Sugar-Crusted Turmeric Chili Stoneground Cornmeal Donuts

never not donuting.
Sugar-Crusted Turmeric Chili

Stoneground Cornmeal Donuts.

oh, the things you can donut (verb).

This may be hard to believe, but up until fairly recently, donuts didn't interest me much. It was an ill-conceived donut birthday cake project that first stirred something deep inside. The cake was an unmitigated disaster, but it's construction did require the purchase of a certain specialty kitchen item. I expected to use it only once, maybe twice, and then leave it to collect dust on a high shelf somewhere.

Best laid plans...

Not to get all swept up in pastry-based hyperbole, but owning a donut pan has 

CHANGED MY LIFE. 

It was a seismic shift with a hole smack dab in the center.

A new mission, clear as day-- everything in donut form, 

whenever and wherever possible.

seismic.

baking weather.

Sugar-Crusted Turmeric Chili

Stoneground Cornmeal Donuts

(makes one dozen)

Adapted from my Turmeric-Chili Stoneground Corn Muffins recipe. 

Because DONUTS.

dry:

1c all purpose flour

1c stoneground cornmeal

1/3c unrefined sugar

1Tbsp baking powder

1tsp finely ground sea salt

2tsp chili powder

1tsp turmeric

wet:

2Tbsp ground flax seeds

6Tbsp boiling water

1c non dairy milk

1/4c melted unrefined coconut oil + a little extra for greasing the donut pan

1tsp apple cider vinegar

topping:

3-4Tbsp extra sugar

1Tbsp crushed red pepper

Raw Vegan Cashew-Cranberry Cheesecake Bites

because one can only eat so many cookies.

Raw Cranberry-Cashew Cheesecake Bites.

shame-free.

Bake, eat, repeat. My perpetual holiday mantra. Bake the treats. "Quality test" the treats. Second round "quality test' the treats (because this is the very definition of important stuff, folks). Realize I don't have enough treats left to actually give as gifts. Bake the treats again. Feel shame.

I did not break the cycle this season. I did, however, supplement with something raw and full of whole food-y deliciousness and PRETTY.

The most important feature of any food gift.

I quality tested the entire first batch as my gift to you, my dear readers.

And then I made some more.

xoxox





 Raw Vegan Cashew-Cranberry Cheesecake Bites

(makes approximately 12 1" bites)

Crust:

1 1/4c raw walnuts

1 heaping cup pitted medjool dates

1/4c raw flaked coconut, unsweetened

1Tbsp flax seeds

pinch sea salt

Filling:

1 1/4c raw cashews, soaked for 2+ hours and drained

1c raw cranberries

1/2c liquified coconut oil

1/4c agave or maple syrup

1/4tsp sea salt

1.5Tbsp lemon juice

Cinnamon-Oat Crumble Stuffed Baked Apples

baking things inside of things.

Cinnamon-Oat Crumble
Stuffed Baked Apples.

again and again and again.

If I read (or consider writing) one more "tis the season" post I may vomit in protest. 

The seasons are changing, leaves are falling, it's cold all the time, we all get it. 

That being said... the "cooking things inside of other things" time of year is inevitably upon us. 

Most of these things inside of things fall into the traditionally squash-based category or the profoundly horrifying category (Turducken, anyone? Of course not, because it's fucking disgusting). 

Now I'm not much of a stuffed squash person and my views on the other thing should be abundantly clear, but there is something about the concept that feels kind of right. 

Putting foods inside of other foods seems appropriate as we're stuffing ourselves inside of long sleeve shirts inside of sweaters inside of coats. 

So bake this cinnamon-oat crumble inside of apples. 

It's like a winter coat for your insides. 

Plus it's a dessert you can eat for breakfast and we all need more of that in our lives these days.

soon to be much less colorful.

fallen.

