Sylvia requested heart shaped "fairy" biscuits with pink icing, so we made them for a recent picnic:
Aren't they lovely?
And they tasted just perfect too, much nicer than I expected.
We did some stars as well - apparently fairies eat them too...
They are so festive!
I used this recipe from Get Sconed! for the vegan shortbread. The dough was so easy to work with. I'll definitely be making them again, maybe at Christmas time.
The icing is the confectioner's icing from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (icing/powdered sugar, with a bit of soy milk and vanilla) with a teensy bit of red colouring added.
I had some cornflakes to use up, so this recipe was born!
I kept sneaking back into the kitchen to "test" the results, so I think they turned out pretty well...
These are a great healthier alternative to traditional kid's chocolate crackles, but also a lovely treat for the grown-ups.
On another note, I have made a list of my links to online recipes if anyone is interested!
Vegan Chocolate Cornflake Crackles (makes about 11 large crackles)
4 cups cornflakes (I used sugar free cornflakes)
1/2 cup dairy free margarine (I used Nuttelex)
100g vegan chocolate, broken into pieces
1/3-1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
2 tbsp ground cashews
2 tbsp ground pecans
Melt margarine in a small saucepan. Add chocolate and rice malt syrup and stir until smooth.
Put the cornflakes, flaxseed, cashews and pecans in a large bowl. Add the chocolate mixture and stir.
Place mixture in cases and put in the freezer (fridge will probably work too) for at least 1/2 an hour before eating.
These are best eaten cold, or they'll fall apart!
... or the next instalment in my love affair with besan (chickpea) flour.
When I saw this post by Mel at Veganise This! on curried "egg" sandwiches made with besan flour, I knew I had to try it immediately. I don't particularly miss eggs, but I do love any excuse to experiment with besan flour.
I loved the texture of this. I found that as I left the mixture to cool, it became more rubbery (in a good way) like scrambled eggs.
It went so well on toast for breakfast with a dash of tomato sauce.
The recipe calls for black salt to give it an "eggy" flavour. I didn't have this, so I just used normal salt. It still had a great flavour and similarity to scrambled eggs.
My partner liked it but said he prefers this vegan omelette I use with fried rice. My three year old wouldn't try it because it's not chips or a Vegemite sandwich. Sigh.
But I didn't mind because I could eat it all myself! I loved this and I'll definitely be making it again and again.
Making sweet foods makes me feel good. Sharing and eating them is quite nice too!
Here are a few sweet things that have been produced in our kitchen lately.
Fluffy White Cupcakes
Cupcakes put a smile on everyone's face, don't they? I'm usually a Vegan Cupcake Takes Over the World girl, but I also love these vanilla cupcakes from Vegan Lunch Box. The coconut extract really adds something special to these.
Lemon Olive Oil Cake
I had a few lemons to use up so I decided to make this cake from Chef Chloe. I wanted to take a photo of this cake sliced up, perhaps with a bit of icing sugar sprinkled on. But the cake disappeared too fast. That's how good it was. I haven't baked with olive oil much before, but it was just divine in this cake.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
These are delicate, melt in your mouth cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking. They make perfect gifts. The recipe is also here online. I used a combination of pecans and walnuts.
Crepes with lemon and sugar
Growing up, we were not a pancake household. We were a crepe household. We ate them with lemon and sugar or cocoa and sugar. This time I tried the crepe recipe from Veganomicon. They contain that magical chickpea flour. These are definitely the best vegan crepes I've made - thin and delicious!
Strawberry Mousse
This recipe from Vegie Head is simple and very creamy. It is made with fresh strawberries, dates, avocado, chia seeds and coconut cream. Lexie, now 9 months old, enjoyed it too!
Chocolate Date Balls
These chocolate date balls from Veggieful are a yummy and healthy quick treat to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Lemon Macadamia Bars
These bars are based on this recipe from Cupcake Kitteh. They are so delicious and easy to make - no need to buy expensive raw bars!
What are your favourite sweet treats at the moment?
