5 Ingredient Pumpkin Ice Cream - vegan & gluten free

Less than two weeks till Halloween! Do you have your costume figured out? I think I'll go crazy and wear a fancy shirt. I don't expect any trick-or-treaters for either candy or Unicef in my neighborhood, but that doesn't mean we won't want pumpkiny goodness.

And this ice cream? It definitely qualifies as pumpkiny goodness. The fact that real, actual, honest-to-goodness pumpkin, rather than just pumpkin spices, means you can really taste the pumpkin. Does that also mean we can count it as a vegetable course? hmmm. I'm leaning toward "yes."

For the first time I experimented with using one can of full-fat coconut milk and one can of light coconut milk. It's good! It might not be quite as creamy as using only full-fat, but Mr Official Taster hasn't noticed, and I think it's dreamy delicious. Lower fat + pumpkin? I think that equals a firm "yes" on the vegetable question. Sweet.

5 Ingredient Pumpkin Ice Cream - vegan & gluten free
adapted from MindBodyGreen

As I mentioned above, you can use either two cans of full fat coconut milk OR one can full fat + one can light coconut milk.  Do you have a good spice cabinet but no pumpkin pie spice? Make your own! 

2 15-ounce cans of coconut milk, well shaken (see note)
1 C pumpkin puree (either canned or fresh)
1/2 C maple syrup
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract

and a bonus, "optional" ingredient

splash of bourbon

Add the first five ingredients to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally, and then whisk more frequently as the mixture warms up until it's fully combined and no lumps remain (a boil isn't necessary). Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate at least a few hours or overnight. 

Transfer chilled mix (plus a splash or two of bourbon, if using) to your ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Lunchbox Multigrain Apple Crisps - vegan & gluten free

There's been a revolution in lunches here at Chez Sweets. 

I started playing with this idea over the summer, and I'm really happy about it. There are actually a couple of ideas at play, but the main one is that you can bake individual desserts - the kind that don't travel as well as a brownie or a cookie - in the relatively recent generation of storage containers. These are glass containers that are labeled as oven safe and come with tightly fitting lids. All parts are dishwasher safe, which is an excellent quality in any lunch container. 

My mom found these glass Anchor containers for me when I first started wondering out loud about the concept, and they are pretty great. They're a nice size (1 cup), sturdy, and very packable (and not just with crisp). Full disclosure - Anchor has no idea who I am or that I am writing about their product. I just like them. 

One of the other ideas at play is that of trying to make lunches more exciting/more delicious/something to look forward to. I am happy to say that a cinnamon spiced sweet apple crisp is a sure-fire way to do so. My lunch mates this week have been happy to help themselves to a bite or two. I am dreaming of translating other recipes the same way. 

You don't have to make this for your lunchbox, of course. Make them in small ramekins, and voila, you have individual desserts. Serve them for guests with a dollop of whipped cream (and perhaps a decorative sprinkling of cinnamon?) for instant accolades. They are also totally healthy enough to have for breakfast. 

I've already waxed on about the portability concept, but I don't want to neglect the crisps themselves (it's bad for their self esteem). These multigrain apple crisps are super yummy! The apples are soft and sweet, and the crisp provides great contrast, not only in terms of texture, but also in flavor. The nutty and cinnamony crunch is delightful. So go forth and bake! You probably already have all the ingredients on hand. Just think how much better your brown bag lunch will look.

Lunchbox Multigrain Apple Crisps - vegan & gluten free

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the nuts - any will work. Pick your favorite! For the pictured batch, I used pecans, but it was a tough internal struggle deciding between those and walnuts. Almonds or hazelnuts would also work well, as would an equal volume of a nut meal or flour. If you have oat flour on hand, substitute a quarter-cup of that for the first quarter-cup of rolled oats.

For the flour - again, any will work. Crisps are wonderfully forgiving in that way. The flour doesn't really bind things together with gluten here, so you can use your favorite regular, wheat, white whole wheat, nut, gluten free, or any other flour of choice. I'm thinking that rye flour might be a fun option next time. 

For the oil - I used olive oil, but you could certainly use any other vegetable oil, melted butter, melted coconut butter, or some combination thereof. I haven't tried it, but I suspect something like walnut oil would also be a yummy choice. 

