store in freezer or refrigerator.

Wasn't my assistant a cutie pie?

I love teaching and think there's nothing more exciting than watching someone try something new and fall in love with a new taste, or new approach to eating. Sometimes it's the smallest new habits we fall into that end up helping us live better!

Thank you to the attendees. I hope you left feeling good, satisfied and excited to make some raw balls for your friends and family! I can't tell you how much I appreciated your time! And remember, with these raw desserts, licking the bowl is ENCOURAGED! :)

p.s. Proud to say the proceeds from the class were donated to the American Heart Association, a cause near and dear to my own heart!