White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

 Recipe from Purely Kaylie. Full disclosure I used an Italian 00 flour which I can tolerate so I'm not sure how they turn out using GF flour but I'm guessing good.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegan butter, slightly softened

3/4 cup vegan light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup vegan cane sugar

1/4 cup non-dairy milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (or GF flour)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup vegan white chocolate chips

1 cup roasted salted macadamia nuts, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper (I use silicon mats) to prevent the cookies from sticking to the pan. I needed more like 4 trays truth be told - the cookies spread out A LOT and to get lovely round cookies they need space. Mine were a bit misshapen because they ran into the others.

In a large bowl, add vegan butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Using a handheld mixer or an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes). Add almond milk and vanilla extract, then beat together once more to combine.

Add all-purpose flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt to the bowl. Mix together until the flour is evenly incorporated. Then, add chopped macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips. Mix together.

Scoop the cookie dough into balls. Transfer to the baking sheets.

Bake cookies for 12 minutes or until the edges are light golden and the center is still gooey. You should remove them from the oven while the center still appears underbaked. They will de-puff and firm up while cooling on the baking sheet. Leave to cool for around 20 mins.

Mango Sticky Rice

This mango sticky rice recipe is from my favourite Thai chef Rin S. I just changed it to vegan easily. 2 cans of coconut milk is enough for the rice and the sauce.

Mango Sticky Rice

Ingredients

Coconut Sticky Rice

1lb sticky rice (hot) (I used a frozen microwavable sticky rice and it was fabulous)

2/2/3 cup coconut milk

1 1/4 cup vegan sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

5-6 Pandon leaves (I used some vanilla extract instead)

1 Tbls yellow mung beans (optional)

Coconut Sauce

1/2 cup coconut milk

Tbls veganb sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

Pinch of salt

Serving

Ripe mango, sliced (mangoes are not in season now so I used frozen)

Method

Add roasted yellow mung bean in saucepan on medium for 3-4 minutes until golden brown then take off heat and keep to the side for serving.

Into the saucepan add coconut milk, sugar, salt, pandon leaves on a medium heat until hot but not boiling. 

Rice needs to be hot so heat in container if been prepared prior and has cooled.

Add rice to the mix and cover for 15mins. Consistency should be not too runny not too thick. It will thicken as it cools.

For the sauce add all ingredients to a microwavable jug and heat for 1-2 mins, whisk together.

To serve add rice to a serving bowl, add sliced mango, pour over sauce and top with roasted mung beans.

Holiday Sugar Cookies

I adapted this recipe from one on Sugar Spun Fun. It works really well for structure.

Holiday Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies

1 cup (226 g) vegan butter softened

1 cup (200 g) granulated vegan sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg replacer

2 ½ cups (315 g) GF plain baking flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon table salt

Sugar Cookie Frosting

3 cups (375 g) vegan powdered sugar, sifted (weigh before sifting)

3-4 Tablespoons non-dairy milk

2 Tablespoons light corn syrup (see note)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Vegan food coloring optional

Additional candies and sprinkles for decorating options

Method

Sugar Cookies

Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and use an electric hand mixer) and beat until creamy and well-combined.
Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until completely combined.

In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet until dough is smooth and completely combined.

Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap and transfer approximately half of the dough onto the wrap.

Cover dough with clear wrap or wax paper and mold into a flat disk. Wrap tightly. Repeat with remaining cookie dough in another piece of clear wrap. 

Transfer dough to refrigerator and chill for at least 2-3 hours and up to 5 days.

Once dough has finished chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I use reusable silicon sheets). Set aside.

Generously dust a clean surface with GF flour and place one chilled cookie dough disk onto the surface. 

Lightly flour the dough and roll out to ⅛" (for thinner, crispier cookies) or ¼" (for thicker, softer cookies). 

Add additional flour as needed both on top of and beneath the dough so that it doesn't stick. 

Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and use a spatula to transfer shapes to prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 1" apart. 

If you are not intending to decorate your cookies with icing, you can decorate them with sanding sugar at this point before you bake them. 

Bake on 350F (175C) for 10-15 minutes (this is for cookies that are approximately 3" [7.6cm]; note that smaller cookies will need less time and larger cookies will need more), or until edges just begin to turn lightly golden brown. 

Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet before decorating.

Easy Sugar Cookie Icing

Combine powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons of dairy-free milk, corn syrup, and vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl and stir until combined. You want the frosting a little thick if you're adding food coloring because it will dilute the icing.
If coloring the frosting, divide into bowls and color as desired at this point.

Transfer frosting to a piping bag with a piping tip (I used Wilton 5), or place in a Ziploc bag and snip a small piece of the corner off (not as neat, but this will still work, just take care that the frosting isn’t so thick that it breaks open the seam of the bag when you are squeezing).  

Pipe frosting on cookies and decorate with decorative candies, if desired.

I just use bowls and a spoon and no piping bags.
Allow frosting to harden before enjoying, stacking, or storing (this took several hours for me and may vary for you depending on the consistency of your frosting).

Chocolate Holiday Bark

Chocolate bark is a lovely gift for the holidays! You can use whatever nuts and fruits you like or have on hand. We save peppermint bark for after the holidays since the candy canes are on the tree ;)

I made three batches, which used three trays and 6 packets of chocolate chips. These were gifts for 30 coworkers.

Chocolate Holiday Bark

Ingredients

Vegan choc chips of choice (I used Enjoy Life)-2 10oz bags for each large cookie tray.

Pistachio pieces 

Slivered almonds or almond pieces

Pine nuts

Cranberries

Dried apricot 

Pecans pieces

Method

Line your tray with parchment or wax paper.

Have your ingredients ready to go.

Use a double broiler or a stainless steel bowl that fits snuggly over a saucepan full of boiling water.

Once water is boiled add chocolate chips to bowl and stir occasionally until completely melted.

Remove from stove and wipe any condensation off the bowl with a hand towel. If water gets into the chocolate it will become grainy.

Pour directly onto your lined tray and smooth out with your spatula.

Sprinkle your ingredients over the bark and once you're happy with it transfer it to the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Once completely hardened you can take out of the fridge and use the parchment paper underneath to flip up the edges and crack the chocolate into pieces for serving or packing. You can always 

This is how I packaged it - in sealable bags with a handmade gift tag.

With a fancy vegan white chocolate drizzle.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

I had a slight fail adapting the pecan pit receipt to a chocolate one because I made the graham cracker crust too moist so next time I'd make sure it was drier and maybe freeze it prior to using. I think this would be good with hazelnuts instead of pecans as well, giving it a Nutella feel!

Pecan Pie

Ingredients

Filling

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup brown rice syrup or agave nectar
3/4 cup maple syrup
4 tbsp. Earth Balance dairy-free, soy-free margarine or coconut oil
3/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch salt
2 cups broken pecans
about 100 whole pecans

Graham Cracker Crust

1 ½ cups (170 g) vegan GF chocolate graham cracker crumbs (or 11 graham cracker sheets pulverized to crumbs in a food processor)

2 Tablespoons vegan sugar

1 Tablespoons vegan brown sugar packed

5 Tablespoons (100 g) vegan butter melted

1/2 cup vegan chocolate pieces for the drizzle.

Method

Crust

Pulverize graham crackers in food processor until finely ground into crumbs (skip this step if starting with graham cracker crumbs). 

Stir together graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a medium-sized bowl.  

Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well until crumbs are all moistened.

Pour mixture into pie plate or springform pan.  U

se the bottom of a measuring cup to firmly pack crumbs into the bottom of the pan and (if using a pie pan) gently press up the sides.  

Use your fingers to pack crumbs tightly into the sides of the pie pan.

If the crust needs to be pre-baked, bake on 350F (175C) for 10-13 minutes and allow to cool before filling. 

If using this crust as part of a different recipe, bake according to your recipe's instructions.  

If this crust is for a no-bake recipe, refrigerate or freeze for 10-20 minutes before filling.

Filling

In a small saucepan, heat the brown sugar, rice syrup and maple syrup to a simmer.

Simmer a few minutes, until the brown sugar has dissolved.

Turn off the heat and add the margarine, stir to melt.

Then add the applesauce and vanilla and stir to combine.  Set aside to cool.

Line a pie plate with pastry crust and flute edges as desired.

Fill the pie shell with the broken pecans.

Pour the cooled applesauce mixture over the pecans.