Makes 8 small crisps

4 large or 5 small-medium apples (about 2 pounds)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp plus 1/4 C raw, Turbinado (often sold as Sugar in the Raw) sugar, or Sucanat
1/4 C plus 3/4 C rolled oats (be sure to use certified gluten free if making for gf folks)
1/4 C sliced or slivered nuts of your choice (see note)
1/2 C whole wheat flour (or a mix; see note)
1/4 C light or dark brown sugar (I used Sucanat)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch or two of nutmeg
Two pinches sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 C plus 1 Tbsp olive oil (see note)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange either eight 6-ounce or six 8-ounce ramekins or oven-safe food storage containers (I love these) on a baking tray. Peel, halve and core apples. Dice them into somewhat small pieces - about .5-inches. Smaller pieces have several advantages; you can squish more fruit into each container, they will bake faster, and they will deflate or sink less as they cool. Toss apples with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 3 tablespoons raw sugar or Sucanat until evenly coated. Divide apples evenly between baking dishes.

Grind 1/4 cup oats with nuts in a food processor until powdery. In a medium bowl, us a fork to whisk oat/almond mixture with remaining rolled oats, wheat flour, remaining 1/4 cup raw sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt and baking powder. Keep using the fork to stir in olive oil until crumbly. Divide crumbs over each dish of apples, packing them on with your palms if needed to get them all on (don’t worry, the apples will deflate a bit when they bake- see photos). If you use fewer than eight containers, you will probably have extra topping. Not to worry - save it in the freezer, and pull out anytime you want to make a couple of individual crisps with whatever leftover fruit you have on hand.

Bake apple crisps for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until you can see the juices from the apples bubbling up around the crumbs. If you start to worry about the over browning of the top, put a sheet of foil over the whole tray for remaining baking time. Let cool on rack and serve when lukewarm. Store remaining crisps in fridge. Enjoy at room temperature, or give them a quick blast in the microwave to serve warm. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze – vegan

hello, friends! Today I give you yummy nummy (now a word, btw) pumpkin cinnamon rolls with...drumroll please....maple glaze. I've been teasing you since last week, so it seems only fair to share the love. And love it really is.

I'm one of those people who feed people as an expression of love, as a welcome-to-my-home, as an are-you-ok, as an I-hope-you-feel-better-how-can-I-help, as a hello-nice-to-meet-you-I-hope-you-like-me kind of a thing. I hope other people see it as such, but even if they don't, a) I hope it makes them feel better, even if they don't know why and b) it makes me feel better. And in a weird kind of way, sometimes presenting a dish that's more complicated or time consuming than usual makes me feel like I'm giving them more and showing I care even more. Do you other cooks and bakers out there feel the same way, or is that a Kate Special?

Anyway, these pumpkin cinnamon rolls fall into that category. I'm not going to make these all the time, but when I do make them, know that you're special. or that I want to impress you. or both. Because they are impressive (ask my coworkers) and they are delicious (ask my mouth) and they aren't as hard as they look (yay). The perfect trifecta.

These buns are full of sweet, gooey, pumpkin, cinnamony goodness. As with my other go-to brunch recipe, you can prepare them at night, go get some sleep, and bake them fresh in the morning. Side note: the overnight route is really, really, really the way to go if you are hosting breakfast/brunch. It's a win-win- you don't have wake up stupid early, and you and your guests get fresh, out of the oven yummies. Also, a more relaxed host(ess) makes for a better party.

In an effort to help make clear possibly hard-to-understand directions, for the first time I enlisted Mr Official Taster's help in creating a short video for you. I wanted to give the time-lapse feature on my iPhone a try. There is no sound, and if you want to make it larger, click on the button on the bottom right that has the four arrows to make it full screen. Update: the video doesn't seem to be showing up on mobile devices, and I don't know why. Hopefully I can figure it out. Until then, here's a link to the video: https://flic.kr/p/pgN3GL

 

For the most part, I'm pretty happy with it. I know the lighting is not great, and next time he'll stand on a stool behind me for a better birds-eye perspective. But I'm really curious about your reaction. Is is helpful? Do you like it? Is it long enough? too long? Unnecessary? Speak your mind, please!

