Tag Archives: #veganglutenfree

Festive Peppermint Brownies

It’s Christmas, so I was trying to make something to bring to bring to my Mom’s house. This was so easy. I just made my Perfect Paleo Brownies (Vegan & Gluten-free) and added a twist for Christmas by added a dark chocolate icing and some crushed candy canes. Merry Christmas!

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Festive Peppermint Brownies

  • Servings: ~8
  • Difficulty: easy
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These gluten-free, refined-sugar free, and vegan brownies are easily made into a Christmas dessert with peppermint and a rich dark chocolate icing.


Credit: My Real Dish

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup vegan butter softened (I used olive oil, soy-free Earth Balance)
  • Egg Replacer for 2 eggs (I used 3 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer and 4 tablespoons warm water) or 2 eggs (if not vegan or allergic)
  • 4 oz chocolate chips (Use Lily’s Baking Chips to make a sugar-free & vegan – they are sweetened with stevia for Paleo Brownies, or Enjoy Life chips to make them vegan, but they won’t be Paleo)
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
  • ½ cup applesauce
  • ⅔ cup cacao powder
  • 1 ½ cup almond flour (I used Blue Diamond that I bought at Costco)
  • ¼ teaspoon real salt
  • ¼ baking soda

Dark Chocolate Icing

  • 1 can chilled coconut cream (I keep in the refrigerator overnight, hard creamy part only)
  • 1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons Xylitol Powdered “Sugar” or Powdered Sugar

Optional:

  • candy canes crushed
  • 1 drop Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil


Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350, and lightly grease an 8-inch baking pan.
  2. Melt vegan butter and chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds. Remove, stir and microwave for 15 seconds. Or, melt them on low heat in a medium saucepan.
  3. Prepare egg replacer in a glass mixing bowl (3 teaspoons egg replacer and 4 tablespoons warm water). Stir to combine to a nice paste.
  4. In a mixing bowl combine the applesauce, coconut sugar, vanilla, butter/chocolate mixture, cacao, and egg replacer. Beat well to incorporate.
  5. In a separate bowl, combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda.
  6. Add to dry ingredients to wet and mix until well combined.
  7. Add 1 – 2 drops Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil (if desired extra peppermint flavor, but not necessary). It can be purchased here.
  8. Spread evenly into greased pan.
  9. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.
  10. Let cool completely.
  11. Make dark chocolate icing by scooping the hard creamy part of the coconut cream, and blending with a high-powered mixer with cocoa powder and Xylitol Powdered “Sugar” or Powdered Sugar until well combined. Will be creamy and thick.
  12. Spread icing on brownies and top with crushed candy canes (if desired).

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What did you bake for Christmas?

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Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Cake (Vegan and Gluten-free)

My son turned 5 years old this month! Oh, how time flies. I wanted to celebrate this big milestone with a special cake. So I made a Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Cake for my chocolate lover!

Prepare the brownies and divide the mixture in half – baking in two 9-inch springform pans.

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Remove the vegan ice cream from the freezer while the brownies bake.

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Prepare the Best Vegan Chocolate Sauce (or use another jar of store-bought vegan sauce).

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Crush the vegan gluten-free cookies into small pieces.

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Mix 12 oz of the Best Vegan Chocolate Sauce with the cookies pieces in a small bowl. Set the remaining 2 oz of the chocolate sauce aside.

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Top with cookie fudge mixture and gently over the layer of brownie.

IMG_8931.JPGLayer one pint of ice cream over the brownie.

Remove the 2nd layer of brownie from the springform pan and place it on top of the ice cream layer. Spread the ice cream layer over the second brownie.

Cover with aluminum foil and freeze completely for 4 – 6 hours.

Top with CocoWhip! when ready or make a homemade coconut whipped topping.

IMG_8957.JPGDrizzle remaining chocolate sauce over the cake and serve.

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ice cream cake

Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Cake (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

  • Servings: ~15 searchings
  • Difficulty: easy
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This vegan and gluten-free cake has brownies, hot fudge, and crunchy chocolate cookies. You can select your favorite flavors of vegan gluten-free ice cream! It is the perfect vegan birthday cake


Credit: Loosely inspired by What the Fork

Tips:

  • Put the So Delicious CocoWhip!™ in the fridge overnight to thaw or put the coconut cream can  in the fridge to firm overnight
  • Let the dairy-free frozen treats thaw a little so that they are spreadable, ~30 minutes
  • Use any gluten-free and dairy-free crunchy chocolate cookies for the filling
  • Let the freezer cake sit out about 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving
  • Two 9-inch springform pans are best for this recipe so that you can easily remove the cake once it’s been assembled. I layered my cake in one of the two pans. You can also make them in cake pans, see this explanation as a how-to here.

