This summer was just so damn hot — so unbelievably disgusting and hot and sticky outside, and the only thing that could cool me down was copious amounts of ice cream.

Plus, going to get ice cream is just a really great friend date.

In fact, the best ice cream I’ve had out this year was on a friend date! It was this peanut butter soft serve situation that I absolutely, positively inhaled. Soft serve is my absolute favorite kind of ice cream, and as you probably know from spending approximately .2 seconds on this blog…peanut butter is my favorite food.

So this combination? Kinda unforgettable.

But as we all know, the only thing that can make peanut butter even better is chocolate. So I decided to borrow my parents’ ice cream maker and make it happen! And thus, this truly outrageous dairy-free ice cream was born!

Now look, this is a very easy recipe (provided you have an ice cream maker, which is, unfortunately, necessary) but it also takes some time. It’s mostly just chilling time though, so it’s nearly all hands-off.

Also: there’s an entire cup of peanut butter in here. I KNOW. We’re crazy like that. It makes this ice cream so unbelievably rich, and it helps mask any lingering coconut flavor from the coconut milk and cream.

I also opted to add just a splash of vodka to prevent the ice cream from freezing rock-hard (aka what happened the first time I made this recipe without it). Because it’s homemade, it’ll still freeze harder than store-bought ice cream, but the vodka + allowing it to thaw on the counter a few minutes before eating will bring it back to a delightfully scoopable texture!

Finally, the “stracciatella” part comes from streaming in melted chocolate right before the ice cream is done churning. It freezes as soon as it hits the cold ice cream, so it creates this satisfying, shattery, ribbony texture that drives me a little crazy in the best way. Each and every spoonful has a few (or more) speckles of chocolate!

I went absolutely bananas over this ice cream. The balance of salty, sweetness, and richness is truly one of the best things to come out of my kitchen in a while.

Mom, I’m going to need to keep your ice cream maker for a bit longer — I’m going to be making this recipe on repeat.

Vegan Peanut Butter Stracciatella Ice Cream

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A churned vegan ice cream recipe inspired by stracciatella gelato…but with a peanut butter base! It’s creamy, rich, and speckled with chocolate bits!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 1.5 pints
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Churn
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Ice cream base:

• 1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut cream
• 1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk
• 1 cup natural, salted, creamy peanut butter*
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon vodka**

Chocolate:

• 3/4 dairy-free, semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons refined coconut oil

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Instructions

1. Add all of your ice cream base ingredients into the base of a high-powered blend and blend until completely smooth.
2. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a large, shallow container and fit with a lid. Chill in the fridge until cool, 4+ hours.
3. Once cool, churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions while you melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil and mix well. You want it to be thick but streamable when you drizzle it from a spoon.
4. Once your ice cream is two-ish minutes from being done, stream your melted chocolate into the ice cream maker. The chocolate will freeze as soon as it hits the ice cream, forming flat streaks of chocolate chips throughout. 
5. Enjoy immediately for a “soft serve” texture, or freeze until solid for a more scoopable situation. Yay!

Notes

* The only ingredients should be peanuts and salt!

** Vodka prevents the ice cream from freezing rock-hard. Because it’s homemade, it’ll still freeze harder than store-bought ice cream. But allowing it to thaw on the counter a few minutes before scooping will help!

Adapted from Nora Cooks!

The post Vegan Peanut Butter Stracciatella Ice Cream appeared first on Fooduzzi.

Why?

1. It’s based off of my all-time favorite cookie.
2. It reminds me of High School Alexa’s favorite treat from Starbucks, Lemon Loaf.

I’m choosing a chocolate dessert 99.9% of the time, but…I love citrusy things this time of year. Pittsburgh is impossibly grey most of the late winter/early spring, and nothing puts a pep in my step like a lil lemony baked good.

So naturally, I was craving a lemon cookie.

But I wanted something quick. And easy. I didn’t want to use a million ingredients, chill the dough, do a little dance, or wait 24-48 hours until I enjoyed my treat.

I wanted it ASAP, so I looked to the easiest cookie I know for inspiration: my Nana’s To Tos.

They are, quite possibly, the easiest cookie you’ll ever make. Mix the ingredients, roll ’em up, bake, glaze, done.

So easy, and it’s a shock I don’t make them every week because I love them so very much. They’re a cakey cookie, not chewy, and they have a lovely crisp exterior. And a vanilla glaze!

But after the 9753rd cold day this year, I needed something a little brighter. A little lighter.

Enter: Lemon Loaf Cookies.

Your regular cookie cast of characters can be found in the ingredient list:

• Butter (vegan)
• Sugar (cane)
• Lemon (zest)
• Vanilla (bean paste or extract)
• Flour (all-purpose)
• Powder (baking)
• Powder (soda)
• Salt (kosher)
• Milk (almond)
• Oil (neutral)

Cream your butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix your flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Add your dry ingredients and almond milk to the creamed butter mixture and you have a dough.