Also, please make these for someone you love. Neither of you will regret it!

Not into pumpkin? Try my regular cinnamon rolls- they're yummy too.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze – vegan

adapted from Chloe's Vegan Desserts

Though the written recipe is long, it is not particularly difficult, and the end results are well worth it. I chose to use coconut oil in place of vegan butter throughout this recipe, but either works, and I can imagine that Earth Balance vegan butter would impart a nice buttery flavor. Note that vegan butter is salted, so if you go that route, be sure to use the smaller salt measurement.

If you need this recipe to be corn free, powdered (AKA confectioners’) sugar is not your friend since it's sugar+cornstarch. I can think of three options here. A) Make the glaze, but don’t drizzle over the top. Allow everyone you’re serving to choose whether to add it to his or her portion. B) Skip the glaze and just top with maple syrup. C) Make your own corn-free powdered sugar by whirring an equal volume of regular or superfine white sugar in a food processor. Basically, you grind it down into finer grains. It’s not exactly the same as powdered sugar, but it’s a pretty good substitute.

Dough

1 C pumpkin puree, canned or fresh

1 C nondairy milk

½ C plus 1 Tbsp sugar, divided

½ C vegan butter or coconut oil

½ -1 tsp salt (see note)

1 tsp vanilla

¼ lukewarm water (about 110F)

2 ¼ tsp (or 1 packet) active dry yeast

5 C all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat), divided, plus more for rolling

Filling

¾ C brown sugar (I used Sucanat)

2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

4 Tbsp vegan butter or coconut oil, melted

1 C raisins (optional)

Glaze (see note)

½ C powdered sugar

3 Tbsp maple syrup

Up to a few tablespoons water, as needed

Make the dough

In a medium saucepan, whisk the pumpkin, nondairy milk, ½ cup sugar, coconut oil or butter, and salt over low heat until combined. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let cool until lukewarm, about 110 degrees F.

While the pumpkin mixture is cooling, place the warm water, remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, and yeast in a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Stir for a second or two and set aside for about 10 minutes. The yeast will become foamy, double in size, and reach the ¾-cup line. If it does not do so, then either your yeast was dead or the water was too hot (and killed the yeast); make another yeast mixture before proceeding.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the pumpkin mixture and the yeast mixture. Beat at a medium speed for about 1 minute. Add 2 ½ cups flour, and stir on low until incorporated. Add the remaining 2 ½ cups flour and repeat. The dough will be somewhat sticky. Exchange the paddle attachment for the dough hook and knead on a medium speed for about 2 minutes.

To save yourself from washing an extra bowl, gather the dough ball and balance on one hand. With the other, spray the mixing bowl with nonstick spray. Return the dough to the bowl, and then turn it over so the entire ball is coated with oil. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl as it rises. Cover with a kitchen towel or shower cap, place in a warm spot, and let sit until it has doubled in size (about 1 ½ hours, less if it’s a warm day).

Remove cover and punch down the dough so that it deflates. Take the dough out and put it on a lightly floured surface. Recover with the kitchen towel and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Make the filling & assemble the rolls

While the dough is resting, lightly grease a 9- x 13-inch baking pan. Combine brown sugar or Sucanat, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl and set aside.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Aim for a 20- x 13-inch rectangle (it doesn’t need to be exact). Brush or spread the melted oil over the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly across the surface. If you like raisins in your cinnamon rolls, sprinkle them evenly over the surface at this point.

With the long edge of the dough rectangle close to you, roll the dough up away from you, so you are creating an approximately 20-inch long log. (see video above) With the seam side down, use a sharp knife to cut the log in half. Then cut each roll into 6 equal pieces (observant readers will notice I ended up with 13 pieces. It is a-ok). Ideally, you will have 12 cinnamon rolls. Place the rolls, swirled side up, into the prepared pan, in 4 rows with 3 rolls in each row. You don’t need to smoosh them together – the next rise will take care of that.

If you’re baking them right away, cover pan with a dry kitchen towel, place in a warm spot, and allow to rise a second time for about an hour. If, however, you are assembling them at night and plan to bake them in the morning, cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and place the fridge overnight. Remove them in the morning at about the same time you start to preheat your oven.

