Vegan Baked Jelly Doughnut Muffins rolled in Cinnamon Sugar!

These little muffin shaped doughnuts are delicious and remind me of Thanksgiving haha. They’re definitely not low in calorie or fat but you always need to indulge sometimes! I actually decided to make them muffins because I don’t own a doughnut pan but they taste just as good in the different shape. By the way, don’t try to use a preserve for  the filling because if it has any thick chunks of fruit in it, it will be hard to pipe into the muffins. I hope you enjoy them!

Yesterday was one of the craziest things I’ve ever done and mostly just because it was so excruciatingly cold outside! When my boyfriend and I set out to walk from Queens to Brooklyn we were not prepared for the long journey ahead! The walking itself wasn’t the hard but the freezing, blistering cold made everything ten times harder and I could barely feel my legs the last leg of the walk. As soon as I got home yesterday I went straight to bed! Haha

It was amazing and it was great to end the day successful and accomplished! When we got to the end of the Marine Parkway Bridge and stepped into Brooklyn a great sense of accomplishment swept over us and pushed us to keep walking further. It really felt like a crazy journey because we walked through rocks, sand, over three bridges and constantly went uphill and downhill. I would do it again but definitely on a nice summer day!

- Alexis ♥

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• ½ cup cinnamon applesauce
• ¼ cup butter (plus 5 tablespoons melted butter to coat the muffins in)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For the filling:

• 1 cup strawberry jam

For the topping:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350° F

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, salt and set aside.

Beat together the butter, applesauce, apple cider vinegar and oil and then slowly add the dry ingredients, a cup at a time, until fully incorporated.

Butter or oil the pan you plan on using (I used little ramekins) and fill it up ½ - ¾ of the way, make sure not to overfill.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely before filling with the strawberry jam and rolling in cinnamon sugar.

 I filled the muffins by using a chopstick and creating a hole in the bottom of the muffin and then using a  a zip lock bag to pipe the jelly until I felt it pushing back.  

*Make sure you make a big enough hole to pipe in the filling.

*Do not overfill the muffins because they will burst from the pressure.

Coat the muffins in the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar, shake off the excess.

Enjoy!

Quick Vanilla Cinnamon Pudding!

This is a simple and easy alternative to the more complex vegan pudding recipes out there. I wanted a recipe that was simple and that most people would already have the ingredients. Also, this recipe is easily adaptable so just add in your favorite flavors and enjoy!

When I was in Costa Rica, my host family would always make a wide variety of fruit juices/smoothies that was served with every meal and I was craving them so much lately so, I decided to re-create my favorite one; guava! I searched all over NYC and randomly found some baby guava in Chinatown and I bought a pound and whipped up some guava juice! It's the simplest recipe, just take the guavas and cut off the top and bottom and process them in a food processor and you have a guava juice smoothie! I added a tablespoon or less of agave because I like the natural sweetness of the guava. There will be some pulp in this so if you hate pulp, I'd suggest straining it before drinking. Enjoy!

- Alexis ♥

Quick Cinnamon Vanilla pudding

• 1 ½ cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
• ¼ -½ cup sugar (you can use agave or a sweetener of your choice)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ tablespoon vegan butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

Mix together the cornstarch and the ½ cup of cornstarch and set aside.

In a medium sized pan, whisk together all of your other ingredients the remaining milk, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and salt and heat on a medium-low flame until bubbles start to form around the edges but not boiling. When it reaches this stage, put the flame on low and add in the cornstarch mixture that you set aside earlier, whisking constantly as to not get chunks of cornstarch in the pudding.

After fully incorporating all of the ingredients, put the flame back on medium-low and whisk it every so often until it thickens then take it off heat and add in the vanilla and butter.

Cool it down and enjoy!

Baked Onion Rings!

I know this isn't a sweet recipe but more of those will be coming soon! It’s so much easier to add savory recipes because you can take things you eat on a daily basis but for sweets it’s not like you’re going to eat them all in one day! I’ll have tons of them coming up though and if there’s anything you’d like to request go right ahead. (:

- Alexis ♥

Oven Baked Onion Rings

• 1 – 2 large white onions, sliced thickly (this is important)
• 1 ½ cups Vegan breadcrumbs
• 1 cup Vegan Buttermilk (recipe below)
• ¾ cup flour (you can replace this with a gluten free flour)
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½  teaspoon pepper

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 425°F

For the buttermilk, mix ¾ cup of non-dairy milk with a tablespoon of lemon or lime juice or vinegar and let it sit until it becomes frothy (5-10 minutes).

Make sure to slice your onions thickly and set them aside.

After waiting for the buttermilk, mix that with the flour until well incorporated. Have the breadcrumbs and seasonings ready as well and set up a station on your counter of the flour, breadcrumbs and chopped onions.

Dunk the onions into the buttermilk and shake off any excess before putting in the breadcrumbs. Coat the onions well but don’t overdo it because you won’t be able to taste the onion afterwards if you do. 

When you’re done with all of your onions, bake them for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on both sides.

To achieve a golden brown on both sides flip them halfway through the baking time.

Watch them closely, because they tend to brown quickly.

  

Vegan Vanilla Probiotic Yogurt!

Now I’m not claiming that this will have the same exact texture as yogurt but this is a quick and easy alternative to store bought vegan yogurt. The lemon juice gives it a bit of tanginess and the agave is sweet enough that it isn’t overwhelming. I personally don't like to buy too many pre-packaged store bought products because I'm not a fan of foods that have a million ingredients I can't even pronounce so this simple vanilla yogurt is a nice substitute for that.

Well, I won't go on too much in this post haha.

- Alexis (:

Vanilla Probiotic Yogurt

• 1 ¼  cup non-dairy milk
• 1 ½  tablespoon freshly squeezed  lemon juice
• 2-4 tablespoons agave or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 acidophilus probiotic capsule powders

Optional:

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions

Mix the cornstarch and ¼ cup of non-dairy milk in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium sized pan, whisk together the rest of the milk, agave, lemon juice and optional ingredients (if using) and heat on a medium-low flame until bubbles start to form around the edges but not boiling. When it reaches this stage, put the flame on low and add in the cornstarch mixture that you set aside earlier, whisking constantly as to not get chunks of cornstarch in the yogurt.

After fully incorporating all of the ingredients, put the flame back on medium-low and whisk it every so often until it thickens and take it off heat and add in the vanilla.

Cool the yogurt mixture completely before adding the acidophilus powder and let sit at room temperature for 4 – 12 hours so the probiotics can culture.