Then comes the slightly unconventional part: rolling your cookies into balls with oiled hands.

YES. Oiled hands.

As I said in the original recipe, I think we do this to ensure a nice crisp exterior on our cookies. But then again, I’m not 100% certain. But if Nana did it, I’m doing it too.

Then you bake, glaze with a simple powdered sugar, almond milk, vanilla, lemon zest glaze, and you’re done! Eat ’em up!

I really love these cookies, and it’s kinda crazy how much they remind me of Starbuck’s Lemon Loaf. I actually had one with coffee the other day, and it made those vibes so much stronger.

And my dad, fellow lover of To Tos and all-things lemon, also was a fan. He said (and I quote) “They are excellent! I wouldn’t change anything.”

Can’t get much better than that.

Lemon Loaf Cookies

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An easy, no-chill cookie recipe that’s zippy, lemony, and cakey. A lemon and vanilla bean glaze takes them over the edge!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 13 cookies
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

DOUGH:

• 1/4 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup raw cane sugar (or your fave granulated sugar)
• zest of two small lemons
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• 240 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, at room temperature
• neutral oil (like avocado) for rolling

GLAZE:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• zest of one small lemon

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Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine vegan butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla bean paste in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer and a large bowl). Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed.
3. Meanwhile, combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
4. Reduce your stand mixer speed to low and slowly add 1/3 of your dry ingredients, followed by half of your milk, 1/3 of your dry ingredients, the remaining milk, then the remaining 1/3 of your dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and mix until just combined.
5. Take chunks of your dough (I like making mine slightly bigger than a golf ball, about 2 tablespoons), oiling your hands in between each, and roll them into a ball. Stick them on your baking sheet with a bit of room between each (they don’t spread too much). Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until you can see the bottoms slightly browning.
6. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet, then move them to a cooling rack for glazing.
7. Whisk the glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Dunk the tops of the cookies in the glaze, swirling so the entire top is covered. Place the cookies back on the cooling rack so that the glaze can drip down. Allow to set up at room temperature.

The post Lemon Loaf Cookies appeared first on Fooduzzi.

It’s Fooduzzi’s 10th birthday!

Wowowow.

Yep, today’s the day we switch from spelling out Fooduzzi’s age to just using a number.

I’ve spent 10 full years over here in this corner of the internet. 10 years of incredible opportunities, amazing friendships, and tasty plant-based recipes.

10 years is a pretty long time to be doing something. Like if Fooduzzi was a person, it would be in 4th of 5th grade. That’s a long time!

There have been seasons where things have been more active around here, and other seasons when they’ve been more quiet. But we’re still here, still kickin’, and still making some really fun and delicious recipes.

Speaking of…

These Calico Sugar Cookies are our chocolate-peanut butter recipe this year! Because we always celebrate Fooduzzi’s birthday with a chocolate-peanut butter recipe:

• 1st birthday: Peanut Butter Cup Muffins
• 2nd birthday: Snickerdoodle Buckeyes
• 3rd birthday: Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls
• 4th birthday: Vegan Buckeye Cake
• 5th birthday: Swirled Chocolate Peanut Butter Slice and Bake Cookies
• 6th birthday: Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites
• 7th birthday: Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
• 8th birthday: Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache Frosting
• 9th birthday: Vegan Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
• 10th birthday: Calico Sugar Cookies ← today’s recipe!!

I saw a picture of cookies that looked like calico cats on Pinterest like eight years ago, and I haven’t stopped thinking about them since. So I finally got it together to make my own version based on a vegan sugar cookie recipe I found from Nora Cooks!

As you probably know, I have a cat, a silly, opinionated, sassy, perfect calico named Maya. Her orange, black, and white coat is what we’re trying to recreate with these cookies.

We’ll start out with a relatively standard sugar cookie dough and then divide it in thirds:

1. The first third stays a sugar cookie and gets a bit more flour.
2. The second third gets a bit of powdered peanut butter.
3. The third third gets a bit of cocoa powder

We’re adding only dry ingredients so the textures of the three doughs stay more or less the same. I realize peanut butter powder is a bit of a weird ingredient. But it gives the dough a peanut buttery flavor and (importantly) the right color for our tricolor cookies.

Once your doughs are mixed, you’ll break off pieces and smoosh them together like the picture above. Feel free use smaller chunks of each dough if you want, but I was impatient and went with big chunks, and the cookies still turned out super cute.

Then you’ll roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thick, and then you’ll cover it with parchment paper and chill in the fridge overnight. The dough will spread just a bit, but chilling the dough will help the dough relax and prevent overspreading.

The next day, you’ll cut your cookies (the exact cutter I used is out of stock, but any cat cookie cutter will work!) and stick them in the freezer to chill again while your oven is preheating.

Then…bake! Again, the cookies will spread a bit, but a chunky cat is still a perfect cat. More to love!

Since sugar cookies typically get some sort of icing/sugar coating for extra flavor and texture, I decided to spread melted chocolate on the backs of these cookies. I didn’t want to cover up the cute design, and the thin chocolate coating just gives the baked cookies a bit of a flavor boost.

