Chocolate Peanut Butter Cashew Granola Recipe!

I'm back with a recipe for this yummy, delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Cashew Granola sweetened with just a touch of agave and flavored with hints of vanilla, dates and cranberries served with unsweetened almond milk. This is a quick and easy granola when you're in the mood for something chocolaty! Another great bonus is that if you let it sit long enough it'll turn your milk into chocolate milk haha. You can also add whatever dried fruits, nuts or seeds you want into this, I just used whatever I had sitting around.

The Vegan Shop-Up post should be up really soon! I'm still editing the photos and writing up the blog post but it should be up by the end of the day. If you live in NYC, I definitely recommend you check it out because its a great way to check out local vendors as well as try out new products and foods. Also, the Pine Box Rock Shop is super cool and I love the decor, I would so stop by there again.

- Alexis ♥

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cashew Granola

• 2 cups oats
• 10-12 dates chopped and pitted
• ½ cup raw whole cashews, chopped
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
• 1/3 cup unsweetned, unsulphured cranberries (most of the ones I see have sugar but you can find some.)
• 2 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon sea salt (omit if you’re using pb with salt)

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 325°F.

Place the oats, chopped cashews, cranberries, dates and ground flax seeds in a bowl and mix to combine.

In a small pot, combine the peanut butter, cocoa powder and agave nectar and heat over a low flame until everything is fully incorporated. Whisk in the vanilla extract after you take it off the heat.

Pour the mixture over the oats and mix well until everything is coated.

Place everything on a parchment lined or lightly oil cookie sheet and evenly spread it out.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, mixing every 10 minutes until everything turns a slight golden brown and if you want it extra crunchy up the heat to 350°F and bake an extra five minutes.

Let cool completely before serving and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy! :)

Baked Sweet Plantains

I LOVE sweet plantains but I hate the fact that they're always fried so I decided to try and bake them and retain the creamy sweetness of the plantains with a slightly crispy exterior. These are so good and sweet and simple alternative to the fried version!

I apologize for the lack of updates! I have a lot of stuff going on in my personal life that has delayed me in posting as well as the fact that I want to have a ton of recipes prepared in advance to post for you guys. There are a lot of great things coming up though so look out for the recipes!

- Alexis ♥

Baked Sweet Plantains

• 2 Completely Black Plantains, sliced

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 400°F.

Cut open and slice plantains either in circles or diagonally but make sure you cut them at least ¼ to a half of an inch thick. Place plantains on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping the plantains halfway through, until they’re golden brown on both sides.

Enjoy!

Vegan Broccoli Soup

Hey guys! I’m back after a nice little break with a delicious recipe for Broccoli Soup! This soup is so good as long as you season it right. I highly recommend using a well flavored vegetable broth, preferably homemade. I say this because I know how I season my broth which is why I only needed to add some garlic salt and pepper. A lot of vegetable broths I have tried tend to be on the blah side so I would recommend adding some bay leaves, thyme, onion powder and celery seed because those are some spices I use in my vegetable broth which definitely makes up part of the flavor of the soup.  Definitely try the soup before adding any other spices.

I hope you all had a wonderful and sweet filled Valentine’s Day! Thank you to those who messaged me about trying out the recipes, it really made happy!

- Alexis ♥

Broccoli Soup

• 4 cups Vegetable Broth
• 4 cups Broccoli
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves, chopped
• 1 large Potato, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• ½ Tablespoon Garlic Salt
• Pepper to taste

Optional

• Vegan Cheddar Cheese

Directions

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil over a medium flame until the onion are translucent.

Lower the flame to low and add in the potato, broccoli and vegetable broth and then bring the heat back to medium-high and bring to a boil. Boil the vegetables until very tender, this will make them easier to puree.  

Once the vegetables are tender, puree until smooth in a food processor or blender (I personally like to leave it a little chunky because when it’s super smooth it can get monotonous).  After you’re done pureeing the soup, add in the garlic salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with the some good bread and enjoy!

Day Twelve of the Vegan Valentine’s Day Challenge is Baked Vanilla and Chocolate Mini Doughnuts!

These were so easy to make and so much fun to decorate! I didn't have sprinkles on hand so that’s why there were none but if you have some valentine’s themed ones they would work so well on these! The recipe is the same as my other baked doughnut one minus the added spices. For the chocolate doughnuts you just add some cocoa powder and I might try some melted chocolate next time when I have more around.  I hope you try these out and have fun decorating them!

Today would have been my mom’s 53^rd birthday if she hadn't passed away three years ago so I just wanted to take some time out to wish her a happy birthday wherever she is in the world! I’m sure she would have loved this blog and the many sweets I have been making!