Ingredients

 

  • To prepare: Two springform 9-inch pans or using cake pans (see above tips for an explanation on how to use normal cake pans).


Directions

    1. Put the So Delicious CocoWhip!™ in the fridge overnight to thaw or put the coconut cream in the fridge to firm overnight.
    2. Prepare the brownies first. You can use a gluten-free box mix or use this Perfect Paleo Recipe here.
    3. Grease two 9-inch pans (preferably springform pans, see above) and line the bottom of 1 of the pans with parchment paper to allow for easy removal – note the pan that has the parchment paper.
    4. Bake the Perfect Paleo Brownies at 350, but reduce the baking time to about 17 – 20 minutes.
    5. Remove the vegan ice cream from the freezer while the brownies bake.
    6. Prepare the Best Vegan Chocolate Sauce (or use another jar of store-bought vegan sauce)
    7. Crush the vegan gluten-free cookies into small pieces.
    8. Mix 12 oz of the Best Vegan Chocolate Sauce with the cookies pieces in a small bowl. Set the remaining 2 oz of the chocolate sauce aside. 
    9. When brownies are done baking, allow them to completely cool (~15 minutes).
    10. Select the brownie pan without the parchment paper. Top with cookie fudge mixture and gently over the layer of brownie.
    11. Select the pint flavor of ice cream (we used cookie dough first to have a white, chocolate, and a white contrast in the layers).
    12. Remove the 2nd layer of brownie from the springform pan and place it on top of the ice cream layer. If it is a bit crumbly, it’s not an issue. You spread the ice cream over it and it smooths out fine!
    13. Spread the chocolate ice cream layer over the 2nd brownie.
    14. Cover with aluminum foil and freeze completely for 4 – 6 hours.
    15. Top with CocoWhip when ready or make a homemade coconut whipped topping by whipping the 1/4 cup xylitol powdered sugar with 1 can of coconut cream until fluffy.
    16. Drizzle remaining chocolate sauce over the cake and serve.

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Fennel and Pear Tofu Scramble (Vegan & Gluten Free)

This is my fourth dish in my tofu scramble series. I like pushing flavor combinations; throwing things together that I would never think would work, but then they taste great! I had fennel in my fridge, and needed to use it up. The fennel adds a light bright taste, and balances well with the sweet pear and the warm allspice. This is a great dish when you want something healthy and quick to eat in the morning.

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Fennel Pear Scramble

Fennel and Pear Tofu Scramble (Vegan & Gluten Free)

  • Servings: 2-3
  • Difficulty: easy
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This vegan and gluten-free tofu scramble features flavors of fennel, pear, shallots, allspice and maple syrup.


Credit: My Real Dish

Tips: (1) Drain the tofu before using it. (2) Extra firm tofu works best if you want chunks like a stir-fry, but the softer tofu, creates more of a soft scrambled egg consistency. However, the softer tofu has a tendency to stick to the pan, requires more oil, and is more wet.

Ingredients

  • 1 fennel bulb
  • 1 small pear
  • 1 large shallot
  • ¼ cup sliced almonds
  • ¼ teaspoon allspice
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 10 oz tofu (I used House Foods Organic Super Firm)


Directions

  1. Wash fennel and pear (I used Thieves Fruit & Veggie Spray).
  2. Chop fennel bulb, shallot, and pear.
  3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat.
  4. Sauté fennel and shallot until slightly tender (~5 minutes).
  5. Drain tofu, slice it in the container with a knife, and add it to the pan.
  6. Continue to sauté until the fennel and shallot are tender, but not mushy (~ 2 – 3 minutes).
  7. Turn on heat.
  8. Add chopped pear, almonds, allspice, maple syrup and stir until pear is warm.
  9. Salt and pepper to taste.
  10. Serve and enjoy!


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Check out the first tofu scramble recipe here: Asparagus and Artichoke Tofu Scramble, the second here: Mediterranean Tofu Scramble (Vegan & Gluten Free),  and the third here: Blackberry Fig Tofu Scramble.