And like…more chocolate is never a bad thing, IMO.

I just love how cookies turned out. LOVE!! Most people I know IRL knew about them weeks ago because I couldn’t stop texting people pictures of them. They’re the cutest things I’ve ever made by far.

So happy birthday, Fooduzzi! Starting this blog still is one of the very best things I’ve ever done for myself. I’m still saying it 10 years later!

And thank you for being here! Whether this is your first time or you’ve been here from the beginning, I’m honored you’re here. Thank you thank you thank you.

Calico Sugar Cookies

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The CUTEST calico cat cookies…made vegan! Peanut butter and chocolate give these sugar cookies their look and flavor.

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 12ish cookies (depending on your cutter size)
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

BASE:

• 3/4 cup vegan butter, slightly softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch salt

FOR THREE COLORS:

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter powder
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

FOR FINISHING:

• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• pinch salt (optional, but good!)

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Instructions

1. Add your vegan butter to a large bowl and beat with a handheld mixer on medium until smooth and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer!
2. Add your sugar, and beat on medium until light and fluffy, another 2-3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
3. Add the milk, cornstarch, and vanilla, and beat on medium until combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Add 1 cup of flour, your baking powder, and salt, and mix again until combined.
5. Add the second cup of flour and mix only until just combined. You really don’t want to overmix here, as we have more mixing to do!
6. Separate your dough into thirds, each third going in its own bowl. 
7. In one third, add your final tablespoon of flour. Mix well to combine, but avoid overmixing.
8. In the final third, add your peanut butter powder. Mix well to combine, but avoid overmixing.
9. In another third, add your cocoa powder. Mix well to combine, but avoid overmixing.
10. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take the three different colored doughs and form them into small, irregular patches (see photos). Gently press the patches together on the parchment paper to create a calico pattern.
11. Place a second piece of parchment paper on top of your dough, and roll the dough out evenly until it forms a flat, cohesive sheet, ensuring the patches stay connected but maintain their distinct colors. The dough should be about 1/4-inch in height.
12. Keep dough covered and place in the fridge to rest overnight.
13. The next day, cut out your cookies using your favorite cat cookie cutters. You can re-roll the dough to get more cookies out of your batch, but the look will be more tortoise-like than calico! Still v cute.
14. Place your cut cookies back on the parchment-lined baking sheet and put in the freezer while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees F with a rack in the middle of your oven.
15. Once your oven is preheated, place 6 cookies on another parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a good 2 inches between the cookies as they will spread. 
16. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies start to brown at the edges. 
17. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Continue baking the rest of your cookies.
18. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate, peanut butter, and pinch of salt together in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, or in a method of your choosing.
19. When the cookies are completely cool, flip and spoon a thin layer of the melted chocolate on top. Allow to set in the fridge.*

Notes

*If you want your chocolate to be more stable (and less melty) at room temperature, you’ll need to temper it. If you want to temper, skip the peanut butter in the chocolate mixture. I’ve used this method in the past, and it works great. Add the sprinkle of salt to the chocolate once it’s spread on the cookies. Otherwise, keep the chocolate-coated cookies in the fridge until ready to serve.

Recipe adapted from Nora Cooks and inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest years ago!

The post Vegan Calico Sugar Cookies appeared first on Fooduzzi.

But yeah. Combining two of my favorite sweet treats into one mega-treat?

Genius behavior.

I’ve had a bit of a love affair with almond croissants as of late. Perfectly crispy, not too sweet, loaded with almonds, and almost juicy in a way words can’t quite explain.

La Gourmandine here in Pittsburgh is a great place to get them. They always hit the spot, and the almondy filling (known as frangipane) always gets extra crispy on the edges and it is just so gobbleable. I love them. And I saw Viridis (100% vegan and recently re-opened in a new location!!) has vegan almond croissants available some days.

So when I saw Trader Joe’s started selling almond paste, I got an idea.

A wonderful, crazy idea.

What if I stuck a little nugget of almond paste in the middle of a sugar cookie? And then topped it with sliced almonds, granulated sugar, and a little powdered sugar?

Would it sorta give me almond croissant vibes without needing to make a yeasted dough, laminate said dough, and spend a few hours shaping and baking a batch of finicky (yet delicious) croissants from scratch?

Spoiler alert:

The cookie base is my go-to sugar cookie recipe (the same one from this lemon blueberry variety!), requires no chilling time, and comes together all in one bowl. No weird ingredients, all easily purchaseable from your local mega mart.

Then you’ll need some almond paste, typically found in the baking aisle at the store. Like I mentioned, Trader Joe’s has started selling it, so yay. Easy.

It’s sweet, chewy, soft, and very almond-forward in flavor, and it becomes an almond cookie dough-like center for our cookies.

And the topper? Granulated sugar and sliced almonds. You’ll want to flatten the cookies with the topping on top (with the bottom of a measuring cup, bowl, or similar) so that everything sticks. It gets a little messy, but it’s worth it.