All together now - once the cinnamon rolls have risen, preheat your oven to 375F. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes. When fully cooked, they will be lightly brown on top, and a toothpick or a knife inserted in the center will come out free of dough. (Do check. Don’t be as impatient as I was the first time). Let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes before glazing.

Make the glaze

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and maple syrup. If it’s too thick, add water, a little bit at a time, until smooth and drizzle-able.

Drizzle glaze over the rolls. Proceed to stuff the warm pumpkin cinnamon gooey goodness into your mouth. Alternatively, use a fork and a plate for maximum politeness.

Pumpkin Cornbread - vegan

A few weeks ago, I boldly promised to keep this a "pumpkin-spice-anything-free zone," and I'm proud to say that's still true. I will admit, however, that I noticed a loophole and decided to take advantage of it. You see, I didn't outlaw actual pumpkin. Sneaky, you accuse? Yep. But, in my defense, loopholes are a proud American tradition, and it is technically fall now, so pumpkin is actually appropriate.

I came across a recipe for a honey pumpkin cornbread, started making it, realized my cornmeal was not-so-good, ran and got a new bag, finished the recipe, and after all of that, was supremely disappointed. It was dry. It was boring. It tasted like pumpkin but not at all like cornbread. Or honey, particularly, come to think of it. I knew I liked the idea in general, so I basically tore the recipe up (well, virtually tore it up. and by "tore it up" I mean I no longer have it Pinned) and started all over.

I switched from honey to maple syrup and reduced the volume. I got rid of an egg and some pumpkin-y spices. I introduced creamed corn to the ingredient list and reduced the milk. A few other tweaks, and I was ready to try again.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. This pumpkin cornbread blends and balances both flavors so that you can really tell each is there. It's moist (even the next day) and not too sweet. In short, it's all the good things that cornbread should be.


Pumpkin Cornbread - vegan
a Short & Sweets original

If you make this when there is still fresh corn available, I think a handful of fresh kernels would be a tasty addition. I see no reason why you couldn't make either mini or jumbo muffins and adjust the bake time accordingly. Also, I haven't tried myself, but they should freeze just fine if well-wrapped.

If you are looking for a breakfast treat, drizzle some maple syrup over a warm muffin. It's fabulous on a fall morning. Otherwise, I recommend pairing these with black bean sweet potato chili or red bean chili. Or, if you want to go pumpkin-crazy, pumpkin chili. 

3/4 C non-dairy milk

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 C yellow cornmeal
1 C whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil or vegan butter)
3/4 C canned pumpkin
3/4 C creamed corn
1/4 C maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)


In a medium-sized non-reactive bowl or large glass measuring cup, combine non-dairy milk and vinegar. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a standard, 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper liners. 

In a large bowl, stir flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together. Whisk oil, pumpkin, creamed corn, and maple syrup into the milk+vinegar mixture. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Divide batter evenly among muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.

Cool for 5 or 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and serve immediately or allow to cool completely on a wire rack. In an airtight container, muffins stay moist for 3-4 days. 

Banana Bread Granola – vegan, gluten free & refined sugar free

This granola, man, has it been weighing on me. It took me several tries over the course of several weeks (months!) to get it right. I think it was actually cold out when I started this experiment. hmmm

Nevertheless, I'm so glad I plodded along. It was such a tease - the idea of it, the smells emanating from the oven, and then the taste, not quite right. But I persisted (and ate some burned granola along the way), and this weekend's batch confirmed my last recipe test and proved blog worthy.

Dear readers, believe me when I tell you: go make this. You won't be sorry. It's excellent, quick and easy in the morning with almond milk, and it's also pretty great as a snack. There's no refined sugar (unless you so choose), and it's full of whole grain, protein, fiber, and omega goodness. Perhaps you have a trip in your future? It packs well and will not earn you a glare or a pat down at security. They might be jealous, though.

Banana Bread Granola – vegan, gluten free & refined sugar free
adapted from Minimalist Baker

Below is what I use but feel free to pick and choose your add-ins or come up with some of your own. The various seeds and the wheat germ are completely optional, but I include them for nutrition. The sugar? Doesn't need it one bit. I argued with myself, but ultimately left it in the ingredients list so you can make your own decision. To start, you could try just 1 or 2 tablespoons. I also never needed to add in the extra tablespoon of liquid sweetener. As for oil, so far I like coconut oil best, but olive oil also works has the added bonus of not needing to melt. The recipe should work with just about any kind of oil you prefer; it's really just a matter of taste.