Place the whole pecans in a circular pattern on top of the pecan filling.

Place the pie in the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees.

Bake about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown (the mixture will be hot and bubbly).

Once pie is cooled to room temperature melt the chocolate in a double broiler and drizzle over the top, refrigerating immediately, can be made the day before.

Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Chocolate Pear Pudding

Original recipe by Nigella Lawson :) I didn't use the chocolate sauce when I made it but I left it in the original recipe for optional indulgence!

Chocolate Pear Pudding

Ingredients

For pudding;

830g pear halves in juice (2 cans)

125g GF flour

25g cocoa powder

125g vegan sugar

150g vegan butter

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 egg replacers or 1/4 cup apple sauce

2 tsp vanilla extract

For chocolate sauce (optional)

200g vegan dark chocolate pieces

120ml 1 teaspoon instant coffee made up with ½cup boiling water

90g vegan sugar

120ml vegan cream/coconut cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400ºF and grease a 22cm / 8½ inch square ovenproof

dish with vegan butter.

Drain the pears well and arrange them on the base of the dish.

Put all the remaining ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth, or use a hand held mixer.

Spread the brown batter over the pears, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Let stand out of the oven for 5 or 10 minutes and then cut into slabs and serve with chocolate sauce.

To make the chocolate sauce, place the chocolate pieces in a heavy based saucepan with the coffee and

sugar and melt over a low heat, stirring occasionally.

Once it has nearly melted stir in the cream, and once it has made a smooth sauce take off the heat and

pour into a jug.

Chocolate Pie

 I found this recipe that didn’t use tofu, because I didn’t have any. I used a premade vegan GF graham cracker crust I had got on sale and the filling took all of 5-10mins to make. Just needs a few hours to set. It was ma HUGE hit! Tasted like chocolate mouse :)

Original recipe from One Lovely Life. Original Graham Cracker Crust recipe from Sugar Spun Run.

Chocolate Pie

Ingredients

3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

4 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot

1/3 cup coconut sugar (or white sugar)

1 (13oz) can full-fat coconut milk

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

Premade Graham Cracker Crust (recipe below)

Toppings (optional) 

Dairy-Free Whipped Topping (Like CocoWhip, TruWhip Vegan, or Reddi-Wip almond or coconut)

Dairy-Free Shaved chocolate, chocolate chunks, or mini chocolate chips.

Method

In a medium saucepan, whisk together cocoa powder, cornstarch, and coconut sugar. Pour in coconut milk and almond milk.

Bring the mixture up to a boil, whisking constantly to help avoid lumps.

Boil 2-3 minutes, or until mixture is visibly thicker. (You want it to really thicken.)

Remove pudding from the heat and add chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt.

Whisk to combine until the chocolate chips are completely melted. (Mixture will be quite thick now.)

Remove pie crust from the refrigerator and pour in your chocolate cream filling.

Cover the pie with plastic wrap or the cover from the premade crust and chill until completely chilled through and set, at least 2-3 hours. (I love making this pie even further ahead–8-12 hours.)

When ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator and uncover. Top with whipped topping and shaved chocolate, as desired. Note: the surface of the pie may crack as it chills. This is totally fine. That’s what whipped cream is for!

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients

1 ½ cups (170 g) vegan GF graham cracker crumbs (or 11 graham cracker sheets pulverized to crumbs in a food processor)

2 Tablespoons vegan sugar

1 Tablespoons vegan brown sugar packed

7 Tablespoons (100 g) vegan butter melted

Method

Pulverize graham crackers in food processor until finely ground into crumbs (skip this step if starting with graham cracker crumbs). 

Stir together graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a medium-sized bowl.  

Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well until crumbs are all moistened.

Pour mixture into pie plate or springform pan.  U

se the bottom of a measuring cup to firmly pack crumbs into the bottom of the pan and (if using a pie pan) gently press up the sides.  

Use your fingers to pack crumbs tightly into the sides of the pie pan.

If the crust needs to be pre-baked, bake on 350F (175C) for 10-13 minutes and allow to cool before filling. 

If using this crust as part of a different recipe, bake according to your recipe's instructions.  

If this crust is for a no-bake recipe, refrigerate or freeze for 10-20 minutes before filling.