To really drive home the whole almond croissant visual and feel, I topped my cookies with powdered sugar right before serving. Totally optional, but I think it looks cute. You don’t need a lot; just a light little dusting will do.

These are so good and fun, and I think they’d be perfect for the holidays.

TGFFB.

(Thank God For Fall Baking)

Almond Croissant Cookies

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Soft, chewy, sugar cookies with a surprise almond paste center! The almond topping is nice and crispy, and this recipe is 100% vegan as written!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 13 minutes
• Total Time: 28 minutes
• Yield: 9-10 cookies
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: Holiday
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

DOUGH:

• 1/2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 and 1/4 tablespoons water
• 112 grams (1/2 cup) vegan butter, softened
• 105 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar (plus more for rolling)
• splash vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 160 grams (about 1 and 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• If needed: 1 tablespoon plant milk (like almond)

FILLING:

• 9–10 teaspoons almond paste*

TOPPING:

• 1/4 cup raw sliced almonds
• granulated sugar
• powdered sugar

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Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, combine your ground flax and water. Mix to combine and set aside.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat your butter and sugar together well until light and fluffy, for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add vanilla and salt, and beat again until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
5. Add your flax mixture, and beat again until combined.
6. Add your flour, baking soda, and baking powder, and beat again until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl if necessary. If the dough is dry (mine was), add a tablespoon of plant milk and mix well. Try not to overmix.
7. Roll dough into 9-10 golf ball-sized balls.
8. Put a finger into the middle of the dough, and place a 1 teaspoon chunk of almond paste in the divot. Enclose the almond paste with the dough, and flatten slightly. Place cookies on your prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly because they will spread a bit.
9. Top each cookie with your sliced almonds and a sprinkle of granulated sugar. Keep in mind that almonds/sugar not on the cookie may burn on the parchment paper, so do this part with a little care. Press the topping into each cookie with the bottom of a measuring cup or bowl so that the almonds stick. See photos for what they should look like pre-oven!
10. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges of each cookie.
11. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
12. Top with a light dusting of powdered sugar if desired right before serving.

Notes

*Almond paste is not marzipan. You can typically find almond paste in the baking section of your local mega mart. It comes in a tube, and it’s typically in a box. I got mine from Trader Joe’s, and that particular one is vegan. Be sure to find a vegan (eggless!) one if that’s important to you.

The post Almond Croissant Cookies appeared first on Fooduzzi.

If you’re unaware, Taste Test Tuesday is a series I post semi-regularly over on Instagram Stories.

As the name implies, I taste (vegan) things on Tuesdays and rate them 1-10. The tastable items include store-bought vegan snacks, treats, and meals, and you can find a lot of the past Taste Test Tuesday videos as highlights on my Instagram profile (@fooduzzi).

This Taste Test Tuesday is a little different. Instead, I found a cake mix at Trader Joe’s that was vegan*, but the other ingredients required to turn the mix into a cake weren’t vegan.

So it got me thinking: could I turn this $4.99 cake mix into a very easy and delicious totally vegan treat? And if so, should I document how to do it on the blog?

So I tested it! I captured all of my tweaks, trials, and tribulations in some videos and photos and ended up with some pretty tasty (and seriously cute) vegan cupcakes.

It was pretty simple swapping the non-vegan called-for ingredients with some vegan counterparts.

Let’s take a look at our cake instructions to start:

You’ll see that eggs and milk are our two called-for, non-vegan ingredients. Luckily, those ingredients are very easy to replace with vegan options in 2024.

• For the eggs, I used Bob’s Red Mill’s Vegan Egg Replacer (not sponsored, but I’ve worked with them in the past and very much love them).
• For the milk, I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

The batter came together incredibly easily (as you’re expect from a box mix!) after allowing the egg replacer to “set” for a few minutes with a bit of water. I simply used the equivalent of two eggs of the egg replacer (2 tablespoons plus 4 tablespoons of water), and I think it was the perfect binder.

Even though I definitely overfilled my cupcake tin (and overbaked everything slightly because of that lol), the crumb was super tender, light, and delicate and the flavor was incredibly nostalgic and fun. Just very vanilla-forward, and that’s about it. But I wasn’t mad at it because it tasted so much like the yellow birthday cakes I used to have at parties as a kid.

I ended up baking these cupcakes the for 23 minutes (due to overfilling). If you fill your cupcake tin to 2/3 of the way full (as instructed on the box), you should be fine to bake for 20-22 minutes.

I would also highly recommend you use cupcake liners––I ran out after lining most of the cupcake tin, and even though I greased the tin where I put the rest of the batter, those cupcakes stuck pretty terribly. Trust me: cupcake liners are the way to go here.

The frosting required me to mix the packet ingredients (the sugar mixture and the sprinkles) with butter as well, and I used vegan butter instead (the Trader Joe’s stick version). I also needed a tablespoon or two of milk to get the frosting to the spreadable consistency I was looking for, as it was pretty stiff without.