3 C rolled oats (GF for gluten free eaters)
¾ C walnuts
½ C pecans (I’ve also used hazelnuts)
3 Tbsp raw sugar (totally optional)
½ tsp sea salt or ¼ tsp table salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp flax seed
1 Tbsp hemp seeds (optional)
1 Tbsp wheat germ (optional – skip for gluten free)
¼ C coconut oil (see note)
1/3 C + up to additional 1 Tbsp maple syrup, agave or honey if not vegan
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium ripe banana, mashed (~1/2 cup)


Preheat oven to 275F.

Using a large spoon or spatula, mix the oats, nuts, sugar if using, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and any seeds/wheat germ you're using together in a large bowl. If there's a fine coating of cinnamon on everything, it's well mixed.

In a small saucepan over medium low heat (or carefully in the microwave should also work), warm the coconut oil, maple syrup (or agave or honey) and vanilla extract. Once liquidy, remove from heat and whisk in banana puree until well combined. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.

Spread the mixture evenly onto one or two baking sheets (I lined mine for easy clean up, but Minimalist Baker did not) and bake for 75-90 minutes, gently turning occasionally, until golden brown and nearly crisp. I like to crack open the oven door now and then to let out some of the steam (accumulated moisture). I don’t know if doing so helps the granola crisp up faster or not, but it feels like it should.

Once the granola is visibly browned, remove from the oven and gently toss just a bit to let the heat escape. Cool completely (it will crisp up as it cools) on the baking sheet or in a heat-safe bowl. Store in a container or jar with an air-tight seal – it should keep for a couple weeks.

Pumpkin Chili - vegan & gluten free

I'm sorry I'm such a tease.

I posted on Instagram and then mentioned last week that I made a new kind of chili, and I'm just now telling you about it. Can we still be friends? Yes, you know what it's like to go on vacation staycation and have it somehow disappear much faster than you can understand, and certainly faster than you'd like, and just not get everything done that you'd like to?

oh good, I'm so glad that happens to other people.

Cranberry Hazelnut Quick Bread - vegan

Mom, this bread is for you.

As I mentioned on Sunday, this week I'm on vacation from work, but entertaining full time at home. We had a great dinner last night with our friend (pumpkin chili recipe coming soon to a Short & Sweets near you), followed by a slice of this bread (it was fresh! we had to try!) and maybe a brownie or two. oh, and some raspberries. It was a feast.

Now that I've recovered from our group gluttony dinner party, I can fully appreciate this easy bread. I pinned the inspiration for this quick bread recipe, oh, a year ago. And I'm just now getting to it. What was I thinking? It's easy, comes together in a snap, and I bet you have all the ingredients on hand. If you're like me and have a seasonal food hoarding problem, you might even have a bag of cranberries from last fall stashed in your freezer that you should really finish off before you buy this year's cranberries to stash in your freezer. ahem.

Snickerdoodle Muffins - vegan

Oh, these muffins.

I've had this idea floating around in my head for a couple of weeks for snickerdoodle muffins. It seemed like a delicious and not overly complicated idea. Unfortunately, my first attempt over the weekend didn't turn out so well. I adapted a plain muffin recipe from a food writer I trust (I'm looking at you, Bittman), but it, well, sucked. Most of the batch went into the compost bin, which is something I almost never do.

So I went back to the beginning, thought what I didn't like about the batter (tough, dry, blegh), tried to fix it (more liquids), put the muffin tin in the oven, and crossed my fingers.

Bourbon Pumpkin Muffins - vegan

I hope you're not over pumpkins yet.