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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 Dandies. IMG_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 Bars. IMG_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 Dandies. IMG_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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Red, White, & Blue Cake (Vegan & Gluten-free)

This cake is vegan, gluten-free, refined-sugar free, beautiful, and is a crowd pleaser at a 4th of July party with its patriotic theme. No one else at the party was vegan or gluten-free, and everyone enjoyed it. This is not a light and fluffly cake, but a dense fruit one. The fruit gives it sweetness. Keep it refrigerated after icing in order to keep the texture and whipped-topping firm.

I was a little disappointed with the lack of color that came from the cake when I cooked it. I was hoping for red and blue cakes! I used Watkins Food Coloing (100% natural vegetable juices and spices). I guess you have to use good old-fashion food-dyes to get the color you want, not the healthier vegetable based ones and fruit.

So here’s my take on it – the cake is a little labor intensive with washing the containers to make the red and blue cake, but healthy and yummy. That said, I have recreated it easily with my Perfect Paleo Brownies in a snap; equally beautiful and so much less time-consuming. The brownies make it a little sweeter, and personally I’m a huge chocolate lover. However, both are great – it’s just a matter of how much time you have!

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4th of July Pinterest

Red, White, & Blue Cake (Vegan & Gluten-free)

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print

A patriotic inspired cake with coconut whipped topping, blueberries, and strawberries. It is gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan.

Credit: myrealdish.com

Ingredients

Whipped Topping

Cake

  • 2 cups coconut sugar
  • 2 sticks of vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Soy Free)
  • Egg replacer for 2 eggs (3 teaspoons Ener-G + 4 tablespoons warm water)
  • 2 tablespoons (1 mini-bottle) of gluten-free blue food coloring (vegetable based)
  • 2 tablespoons (1 mini-bottle) of gluten-free red food coloring (vegetable based)
  • 2 1/2 cups Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend 
  • 1 teaspoon salt (I used Redmond Real Salt)
  • 1 cup almond milk (I used Unsweetened Original Almond Breeze)
  • 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 ¼ cup blueberries
  • 3/4 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 cup frozen cherries

Decoration

  • 1 pint blueberries
  • 1 pint strawberries

Directions

  1. Heat water in a tea kettle for egg replacer
  2. Purée with a Vitamix or high-powered blender blueberries (I used fresh), and set aside in a bowl. Rinse out the Vitamix or blender.
  3. Purée frozen cherries and set aside.
  4. Heat oven to 350 degrees
  5. Prepare egg replacer (combine 3 teaspoons Ener-G and 4 tablespoons warm water)
  6. Cream coconut sugar and vegan butter in a mixer. Slowly add the egg replacer continuously until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  7. Combine Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend and Redmond Real Salt together in a separate bowl.
  8. Add dry mixture to the coconut sugar and vegan butter mixture alternating with the Unsweetened Original Almond Breeze.
  9. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
  10. Grease two 8-inch cake pans. Line bottom of cake pans with fitted parchment paper rounds and grease top of parchment paper.
  11. Pour half of the batter to a separate bowl and set aside.
  12. In a smaller bowl mix 3/4 tablespoon cocoa powder and blue food coloring together (mine didn’t mix throughly) add to the mixer bowl of cake batter. Add puréed blueberries and mix with mixer.
  13. Combine 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 tablespoon vinegar in a smaller bowl, then add to the blue cake mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix one last time.
  14. Add blue cake mixture to one 8-inch cake pan.
  15. Begin the second half of the cake with cherries and red food coloring. Add the container of red food coloring to the mixer bowl of cake batter along with puréed cherries and mix with mixer.
  16. Combine 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 tablespoon vinegar in a smaller bowl, then add to the blue cake mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix one last time.
  17. Pour the red cake batter into the 2nd 8-inch cake pan.
  18. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes (My red cherry cake took 30 minutes and the blueberry one took 40 minutes. Check often that the toothpick comes clean in the middle).
  19. Set cakes on the wire rack to cool completely ~45 minutes.
  20. Wash and dry strawberries and blueberries (I use Thieves Fruit and Veggie Soak because it cleans well, it’s natural and chemical-free; buy it here).
  21. Slice strawberries. It’s best to select berries of similar sizes to make them fit in the design.
  22. After cake cools, prepare coconut cream topping. Keep coconut milk cans in the fridge until you are ready to make the topping. Prepare it immediately before “icing” the cake.
  23. Scoop out the thick cream from the coconut cream or milk. Leaving the remaining water below.
  24. Add the guar gum, vanilla, and Powdered Xylitol. Mix on high-speed. Slowly add coconut water from the can, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the cream as it whips until it is light and fluffy.
  25. Carefully remove one cake from the cake pan, and place it on a cake stand or large serving platter.
  26. Spread coconut cream with a rubber scraper on the top of the cake.
  27. Remove the other cake from the cake pan, placing it on top of the coconut whipped cream.
  28. Spread the coconut whipped topping on the top and sides of the cake until it is fully covered and appears to be “iced”.
  29. Decorate the top of your cake with blueberries and strawberries. I easily created the blueberry design by connecting these two lines to a point with blueberries and symmetrically filling them in.
  30. Slice and serve.