In short, this frosting ruled. It tasted like a sugar cookie in the very best way. It was sweet though, so I ended up adding a big pinch of salt to try and balance the flavors.

I also wouldn’t mix all of the sprinkles into the frosting at once––it would have been fun to reserve some for topping the cupcakes with before serving for *aesthetic.* That said, the lack of sprinkles on top didn’t stop me or my taste testers.

So can you turn Trader Joe’s Celebration Cake & Baking Mix into vegan cupcakes? You sure can.

Yes, the cake may be a bit more delicate than one made with real eggs, but man. I really loved these cupcakes.

In fact, I give this baking mix a 9/10 for ease, taste, and overall flexibility. You get instructions to make regular cakes, cupcakes, and even cake pops on the box, so you can really use this mix for pretty much anything.

I loved the sweet, “confetti” cake flavor, and the fact that I had completely edible cupcakes in a little under 45 minutes and a relatively clean kitchen makes this mix a win in my book!

What say you? Have you ever tried to turn a boxed cake mix into a vegan treat? What swaps did you use? How’d it turn out? I’d love to hear about your successes (and lack thereof 😉).

*I’m unsure if the sugar in the mix is indeed vegan. Keep that in mind if vegan sugar is of importance to you.

The post Taste Test Tuesday: Trader Joe’s Celebration Cake & Baking Mix (Made Vegan) appeared first on Fooduzzi.

Tbh, I’ve been having a weird couple of days. Just kinda feeling off. So I decided to fall back on the thing that can and always does make me very very happy: baking.

I wasn’t looking for some sort of complicated baking project; I just wanted to work with my hands, measure ingredients, and have a really delicious baked-good in front of me in just a few minutes.

Enter: these muffins!

They’re based off of this muffin recipe, which is a recipe based off these Zucchini Muffins from Pinch of Yum.

They’re made (almost) entirely in the blender/food processor. I really love recipes like that –– it almost seems impossible that a batter made in a blender can be so springy and toothsome in texture. But man, it couldn’t be easier. Which is especially helpful when you’re in a bit of a funk!

I also love these muffins because they’re loaded with ingredients that just make me feel good. I don’t know the scientific reasoning behind why dates, chia seeds, oats, applesauce, and cinnamon make me feel good, but they do. And because they’re so delicious, I don’t question it.

These muffins are actually very similar to the breakfast I have nearly every morning, just baked. And while I took the base from my Apple Spice Muffin recipe, I really loved adding some toasted walnut chunks and frozen wild blueberries (the teeny tiny ones!).

I also really like that there’s no refined sugar in these muffins –– the sweetness comes entirely from the applesauce, dates, maple syrup, and blueberries!

These muffins are a texture-lover’s dream. The batter won’t be totally smooth, and that’s okay. It’s fun to bite into a muffin and get some crisp walnut, some oats, and a bit of gooey date, all in the same bite.

I don’t find them too sweet, so I really love a couple of these topped with peanut butter for breakfast or as a snack at any point in the day. Of course, you could always save them for dessert if you fancy.

This recipe comes together in a snap, and I really think you’ll love the textures and flavors these mighty muffins have to offer. Enjoy!

Wholesome Vegan Blueberry Walnut Muffins

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A mighty wholesome muffin made with ingredients like oats, chia seeds, dates, applesauce, and blueberries! Love these as a breakfast or snack!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 22 minutes
• Total Time: 37 minutes
• Yield: 7 muffins
• Category: Snack
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (gluten free if desired!)
• 4 medjool dates, pitted*
• 1/4 cup neutral oil, like avocado
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup chopped raw** or toasted unsalted walnuts
• 1/3 cup frozen wild blueberries (the tiny ones!)

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Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Position the rack in the middle of your oven.
2. Mix your chia seeds and water in a small bowl. Set aside to thicken for five minutes.
3. Add your oats, dates, oil, maple syrup, applesauce, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and your thickened chia mixture to your food processor or blender, and blend until relatively smooth. It’ll be a bit chunky, and that’s okay!
4. Grease seven cups of a muffin pan with a bit of oil***.
5. Pour your muffin batter to a medium mixing bowl. Add your walnuts, and stir well to combine.
6. Add your frozen blueberries and gently mix. If you mix too much, the colors from the blueberries will bleed.
7. Add batter to prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 of the way full. Using a damp finger, flatten the top of each muffin to ensure even browning.
8. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when softly poked.
9. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before carefully removing them and allowing them to cool completely on a cooling rack. I even like popping them in an air-tight container once they’ve cooled to room temperature and then sticking them in the fridge overnight!

Notes

*Dates: If your dates are hard or cold, cover them with hot water for a few minutes to soften them. Then drain them completely, squeezing out any extra water.

**Walnuts: If using raw walnuts, I highly recommend toasting them for extra flavor. Either bake them in your preheated oven for a few minutes or toast them in a pan on the stove, stirring constantly. Stop when they become fragrant and brown (be careful not to burn!).

