apple-walnut tea bread

So easy to make, and freezes well, too.


Apple-Walnut Tea Bread
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup vegan sugar
  • 4 tablespoons plant-based butter (like Earth Balance), softened
  • 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground golden flax seed + around 5 tablespoons water; mix and let sit a minute until it's goopy like eggs)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 large apples (I used Golden Delicious), cored, peeled, and grated
  • ¾ cups chopped walnuts
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Decorative vegan sugar crystals (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a loaf pan (you can grease and flour the pan or just use cooking spray).
  2. Cream the sugar and plant-based butter together in a large bowl.
  3. Mix in the flax eggs. (I use a hand mixer for this, but you could just stir vigorously.)
  4. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon (the mixture will be stiff until the next step).
  5. Stir in the grated apple, lemon juice, and lemon zest (now the mixture should be wet), and then add the walnuts, making sure everything is mixed thoroughly.
  6. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan. Shake on decorative sugar, if using. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  7. Allow to cool for 10–15 minutes or so before turning bread out of pan onto a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting (okay, you won't be able to wait that long, but give it a few minutes or it'll fall apart as you try to cut). Serve warm or cold, and freeze the leftovers.

 

chocolate-chip walnut biscotti

Biscotti are Italian cookies that are twice baked, which of course means they’re twice as good.
Note: This recipe makes roughly 30 pieces of biscotti.


Chocolate-Chip Walnut Biscotti
 
Biscotti are Italian cookies that are twice baked, which of course means they're twice as good. This recipe makes roughly 30 pieces of biscotti.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground golden flax seed + around 5 tablespoons water)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons non-dairy butter (I use Earth Balance Soy-Free Spread)
  • 1 cup vegan granulated sugar (I use Florida Crystals Raw Cane Sugar)
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  • ¾ cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon confectioners' sugar (I use Florida Crystals Organic Powdered Raw Cane Sugar)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, combine ground flax seed and water. Stir well and let rest. Mixture will become goopy like an egg within a few minutes. Set aside.
  3. In a bowl, sift (or whisk) together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. In a separate bowl using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add flax eggs and beat until mixture is well combined.
  5. With a wooden spoon, stir flour mixture into butter mixture until a very stiff dough is formed. (Don't be alarmed at how stiff the dough is!) Stir in chopped walnuts and chocolate chips.
  6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using your hands, form dough into 2 slightly flattened logs (make each log around 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, and you'll have it right). Using a sifter, dust each log with confectioners sugar.
  7. Bake logs for 30-35 minutes (they should be slightly firm to the touch). Remove from oven (but do not turn oven off!) and cool on the baking sheet for around 5 minutes.
  8. Gently slide the biscotti logs onto a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, gently cut them diagonally into ¾-inch slides being careful not to let them break. Place the biscotti, cut sides down, back on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes (until they're crisp).
  9. Cool biscotti on a rack. Keep in an airtight container (or freeze them if you won't eat them all in about a week).

 

easy cornbread

Takes just minutes to put this fluffy, golden cornbread together.

Cornbread

Easy Cornbread
 
Takes just minutes to put this fluffy, golden cornbread together.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups of all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup cornmeal
  • ¼ cup vegan granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons water)
  • Coconut-oil cooking spray (or other, to prepare pan)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Use a whisk to combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
  3. Make the flax egg in a separate small bowl (combine ground flax seed and water; allow to sit for a minute until it gels -- it should be goopy like an egg).
  4. Combine almond milk, oil (or applesauce), and flax egg. Gently fold this wet mixture into the dry mixture only until all ingredients are wet -- do not use a mixer or over-stir. Batter will be thick.
  5. Pour mixture into a prepared 8” x 8” baking pan.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes (toothpick inserted should come out clean).
  7. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and removing from pan.

 

perfect biscuits

Light, fluffy, easy, perfect. (Adapted from Alton Brown’s Southern Biscuits recipe.)

biscuits

Perfect Biscuits
 
Light, fluffy, easy, perfect. (Adapted from Alton Brown's Southern Biscuit recipe.)
Author:
Ingredients
  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons cold vegan butter (I use Earth Balance), plus a bit more for brushing on top (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons cold vegan shortening (I use Earth Balance)
  • 1 cup plant-based buttermilk, chilled (1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar + just under 1 cup of almond milk; directions follow!)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Begin by making the plant-based buttermilk: Place 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Add plain almond milk up to the 1-cup mark. Stir and chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Using your fingertips (not your palms), cut vegan butter and vegan shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (Move quickly -- you don't want the fats to melt.)
  5. Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled plant-based buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together -- do not overstir! The dough will be very sticky.
  6. Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour, and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press down into a 1-inch thick round.
  7. Cut out biscuits with a 3-inch cutter, making sure to push straight down through the dough. Reform any scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting biscuits until you have 6 (the more you work the dough, the less light and fluffy the biscuits will be, so try to get as many biscuits as possible out of the first cut).
  8. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Brush each biscuit with melted vegan butter (optional). Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, around 15 to 20 minutes.

