Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

I just found this thread from the no sugar one - I started looking through the honey stuff and stevia stuff but many of them have milk products and we can't do milk. I may try the peanut butter brownies - that looks yummy. My children are so picky. They won't eat cookies with nuts in them and are not fond of oatmeal cookies. I will look for that sweet and natural cookbook.

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

I just found this thread from the no sugar one - I started looking through the honey stuff and stevia stuff but many of them have milk products and we can't do milk. I may try the peanut butter brownies - that looks yummy. My children are so picky. They won't eat cookies with nuts in them and are not fond of oatmeal cookies. I will look for that sweet and natural cookbook.

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

I've read that ripe bananas work for egg substitues as well.

Believer, vegan milk (i.e., soy, rice, almond) works in recipes calling for milk

Hhhmmm... Maybe I'll try the banana for sugar thing in my vegan chocolate cake

Thanks! :)

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

Peanut butter cookies

1 cup natural, unsweetened chunky peanut butter
1 cup real maple syrup
2 tbls canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt


Preheat oven to 350 and line cookie pans with parhcment paper or oil and flour them.

in a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, syrup, oil and vanilla until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in the liquid, stril just until combined. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and place on the cookie sheets. Mash them flat with a fork in a criss-cross pattern aiming for a cookie that is about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly crusted over but still soft. Cool on the pan for 2 minute, remove and cool on rack or thick pape.

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

Chocolate chip cookies - vegan

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, ground to a fine meal (optional)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate pieces
1/2 cup flavorless oil (I use butter or earth balance)
1/2-3/4 cup real maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla or almond extract

heat oven to 350. wisk together wet ingredients in a small bowl. In a large bowl, stir together thoroughly the dry ingredients including the chips. Make a well in the center and pour in the syrup mixture. Stir together until fully incorporated, but try not to overmix. Drop dough by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on rack.

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

Jodi, you are all over this! Thank you so much for posting these great recipes...the other mamas too.

About the banana puree thing - can you do the same thing with applesauce, or with prune puree? I have heard that prune puree blends so well with and enhances chocolate. :shrug

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

Chocolate brownies


5 tablespoons (1/4 cup--1/2 stick--plus 1 tablespoon) butter
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
9 tablespoons (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt butter over low heat. Stir in brown rice syrup. Stir in the cocoa a little at a time, whisking in each addition until blended. Remove from heat and cool about 15 minutes. Blend in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and salt. Stir in flour a little at a time. Add nuts and stir well. Spread batter into a greased 8x8-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in the pan and cut into squares.

I am going to try this using maple instead of rice syrup I think :think

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

ooooooh i'm getting hungry!!

why use pastry flour and not ap flour?

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

oooh....bump*bump*

I found a few naturally sweetened desserts in the back of my what to expect books, it was the only good thing in there....

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

:giggle That's the way I felt about those books, too...

TrinMama, I think the whole-wheat pastry flour is used to give the baked goods a whole-grain base without the heavy coarseness of regular whole-grain flours. Is that right Sonshine Mama? That's why I use them anyway!

And just a tip on flour since I am on the subject, I use King Arthur's white whole wheat in place of ap flour - you can't tell the difference taste-wise and it is whole-grain. It's not organic though.

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

All purpose flour is bleached and has the bran removed. It's not healthy as all the good stuff is removed.
I think Unbleached flour has all or most of the bran removed but is not bleached. It's not whole grain but it doesn't have the nasty bleach in it.

I use almost entirely whole wheat pastry flour for my baking as
1 it is still whole grain and
2 has a smooth texture. .

For a lot of people when they first give up all purpose flour, they go to unbleached first and slowly move to ww pastry flour to avoid the "shock" of whole wheat cookies. We took the plunge before we even knew about unbleached flour and have been fine. But we aren't perfect. I have taken to using unbleached flour for pie crusts and brownies. The rest of the stuff we stick with ww pastry flour :)

HTH!

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

thanks for pastry flour info! :)

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

I went on that flour journey, too! I went from unbleached ap to whole wheat, found it too coarse, went to whole wheat pastry flour, then found King Arthur's white whole wheat and never looked back. KA is not pastry flour.

Isn't it silly that I posted my personal flour journey? ha ha :giggle

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

where can you find ww pastry flour???

Re: Naturally Sweetened Desserts
 

This is one of my recipes for chocolate chip oatmeal raisin cookies (vegan). I like to throw things together and try different combinations, so feel free to modify this recipe. It's fun! Maybe sometime I'll come back and post more variations. ;)

I made this recipe tonight:

Mix these dry ingredients in large bowl:
2 1/2 cups spelt flour (can use whole wheat)
3 tablespoons arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup ground flaxseeds

Mix wet ingredients in smaller bowl:
1 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vinegar (I used rice vinegar) (you can use vanilla instead LOL -- I was just out of it so I tried the vinegar)
1/2 cup rice milk

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix them together.

Then add and stir in the following three ingredients:

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup chocolate chips (we use semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips)
1 cup raisins

I grease my cookie sheet and put the dough on cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls (I guess it's a teaspoon -- I have a neat scoop thingy that I think is from Pampered Chef that makes it easy). I flatten them a little. Then bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes at 350 degrees. My oven is a little hot, so keep that in mind. Don't over cook. :) It makes about 26 cookies. :)

They are really yummy (at least we think so :giggle). :yum

Please let me know if you try this recipe. I'd love to have feedback regarding it. I'm trying to "perfect" my recipe. :grin