Carob Buttercream Frosting (dairy-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, egg-free, vegan)

One of the most difficult parts of making a cake or cookies that need frosting is making a frosting without confectioners sugar. Here’s the perfect answer! So smooth and creamy as well as delicious. You can, of course, substitute chocolate if desired.

In a medium sized bowl mix:

1/2 cup sweet potato puree (I used canned)
1/2 cup date sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup, agave or coconut nectar, OR 1/2 teaspoon stevia powder OR 1/4 teaspoon monk fruit powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup carob powder OR cocoa powder
1/4 cup tahini or, if you can use it, nut or seed butter
2 tablespoons shortening such as Spectrum OR solid coconut oil OR vegan margarine or butter

Using a hand mixer, blend until smooth and well blended.

Sugar Cookies (dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, egg-free, vegan)

My son’s favorite Christmas cookie is a decorated sugar cookie. I haven’t been able to make him any in years but this year will be different (of course I have to find my cookie cutters first!). This cookie comes out crispy and full of flavor. My husband says the consistence was a little powdery but making sure the cookies are a little thicker and don’t get too brown took care of that problem. Makes 2 dozen cookies (approximately).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl whisk together:

1/3 cup agave or coconut nectar
1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds
2 tablespoons non-dairy milk such as hemp or soy
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a food processor blend:

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/3 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup arrowroot starch
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Blend just until mixed. Blend in:

1/2 cup shortening such as Spectrum or solid coconut oil, a tablespoon at a time

When combined and mixture is crumbly, add the liquid and blend until well mixed. Be sure to stir the mixture so that any flour on the bottom of the processor gets blended as well. For drop cookies, drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheets either lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Flatten with your palm or a lightly oiled or silicone spatula. If rolled cookies are desired, drop the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, place another sheet on top, flatten and wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour before rolling out and baking. Bake between 10 and 15 minutes depending on how thin the cookies are or how large.

Orange Sugar Cookies: Substitute orange juice for the milk and add grated rind of one orange to the dry ingredients. I also added 1 teaspoon of ground cloves, delicious!

Strawberry Sugar Cookies: Reduce brown rice and millet flours to 1/3 cup and add 1/3 cup ground dried strawberries.

Quinoa and Rice Cereal with Fruit (dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan)

I grew up in New Hampshire and my mother was always very frustrated with me in the winter because I absolutely refused to eat any type of hot cereal. I remember distinctly back in the 1950s and 1960s that Maypo was the go to hot cereal along, of course, with oatmeal. Not for me! I hated hot cereal, it was always so slimy in my mouth. Probably the way my mother cooked it. My mother would be so upset with me now to see how much hot cereal I eat during the winter. This is one of my favorites. I used to buy expensive quinoa and rice cereal already premade, just add the liquid and cook it. Now I make my own; so easy and it can be done with the new overnight refrigerator technique. I give you the stovetop version here. Makes two servings.

In a medium saucepot:

1/2 cup white quinoa
1 small pear diced
8-10 blackberries or raspberries (blackberries don’t break up as much as raspberries so I usually use those and its fine to take them out of the freezer and add them into the pot frozen)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash or two of salt

In a blender, blend until mainly smooth:

1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cold water

Add this to the pot, cover and cook over low heat, stirring frequently. This will thicken quickly because of the fruit so be sure to stir often. Keeping it covered insures that the quinoa cooks. When the quinoa looses its white sheen, its cooked. If its too wet, cook uncovered for a few more minutes.

Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup if the fruit hasn’t gotten it sweet enough. You can also feel free to add a tablespoon of ground flax, some chia seeds, raisins, dried cranberries, etc. Or substitute an apple for the pear.

To use the overnight refrigerator technique, put all the ingredients into a large mason jar, shake to mix (or stir), and refrigerate overnight. Heat up in the morning and enjoy.

