Agave cupcakes with chocolate frosting

Adapted from The Kind Diet, p. 190

Cupcakes
2/3 cup hemp or soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup safflower oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of fine sea salt
 

Fudge Frosting
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Earth Balance butter
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup soy milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
 

Combine the milk and vinegar in a medium bowl, and set aside for at least 5 minutes or until it bubbles a little. If it doesn’t bubble, keep stirring the mixture until it does. Add the agave nectar, oil, and vanilla and stir.
 

In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until no lumps remain.
 

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one cupcake comes out clean and the tops are slightly springy when pressed. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then cool completely on a baking rack before frosting.
 

To make the Fudge Frosting, use a mixer to cream the butter together with the agave nectar in a mixing bowl until very smooth. Add the vanilla extract and about half the cocoa powder, mix on low speed to combine, then add the remaining cocoa powder. Add in the soy milk powder, and beat at medium-high speed until fluffy. If it is runny, refrigerate the frosting until it sets a little.

My frosting turned out with a bit of a weird texture as you can tell by the photos, but it still tasted delicious!

Embracing the Fall season: chocolate chip pumpkin bread!

What you'll need:

Serves 9  

yields one 8"X8" pan

Ingredients:

• 20oz (2.5 cups) canned pumpkin
• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 1 egg replacer (I use Bob's Red Mill brand found at Whole Foods)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp safflower oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups spelt flower
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup non dairy chocolate chips (I use Enjoy life brand found at Target or Whole Foods)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Lightly spray an 8"X8" cake pan with oil spray
• Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, egg replacer, almond milk, safflower oil, and vanilla extract in a medium size mixing bowl.
• In a large bowl combine the spelt flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and most of the chocolate chips (leave behind enough to sprinkle on top).
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl and mix until fully combined.
• Fill the 8" x 8" pan with the batter and spread with a spoon to even out.
• Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips over the bread.
• Bake between 45 minutes and an hour (I baked mine a whole hour). You will know it's ready when you poke the center of the loaf with a fork and it comes out clean.
• Let the pumpkin bread cool for 5-10 minutes on a rack before serving.

This is the best pumpkin bread I've ever had, vegan or non-vegan! My boyfriend normally dislike anything with pumpkin, and when he reluctantly tried this he couldn't believe how much he liked it! Meat-lover boyfriend approved!!

Easy 5 ingredient whole wheat biscuits!

What you'll need:

Adapted from The Kind Diet, p. 197

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (found at Whole Foods)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup safflower oil
• 1/2 cup almond milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Combine the flour, baking powder & salt in a large mixing bowl.
• Slowly pour in the oil, mixing with a fork until mixture is combined
• Add the milk and mix thoroughly
• Lightly flour a cutting board
• Gather the dough into a ball and place on the cutting board
• Kneed the dough about 25 times with your hands and then gather dough into a ball again
• Use a rolling pin the flatten out the dough until it's a 1/2" thick
• Use a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass (I used a glass with a 2.5" rim) to cut the biscuits
• Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place biscuits on the sheet at least 1" apart
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the bottoms are golden 
• Serve with cookie butter (yum!), jam, or Earth Balance butter

I found this biscuit recipe in Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet". These are so easy to make and my boyfriend and I love having them for breakfast! They are so filling and yummy. We both love spreading cookie butter on them and sometimes I have them with jam. Enjoy!

Chocolate-banana-oat treats!

Inspired by Oh She Glows

Makes 9 treats

Ingredients:

• 2 large ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup pitted Medjool dates
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3-4 tbsp vegan chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand found at Target or Whole Foods)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add the peeled bananas, pitted dates, coconut oil, and vanilla into a blender. Blend until smooth. 
• Add in the cinnamon, baking powder, and salt and blend again until combined.
• Add in 1.5 cups of the rolled oats and blend
• Pour contents in blender into a large mixing bowl. Carefully stir in the remaining 1/2 cup rolled oats and the chocolate chips.
• Spoon a large portion of dough (about 3-4 tablespoons or so for each) onto the parchment. Do not press down on the dough to flatten - simply leave it in a mound on the baking sheet.
• Bake cookies for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for another 7-9 minutes until golden brown on the bottom.
• Let cool for 5 minutes on a rack and enjoy!

They aren't much to look at, but perfectly chewy and warm, these will come out of the over smelling of banana bread. If that wasn't enough they are healthy and chocolately too!! Warning: you won't want to have just one...

My boyfriend & I loved these so much that we couldn't stop eating them as soon as they came out of the oven!

Easy cookie dough balls

What you'll need:

Recipe adapted from The Oh She Glows cookbook, p. 235

Ingredients:

Makes 20 cookie dough balls

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 4 tbsp almond butter (can substitute for peanut butter if desired)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup raw almonds or almond meal 
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 4 tbsp vegan dark chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand)

Directions:

• Blend the oats in a blender until a flour forms. Set aside.
• If you do not have almond meal, blend whole raw almonds in a blender until a flour forms. Set aside. (Almond meal can be found at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods)
• In a large bowl combine the oil, almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla and mix very well.
• Add the almond flour, oat flour and salt and mix again until thoroughly combined. 
• Mix in the chocolate chips.
• Rolls the dough into small balls (about 1 tbsp of dough each)
• Place the balls on a plate lined with parchment paper
• Freeze the balls until firm for 5 to 10 minutes, and then enjoy!
• They can be stored in a freezer bag in the freezer ready to eat at any time!

Sunday morning pancakes - made healthier!

What you'll need:

Makes 10 pancakes

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour (found at Whole Foods)
• 2 tbsp arrowroot powder (found at Whole Foods)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1.5 cups + 3 tablespoons almond milk
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 
• 1 large ripe banana chopped
• Maple syrup for topping
• Olive oil spray 

Directions:

• In a blender, blend the 1 cup oats on into a fine flour. Place into a large bowl. Whisk in the rice flour, arrowroot, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

• In a smaller bowl, whisk together the almond milk, agave nectar, and vanilla extract. Pour this onto the dry ingredients and whisk the batter until it's clump-free.

• Dice the banana and pour into the batter. Whisk until combined.

• Lightly grease a skillet with olive oil spray. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto the preheated skillet and quickly spread the batter out into a circle. Cook until some bubbles appear and the edge looks deeper in color and more firm. Flip and cook for another couple minutes until golden. Adjust heat as needed. Repeat for the other pancakes. Spray the skillet with olive oil spray before each new batch of pancakes.

• Stack and serve with pure maple syrup!

I made these for my boyfriend and I for the first time today and we loved them! I admit, they aren't as fluffy as a traditional pancake but they delicious with hints of vanilla and cinnamon and the banana adds volume and makes them very filling! So go ahead and try these out as a healthier twist to your traditional Sunday morning pancakes :)!