Cinnamon-Oat Crumble Stuffed Baked Apples

(serves 5-6)

5-6 medium sized apples* (I use a mix of macintosh and cortland)

*make sure the apples will fit tightly into your baking dish, I use a 9" square 

which fits 5-6 depending on their size

1/2c vegan butter

1/2c unrefined sugar

1/4c light brown sugar

1/4c whole wheat pastry flour

3/4c rolled oats

2tsp ground cinnamon

1/2tsp ground sea salt

1tsp vanilla bean paste (extract will work, too)

1Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

*1/4c fresh cranberries, halved (optional)

Wild Blueberry & Nectarine Cobbler plus Scenes from the Weekend

hashtag BLUEBERRIES.
Wild Blueberry & Nectarine Cobbler 

+

Some Scenes from the Weekend.

the truest of true things.

In my world, summer and Maine are inextricably linked. Summer will always mean Maine, and Maine summers will always mean wild blueberries. In August they are EVERYWHERE. At markets, in parking lot fruit stands, for sale on the side of the road (every. single. road.) and they are perfect.
Summer also means fruit cobbler.
The more clever among you can probably see where I'm going with this...

oven bound.

Wild.

souvenirs. 

calm.

Wild Blueberry & Nectarine Cobbler

(serves 4-6)

1c whole wheat pastry flour

1/3c unrefined sugar

1c non dairy milk (I prefer coconut)

2tsp baking soda

2tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2tsp salt

1tsp vanilla

2c sliced nectarines

2c wild blueberries, washed and patted dry

1/4tsp cinnamon

1/4c unrefined coconut oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Melt coconut oil in an 8" square baking dish by placing it in the oven while heating.

Sift together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) 

in a medium mixing bowl.

Add milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir until combined.

Remove baking dish with melted coconut oil from the oven.

Gently pour 3/4 of the batter into the pan, spread fruit over top, 

then add remainder of batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Serve warm or cooled.

Baked Banana Bourbon Donuts with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting

mmm...alliterative. 

Baked Banana-Bourbon Donuts with 
Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting.

The answers are all here.

I wouldn't call myself a particularly together person. Most of the time I'm bordering on what could only be described as mildly unhinged and grasping for answers, but there are two things I know with absolute certainty: 1) bourbon makes everything better and 2) the same can be said of donuts. Emboldened by these dual concrete truths and inspired by a few past their prime bananas, a donut pan and a bottle of our finest barrel aged, I embarked on some EXTREMELY CONFIDENT
baked banana-bourbon donut making. 

Plus a little cashew cream cheese frosting composition, for good measure,
and further alliterative hilarity. 

Baked Banana-Bourbon Donuts

(makes 10 donuts, using a standard donut pan)

2 large over-ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

1 1/2c whole wheat pastry flour

1/3c melted unrefined coconut oil

2/3c brown sugar

1Tbsp ground flax seed

+

3Tbsp boiling water

2Tbsp bourbon

1tsp vanilla extract

1/2tsp sea salt

1tsp baking soda

2tsp cinnamon

Homemade Vegan Fudgesicles

easy as pie, so to speak.
Non-Dairy Coconut Milk Fudgesicles 

Take that, summer.

This recipe was born out of necessity. It was hot outside, damn hot, and the cupboards were bare. All I had on hand was a handful of baking ingredients and a can of coconut milk. A few ingredients were thrown together, popsicle molds were filled and fingers were crossed. What popped out of those molds was good enough to immediately make it into heavy summer rotation. Perfectly creamy, fudge-y non-dairy frozen treats at a mere fraction of the cost of store bought.
Plus they're so damn easy to make!
No fancy ingredients, no special equipment needed, just popsicle molds and a whisk.
There you have it,  easy as pie.
Or fudge pops, as it were.

Non-Dairy Coconut Milk Fudgesicles
(makes 8-10 pops)

1 14oz can (about 2 cups) light coconut milk
1/4c unsweetened cocoa powder*
1-2Tbsp organic sugar (adjust to taste)
2tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
*sweetened cocoa powder can be used in place of unsweetened, just sub out the sugar.

Whisk all ingredients together, pour into popsicle molds and freeze.