 

fresh cranberry-pear scones

Treat yourself one fine autumn morning.
Tip: Try these for a holiday breakfast or brunch. They’re as beautiful as they are delicious.

Cranberry-pear scones

Fresh Cranberry-Pear Scones
 
Try these for a holiday breakfast or brunch. They're as beautiful as they are delicious.
Author:
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup chopped pear, skin removed
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed orange juice or lemon juice
  • ¾ cup fresh, whole cranberries
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ cup Earth Balance spread (cold, not room temperature), cut down to small cubes
  • ⅓ cup almond milk (or other plant-based milk)
  • Optional for topping before baking: decorative sugar crystals or turbinado sugar, aka "sugar in the raw"
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, combine chopped pear with orange or lemon juice.
  3. In a food processor, pulse the cranberries until just slightly chopped (do not puree!).
  4. Combine chopped cranberries with chopped pears and mix in brown sugar until all the fruit is thoroughly covered. Set aside.
  5. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Use a whisk to make sure all ingredients are combined.
  6. Add the Earth Balance spread to the flour mixture. Toss the flour mixture over the Earth Balance cubes to fully coat it. Use your fingertips (not your palms) to quickly and lightly cut in the Earth Balance. (You don't want to do this for too long, nor do you want to use the palms of your hands; the goal is to keep the fat from melting.) Do this until the Earth Balance is evenly distributed; the mixture should be crumbly.
  7. Transfer the cranberry-pear mixture to the flour mixture. Add ⅓ cup almond milk (or other plant-based milk) and stir just until the dough comes together (do not overmix). Dough will be crumbly.
  8. Transfer dough to a floured surface and gently pat out to about 8" x 8" square. Using a knife, cut 9 square scones or use a biscuit cutter for round scones.
  9. Place scones on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar crystals or turbinado sugar if desired (recommended!). Bake for 20-25 minutes. Best served warm.

 

ginger peach muffins

Fill muffin cups to the top for big muffin domes, says Post Punk Kitchen’s Isa Chandra Moskowitz, creator of this recipe featured in Forks Over Knives — The Cookbook.
Photo by: APB: Eats

ginger peach muffins

Ginger Peach Muffins
 
Fill muffin cups to the top for big muffin domes, according to Post Punk Kitchen's Isa Chandra Moskowitz, creator of this recipe featured in "Forks Over Knives -- The Cookbook."
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 cup plant-based milk (such as almond, soy, or coconut)
  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2¼ cups spelt flour
  • ¾ cup vegan cane sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 medium peaches, peeled, halved, pitted, and cut into ¼-inch slices (approximately 2 cups)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with silicone liners (or use foil cupcake liners)
  3. In a large measuring cup using a fork, vigorously mix together the plant-based milk, ground flaxseeds, and vinegar for about a minute (or until it appears foamy). Set aside.
  4. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, ginger, and cinnamon.
  5. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the milk mixture. Add the applesauce and vanilla and stir together with the milk mixture in the well. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in the well just until all the dry ingredients are wet and incorporated -- do not over-stir. Gently fold in the peaches.
  6. Fill each muffin cup all the way to the top.
  7. Bake for 24 to 27 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick inserted through the center comes out clean.
  8. Remove pan from oven. Let muffins cool completely for about 20 minutes, then carefully run a knife around the edges of each muffin to remove.

 

rustic french bread

Okay, white flour is not the healthiest, but maybe fresh-baked bread gets a pardon?
Tip: Want to add some extra flavor? Try the basil and herbs de provence version of this recipe.

rustic french baguettes

Rustic French Bread
 
Okay, white flour is not the healthiest, but maybe fresh-baked bread gets a pardon?
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 packet active dry yeast (or 2¼ teaspoons)
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave
  • 1½ cups warm water (between 105-110 degrees)
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour (plus ½ cup, reserved)
  • Olive oil (to prepare bowl)
Instructions
  1. Place the warm water and maple syrup or agave in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a regular metal bowl if not using a mixer), and sprinkle the packet of yeast on top. Let stand until yeast gets foamy (about 5 minutes or so).
  2. In a another bowl, whisk together the flour and sea salt.
  3. Using the stand mixer on medium speed with its dough-hook attachment, begin to add the 4 cups of flour slowly to the proofed yeast mixture. (If mixing by hand, use a spoon to stir flour slowly into the yeast mixture.) Once the 4 cups of four have been mixed in, add a bit more from the reserved ½ cup of flour -- the dough should be stiff.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Slowly continue to add from the reserved ½ cup of flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the work surface (it's not necessary to use all of the reserved flour). Knead with floured hands until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes).
  5. Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat the entire ball. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave the dough to rise for 90 minutes (it should nearly double in size).
  6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  7. Gently punch the dough down to deflate it a bit, cut it in half, and shape it into two baguettes. Dust the tops of each baguette lightly with flour and place on a parchment-paper-lined (or lightly greased) baking sheet. Let rise for another 30 minutes, uncovered.
  8. With a sharp or serrated knife, cut several small diagonal slits across the tops of each baguette. Mist each loaf with water (or sprinkle a few drops on top).
  9. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool a bit and serve while warm.