As always, click read more for the recipe! :)

- Alexis ♥

Baked Vanilla and Chocolate Mini Doughnuts

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• ½ cup cinnamon applesauce
• ¼ cup butter
•  ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

For the Chocolate Doughnuts:

• 2-3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder

For the toppings:

• ½ Cup Melted Vegan Chocolate Chips + 1 teaspoon Vegetable Shortening
• ½ cup powdered sugar (for the powdered doughnuts)
• 1 Tablespoon of Shredded Coconut

Optional

• Sprinkles
• Cinnamon Sugar

For the colored icing:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons Non-Dairy Milk
• 2 teaspoons Corn Syrup
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Vegan Food Dye (the gel or paste kind)

*I split this into three bowls and left one white for the glazed doughnuts and used vegan food dye to make the pink and the red colors.

*If you use a non-gel or pasta food dye the consistency might change but you can just add more powdered sugar if it’s too thin or more milk if it’s too thick. Totally up to you!

Directions

Preheat your oven to 325° F

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

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

Split the batter evenly in two and add your cocoa powder to one of the batters. If you want you can color the white batter to make it a little more valentine’s day themed.

Butter or oil the pan you plan on using and pipe in the batter to fill the circle shape. (You can just use a zip lock bag with the corner cut off. Try not to overfill the pan.

Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the doughnuts start to spring back.

It’s important you don’t cook these too long or they will become dense and will be cooked unevenly.

Cool completely before covering in toppings and/or decorations.

Enjoy!

Day Eleven of the Valentine’s Day Challenge is Vegan Red Velvet Pancakes!

To make the heart shape you just need to use a heart shaped cookie cutter or free hand it! There are only a couple of days left until the end of the Vegan Valentine’s Day Challenge, its crazy how much baking I've done over the past almost two weeks! I really hope you guys have enjoyed the recipes as much as I have in making them!

If there’s anything else you want to see on the blog please just let me know! I am open to any suggestions you guys have.

- Alexis ♥

Vegan Red Velvet Pancakes

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1 Flax Egg (1 Tablespoon flax meal + 3 Tablespoons warm water)
• ½ cup Sugar
• ¼ cup Vegan Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Cocoa
• ½ Tablespoon Vegan Red Food Coloring
• 1 ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
• ½ Teaspoon Salt

Glaze

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons Non-dairy Milk
• ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions

Mix together your flax seed meal and water and set aside until it becomes gelatinous.

Sift together your dry ingredients the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda and set aside.

Cream together your butter and sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in the flax egg, vanilla extract, red food coloring and milk. 

Slowly add your dry ingredients to the wet ones until combined, its okay if there’s lumps. Be sure not to over mix the batter.

Heat a non-stick pan or griddle with a nonstick spray or butter on medium heat. Using a ¼ - 1/3 cup measure add your batter to your pan, using the measuring cup to spread out the batter. Reduce your heat to medium low and flip when you see bubbles starting to form around the edges of the pancakes. Cook your pancakes for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Before moving onto your other pancakes, be sure to wipe your pan off and add a little bit more spray or butter.

For the Glaze

Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk until its well combined and then drizzle over the red velvet pancakes.

Enjoy!

Day Nine of the Valentine’s Day Challenge is Coconut Cream Heart Patties!

This is my little spin on peppermint patties! They’re actually really quick and simple but like I say in the recipe make sure you buy unsweetened coconut or else these will be sickeningly sweet! If you love coconut, you will love these though.

There was a ton of crazy snow out here in NYC yesterday but the people out here panicked so much because they’re still reeling from Hurricane Sandy. I’m okay with the snow but I definitely can’t wait until spring starts! I want warm weather soon!

- Alexis ♥

Coconut Cream Heart Patties

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 cup Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut (this is important, definitely get unsweetened!)
• 1 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips
• 1 Tablespoons Vegetable shortening (for the chocolate)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Coconut Milk

Optional

• ½ Teaspoon Pure Coconut Extract
• ½ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions

Place all of the ingredients in the food processor and blend until it becomes a sticky dough and then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate until it firms up a bit.

Melt the chocolate and shortening over a double boiler until it becomes smooth.

Meanwhile, take out your coconut dough and roll it out on a clean surface sprinkled with powder sugar.

You can do whatever shapes you want at this point or even make them into truffles but if you want the heart shape, use a cookie cutter to cut out the patties until you have no dough left.

*Tip: Before dipping them in chocolate refrigerate them for a little longer to firm up even more or else they will start to melt and break.

Have a container ready (make sure to sprinkle the bottom with powdered sugar) and using a fork dip the patties into the chocolate and shake off the excess before moving to the next one.

After you’re all done, refrigerate them until they’re set.

Enjoy!!

