Tag Archives: #easyvegandesserts

Coconut Key Lime Pie Filling (Gluten-free, Vegan, & Paleo)

Key limes are in season, and that means pie! I became a key lime pie connoisseur while I was pregnant with my daughter. My friend and I were traveling to every Central American country in the summer of 2009, and I found out I was pregnant in Guatemala. While we were in Nicaragua, we found this restaurant in Granada that served key lime pie; I wish I knew the name of the place. It’s probably somewhere in my travel journal. Anyway, we went there four days in a row just to have their pie. I remember it being the most delicious pie ever. That might have been because I was having crazy food cravings, or because I had been eating beans, rice, and fried plantains every meal for 3 weeks! Regardless, my love of key lime pie developed oddly there in Nicaragua.

I haven’t had a key lime pie in a long time, because I didn’t think it was possible to make one vegan and gluten-free. I was silly because this pie is awesome! Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder.

Since the grocery store only sold key limes in a 2 pound bag, I now have two key lime recipes to share with you. The recipe is not hard, but juicing the entire bag key limes was time-consuming. Since this recipe requires only 1/2 a cup, it won’t take too long. However, this pie does take planning since you have to refrigerate coconut milk or cream overnight and soak cashews for at least 4 hours as well.

Heat oven to 350 and prepare your pie crust per directions. Make sure to thaw the gluten-free vegan pie crust. I prefer this Wholly Gluten Free Pie Shell. It has to be set out 15 minutes before baking.

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Juice the key limes.

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Zest the limes. It takes ~4 limes to make 1 tablespoon. Make 2 tablespoons.

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Add all ingredients into the Vitamix or blender.

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Blend until smooth.

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Pour filling into the gluten-free pie shell, and refrigerate for at least an hour. It will be a firm cheesecake texture.

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Prepare this vegan meringue when the pie is firm. You can find the recipe on my website here.

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Spread the vegan meringue on top of the pie, sprinkle a little coconut and extra lime zest, and serve.

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Coconut Key Lime Pie Filling (Gluten-free & Vegan)

  • Servings: one 9' inch pie
  • Difficulty: easy
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This gluten-free vegan Coconut Key Lime Pie has an easy delicious egg-free, dairy-free, and paleo filling.


Credit: My Real Dish

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup cashews (soaked overnight or for at least 4 hours)
  • Cream of 1 can of coconut milk or cream refrigerated overnight (the hard part only + 2 tablespoons remaining milk from the can)
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • ½ cup key lime juice
  • ½ cup coconut oil softened or melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons zest (1 tablespoon for the pie and 1 tablespoon extra for decorating the top of the pie – requires ~8 limes)
  • 4 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 cup shredded coconut (+ extra for decorating the top of the pie)
  • Look here for vegan meringue topping recipe & ingredients


Directions

  1. Thaw gluten-free vegan pie crust. Most pie shells need to be at room-temperature for 10 – 15 minutes before baking.
  2. Heat oven to 350 and prepare the pie shell per directions when ready.
  3. Juice the key limes.
  4. Zest the limes. It takes ~4 limes to make 1 tablespoon. You will need 2 tablespoons.
  5. Strain and rinse your cashews until the water runs clear.
  6. Add all ingredients into the Vitamix or blender. Only use the firm top part of the coconut cream in the can. Leave the remaining liquid at the bottom, with the exception of 2 tablespoons that you add to the Vitamix.
  7. Blend until smooth.
  8. Pour filling into the gluten-free pie shell and refrigerate for at least an hour. It will be a firm cheesecake-like texture.
  9. Once the pie is firm, prepare the vegan meringue .
  10. Spread the vegan meringue on top of the pie, sprinkle a little coconut and extra lime zest, and serve.


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susanellenlogoweb

S’mores Cake (Gluten-free & Vegan)

A couple of weeks ago, I made Graham Crackers that were not only delicious, but vegan, oat-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free. We ate them up! Then, my kids asked for S’mores, and we had to make more. So we decided to make a gluten-free and vegan S’mores Cake; really the “cake” is just baked s’mores. I purchased Dandies at Fresh Thyme; they are vegan with no corn syrup or gelatin. They do have cane sugar though, so I minimized the sugar in the rest of recipe. I believe in a 90% healthy philosophy! I try to be as healthy as possible, and then I can indulge in desserts.IMG_0196.jpg

I used Lily’s Premium Baking Bars that are sweetened with stevia. It was the perfect balance with the sweet DandiesIMG_0198.jpg

Layer the Graham Crackers in a 9 X 13 baking pan.

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Put 1 1/2 bags of Dandies on their side.IMG_0201

Layer with the Lily’s Premium Baking BarsIMG_0202.jpg

Top with a layer of Graham Crackers.

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Slice Dandies in half.

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Place them on top of the Graham Crackers.

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Smash a bar of Lily’s Premium Baking Bar.

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Sprinkle the pieces on top of the DandiesIMG_0213.jpg

Bake.

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s'mores cake

S'mores Cake (Gluten-free & Vegan)

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: easy
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This gluten-free, oat-free, and vegan s'mores cake is a pan of yummy baked s'mores. It's an easy way to enjoy gooey chocolate s'mores without a bonfire.