 

rustic french bread with basil and herbes de provence

Drizzle with olive oil and break out the wine. 

rustic french baguettes with basil and herbes de provence

Rustic French Bread with Basil and Herbes de Provence
 
Drizzle lightly with olive oil and break out the wine.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 packet active dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1½ cups warm water (between 105-110 degrees)
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour (plus ½ cup, reserved)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
  • 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
  • Olive oil (to prepare bowl)
Instructions
  1. Place the warm water and maple syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a regular metal bowl if not using a mixer), and sprinkle the packet of yeast on top. Let stand until yeast gets foamy (about 5 minutes or so).
  2. In a another bowl, whisk together the flour, sea salt, basil, and herbes de Provence.
  3. Using the stand mixer on medium speed with its dough-hook attachment, begin to add the 4 cups of flour slowly to the proofed yeast mixture. (If mixing by hand, use a spoon to stir flour slowly into the yeast mixture.) Once the 4 cups of four have been mixed in, add a bit more from the reserved ½ cup of flour -- the dough should be stiff.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Slowly continue to add from the reserved ½ cup of flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the work surface (it's not necessary to use all of the reserved flour). Knead with floured hands until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes).
  5. Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat the entire ball. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave the dough to rise for 90 minutes (it should nearly double in size).
  6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  7. Gently punch the dough down to deflate it a bit, cut it in half, and shape it into two baguettes. Dust the tops of each baguette lightly with flour and place on a parchment-paper-lined (or lightly greased) baking sheet. Let rise for another 30 minutes, uncovered.
  8. With a sharp or serrated knife, cut several small diagonal slits across the tops of each baguette. Mist each loaf with water (or sprinkle a few drops on top).
  9. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool a bit, and eat it while it's warm!

 

apple-cinnamon cornbread muffins

A seasonal twist on classic cornbread recipe. 


Apple-Cinnamon Cornbread Muffins
 
A seasonal twist on classic cornbread.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 and ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup cornmeal
  • ¼ cup vegan granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoons of cinnamon (plus extra for topping)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • ¼ canola oil or ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons water)
  • 1 sweet, crisp apple (such as Fuji or Jonagold), diced into small pieces
  • Coconut-oil cooking spray (or other, to prepare pan)
  • Optional: Decorative vegan sugar crystals or turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Use a whisk to combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
  3. Make the flax egg in a separate small bowl (combine ground flax seed and water; allow to sit for a minute until it gels -- it should be goopy like an egg white).
  4. Combine almond milk, oil or applesauce, and flax egg. Gently fold this wet mixture into the dry mixture only until all ingredients are wet -- do not use a mixer or over-stir. Batter will be thick.
  5. Gently fold in apple pieces. Let batter rest for a minute; it should be thick yet fluffy/airy.
  6. Divide mixture evenly into a prepared muffin pan.
  7. Sprinkle top with a mixture of decorative sugar crystals and cinnamon.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes (toothpick inserted should come out clean).
  9. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing muffins from pan.

 

blueberry cornbread scones

Moist, but not overly so. A hint of sweetness.

Blueberry Cornbread

Blueberry Cornbread Scones
 
Moist, but not overly so. A hint of sweetness.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 and ¼ cups of all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup cornmeal
  • ¼ cup vegan granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • ¼ canola oil or ¼ cup applesauce
  • 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons water)
  • ½ - ¾ cup frozen blueberries (not thawed)
  • Coconut-oil cooking spray (or other, to prepare pan)
  • Optional for topping before baking: decorative vegan sugar crystals or turbinado sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Use a whisk to combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
  3. Make the flax egg in a separate small bowl (combine ground flax seed and water; allow to sit for a minute until it gels -- it should be goopy like an egg white).
  4. Combine almond milk, oil or applesauce, and flax egg. Gently fold this wet mixture into the dry mixture only until all ingredients are wet -- do not use a mixer or over-stir. Batter will be thick.
  5. Gently fold in frozen blueberries. Let batter rest for a minute; it should be thick yet fluffy/airy.
  6. Divide mixture evenly into a prepared scone pan. (If you don't have a scone pan, you can use a muffin pan, or pour the entire mixture into a prepared 8” x 8” baking pan.)
  7. Optional: Sprinkle top with decorative sugar crystals for a touch more sweetness. And classiness.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes (toothpick inserted should come out clean).
  9. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan (or just go for it).