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I've been too busy to blog lately, so PLEASE follow me on Instagram @dough_and_batter or my Facebook page. Here's what I've been baking up in my kitchen.

A few orders of decorated sugar cookies…..

Finding use for extra royal icing…..

Sewing up some fun & faux stuff which can be found in my Etsy shop…..

Creating a new birthday buddy! 

All things birthday cake related - cake truffles, cake, rice krispie treats…..

Vegan & gluten-free treats…..

Granola for days!!!

Celebrating marriage equality…..

And lastly, taking care of my own sweet tooth by celebrating the fruits of summer…..

Happy Summer!!!!!

raw. vegan. refined sugar free. blueberry cheesecake

RAW. VEGAN. REFINED SUGAR FREE Blueberry Cheesecake

Slightly adapted from RAMY Health

PRE-SOAK the night before in separate bowls:

2-1/3 cups raw cashews 

1 cup dates

CRUST

2 cups raw slivered almonds

1 cup pre-soaked dates (soaked from the night before)

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

zest of 1/2 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

generous pinch of kosher salt ***Do this to taste. Leaving it out will result in a bland crust***

CHEESECAKE

2-1/3 cups raw cashews (soaked from the night before)

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup agave/maple syrup/honey 

***I used honey which technically is not vegan. :( ***

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

juice of 1/2 lemon

generous pinch of kosher salt ***Do this to taste. Leaving it out will result in a bland cheesecake filling***

If needed, add 1 - 2 tablespoons of almond milk ***Only add the almond milk if your mixture is not blending in your food processor.***

BLUEBERRY TOPPING

1/2 cup blueberries - fresh or frozen

1/4 cup agave/maple syrup/honey

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup blueberries - fresh or frozen for garnish

***I like to cook my blueberries with a little honey in a small saucepan until it's thick and syrup-y.***

Remember to pre-soak the cashew and dates in separate bowls overnight.

Line a 8 x 8 square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a food processor, pulse all CRUST ingredients until dough-like. Press CRUST into prepared pan and flatten with hand/fingers getting into corners and sides evenly.

Carefully wipe out food processor bowl and pulse CHEESECAKE ingredients. Blend until smooth. Add almond milk if needed. Cheesecake mixture should look thick and smooth. ***Depending on your food processor, the cashews will not come out entirely smooth.***

Spread mixture out onto your prepared crust.

Wash out your food processor bowl. In your clean bowl, pulse BLUEBERRY TOPPING ingredients. This mixture will look a chunky from the coconut oil if your coconut oil is in a solid form/cold. Spread topping onto cheesecake. Wrap pan in plastic and freeze for 4 hours or overnight.

Remove from freezer, cut into squares and top with blueberries (fresh or cooked with honey).

vegan cinnamon pull-apart bread

Happy 2014!!! 
I'm back from vacation and it's taken me a couple of weeks to come back to reality. I totally blew my vegan diet while I was away and I admit I also cheated a bit with Momofuku Milk Bar's Birthday Cake that I get every year for my birthday. But now that all of the festivities are over, it's time to get back on my vegan train. Check out my vegan version of cinnamon pull-apart bread…..

I searched all over for a pull-apart bread recipe that didn't contain any eggs since I'm still trying to get used to chia/flax egg replacements. I found The Pioneer Woman's recipe and simply swapped out dairy for non-dairy ingredients. The Pioneer Woman also photographs every step, so if you need more visuals, visit the link.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread
thank you Pioneer Woman
serves 6 - 10

INGREDIENTS
For the DOUGH:
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the CINNAMON SUGAR:
1/4 cup vegan butter - softened/room temp ***I used Earth Balance***
1/2 - 3/4 cups sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

For the ICING:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 - 3 tablespoons soy milk
tiny splash of vanilla extract
pinch of salt

To make the DOUGH:
Combine milk, canola oil, and 1/4 cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Heat until hot but not boiling. Turn off heat and allow to cool to warm.

Sprinkle in the yeast and add 2 cups of flour. Stir to combine, then put the lid on the pot and allow to rise for 1 hour. After 1 hour, stir in an additional 1/4 cup flour, along with baking powder, baking soda, and salt. ***I dumped mine out onto a lightly floured surface and used my hands to work in these ingredients.*** If the dough is sticky, stir in another 2 tbs. - 1/4 cup flour. ***Mine was perfect after the first 1/4 cup of flour.*** 

Place dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour to make it easier to work with.

Roll out dough onto a floured surface.

Gently spread your room temp non-dairy butter onto the dough. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and generously sprinkle it all over the buttered dough.

Using a pastry cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into 6 to 8 strips. Then carefully stack the strips on top of each other.