***Oil: I prefer coating each muffin cup with oil over using muffin liners. The oil helps the sides set and gives the muffins a nice “crust.”

The post Wholesome Vegan Blueberry Walnut Muffins appeared first on Fooduzzi.

Why, you may ask?

Well, if you’ve been around Fooduzzi for a while, you may recall that Fooduzzi and I share birthdays.

It’s true! Nine whole years ago today, I decided to press publish on my very first blog post.

I didn’t know what I was doing, the pictures are… there, and I didn’t know the difference between a Post and a Page. But I started.

It was (and continues to be) one of the best gifts I’ve ever given to myself. Fooduzzi has opened up so many incredible opportunities for me and has introduced me to countless amazing people. AND! It continues to allow me to do the things I love (cook, write, design, and connect with readers!).

I couldn’t be more thankful for the nine years we’ve been keeping this lil corner of the internet warm and full of vegan eats. Thank you for being here and for reading.

To celebrate our birthdays, I always publish a chocolate-peanut butter recipe. Every year.

It will always be my favorite flavor combination, and I never ever run out of ideas for combining the two. Here’s how we’ve celebrated in chocolate-peanut butter style the past nine years:

• 1st birthday: Peanut Butter Cup Muffins
• 2nd birthday: Snickerdoodle Buckeyes
• 3rd birthday: Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls
• 4th birthday: Vegan Buckeye Cake
• 5th birthday: Swirled Chocolate Peanut Butter Slice and Bake Cookies
• 6th birthday: Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites
• 7th birthday: Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
• 8th birthday: Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache Frosting
• 9th birthday: Vegan Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (today’s recipe!!)

To be completely honest, I’ve tried quite a few chocolate-peanut butter recipes these past few weeks. Some were too sweet, others weren’t flavorful enough, and a few didn’t have the right texture.

But for all of those recipe failures, I couldn’t be more tickled with what we ended up with: super soft and chewy peanut butter cookies with crispy edges, drizzled or dunked in chocolate.

Simple is sometimes best, and that’s exactly the case with this recipe today!

Ingredients are pretty standard for a vegan cookie:

• A flaxseed egg
• Vegan butter
• Brown and white sugar
• Vanilla
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Salt

To make these extra special (it’s our birthday, after all!) I decided to use vanilla bean paste, which has such a delightful, strong vanilla aroma that you can’t really get with extract. Extract will work just fine, but the paste is really delicious!

Then you can dip, dunk, or drizzle them in chocolate. I mixed some dark and semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips together, melted them down, and just had fun.

As I mentioned, the cookies are soft, so I actually like chilling them in the fridge completely before eating. I think the texture is so much better and chewier once they’ve had a chance to “set” in the fridge.

That said, if you like warm/room temp cookies, you can bake the cookies for an extra minute or two to make sure they’re completely set (while still staying pretty chewy!).

Happy birthday, Fooduzzi! I love ya to the moon and back.

Vegan Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

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Soft, chewy chocolate peanut butter cookies! These vegan cookies are so easy, require minimum chilling time, and are ready in about a half hour! So good.

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 12 cookies
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES:

• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup vegan butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup no-stir peanut butter*
• 1/2 cup lightly-packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste/vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

FOR TOPPING:

• 3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used a combo of dark and semi-sweet!)
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil (refined for no coconut flavor)

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Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mix your flaxseed and water (this is your flaxegg!). Set aside.
2. Add vegan butter and peanut butter to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a big bowl and a hand mixer!), and beat to combine for 1 minute. The mixture should get nice and fluffy. Scrape down the sides.
3. Add both brown and white sugar, and beat for another 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture is cohesive and fluffy. Scrape down the sides.
4. Add your vanilla bean paste and flaxegg, and beat to combine. Scrape down the sides.
5. In a separate bowl, add your flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
6. In two batches, add your flour mixture to your butter/peanut butter/sugar mixture, combining between each. Mix well, about 20 seconds, until everything is combined.
7. Stick the bowl with the dough in your fridge, then preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Once your oven is pre-heated, take your dough from the fridge and roll them into golfball-sized balls. The dough will be sticky but workable.
9. Place 8 cookie balls on your prepared baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes.
10. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and bang the sheet on a heat-safe surface a couple times to get the cookies to flatten. Then bake for another 7-9 minutes (for a total of 13-15 minutes baking time)**.
11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
12. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil (I used a microwave with 30-second bursts). Drizzle chocolate over your cookies with a spoon, allow to set in the fridge, and enjoy!

Notes

* Use a no-stir peanut butter (not a natural one) for best results. I like the no-stir peanut butter from Trader Joe’s.

** If you like warm/room temperature cookies, bake for 15-17 minutes so that the cookies are completely set. I like underbaking and keeping them in the fridge –– they’re extra chewy this way!

Adapted from The Cookie Dough Diaries.

The post Vegan Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies appeared first on Fooduzzi.

