Chocolate candy cane cookies (gluten-free)

Even though Christmas is all over for another year, I thought I'd share this recipe because these cookies were deeelicious! And you could always leave out the candy canes and add in some peppermint oil to make them choc peppermint cookies for anytime of the year ;)
This recipe is adapted from the Babycakes cookbook.

Gluten free double chocolate cookies (makes about 24)
1 cup coconut or canola oil
1 1/4 cup organic raw sugar
1/3 cup well mashed sweet potato (or applesauce, but I think the sweet potato worked really well in these)
1 tsp salt
2 tbls vanilla extract
A few drops of peppermint oil (optional)
1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free four
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

200 grams vegan white chocolate (or you can use dark chocolate)
Crushed candy canes (if you're in Australia, Coles' homebrand candy canes are vegan)

Preheat oven to 160C and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
Whisk together the oil, sugar, sweet potato, salt, vanilla & peppermint if using. Whisk really well until everything is fully emulsified and the oil doesn't separate. It will take a few minutes and will look really thick.
In another bowl whisk together the cocoa, flour, baking soda and xanthan gum.
Mix the flax into the wet ingredients, then stir through the flour mix. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Scoop balls of dough onto the baking trays leaving a few centimetres between each cookie. Flatten slightly with your hand to help them spread.
Bake for 14 minutes rotating the tray halfway through.

Once cookies are cool, melt the white chocolate with a teaspoon of coconut oil in a teacup, or something that you can dip a cookie into. Dip one half of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a tray, or you could use a spoon or piping bag to drizzle the chocolate over the cookies Sprinkle with crushed candy canes and let them set.

Pumpkin ice cream & gingerbread cookie sandwiches

I soon as I saw Isa's recipe for pumpkin ice cream I had to make it! I made some gingerbread cookies to go with it, because ice cream is always better squished between cookies. And it's kinda like a frozen pumpkin pie! YUM.

Both recipes are from the PPK!
> Pumpkin ice cream
> Gingerbread cookies

Raw chocolate truffles

I'm obsessed with this raw brownie recipe, so I adapted it a bit to make these truffles, which are coated in raw chocolate and other yum stuff like coconut and almonds! The perfect snack when my sweet tooth attacks (which is like, all the time).

Ingredients


1/2 cup walnuts


1/2 cup almonds (or more walnuts)


1 cup dates, soaked in hot water for 10 mins


1/2 cup cacao


pinch of sea salt


Directions

Process nuts in food processor until they are finely ground.

Add the cacao and salt. Pulse to combine. 


Add the dates one at a time through the feed tube while it is running. The mixture will look crumbly, but when pressed will easily stick together (if the mixture does not hold together well, add more dates). 


Press & roll the mixture into balls and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile make the raw chocolate. I use this recipe from Rawified.


Dip the truffles into the chocolate and place on a tray. I let them set in the fridge then dipped them a second time to make a thicker coat. Then roll in coconut or chopped nuts, or leave them plain! Either way they are amazing.

Twix bars (gluten-free & mostly raw)

I've been seeing lots of raw twix bars on Instagram and it made me want to try making some! I basically just used the recipe for the raw caramel slice I posted a while back with a coconut flour/almond base that I shaped into bars, and delicious date caramel. This time I just used dark chocolate melted with a teaspoon of coconut oil, but they can be made with the raw chocolate too! They're so addictive!

Spelt cinnamon rolls with cashew icing

As always I was surfing around the internet for cool food blogs and discovered some new favourites; This Rawsome Vegan Life and My New Roots.

My New Roots had an amazing idea for making cinnamon rolls without all the sugar and fat that’s normally in them by using dates for the filling! And I loved the idea of a cashew frosting from This Rawsome Vegan Life.

My regular go-to cinnamon roll recipe is from Vegan Yum Yum, so I changed it around a bit to make these sugar-free, wholegrain cinnamon rolls! They were SO yum.

I was just playing around with these, but they turned out pretty well so I thought I'd share the recipe. But for perfect cinnabuns and more detailed instructions, check out Vegan Yum Yum!