I served mine by the pool!

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Happy 4th of July!

susanellenlogoweb

Graham Crackers (Vegan, Oat-Free & Gluten-Free)

My daughter has a sensitivity to oats. When she was little she had reflux and would explode with eczema whenever she was exposed to them, but I didn’t know what was causing it until we had her blood tested. Before I was desperate enough to give her a blood test, I was slathering her with Aveno Baby Lotion and giving her oatmeal baths to sooth her eczema, only to make it worse. Recently, I tried to test the sensitivity with a couple servings of gluten-free oats, and she seemed to do okay. However, when she thought she was over the intolerance, she ate a bowl of oatmeal and a granola bar in one day; then, she got a huge tummy ache. I’m remaining positive. At least we are progressing beyond the eczema.

This oat intolerance, along with her sensitivity to wheat, makes it very difficult to find graham crackers at the store. Schar makes a wheat-free and oat-free graham cracker, but it has honey – so it’s not vegan. I’ve searched for vegan and gluten-free graham crackers, and I haven’t found any, so I decided to make my own. My daughter says that mine taste as good as the Schar ones! That’s a huge gluten-free vegan win, because mine are also refined sugar-free! Healthy and tasty!

Here’s what you do. Combine the dry ingredients…

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Slice the vegan butter into little chunks...IMG_0232.jpg

Cut-in vegan butter...IMG_0233.jpg

Stir in the wet ingredients until it begins to clump...IMG_0234.jpg

Form dough into a ball...IMG_0235.jpg

Roll dough over parchment paper, score it, and decorate it with a fork…IMG_0236.jpg

Bake, divide, and devour.IMG_0243.jpg

Make sure to save some graham crackers for s'mores or a pie crust. I'll post the recipe soon for this s'mores cake that I made with vegan marshmallows and dark chocolate (see below). It was delicious and easy!

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  • Servings: 20
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Easy gluten-free, oat-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan homemade graham crackers.

Tips: Make sure your gluten-free flour blend has xanthan gum, if not you will need to add 1/4 teaspoon. I really like the Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend, because I never have to add anything extra to the flour and it rises very well. It contains sweet brown rice flour, tapioca starch, brown rice flour, arrowroot powder, sorghum flour, and xanthan gum.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4  gluten-free flour (I used Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used Redmond Real Salt)
  • 8 tablespoons vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Soy Free)
  • 3 tablespoons cold water
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon gluten-free pure vanilla extract


Directions

  1. Combine gluten-free flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and Redmond Real Salt in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Slice vegan butter into tablespoons (you can do even smaller pieces if you prefer).
  3. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut-in vegan butter one tablespoon at a time into the bowl until it resembles the texture of cornmeal. You also could do this easily with a food processor.
  4. Add cold water, maple syrup, and vanilla; continue to stir until dough starts to form large clumps. If dough is too dry, add more cold water one tablespoon at a time.
  5. Heat oven to 325.
  6. Lay out parchment paper.
  7. Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
  8. Gather dough into a large ball and divide in half.
  9. Lightly flour the rolling-pin  (I used Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend because it was out already).
  10. Roll half of the dough into a rectangle to ~1/8″ thick.
  11. Score dough with a pizza cutter, knife, or multi-purpose scraper and chopper (I used this OXO Multi-purpose Scraper & Chopper) into desired shapes. I chose 2” x 2” squares, and used the OXO Multi-purpose Scraper & Chopper to measure easily with the measurements on the blade.
  12. Prick dough all over with a fork or toothpick.
  13. Repeat with the other half.
  14. Transfer the two parchment paper sheets to cookie sheets, and bake for 20 – 23 minutes or until golden brown.
  15. Let graham crackers cool for 5 minutes.
  16. Separate and eat.


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