These are the best cookies I’ve ever made.

I honestly think that is the case. These cookies… I just can’t quit them!

I have many cookie recipes on this site. Cookies are my love language. Getting them, making them, eating them.

Can cookies be a hobby? If so, it’s my favorite hobby.

But even though I love cookies, I don’t always need a batch of 10 or 12 or more sitting around just for me. Sometimes I want cookies without needing to eat cookies for three weeks straight, you know?

That’s why I love this small-batch recipe. Not only are they crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, there’s only four of them. Perfect to have as a little treat throughout the week without making you feel like you need to eat four cookies a day so you can consume them before they go stale.

Not only are these some of the most delicious cookies I’ve ever had, they also only require one bowl! And minimal chilling! And they don’t require any hard-to-get ingredients!

Your Ingredient Lineup

You’ll need your regular cookie cast of characters: vegan butter, brown sugar, vanilla, plant milk, salt, flour, baking soda, chocolate chips. That’s it. You probably even have all of those ingredients in your house right this very second.

And if that’s the case, there are about 30 minutes that stand between you and four freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies.

I also highly recommend sticking with the weight measurements when you bake these cookies since it’s small-batch and there’s less room for error. A kitchen scale (like this!*) is about $10 and it makes baking so much more accurate. It also cuts down on the amount of dirty dishes by a lot since you don’t need to use a bunch of different measuring cups! Win-win.

My very favorite way to enjoy cookies is straight from the fridge. Yes, a gooey warm cookie is a heavenly experience, but for an everyday cookie experience, cold from the fridge is where it’s at. The edges stay crunchy and the middles are so chewy, almost cookie dough-like!

Regardless of how you like to enjoy your chocolate chip cookies, show yourself a lil self-love and bake some cookies for little ol’ you.

One Bowl Small-Batch Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

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3 from 2 reviews

Emergency small-batch vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe to the rescue! Crispy edges, gooey centers, and ready in 30 minutes.

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 13 minutes
• Total Time: 23 minutes
• Yield: 4 cookies
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

• 42 grams (3 tablespoons) vegan butter, melted
• 50 grams (about 1/4 cup packed) brown sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened plant milk
• splash vanilla extract
• 56 grams (about 1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch salt
• 90 grams (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) chocolate chips (+ more for topping if desired)
• optional: flaky salt for topping

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Instructions

1. Add your vegan butter to a heat-safe bowl. Melt in the microwave or over a double boiler.
2. Add your brown sugar, plant milk, and vanilla, and whisk well to combine.
3. Switching to a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, add your flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until nearly combined, then add your chocolate chips and mix.
4. Place the bowl in your fridge while you preheat your oven.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (I highly recommend an oven thermometer* here!).
6. When your oven is preheated, divide your dough into four equal sections. Roll your dough (it’ll be slightly sticky, so do the best you can) into balls and place on your prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake for 12-13 minutes.
8. When the cookies come out of the oven, feel free to press some extra chocolate chips and/or flaky salt into the tops for looks.
9. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
10. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge (my fave!) or on the counter.

The post One Bowl Small-Batch Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies appeared first on Fooduzzi.

In fact, if I needed to give up every piece of technology but one, air conditioning would be the one I could not live without.

Goodbye, internet. So long, computer and cell phone. I shall be comfortably cool at a perpetual 72 degrees forever, thank you very much.

That is the reason why I am so hesitant to turn on my oven during the summer. It heats up my house for hours, which makes my air conditioning run for hours. Not fun.

So! I try to avoid my oven in the summer. It’s just not my jam.

And luckily, there are many creative ways to make the foods you’re craving without the use of an oven.

Enter: this stovetop blueberry crumble!

This is a quick recipe, provided that you buy store-bought granola (which is what I did and recommend). This will act as your quick and easy crumble topping. Clever, eh?

There are loads of different granola options available at pretty much any grocery store, so get one that you think would pair well with blueberries. Granola with coconut, almonds, vanilla, and/or cinnamon would all be great, and if you can get your hands on a lemon granola, all the better.

P.S. If you’re less averse to turning on your oven in the summer, you can also make your own lemon granola (it’s my favorite granola recipe ever).

The blueberry mixture comes together in a snap –– you’ll just need some fresh blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Dump it all into a sauce pan, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the blueberries are to your desired crumble texture.

I like mine plenty jammy but still a bit chunky. You can see the texture in the pictures!

Once your blueberry mixture is to your liking, you have a decision to make: do you portion the mixture out into individual servings? Or do you pour it into a pie plate to feed a crowd? As you can see from the pictures, I did both: one for everyone, and one for me to sample ahead of time. A lil treat for the chef, if you will.

You’ll want to add the granola right before you’re ready to serve, so allow it to cool slightly before assembling to avoid sogginess. I really like this crumble warm or at room temperature, but to be fair, I have eaten it straight from the fridge as well. You really can’t go wrong here.