Here's how I made them:

Ingredients [makes 10-12 rolls]

2 tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)


1 tsp coconut sugar
 or raw sugar

1/2 cup warm (not too hot) water 




1/2 cup soy milk

1/3 cup maple syrup 


1/3 cup sunflower oil

1 tsp salt


1 flax egg (mix a tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons water and let it sit in the freezer for 10 minutes)

Yeast mixture from above


4 cups spelt flour, plus more for kneading

Filling

1 ½ cups dates, soaked in ¾ cup boiling water for 15 minutes to soften

1 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1 tablespoon cinnamon

pinch salt

Cashew icing

1 cup cashews, soaked for a few hours

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

Water

Combine yeast mixture and set aside to proof (until it's nice and foamy).

Whisk together the soymilk, maple syrup, oil, salt, and flax egg in a small bowl.

Combine the yeast mixture with the liquid ingredients.

Add the 4 cups of flour to a large bowl, make a well in the centre. Add the liquid and mix until a dough forms. You may need to add more flour if it's too sticky. Knead for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as you need to, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Once the dough is done place it in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap and let it rise for 90 minutes in a warm spot.

Now make the date caramel filling - add the soaked dates (with the water) to a food processor with the rest of the ingredients, and blend until a smooth caramel paste is formed.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle about 15 x 20 inch.

Spread a thick layer (about half the date mixture) over the dough. Then roll up the dough and cut into 10 - 12 rolls. 

With the remaining date mixture, you can make a caramel sauce to put in the bottom of the pan. Blend the date paste with water until you get a thinner sauce-like consistency, then pour a layer into the bottom of the baking pan before putting the cinnamon rolls on top. 

[here's the caramel paste compared to the sauce after adding a bit of water]

Once the buns are in the pan, cover and let rise for 45 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 180º C.

Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes.

For the cashew icing:

Blend or process all the ingredients together until very smooth, and gradually add water until you get the desired consistency. I wanted a thin icing/glaze, but for a thicker frosting you can just add less water.

Pour some cashew icing over the cinnamon buns and enjoy! And since there's no refined sugar or butter you can eat as many as you want! haha, that's what I told myself anyway ;)

(mostly) raw caramel slice

I’ve been wanting to experiment more with raw desserts, and I came across this amazing looking caramel slice and decided to try it!

And it was SO GOOD. 

I made a few adjustments to the recipe, switching out 1 cup of the coconut flour for some nuts, because the coconut flour cost me $11 and I refused to use half the bag in one recipe! :P
But it worked out great, and would be a good way to use up the leftover pulp from making nut milk as well!

Making the chocolate with cacao butter would probably have been really yum, but I couldn’t afford to buy any haha. So I just made a simpler version with coconut oil, cacao & agave.

Try this out- it’s amazing!

Base:

1 cup coconut flour

3/4 cup almonds, cashews or macadamia nuts (or nut pulp)

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 tablespoons coconut sugar
 (or agave/ maple/ coconut nectar)

pinch sea salt

Caramel:

2 cups pitted medjool dates


4 tablespoons coconut oil


3 tablespoons brown rice syrup (or agave/coconut nectar to make it completely raw)


2 tablespoons water

1 heaped teaspoon almond butter


1/2 teaspoon vanilla


pinch sea salt

Raw chocolate - I used this recipe from Rawified 

You can follow the instructions to make these here!

Chocolate Cherry Cream Cakes

These are little chocolate cakes filled with coconut whipped cream, cherries and chocolate ganache (also known as black forest cake!), and they are so delicious!

I wanted to make a treat that was a little more nutritious, so I used spelt flour and coconut sugar to replace the regular flour and cane sugar. And the coconut whipped cream is a great alternative to making a sugary frosting.

You'll need:

• A recipe for chocolate cake - I usually go with the PPK recipe, but use spelt flour and coconut sugar.
• Fresh cherries
• Coconut whipped cream - this post from Oh, Ladycakes will break it down for ya
• Chocolate Ganache (heat 1/3 cup almond milk, then remove from heat and add 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, and mix until smooth & glossy)

Bake the cakes in cupcake tins, or muffin tins if you want bigger cakes. 

Cut the cakes in half, then spread on a layer of ganache, a layer of halved cherries, then the whipped cream. Add the top half of the cake, then top with more whipped cream, ganache, and a whole cherry. :D