Chocolate Zucchini Bread/Muffins (Vegan)

This bread doesn't taste like zucchini bread, in fact, it's hard to tell that there is even zucchini in it. It tastes like a cross between a chocolate chocolate chip muffin, and a brownie. That's just fine by me!! It's nice and moist too, another major positive. We've got zucchini coming out our ears here, so it's nice to make something with zucchini that doesn't TASTE like zucchini.

Makes 12 muffins or 1 large loaf 

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

2 Tbs flaxseed, ground

6 Tbs warm/hot water

8-10 drops vanilla stevia

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup turbinado sugar

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)

3/4 cups shredded red apple (about 1 medium apple)

1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (more or less to taste)

Grind flax seed, and combine in a small bowl with warm/hot water and drops of stevia. Stir and allow to sit for 5-10 min at least. 

In a medium-large bowl grate the zucchini and apple. I just used a peeler and peeled it straight into the bowl, trying to make sure they were somewhat thin, and rotating around evenly. But you can easily use a cheese grater.

Combine dry ingredients (except sugar) in a bowl and mix well, then add to zucchini/apple mixture. Mix the 2 around so that all of the zucchini and apple shreds are coated in the flour. 

Now take the same bowl you had your dry ingredients in, and combine sugar, oil, and vanilla. Then add the flax mixture until fully incorporated. 

Combine wet with the flour coated shreds, then add in chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. If you are allergic to walnuts, you can certainly leave them out, or swap them out for pepitas, they would go well in this too.

Can be made into 12 muffins, or a large bread loaf.

Cook at 350 F for 22-25 min if making muffins (or until a tooth pick comes out clean). Cook for 50 min if making the loaf of bread.

Lemon Sugar Cookies (vegan)

This is not my typical recipe, but I had a request from a friend to make lemon sugar cookies. So I made them vegan, and switched out stuff to be better versions of themselves if they were already vegan. However, not as quite as healthy as my usual things.  That said... these are soooooo good! I don't even know what to say about them other than, wow, I'm really glad that I was asked to make them. (I had never tried lemon sugar cookies before) Make sure to actually keep enough dough to cook some cookies, rather than just eating the dough!! They expand out while cooking, so make sure to space them well.

yum!!!

cookies rolled out and additional lemon-sugar over the top

The lemon sugar

finished cooking, they expand for sure!

Makes 36 cookies

1/2 cup turbinado sugar (or coconut sugar OR preferred dry sweetener), ground down to a fine powder
1 1/2 turbinado sugar (or preferred {recommended dry} sweetener), ground down to a fine-med powder
2 large lemons zested
1 cup vegan butter, (I used Earth Balance, soy free kind) or coconut oil at room temperature or slightly melted
2 tbs flax seed, ground
6 tbs warm water
2 tsp lemon extract
1 tbs lemon juice (from the freshly zested lemon)
2 3/4 cup whole spelt flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda

First ground down flax in a coffee grinder then put into a little bowl with the 6 tbs of warm, mix and allow to sit for about 5-10 min.

Next make lemon sugar: Grind 1/2 cup sugar in coffee grinder, blender or food processor to make it a powder. Now add 1 teaspoon lemon zest into whatever you blended the sugar in, and grind/blend again. Pulse until lemon zest is fully mixed into sugar. Pour into a little bowl and get rid of any clumps then set aside.

Now mix flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda in a medium bowl. In another bigger bowl, cream butter with the other 1 1/2 cups sugar. Blend in the flax mixture, slowly. Add lemon extract, lemon juice and the rest of the lemon zest. Take the flour mixture and blend in, one cup at a time, making sure it's fully, until all flour is incorporated.

Chill the dough for about an 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls then roll in the lemon sugar. Put the lemon-sugar coated balls onto a greased cookie sheet. Press down with the bottom of a glass or plate until cookie is about 1/3 inch thick. They will expand, so make sure to separate them well. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes. Let cookie cool on the pan for 5 minutes before taking them off the sheet and putting them on a cooling rack.

Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting (Vegan)

One of my dad's favorite cakes is carrot cake. So for Father's Day I made one for him that would be a healthier vegan version (so I could eat it too, because I love carrot cake!) The cake and frosting recipes I got from different sites and edited them. I like things like this to be low glycemic, so I don't get a major sugar high from it.

Cake
3 cups spelt flour
2 cups coconut sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup banana, mashed
4 Tbsp flaxseed, ground
12 Tbsp warm water
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
12 drops vanilla stevia
1 1/2 cups shelled walnuts, chopped (plus more for topping)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
2 cups of finely grated carrots
1 cup of drained crushed pineapple

Coconut Cream Frosting
1 cup coconut milk (canned)
1 cup agave nectar
pinch real salt
5 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon water (or coconut water)
1 1/4 cup coconut oil

Cake Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9 inch cake pans. Mix ground flax with warm water and allow to sit for 5 min. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. If coconut oil is solid, submerge jar into hot water for 5-10 min to melt it. Add melted oil, flax mixture, vanilla and stevia. Beat well. Mix in chopped walnuts, coconut, carrots and pineapple. Pour batter into pans equally. Bake for 40-45 minutes (shift positions of cakes front-to-back if necessary about halfway through), or a little longer, until edges have pulled away from sides and a toothpick or fork inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on rack. Once cakes have cooled, and the frosting has set up, frost. Sprinkle top with chopped walnuts or arrange walnut halves in a crown around the top.


Frosting Instructions
In a medium saucepan, heat coconut milk, agave and salt, simmer for 10 minutes
In a little bowl, combine arrowroot and water to form a smooth paste. Pour arrowroot mixture into saucepan. Mix them really well together with a fork or whisk, then bring to a boil, for a min or 2 until shiny. Remove pot from heat and very slowly blend in coconut oil with a hand blender, it splatters easily.
Allow pot to cool for 10 minutes
Put the pot in the fridge for 45-120 minutes, until frosting gets solid and turns white throughout.
Remove from fridge and blend again with a hand mixer, until fluffy.

Almond Five-Spice Snaps (Vegan)

A lot like ginger snaps, but a few other spices in the mix and the ginger is much more down played. I believe they would be enjoyed by people who like ginger snaps, as well as those who don't. They make awesome ice cream sandwich ends!

I made a few minor changes to this recipe that I got from "Eat, Drink and Be Vegan". So, thanks Dreena Burton!

Makes 12-15 cookies

1 C spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 C sucanat (or turbinano sugar, or other unrefined sugar)
2 Tbs chopped almonds
1/4 tsp RealSalt
1 1/2 tsp five-spice powder (*What's in five-spice?  Also called chinese 5-spice powder)
1/3 C agave nectar
3/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 C olive oil
1-2 TBS sucanat

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl mix together wet ingredients until well mixed. Add wet mixture to dry, and stir until combined well, but don't over mix. Mixture will be semidry. Put some parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and scoop tablespoon size balls onto it.  After all balls are laid out, press each down slightly and add sprinkle of sugar. Bake for 10 min then remove from the oven and let sit for about 1 min, then transfer to a cooling rack. If you leave the cookies in longer than 10 min, they will get dry.