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Peanut Butter and Jelly Macarons

My home town high school had a breakfast available every morning for the kids who were dropped off early or who rode the bus. My favorite was breakfast pizza (the cafeteria would be full every other Thursday morning.) This is, unfortunately, not a recipe for breakfast pizza macarons. The other popular breakfast there were the Smuckers Uncrustables peanut butter sandwiches, because apparently it was too hard to make real peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. These macarons remind me of the cloying, sweet flavor of those sandwiches in a bite size package.

If this is your first time here, be sure to check out Charis’s recipes at Floral Frosting, as she is the creator of this recipe. She’s got some beautiful recipes there, her buttercream is one of our favorites! You also should take a look at the Vegan Meringue Facebook group for more amazing recipes. If you have trouble with the directions, try reading my troubleshooting guide for a little more in depth description.

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Tags: aquafaba, dessert, macarons, peanut butter and jelly, plant-based, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories american, desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Cream Cheese

31 Jul

Since making Nina’s vegan butter a few days ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if I added cashew cream to the mixture. When I get ideas like this in my head, they tend to stick there until I actually make them. Some might call it “obsessive”, I call it “dedicated.”

I never think to plan ahead to soak my cashews, so I boiled them for 15 minutes to soften them for blending. This recipe will be much easier for you if you have a high powered blender – I only have a Ninja and it worked well.
I also added a few more ingredients to increase the “tang” for the cream cheese. It might seem really tangy originally but it will mellow a bit in the fridge. There isn’t a great substitute for the vegan lactic acid powder, but it’s not that expensive to purchase on Amazon or Modernist Pantry and it will really kick up your vegan mac and cheese! You can try 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice for a similar acidic flavor.

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Tags: aquafaba, cashews, cream cheese, food, plant-based, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 30 Comments
Categories breakfast, dips, gluten-free, vegan

Truffle and Herb Butter

30 Jul

So you like Earth Balance, eh? Wait until you try this!!! I’ve been meaning to make my own vegan butter for months now, but it hasn’t been high on my agenda as most recipes call for a few ingredients I didn’t have, mainly soy lecithin. But this recipe?? Well, I had all of those ingredients in my fridge! I know you’re probably tired of hearing about aquafaba by now, but this recipe just proves it can do anything. Don’t forget to check out the Facebook group for other great recipes.

The lovely Nina at Plante Pusherne gave me permission to share this recipe here, but be sure to check out her blog for the original! She gives a lot of helpful tips and information that I’m not including here, especially for some ingredient substitutions.

This truffle herb version is amazing spread on bread or tossed with pasta (how I used it!)

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Tags: aquafaba, butter, coconut oil, herb, plant-based, truffle, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories dips, gluten-free, vegan

Lazy Samoas

27 Jul

A few Christmases ago I received Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and it sat on my shelf for months before I finally opened it up. Once I did, I baked as many of the recipes as I could and sent them off to work with my husband. The consensus thus far is that the caramel pecan bars are the best, but these are a close second. Here’s where to buy it!!

I decided to try using aquafaba instead of flax egg in these and I wasn’t quite sure it would work. To my surprise, it worked perfectly and resulted in a fluffy and chewy cookie, as opposed to the dense flax – egg cookie. If you loved the covered shortbread girl scout cookies by the same name, you will love these, plus they’re way easier to make!

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Tags: aquafaba, chocolate, coconut, cookie, dessert, food, plant-based, recipe, samoas, vegan, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, vegetarian

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Categories american, desserts, vegan

Vegan Lemon Thyme Macarons

24 Jul

I was really intrigued by the idea of infusing aquafaba with different flavors and I have some beautiful thyme growing in my garden this summer. These macarons combined the savory flavor of thyme with a sweet lemon filling and are a perfect light treat.

Be sure to check out my macaron troubleshooting guide for a step by step with pictures!

As always, a big thanks to Charis at Floral Frosting for the vegan macaron recipe and inspiration! Check out the aquafaba Facebook group for more recipes involving aquafaba!

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Tags: aquafaba, chickpea juice, dairy free, dessert, gluten-free, lemon, macarons, plant-based, recipe, thyme, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Blue Tahini Macarons

14 Jul

Heather at Let’s Go Bake A Cake shared these macarons almost two months ago and I’ve been wanting to try them ever since. I love the idea of tahini filling, as it’s one of my favorite flavors. I thought I’d make them aqua colored and photograph them on top of chickpeas as my little joke on aquafaba. Admit it, it’s pretty funny.

I went back to using the measurements created by Floral Frosting as I’ve had more success with her recipe than any other one.

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Tags: aquafaba, dessert, macaron, recipe, sesame, tahini, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Lentil Soup

13 Jul

Some days I really love cooking and I enjoy spending the time chopping and sautéing and preparing something fresh for my family. Other days I really enjoy throwing everything in a pot and watching Netflix. This recipe is for the latter days.

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Tags: dinner, easy, food, lentils, recipe, soup, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories gluten-free, soups, vegan

Vanilla Macaron with Chocolate Whiskey Ganache

5 Jul

I started these macarons with intention of filling then with a rum ganache, but the bottle that I thought was rum was whiskey instead. Definitely a sign of as new parent-I don’t even know what alcohol we have anymore!! I figured whiskey would work just as well as rum and if nothing else they were still chocolate and delicious.

Check out Floral Frosting for more great recipes!

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Tags: aquafaba, dessert, food, macaron, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Baked Tofu

29 Jun

I’ve already told you guys about how much I hated tofu as a child. As much as I don’t enjoy saying it (my husband can attest to this), I was wrong! Tofu is one of the most scrumptious things in the universe, as long as you drain it well and cover it in delicious flavors. I’ll be honest though, I’ve come to even enjoy eating it plain.

You can definitely use extra firm tofu for this, but firm will work just as fine. Don’t get the stuff in the aseptic package, you want the water filled stuff you have to drain. Don’t forget to save that water to whip into meringues! Black vinegar is the only hard to find ingredient in this recipe, but you can substitute a good balsamic vinegar if you don’t have a well stocked asian store nearby. It won’t have the same flavor profile, so definitely search for black vinegar!

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Tags: dinner, food, recipe, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 13 Comments
Categories asian, chinese, meat alternative, vegan

Strawberry Lemonade Macarons

23 Jun

I decided to start from scratch with my macaron recipe after many (MANY) attempts. I wanted a shell that was a little thicker and could possibly withstand a higher temperature of baking. See my previous post for more details. Spoiler alert: it can’t. However, it performs great under the baking conditions Charis at Floral Frosting created! If you haven’t already watched it, she created this awesome video that illustrates the macaron making process and the crucial step, the macaronagge.

These are a great summer flavor, especially after chilling in the refrigerator overnight! I love the combination of lemon and strawberry, and the bright color is perfect for this sunny time of year.

If you have any issues with the recipe, don’t be afraid to comment below, or check out my previous post on troubleshooting .

P.S. Check out the aquafaba Facebook group for more great recipes!