I know, I know, this is the third pumpkiny recipe in a row here, and for that, I sort of apologize. If you need some balance in your life, I did recently give you a salad, and before that, granola, both of which are quite healthy and a good antidote to overindulgence. (by the way, have you tried the granola yet? as part of my plan to convert everyone I know to homemade-granola-makers, you really should)

But I don't apologize all of the way, because when, if not in October, are you going to overindulge in pumpkin anyway? September's not the season quite yet, and November is Thanksgiving focused, so that leaves (pun intended) October as The Time of Pumpkin. I'm keeping you trendy. You're welcome.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies - vegan

In between catching up on Reacher and How I Met Your Mother (Netflix finally got some new episodes!), finishing off another Pride & Prejudice spin off, and sleeping, I also made these cookies this weekend. At one point Mr Official Taster asked what I was up to, and I mentioned that I was debating between making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and doing something productive around the house (sorry, bad storyteller that I am, I forget what) and he immediately voted for cookies. Smart man.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Squares - vegan

Hello friends, and welcome to October. Are you as surprised to be here as I am? Whew, September just flew.

There's an internal switch, I'm convinced, that flips back and forth between summer and fall during September and towards the end of the month eventually makes up its mind and sticks with fall. September is just one of those months with multiple personality disorder. Visually, it's obvious on sites like Pinterest or Tastespotting; recipes run the gamut from raspberry jam to pumpkin cheesecake to zucchini pasta to hearty chili. My blog stats tell me the same- my top five most visited recipes last month were:

1. Peach Crisp
2. Raspberry Coconut Bread
3. Pumpkin Spice Cookies
4. Baked Steel Cut Oats
5. Pumpkin & Spice Overnight Oatmeal

I'm glad no one else can figure out what season it is either.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins - vegan

Whew. It turns out that a busy bakery turns into chaos during Thanksgiving week. We sold hundreds! thousands! millions! of pies. I couldn't actually believe we would sell all of the ones we had ready, but we did, and we actually sold out of some flavors. 

By the end of my shift on Thursday, I was done in. So much so that, for the first time in my life, I brought a cake to dinner that I bought. I was mildly outraged at myself, but so tired that I couldn't sustain it. Also, I justified it by telling myself that it was a cake we make in the bakery, so it's almost kinda-sorta like homemade. Right? 

Pumpkin & Spice Overnight Oatmeal - vegan & gluten free

I've started having dreams about work, which clearly means I'm there a lot (have I mentioned I'm finally full time?) and it's busy. You might have heard that Thanksgiving is next week. And you might see the connection between Thanksgiving and a very busy bakery.

My most recent nocturnal adventure had me worried all night about not having enough stuffing. You see, we make unseasoned bread stuffing from our stale (day old) bread, and apparently last year we sold hundreds and hundreds of pounds of it. It's somewhat time consuming to make, and with so many other things on my Must Make NOW list, turning loaves of bread into sort-of-but-not-really-cubed-shaped-pieces often gets pushed to the end of my shift. Which means I'm rushingrushingrushing and never ever make as much progress on my pile of bread as I'd like to, which seems to lead to bread nightmares. Life is hard.

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins - dairy free

Somehow it's Saturday. I'm not totally sure when that happened, except that it must crept up on me while I made cookies and creme brulee and bread stuffing and cookies and bread crumbs and pastry cream and cookies and...you get the idea. It turns out that the weeks leading up to the holiday season at a bakery are busy. I can only imagine the insanity ahead.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies - vegan

Happy Halloween! And Happy Birthday, Daddy! It seemed appropriate to use a picture of me in costume (from back in the ballerina days for all you people out in the interwebs), and I've always liked how proud you look in this shot. Sorry I cut you out, Mom, but it's not your birthday (and I knew you wouldn't really mind). Have a great time at dinner! I'm glad the restaurant reopened!

I was wearing my cute new jack-o-lantern tshirt, and I was hoping to get Roomba to cooperate because a black dog is almost the same thing as a black cat, right? Well, she had very little interest in doing what I thought she should do. Basically, she was holding on for dear life. By her claws. In my shoulder.

Anywho, I hope all you east coasters are safe and that Sandy didn't cause too much damage for you. When you get electricity, I recommend making sure your oven works with a batch of cookies.

Gingerbread Lite - vegan

So it turns out that sometimes having three days off in a week means that I'm not terribly productive. And by not terribly productive, I mean I caught up on the fall tv season, Netflix, Alex Delaware, & Jack Reacher. I did do about 20 loads of laundry in between, though, so that counts for something, yes?