Day Eight of the Valentine’s Day Challenge is Raw Cranberry Coconut Truffles

This is another healthier dessert for Valentine’s Day and one that you can mix and match to suit your tastes! I didn't use dates because while they taste so good you can get tired of them so I wanted to switch it up and use cranberries and they worked just the same. The cranberries end up making it taste like cherry coconut! Just package these in a cute box and you have a healthy and raw Valentine’s Day present!

- Alexis ♥

Raw Cranberry Coconut Truffles

• 1 cup Unsweetened Dried Cranberries
• ½ cup Unsweetened Desiccated Coconut (plus ¼ cup to roll them in after)
• 2 Tablespoons Raw Agave Nectar

Optional

• 1 Tablespoon Cacao Powder
• ¼ cup chopped nuts
• ¼ Teaspoon Pure Coconut Extract

Directions

Process everything in the food processor until it comes together to create a sticky dough.

Shape the dough into equal sized balls and roll them in the extra coconut.

Enjoy!

Day Five is Vegan Cherry Cordials!

Day Five of the Valentine’s Day Challenge is Vegan Cherry Cordials! For those who don't know, cherry cordials are chocolate covered cherries. I used to love cherry cordials so I was so excited to make these! They’re a little time intensive and require that you think ahead but the end result will be amazing.

I’ve been baking a lot of bread lately, things like bagels and garlic knots are in the works so if you’re looking for a good vegan bagel recipe check out: the wicked good vegan!

- Alexis ♥

Vegan Cherry Cordials

• 1 10 ounce jar of maraschino cherries
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup Vegan chocolate chips
• 1-2 tablespoons cherry juice
• 1 teaspoon corn syrup
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

Directions

In advance, drain the maraschino cherries (reserving some of the cherry juice) and dry the cherries as much as possible before beginning this recipe. (I recommend freezing them before covering in the powdered sugar mixture/)

Beat together the butter, one cup of the sugar, almond extract, corn syrup and cherry juice until well incorporated and then add in the leftover ½ cup of sugar and knead until it becomes soft dough. If the dough is too sticky add more powdered sugar.

Refrigerate the dough until ready to use.

Once your cherries and dough are ready wrap each cherry with the dough and roll it out in your hand to smooth it out into a ball. If your dough isn't firm enough, roll the cherries in it and then freeze it for an hour or two. Once you’re done freezing it, roll the dough covered cherries in your hand to smooth into out into a nice smooth ball. Freeze the cherries until nice and firm.

Melted the chocolate over a double boiler and let it cool a bit before covered the cherries. Make sure you have a station set up to cover the cherries because they tend to start melting very quickly so you have to cover them in chocolate as quickly as possible. (I did two or three at a time and then put the cherries back in the freezer to chill more and repeated this process until all the cherries are covered.) I used a fork to roll them in the chocolate and then let the excess drain before transferring to my container for the cherries.

After you’re done covering all of the cherries, freeze them until they’re set and then transfer to the refrigerator until ready to eat!

*Tip: Make sure you completely cover the cherries or else the filling will start to leak out. I suggest covering them in chocolate once, letting them freeze and if they’re not completely covered, cover them in chocolate again.

*Tip #2: The longer you let them sit, the more the inside will turn to liquid like a traditional cherry cordial. They taste amazing either way though!

Avocado Lime Sorbet!

This is the simplest recipe; it takes all of five minutes to whip up! Some people find avocado in desserts odd but it actually tastes delicious, it is a fruit after all. You should try it, if only just to say you did! :)



Going along with my theme from my last post, more talk about my travels! This time: Los Angeles, California definitely known for being vegan friendly so that’s not really an issue haha. Before I left for California I had this misconception that it was more city like than it really is. I guess coming from NYC I’m used to public transportation that takes you everywhere you need to be and in California it seemed odd to take buses or the train and they took forever to come! Nevertheless it is a beautiful place; I enjoyed Santa Monica and the Farmer’s Market at The Grove! Hollywood was my least favorite place because it reminded me too much of Times Square which is a place you run from when you live in NY.


The weather in California is so nice! I wish it was like that more in the northeast. The fresh fruit and produce was in abundance and while we have farmers markets here, there is so much more available on the west coast! I would love to go back and explore again.

- Alexis

Avocado Lime Sorbet

• ½ cup Avocado
• ½ cup non-dairy Milk
• ½ cup Freshly Squeezed Lime juice
• 2-4 tablespoons Agave Nectar (more or less depending on how sweet you want it)

Directions

Puree Avocado, milk, lime juice and agave in a food processor until smooth and transfer to an airtight container to freeze overnight.

Indian Samosa Burgers with Avocado "Chutney" !