Carob or Chocolate Cheesecake (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free, vegan)

I’ve been making a dairy-free and gluten-free cheesecake for years; the issue has always been how to get rid of the eggs that are essential to setting the cheesecake since its so similar to custard. I think I’ve finally found the answer – a combination of aquafaba and xanthan gum in the mix. This one turned out very rich and decadent, smooth and creamy with a soft, crumbly carob or chocolate crust. The recipe makes 4 small cheesecakes or 1 8″ cake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust: In a food processor or bowl with hand mixer combine:

1/2 cup vegan margarine such as Earth Balance
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons aquafaba
1/2 cup date or coconut sugar

Process or mix until well blended. Add:

1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
1/4 cup carob or cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of sea salt

Mix or process until combined. Batter will be very thick and sandy. Press into the bottom of an 8″ springform pan or 4 individual springform pans.

Cheesecake: Melt over a double boiler:

1 tablespoon vegan margarine
5 ounces unsweetened carob chips or 100% chocolate (unsweetened baking chocolate)

Set aside once melted and let cool slightly. Mix in a medium bowl:

3/4 pound softened non-dairy cream cheese

Beat until smooth. Gradually beat in chocolate mixture. Add:

1/2 cup thick non-dairy milk such as hemp or soy
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix until smooth. Add while mixing:

1 cup date or coconut sugar, 1/4 cup at a time

Be sure to scrap down the sides of the bowl as you mix in the ingredients. Add:

2 tablespoons carob or cocoa powder
2 tablespoons all purpose gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Mix until combined. Set aside. Beat in a separate bowl (with clean beaters):

6 tablespoons aquafaba
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold into the carob mixture. Pour into springform pan(s). Bake in middle of oven for 30 minutes (for one 8″) or 20 minutes (for 4 small). Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake an additional 30 minutes (for one 8″) or 20 minutes (for 4 small), or until there is just a slight jiggle in the middle of the cheesecakes. Turn off oven and crack open the door and leave the cheesecakes in the oven to cool for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let sit on the counter for another 30 minutes. Remove side(s) of springform pan(s). Put in the refrigerator and cool until totally cold (about 4 hours). Remove bottoms of springform pan(s).

Pumpkin Spice Muffins (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free, soy-free, vegan)

This is a very moist muffin, almost decadent in flavor with all the spices added. Yet with the garbanzo beans ground into the wet ingredients, it has some protein along with the carbohydrates. Its sweetened with dates so there’s no added refined sugar. Because its gluten-free, it needs to cook a little longer than a regular muffin and it also needs to be made in regular muffin/cupcake pans rather than the jumbo (or the teeny ones would work but you’ll get more than the dozen). And its versatile, you can make it with pumpkin, sweet potato, or butternut squash (or a mixture of squashes).

Prepare 12 muffin/cupcakes by grease and flouring them. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a blender or food processor, combine until smooth:

1 cup drained garbanzo beans
2 cups (or 15 ounces if you’re using canned) pumpkin, sweet potato or squash
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped dates (using the ones mixed with flour will help dry the batter)
1/2 cup dried prunes (or you could use dried figs)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Meanwhile in a large bowl combine:

1 1/4 cups all purpose gluten-free flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup chopped dates

When the wet ingredients are well mixed and all solid bits are broken down, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and hand mix until all the flour is combined. Divide as evenly as possible between the muffin cups and bake for 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your muffins. If you’re using the teeny muffin pans, baking time will probably be only 10-12 minutes. These are so tasty that they don’t need cream cheese or butter but can be eaten just as baked. Be sure to let them sit 10-15 minutes after removing them from the oven so that they dry out a little more in the baking pan.

Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Swiss Butter Cream Frosting (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, refined cane sugar-free, vegan)

This is a fairly easy cake to make if you have a hand mixer. Using the coconut sugar makes it look a little funky since coconut sugar is brown, it certainly can’t be called a “yellow” cake which is what one would think a vanilla cake should be. However, I tried it out on four different people and they all said it was vvvveeerrrryyyy tasty! Its versatile as well — the batter can be used as a bundt cake, layer cake, sheet cake, cupcakes, or as the base for a coffee cake. In fact, that’s what tasters said it tasted more like, coffeecake, than a yellow cake. Unfortunately, I’m allergic to coconut so I couldn’t taste it myself although it smelled REALLY good. I’ll be trying this again with different sweeteners to see how it works so stay tuned. It would also be very delicious with the strawberry cream cheese frosting already posted on my blog.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour whatever baking pan used (I only had the jumbo cupcake pans and those were really too big for these cupcakes so if you want to make cupcakes, I would suggest using smaller tins).

