Critter Crunch

Sara Says: Instead of Crispix & Bite-Size Shredded Wheat, use 1 c. each Rice Chex, Corn Chex & Wheat Chex.

Critter Crunch
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Snack
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Ingredients
  • 1½ c. Crispix cereal
  • 1½ c. animal crackers
  • 1½ c. Honey bear-shaped crackers or cookies
  • 1 c. Bite-Sized Shredded Wheat
  • 1 c. miniature pretzels
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar, light or dark
  • ½ stick butter, cubed
  • 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 300°F. Grease an edged baking pan with butter or non-stick spray & set aside.
  2. In a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, heat butter, brown sugar & cinnamon until butter is melted. Stir until blended.
  3. In a large bowl combine Crispix, animal crackers, & honey bear-shaped crackers or cookies. Toss to combine.
  4. Pour butter over mixture & toss to coat. Evenly spread mixture on the baking pan.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from heat & allow to cool to room temperature.
  6. Store in an air-tight container.

 

Photo Courtesy of Lenore Edman on Flickr

Vegan Spice Cake

Sharon Says: My first piece is always warm because looks & smells so good I “need” to taste right away! I also recommend Whole Foods 365 brand vegan sugar & Earth Balance brand buttery vegan spread.

Sharon Nazarian runs BigCityVegan.com, a website dedicated to living a cruelty-free lifestyle including vegan recipes, vegan news & vegan merchandise, like cool vegan t-shirts.

Vegan Spice Cake
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Ingredients
  • 2½ c. whole wheat flour
  • 1½ c. vegan sugar
  • 1½ c. soy milk
  • 1 c. whole canned cranberry sauce
  • ¼ c. powdered vegan sugar
  • 6 tbsp buttery vegan spread
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground cloves
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Melt the buttery vegan spread & combine with soy milk.
  2. Stir together all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, spices & salt.
  3. Alternate adding the cranberry sauce & the soy milk with melted vegan butter mixture to the dry ingredients until everything is fully blended.
  4. Pour into a well-greased 9" square pan (use butter spread, light vegetable oil or a light oil spray).
  5. Bake on middle rack in preheated 350°F oven for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
  6. Garnish with powdered vegan sugar (put into strainer, shake it over the entire cake).
  7. Serve warm or cold.

 

Photo Courtesy of stu_spivack on Flickr.

Berry Buckle

Monica Says: We had this at a friend’s house for Thanksgiving and loved it so much we made it for Christmas!

Berry Buckle
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Ingredients
  • 2 c. flour
  • 2½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ c. shortening
  • ¾ c. sugar
  • 1 egg
  • ½ c. milk
  • 2 c. fresh or frozen berries
  • ½ c. flour
  • ½ c. sugar
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ c. butter or margarine
Instructions
  1. Grease bottom & ½" up sides of a 9"x9"x2" baking pan.
  2. Combine the 2 c. flour, baking powder, & salt. In another mixing bowl, beat shortening for 30 seconds. Add the ¾ c. sugar.
  3. Beat on medium to high speed until light & fluffy. Add egg; beat well.
  4. Add dry mixture & milk alternately to beaten egg mixture, beating until smooth after each addition.
  5. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with fruit.
  6. Combine the ½ c. flour, ½ c. sugar, & cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over berries.
  7. Bake in a 350°F oven for 50-60 minutes or until golden.

Photo Courtesy of Sergey Kukota on Flickr

Stewed Rhubarb Tarts

Submitted by Ruth

Ingredients

1 bunch rhubarb (~5 stalks) ¼ c. brown sugar
2 cinnamon quills 1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 star anise 1 c. cold water
1 batch sweet shortcrust pastry 13.2 oz. (375g) semi-sweet chocolate
1 pkg. custard powder strawberries
white sugar

Directions

  1. Rhubarb by ksbuehler on FlickrSlice the rhubarb thinly and put it, the brown sugar, water, & spices in a saucepan on lowest heat for about an hour, with the lid on, until the rhubarb has totally collapsed. Strain the liquid into a bowl or jug. Remove the cinnamon & star anise & then set the rhubarb aside to cool.
  2. Create a batch of sweet shortcrust pastry (see link for recipe). Once you’ve mixed it all up, put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
  3. Roll out your pastry & place in your tart or pie dish. Cover with parchment paper & fill with rice or baking weights & bake for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool while melting chocolate.
  4. Melt 375g (about 13.2 oz) of semi-sweet good quality chocolate. When the chocolate is melted, pour it into the base of the tart. Don’t fill it too much, you want just a thin layer. Refrigerate until chocolate sets.
  5. Make custard. You could do this from scratch, or use 1 box of custard powder & make according to the directions on the package.
  6. Once your chocolate/pastry has hardened, put a layer of the cooled rhubarb on top of the chocolate. Pour the custard over the rhubarb & put in the refrigerator to set. You need the custard to set to about the firmness of Jell-O before you top with strawberries.
  7. Decorate the top with strawberries. It’s hard to say exactly how many you will need, but about three baskets should do it. Once the custard has set, layer the strawberries, halved, on top of the custard in a circle starting from the outer edge until right in the middle. Make a second layer on top to cover any visible gaps where you can see the custard.
  8. Sprinkle with fine white sugar & put back in the refrigerator. The strawberries will absorb the sugar & turn into a sort of glaze. If you want to get fancy, you can use a dessert torch to heat the sugar & caramelize it into a nice crust. Serve with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Chef’s Note: You can omit the rhubarb and use more strawberries to turn this into just a strawberry tart.

Gingerbread Cookies

Submitted by Happy13

Ingredients

½ c. shortening 6 tsp water
½ c. sugar ½ c. unsulphered molasses
1 egg yolk 2 c. flour
1 tsp ginger 1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves (scant) 1 tsp finely ground black pepper
½ tsp nutmeg ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt
2 dashes cayenne pepper

Directions

  1. Cream the shortening, water & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add the molasses & egg yolk & mix until well blended.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. If using a stand mixer, use stir. The dough will be sticky. 
  3. DO NOT ADD MORE FLOUR REGARDLESS OF HOW TEMPTED YOU MAY BE!!! Too much flour will make the cookies tough. Form into 2 flat disks & put in the freezer for at least an hour or more. 
  4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  5. When the dough is cold enough to handle, roll it to about ¼” thick between 2 pieces of wax paper (the wax paper keeps you from having to use more flour). I roll mine a little thinner because I like a little crispness on the edges. 
  6. Gently press together the scraps into another disk & put back in the freezer until ready for use. Bake for 8-10 minutes on parchment lined cookie sheets. Cool on pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before decorating.

Chef’s Note: I use shortening instead of butter or margarine because shortening is flavorless and doesn’t impact the spices. I think butter is best served in sugar cookies. If you decide to substitute butter or margarine for the shortening, omit the water from the recipe.