Tips: This s’mores cake may be made with any graham crackers, chocolate bars, or marshmallows. Personally, I use the (1) Lily’s Baking Bars to reduce sugar, (2) the Dandies because they are vegan and healthier, and (3) my graham cracker recipe because of my daughter’s oat and wheat intolerance. Also, leftovers are best warmed for 30 seconds in a microwave before serving.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Layer the Graham Crackers in a 9 X 13 baking pan. Break when necessary to fit the plan.
  3. Evenly place marshmallows (~1 1/2 bags) of Dandies on their side.
  4. Layer the top with Lily’s Premium Baking Bars.
  5. Top with a layer of Graham Crackers.
  6. Slice Dandies in half.
  7. Place them on top of the Graham Crackers.
  8. Smash a bar of Lily’s Premium Baking Bar to pieces.
  9. Sprinkle evenly the pieces on top of the Dandies.
  10. Bake at 350 degrees for ~9 – 11 minutes. The tops of the Dandies should be slightly brown.
  11. Serve and enjoy!

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susanellenlogoweb

Tahini Cookies (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

My son cannot eat peanuts. So when Trader Joe’s put the Tahini on the end cap display by the checkout, it inspired me to make my sweet boy some cookies that he could eat! I had never had Tahini before, so I didn’t know what to expect.IMG_1560

The tahini cookie batter consistency was just like that of a peanut butter cookie.

IMG_1561.JPGI rolled the batter into balls, and I used a meat beater in order to see what the pattern would look like, but then decided to dip the fork in water and press – the old fashioned way.

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The result was a crispy wafer tahini cookie, which rivaled a peanut butter cookie (in my humble opinion). But regardless, he didn’t have an allergic reaction to them, so that’s a win in my recipe book!

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My daughter wanted to make sandwich cookies, so we made a vanilla filling. Honestly, I was already happily eating the crunchy tahini goodness with a glass of homemade cashew milk, but she was persistent. The kids often inspire my recipes, because I bake to not only make them healthier gluten-free vegan treats, but also to avoid allergic reactions.

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On the other hand, my son, my husband, and I prefer chocolate EVERYTHING, so I pulled a jar of the Best Vegan Chocolate Sauce from the fridge. It’s thick and spreadable, so I used it as a filling! FYI – I didn’t spread and leave the sandwich cookies sitting out, because we ate all of them before I could blink! However, I’m afraid the sauce would melt if you did. I would fill the tahini cookies right before eating each one, or keep them in the fridge. IMG_1583.JPG

Gluten-free and vegan deliciousness!

tahini cookie pinterest

  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

A crunchy gluten-free and vegan tahini cookie

These tahini wafer cookies are gluten and sugar cane free and vegan. Eat them plain or make a sandwich cookie with chocolate or vanilla filling. If you use the chocolate filling recipe, it contains cane-sugar.

Ingredients

– 1/2 cup (~1 stick) vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)

– 3/4 cup tahini butter (I used Trader Joe’s)

– 1/2 cup coconut sugar

– 1/2 cup maple sugar (I use Coombs Family Farms Maple Sugar from Fresh Thyme, but you can use brown sugar too)

– Egg replacer for 1 egg (1 ½ teaspoon Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water)

– 1/2 teaspoon gluten free pure vanilla extract

– 1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour (I used Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend)

– 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Sandwich Cookie Filling (Optional)

Vanilla Filling:

– 2 tablespoon melted vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)

– 1 tablespoon almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)

– 3/4 – 1 cup powdered xylitol or confectioner’s sugar

Chocolate Filling:

Follow the recipe for the Best Vegan Chocolate Sauce.


Directions

  1. The chocolate filling: if you chose to make the chocolate filling click here for the recipe, it's best to prepare this the night before or at least a couple hours before in order to let it cool and firm in the fridge so that it is spreadable.
  2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Heat your water for the egg replacer - I used a tea kettle.
  4. Add vegan butter, tahini, and both sugars to a mixing bowl.
  5. Cream with the paddle attachment for the mixer until they are well combined.
  6. Switch your attachment for your mixer to a regular beater.
  7. Prepare your egg replacer.
  8. Add egg replacer and vanilla, and mix on medium speed until combined.
  9. Shape 1 ½ - 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball.
  10. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
  11. Place dough balls 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  12. Make a design on your cookies with a small dish of warm water and a fork. Dip the fork's tines in water each time before you press. You can also try the meat beater to make a pattern, but it wasn't as pretty.
  13. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes until they are brown; rotate the baking sheets between the oven shelves halfway through baking (at ~9 minutes).
  14. The vanilla filling: If you chose to make the vanilla filling, make it while they are baking with a hand mixer. Mix the butter and non-dairy milk slowly adding the powdered xylitol (or powdered sugar) 1/4 cup at a time, mixing until smooth. You may need extra xylitol until it thickens well or matches your desired level of sweetness.
  15. When cookies are finished baking, transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
  16. Once they have cooled, fill them with icing if desired (refrigerate any remaining sandwich cookies) unfilled cookies, or in an airtight container at room temperature.