This past summer I traveled to Costa Rica to study for a month and I wanted to share some pictures of my travels with you guys! They are extremely vegan friendly there!  During my studies, I was assigned to stay with a host family which I was nervous about because I didn't know whether or not they would understand my food preferences but they turned out to be the most amazing people! They went out of their way to make me an endless variety of vegan meals and the food was AMAZING. The fruit in Costa Rica, especially the pineapple and mango (which are my favorites!) were the best I have ever had and made up most of every meal people eat there! Every restaurant that I went to had some form of vegan or vegetarian food and there were even a couple of vegan/vegetarian restaurants near my school in Heredia.

The culture there is so peaceful and relaxing and they really live up to their title of “Happiest Country  in the World!” The local saying “Pura Vida” which means in some way a relaxed life and the people of Costa Rica really represent that. Coming from NYC, I’m used the constant fast paced way of life so slipping into the Costa Rican mindset was so relaxing and worry free! I miss the amazing fresh fruit and the carefree way of life. If you’re a vegan planning to go on vacation, I recommend Costa Rica 100%!

- Alexis

Indian Samosa Burgers

• 2 small Potatoes
• ¼ - ½ cup Ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup Grated Carrots
• ¼ cup Frozen Peas
• Half of an Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons whole flax seeds
• 1 teaspoon Garam Masala (my version below) or to taste
• ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper or to taste
• Salt to taste

Directions

Boil peas ahead of time and set aside.

Grate carrots in a food processor and set aside.

Peel potatoes, chop into 1 inch chunks and boil in a small pot until a fork can pierce them but not until mushy.  Put potatoes and grated carrots into a food processor and process until smooth, if you like yours chunky just process less.

In a big bowl, mix together potato and carrot “dough” with the onion, garlic, ground flaxseed, whole flaxseeds and spices and then gently fold in the cooked peas so you don’t break them up.

Form the dough into patties and lightly fry them over medium-low heat until golden brown on both sides. If not eating right away, store cooked veggie burgers in an airtight container and freeze until ready to use.

Garam Masala

• 1 tablespoon Cumin
• ½ tablespoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon ground bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Mix together all spices and put into an airtight container.

 Avocado Chutney

• 1 Avocado, mashed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Half of an onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ tablespoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Directions

Mix together the avocado, vinegar, mustard and cayenne pepper and set aside.

Sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil until translucent and tender and mix together with the avocado paste.

Put in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Vegan Cinnamon Roll Pancakes!

Hey guys,

Vegan Cinnamon Roll Pancakes! Don't they look delicious?! I've wanted to try out Recipegirl's cinnamon roll pancake recipe for a long time so I decided to finally do just that! I'll admit getting that cinnamon filling just right was a bit of a challenge but you just have to get that right consistency and everything should be just like making regular pancakes from then on out. I also used a pancake toaster to make these which I suggest not using because it tends to make a mess out of the cinnamon filling.

I have a couple more posts lined up of the sweet variety and then I'm going to have a week or two of savory recipes so if you have any suggests, feel free to comment and tell me!

Thanks,
Alexis

This recipe is inspired by: http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/03/01/cinnamon-roll-pancakes/

Vegan Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ cup non-dairy milk
• 1 flaxseed egg (1 tablespoon flax seed powder + 3 tablespoons warm water)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Filling

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoons melted vegan butter
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon or to taste

*Make sure you cool down your butter before adding it to the sugar.
Let this filling sit so it can thicken up before you add it to your pancakes.

*If your cinnamon “filling” is too liquidly, so to speak, try adding more sugar or I suggest not completely melting the vegan butter before combining it with the sugar and cinnamon.

*If your “filling” is too dry and hasn’t created a sugar like paste, try mixing it around to incorporate your butter more or adding an additional tablespoon of melted butter.

*Lori Lange from recipegirl.com has detailed images of how the cinnamon filling should look over at this post: http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/03/01/cinnamon-roll-pancakes/

Directions

Mix the flaxseed powder and water until thoroughly combined and then set aside until it starts to thicken about 3 -5 minutes.

Sift together your flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and set aside.  In a microwave or on a stovetop melt the two tablespoons of butter and combine with your milk. After your flaxseed powder has thickened add that to your wet ingredients. Slowly pour your wet ingredients into your dry ones, mixing until just combined. Its okay if there are a few lumps, you don’t want to over mix the batter.

Heat a non-stick pan or griddle with a nonstick spray or butter on medium heat. Using a ¼ - 1/3 cup measure add your batter to your pan, using the measuring cup to spread out the batter. Reduce your heat to medium low and when you see bubbles starting to form, using a zip lock bag with a corner cut off, swirl the cinnamon filling starting from the center of the pancakes, just like a cinnamon roll. Make sure not to swirl the cinnamon filling too close to the edges or it will start to seep out. Cook your pancakes for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and then flip them quickly to the other side and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Before moving onto your other pancakes, be sure to wipe your pan off and add a little bit more spray or butter.

*You can serve this with a vegan cream cheese glaze but I decided to just top it with a little bit of maple syrup.