Spray a loaf pan with baking spray. Cut the stack of strips into 6 slices. Place the stacks sideways into your prepared pan. Do not cram your slices into the pan. ***If you have leftovers, spray a small loaf pan or even a cupcake muffin tin and place your leftover slices in that.***

Cover your pan with a dish towel and allow to rise for 20 - 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Place your loaf pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, checking at 20 minutes to make sure it's not getting too brown on top. ***Since I was using disposable tin pans, I placed my pans on a cookie sheet while it baked in the oven.*** It's important to bake your bread completely to ensure that the middle isn't doughy, because if it is it won't pull apart easily. After 30 minutes, I continued to bake mine in 5 minute increments. Total baking time for me was between 40 - 50 minutes. ***If the bread seems to be getting too brown, tent it with a little aluminum foil.***

Remove the pan/s from the oven when the bread's done. Run a little knife along the sides  and gently take the bread out of the pan. 

Mix together the icing ingredients and generously drizzle over the top, allowing it to sink into the crevices. Super delicious warm, but also good at room temp.

last post of 2013, on holiday, breaking my vegan diet & vegan chocolate chunk w/ almond cookies

I'm officially on Christmas holiday abroad and on hiatus from my vegan diet. This will also be my last post for 2013 and thank you all for following me!!! So for the next two weeks I'll be consuming all dairy products in moderation, but I'll end this year with delicious vegan chocolate chunk with almond cookies.

The first time I made these vegan cookies by Baker Bettie I followed the exact recipe. The second time I made them I added my own twists and I have to admit that these are pretty darn good vegan cookies. The recipe only makes a dozen cookies, it's quick and easy and when you're jonesing for cookies, this recipe is for you! Vegan or not, make these cookies!!!

Vegan Chocolate Chunk w/ Almond Cookies
adapted from Baker Bettie's blog
makes 12 cookies

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup vegan butter ***I used Earth Balance.***
1/4 cup vegetable shortening ***You can use vegan butter here also.***
3/4 cup dark brown sugar ***Baker Bettie uses dark muscovado sugar here but use whatever sugar you have in your pantry. Preferably light or dark brown sugar.***
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons soy milk ***Plain old water is OK too.***
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus a little more for sprinkling on top of cookies
1 cup vegan chocolate chips/chunks ***The only vegan chocolate I had on hand was a one pound bar of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate w/ Almonds. I chopped it up and added it to my recipe and it tasted great!!!***

Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In your bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, whip vegan butter and veg shortening with dark brown sugar until it's doubled in volume and light and fluffy. Roughly about 3 - 5 minutes on medium-high speed. Scrape down the sides of your mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk/mix together cornstarch, baking powder and soy milk. Add to butter and sugar mixture along with the vanilla. Mix until thoroughly combined. Scrape down sides again.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour and kosher salt. Do not over mix and stop the mixer at the point to almost all of the flour is mixed in. Add the chunks and mix for a few seconds. ***If there is still flour visible, gently fold mixture by hand with a large spatula.***

With a cookie scoop (I think mine is a 2 ounce scoop) evenly scoop out 12 cookies onto your prepared cookie sheets. Leave a couple of inches a part because cookies will spread a little bit. Bake for 8 minutes, sprinkle a little kosher salt onto each cookie, rotate cookie sheets and bake for another 8 minutes. 

Remove from oven and cool on sheets for 5 minutes until transferring them to a wire rack. Cool completely. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for about 1 week.

This is one of our views from our flat in De Pijp neighborhood in Amsterdam.

Breaking my vegan diet with hazelnut yogurt and a chocolate covered gingerbread man cookie for breakfast.

Happy Holidays!!!

spicy vegan mexican hot chocolate snickerdoodles

I'm on week 3 with my vegan diet and I'm kind of getting used to this no-dairy thing. Although I'm not gonna lie, I miss butter!!! And I miss cheese!!! I'm not going to totally convert to being a vegan, but after my 2 month stint is over, I will go back to eating butter and cheese in moderation. But for now, I will continue to search and test some vegan recipes to satisfy my sweet tooth and midnight munchie attacks.

I try and find vegan recipes that I don't have to rush out to buy other ingredients. I was stoked to come across these vegan Mexican hot chocolate snickerdoodles by Post Punk Kitchen and when shared with my non-vegan friends, they couldn't even taste the lack of butter or eggs in them. 

I didn't have any cayenne pepper so I substituted chili powder instead. I also made a few of my own adaptations to the original recipe.

Spicy Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles
slightly adapted from Post Punk Kitchen
makes 2 dozen cookies

For the sugary coating:
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup canola oil ***or veg oil***
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy milk ***almond milk is OK here too!***
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour ***or all-purpose flour***
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. In a shallow bowl or plate, mix together the 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour/s, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and chili powder/cayenne. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar/s, soy milk and vanilla extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring constantly until it forms into cookie dough.

With a 1-1/2 inch diameter cookie scoop, divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll into walnut-sized balls and gently press into the sugar & cinnamon mixture, flattening roughly into 2-inch disks.

Sugarcoated side up, lay cookies onto your parchment lined sheets approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 - 14 minutes. Cookies will have spread and will have crackly tops. Remove from the oven and cool 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.