Also, on the counting-for-something side of the scale, I did extensive (2 episodes worth) research in preparation for Mr Official Taster's birthday and produced these cupcakes. I even managed to photograph them, despite both the oversight and the help I had.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Quick Bread - dairy free, or not

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you. I will be working both days at the bakery, and I'm sure Mr Official Taster will sleep in until I get home and give him a poke in the shoulder, but I have high hopes of enjoying the beautiful autumn weather anyway.

I spent some time stalking Pinterest researching yesterday, and I'm so glad I came upon this bread idea. It turns out, it's kind of the cousin of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Vegetarian Tomato Paella - vegan & gluten free

It's a funny time of year. The sun is warm but the air is cool. I planted mums this weekend even as my peppers are putting forth a second harvest. In grocery stores, watermelons perch next to pumpkins, and at the farmers' market, tomatoes are in their final, uber-productive throes. 

A few of us realize it and also remember that prices always come down in September because so many people, and certainly the farmers, are sick and tired of tomatoes. They feel like the've been overrun and the end is a million miles bushels away. Good thing for us, eh? It means I bought a giant box and made a big batch (or two) of sauce to squirrel away in the freezer. 

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chunks & Dried Cranberries - vegan

Things are definitely improving here at Chez Sweets. I am feeling much better, and Mr Official Taster is not working 80 hours this week. We're even heading to the ballpark this evening. Go Phillies!

In celebration, I give you cookies. This is a good recipe that you can almost endlessly tweak. Dried cherries, apples, or raisins would all work, as would any kind of chocolate or nuts, if you're into those. If you're feeling sassy (and I hope you are), try changing up the spices a bit; add some cloves, more nutmeg, even pumpkin pie spice sounds good. Please share your experiments!

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chunks & Dried Cranberries - vegan


1/2 C neutral oil*
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C applesauce
1 1/2 C flour
2 C rolled oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C nondairy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 1/2 C chocolate chips/chunks, dried cranberries, or a combination**

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, blend together oil and sugars. Beat in applesauce.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Alternating with the milk, add the dry ingredients to the dough a little at a time, mixing on low. Add in any chocolate chips/dried fruits/etc. Stir in extract.

Drop tablespoon-side mounds of dough 2-3 inches apart on your prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, 10-15 minutes (obviously, for soft cookies go for 10 minutes, and for crunchier cookies aim for 15). Cool cookies for a few minutes on the sheet before transferring to a rack to finish cooling. Store in a tightly covered container for no more than a day or two.

*lots of smart people suggest grapeseed oil as a good neutral oil. Corn or vegetable will also work. I used olive oil, mostly because I always do.
**I used about half and half, and my chocolate this time was some broken up dark chocolate. You could also use nuts, other dried fruit, coconut, different kinds of chocolate, etc.

Parmesan Muffins

I am lucky in that while I do have to stay away from cow milk and cow milk products, I've found that my body can handle the cheeses and yogurt made from sheep and goat milk. It's true of several members of my family as well - the theory being that it's the different proteins that our bodies react to, and different animal milk has different proteins and we're only sensitive to cows' unique protein. I don't know if that's completely scientifically accurate or not, but I'm glad of the result. And the result is that I can eat these muffins when I make them with nondairy milk and Romano cheese, which is made of sheeps' milk.

They are savory and light and a great side at dinner. Also, oh-so-easy and snackable.


Parmesan Romano Muffins
adapted from Gourmet (sniffle), January 2005

These could handle slightly increased amounts of the garlic and herbs, if you'd like, but they are quite good as is.

2 oz fresh grated parmesan (I used Romano), about 1 C
1 1/2 C (7 oz) flour
2 Tbsp (1 oz) sugar
2 tsp (.33 oz) baking powder
1/4 tsp (.12 oz) baking soda
1 tsp finely chopped garlic (about 1 clove)
1 tsp (.25 oz) finely chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 tsp (.19 oz) salt
1/2 tsp (.1 oz) black pepper
2 large eggs
3/4 C (12 oz) milk or nondairy milk
1/2 C (8 oz) extra virgin olive oil

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk together three-quarters of the cheese, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk together eggs, milk, and olive oil in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk until combined.

Divide among 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Sprinkle with remaining quarter of cheese and bake until tester comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, remove from pan, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.