With an electric mixer in a large bowl, combine:

2 cups coconut sugar (or date sugar)
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix until blended (the coconut sugar will stay granular at this point. Add:

1 1/2 cups all purpose Gluten-free flour blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 cup non-dairy milk

Mix until blended and then add:

1 1/2 cups all purpose Gluten-free flour
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup club soda

Again, mix until well blended. I had to use a scraper to keep the batter from climbing the mixer blades. Pour into prepared pan(s). It will make three 8″ or 9″ cake layers, a 10×14″ sheet cake, 10-12 jumbo cupcakes, or a bundt cake. Baking times will differ depending on what pan you choose to use. My jumbo cupcakes took 30 minutes; a bundt cake will probably take 50-60 minutes. Layers I would think would take around 20 minutes. I used the toothpick into the center of the cake to be sure it was done and I could see it was pulling away from the sides of the baking pan. Cool in pan for a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack. This is a very moist cake so I suggest that you don’t put these cupcakes into a plastic bag (I made that mistake and they all stuck together the next day when I went to frost them).

Chocolate Swiss Butter Cream Frosting

Combine in a small pan:

1 1/2 cups date sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 1/2 cups water
1/8 teaspoon salt (or a couple of dashes)

Using a candy thermometer, heat mixture to soft ball stage (220 degrees). Stir frequently. Date sugar doesn’t dissolve like regular white cane sugar so expect it to take quite awhile to get to 220 degrees (like a half hour; I actually gave up after about 20 minutes when it finally reached 200 degrees and my frosting turned out a little softer than it should). While the sugar syrup is cooking, beat:

1/4 cup aquafaba
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Beat at medium speed until stiff peaks form and then continue beating for another 3-5 minutes at high speed. Slowly add the sugar mixture and beat on high for another 3-5 minutes. Add:

2 ounces melted baking chocolate OR 2 tablespoons carob powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon olive oil

When well combined, slowly add in small pieces:

1/4 to 1/2 cup vegan margarine (the amount depends on how buttery and fluffy you want the frosting; I use Earth Balance Soy Free)

Continue beating until the margarine is well combined (you can tell from the picture that I didn’t quite achieve this task and that was mainly because I forgot it in the original beating so adding it later using a whisk and you can see how well that worked!).

Three Squash Mash (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free, vegan)

My father loved winter squash — any variety, he raised them all and loved to eat all of them. His least favorite was the most common, the butternut. It was too wet for his taste so when we cooked one, we had to mix it with other winter squash to dry it out. He always doused it with a good amount of gravy, so it had to be dry to begin with so the gravy would sink in (he also liked his potatoes very dry for the same reason). There’s a wide variety of winter squash to choose from — blue hubbard, acorn, butternut, buttercup, kabocha, carnival, dumpling, delicata, etc — I used an acorn, buttercup, and delicata in my mash but you can use any combination you want. I also use the very smallest I can find since, unless my older brother shows up, I have to eat it all by myself since my son and husband don’t like it.

Wash 3 winter squash and then stab them with a sharp knife to pierce the squash into the center so that the steam can escape while you cook them. Put them in a baking dish with about 1 inch of water and put the dish into a 400 degree oven until the squash are soft. In my case, it took around an hour. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes (unless you like burned fingers) before you clean them.

Using some paper towels to collect the seeds and strings from the center and a bowl to collect the meat, cut each squash in half and scoop out the seeds and strings onto the paper towels. Once you have them basically out (its okay if a few strings get into the mash), scoop the meat of the squash into a bowl large enough to hold the meat from all 3 squash. Repeat for each squash.