This is such a fun and easy recipe that perfectly celebrates one of summer’s best fruits! Enjoy, my friend!

The post Quick & Easy Stovetop Blueberry Crumble (No Oven!) appeared first on Fooduzzi.

And I mean, it makes sense. All of the ingredients scream nostalgia and summer, and you can make it in the comfort of your very own kitchen in like… five minutes.

Plus they are completely and totally non-put-downable.

I love a s’more. Rich and creamy chocolate + cinnamony graham crackers + ooey, gooey marshmallows = one happy and delicious little treat.

So today we’re taking all of those elements and… rearranging them? And making it a kitchen-friendly, fire-less recipe instead.

You’ll need three bowls, two of which need to be microwave-safe. Once you have that, it’s really just four steps:

Step 1: Melt your chocolate & peanut butter

So peanut butter might not be traditional in your s’mores, but in my s’mores, it’s a necessity. I love the combo of peanut butter + graham crackers, and as we know, chocolate + peanut butter is a match made in flavor heaven.

Peanut butter also tames down the sweetness in this dessert. It adds a rich, salty, nuttiness that really does take this dessert away from “cloying” and into the “wow, I can’t stop eating this” territory.

If you don’t do peanut butter, try a different nut or seed butter like almond or sunflower. Just make sure that it’s salted.

You’ll also want to add a nice pinch of salt here too. Again, for balance!

Step 2: Break your graham crackers

I used thick cinnamon graham crackers in this bark. They are an impulse buy more often than I care to admit, and I love them dunked in almond milk or spread with peanut butter. I ended up using about 100 grams (or 8 total graham crackers).

That said: if you want your s’mores bark to be less chunky, add less graham crackers. If you want it more chunky, add more. You really can’t mess this recipe up. Trust yourself, you s’mores lovin’ fool you!

P.S. If you want to keep this recipe vegan, make sure your graham crackers don’t have things like honey or eggs in them.

Step 3: Melt your marshmallows

I melted my marshmallows for just 30 seconds in the microwave, and it worked perfectly. I simply mixed them with a silicone spatula when they were warm, and it formed an ooey, sticky mixture.

You’ll add your graham cracker pieces to the marshmallow, mix slightly to combine, then mix your warm and melted chocolate mixture.

Use a little bit of care here so you don’t crush your graham crackers, but you will need a bit of elbow grease because things are a bit sticky at this point! The marshmallows get nice and stringy and chewy and weird looking and delicious. Trust me.

Step 4: Freeze!

YEP. We’re freezing these s’mores bites. Why? Because this recipe is a texture playground when frozen.

After you take it from the freezer, the marshmallow is nice and chewy while the chocolate and graham crackers are firm and crispy. You can also let it sit for 5ish minutes at room temperature if you like things a little less firm. It’s really just so good, and I love keeping this bark in the freezer at all times so I can pull out a chunk or two whenever the craving strikes.

I think this would be a great recipe to make with some younger kiddos or late at night when you want a little sweet bite without making too big of a mess of your kitchen.

Regardless of how or when you make these, I think we can all agree with the fact that an easier avenue to s’mores bliss is never ever a bad thing.

Vegan S’mores Bark (No Campfire Needed!)

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A quick and easy summertime dessert! This vegan s’mores bark comes together in minutes and is a great solution for getting your s’mores fix without the campfire!

• Author: Alexa [fooduzzi.com]
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 servings
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Mix
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

• 6 ounces (a little less than 1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
• 2 tablespoons salted peanut butter
• nice pinch of salt
• 6 large or 8 medium (or ~100 grams) cinnamon graham crackers*
• 14 marshmallows*

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Instructions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a small microwave-safe bowl, add your chocolate chips, peanut butter, and salt. Melt in 30-second increments in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until warm and melted. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, break your graham crackers into bite-sized irregular pieces. Place in a bowl.
4. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt your marshmallows in 30-second increments in the microwave. Mine took just 30 seconds. Stir until thick and sticky.
5. Immediately toss your graham cracker pieces into the marshmallow mixture and mix. Add your melted chocolate, and mix until everything is well incorporated and coated in chocolate.
6. Pour the mixture onto your prepared baking sheet, spreading the mixture into one layer. It’s okay if the mixture is separated into chunks — you’re going to break it up with your hands later anyways!
7. Place the baking sheet in the freezer to set, 10-20 minutes.
8. Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and break up the bark into bite-sized pieces (or cut it with a knife). Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge/freezer for later! If you store it in the freezer and it’s too hard, you can allow the bark to come back up to room temperature for 5ish minutes before consuming so the marshmallow is easier to chew.

Notes

*If you’re making this recipe vegan, ensure that the starred ingredients are vegan and don’t contain ingredients like milk, butter, and/or honey. Vegan marshmallows can be tricky to find, but the marshmallows from Trader Joe’s are vegan, as well as a brand called “Dandies” that can be found at places like Whole Foods.

The post Vegan S’mores Bark (No Campfire Needed!) appeared first on Fooduzzi.