Once you have the meat separated, mix in:

2 tablespoons to 1/2 cup avocado oil, or if you can use it, vegan margarine; the amount you’ll use depends on how much squash you have in your bowl (for my 3 very small squash, I used 2 tablespoons)
1/2 to 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup agave, maple syrup, or honey (optional) — I actually think winter squash is sweet enough without adding any sweetener, especially if you use a delicata, carnival or dumpling in your mix

Stir briskly with a large spoon (or if you have a lot, use a hand mixer on a low setting) until the squash types and additions are well mixed. If your squash is now too cool to serve, put the squash into a greased baking dish and return to oven to heat up, roughly 15-20 minutes if your oven is already hot.

Chickpea Brownies (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, soy-free, sugar-free)

These are probably the best brownies I’ve ever eaten. Fudge brownies are good but difficult to master when you’re making gluten-free and egg-free brownies. These are always moist, unless you really overcook them, as well as rich and oh so decadent while they are still so good for you! Unbelievably good. Instead of using a baking pan, I put some parchment paper on a cookie sheet, spray it with my olive oil spray and spread the batter on it. It makes a thinner brownie that bakes faster and I’m less likely to overcook it.

In your food process add:

1 drained 12 ounce can of garbanzo beans
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup tahini (or you can use any nut butter if you can have nuts)
1/2 cup protein powder
8-12 pitted dates OR 1 teaspoon monk fruit powder OR 1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup carob powder (or cocoa if you can have it)
1 cup of cold water, after adding 3/4 cup, add a little at a time (1 tablespoon) until you have a smooth, mashed potato like consistency — if you use the honey, you’ll have to use less water

Process until smooth and then process for a couple more minutes. I’ve found that even when I think all the garbanzo beans are processed, there are still some larger pieces in the mix; and if the garbanzo beans are reduced, the dates may still have some large pieces. So keep processing it even when you think its done for at least 2 more minutes. During these last couple of minutes add:

2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons hemp hulls
2 tablespoons ground flax

Spread your batter in your prepared pan; either cookie sheet or large 9×12″ baking dish. I like to sprinkle carob chips on top but that’s optional. Bake 20-25 minutes if you’re using a cookie sheet and 35-40 minutes for a baking dish. Cool before cutting.

Fudgy Brownies (dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, egg-free, sugar-free)

I am a brownie lover; its the only baked good where I’ll actually eat the batter as well as the baked goods. The only technical thing with brownies is not overcooking them and this is the one thing you really have to watch out for with gluten-free brownies. I baked mine 22 minutes and they were dry instead of fudgy. Still very rich and decadent but I’ll probably make hemp cream sundaes out of them instead of eating them plain. So watch the clock closely when you make these.

Grease an 8×8″ baking dish. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl mix:

3/4 cup avocado oil
1 1/2 teaspoon monk fruit powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup aquafaba

When they are well mixed, add:

1 cup buckwheat flour
3/4 cup carob powder (you can use cocoa if you want)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup protein powder
3/4 cup club soda

Beat just until mixed; don’t overbeat. You can also add 1/2 cup of carob chips (or chocolate if you can have it) and some hemp hulls (or nuts if you can have them). Batter will be very thick. Spread evenly in your baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with some crumbs but not raw batter. Cool and cut into 9-12 pieces.

Gluten-free Pancakes (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free)

I do love pancakes, one of my favorite breakfasts on Sundays, the only day I allow myself something other than a smoothie. Its been hard to find a recipe for gluten-free pancakes that doesn’t result in a gummy pancake. This one fits the bill.

In a small bowl mix:

1 cup non-dairy milk, preferably unsweetened
1 tablespoon vinegar

In a medium size bowl combine:

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 tablespoons ground flax (I use the golden and it doesn’t change the color of my baked goods)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

In a small (4-cup) bowl, whip:

2 tablespoons aquafaba
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon monk fruit powder

Whip on medium until stiff peaks form and then increase speed to maximum and whip another 4-5 minutes.

Add to the flour mixture:

1/4 cup avocado oil OR 1/4 cup fruit puree
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Add the milk mixture and stir until combined. Gently fold in the aquafaba mixture. Drop by 1/4 cups onto greased, heated skillet and cook until bubbling and then turn over and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add some maple syrup and enjoy.