Gluten Free Vegan Waffles

There is nothing quite like waffles on a Sunday morning, and since my dad went vegan, he's been feeling a bit left-out of Sunday morning breakfasts. These waffles had him excited and munching away with everyone else. (Also, what is better than apple butter and blueberries? What a wonderful combination!)

These are the perfect hardy, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside waffles. 

And they're vegan. Does it get any better for midmorning Sunday breakfasts? 

I don't think so.

I used chocolate almond milk (didn't really have an effect besides giving a richer color) and used half honey and half maple syrup.

"Space Oddity" Performed by astronaut Chris Hadfield (written by David Bowie)

Adapted from Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

Waffles

• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1 tsp white or apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive, canola or melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)
• heaping 1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
• 1 3/4 cups gluten-free flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch sea salt

Optional (flavors):

• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp flax seed meal
• 1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped bananas or other fresh fruit

Directions

1. Combine almond milk and vinegar in a small mixing bowl and let set for a few minutes to curdle/activate. Then add olive oil, agave nectar or maple syrup and whisk. Set aside.
2. Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until well combined.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until well incorporated. Test batter for sweetness and flavor. Add more sweetener or some vanilla extract if desired. 
4. Let set for 5-10 minutes while your waffle iron preheats. (I use mine on the 4 setting.)
5. Once waffle iron is ready, generously coat with non-stick spray and pour on about 1/2 cup of batter. Cook according to manufacturer instructions and then remove and place on a baking rack in a 200 degree oven to keep warm. Do not stack and instead keep them in a single layer to ensure crispiness remains.
6. Serve immediately with desired toppings. Store leftovers in a freezer safe bag and reheat in the toaster. (Will keep in the freezer for up to a couple months, although they're freshest within the first couple weeks.)

Lemon Blueberry Poppyseed Muffins

I made these muffins for my APUSH class's food Friday. Most everybody went for seconds. We were taking an essay test, so it wasn't an easy thing to go up for seconds.

Now that things are finally winding down in school. I hopefully will be able to get back to baking and cooking again. AP exams are over, we only have one lab left for chemistry, and my last calculus test for the year is tomorrow. 

We're currently watching The Butler in APUSH. I saw it over winter break, and the film casts such a harsh light on racism in the United State's past. I didn't like the ending the first time I saw it. I feel like it brushes over the racism that is still present in America today.

Oh well, nothing like blueberry muffins to soften the pain of the past, I guess.

Jesse McCartney - "Beautiful Soul"
(Yes, I know, but just in case you're feeling a little nostalgic. It is Throwback Thursday, after all)

From the Joy the Baker Cookbook  (Check out her website for mouthwatering pictures!)

Ingredients

          Topping:

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  
  Muffins:
  
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions

For the Topping:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a muffins pan with paper or foil liners, set aside.

To make the muffins:  Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Keep an eye on the butter.  It will melt, froth, and begin to crackle.  That’s the water cooking out of the butter.  The crackling will subside and butter will begin to brown fairly quickly.  Remove from heat when butter solids become a medium brown color and butter smells slightly nutty.  Immediately pour hot butter into a small bowl, or the butter will continue to cook in the hot pan.  Allow to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined.  Add browned butter and whisk to combine.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  Add milk mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir gently to combine.  Gently but thoroughly fold in the lemon zest, poppy seeds, and blueberries.  Divide batter among prepared muffin cups.
To make the topping: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and rub together with clean fingertips until crumbly.  Sprinkle topping evenly over the muffin batter in cups.
Bake muffins 18 to 20 minutes until golden and crisp and a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool muffins in the pan for 15 minutes before removing.  Serve warm or at room temperature.
Muffins will last, at room temperature in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.  I like them best the day they are made.

Double Chocolate Muffines

The second of my APUSH muffins and the most popular, this chocolate muffin recipe is one that will bury your guilt for eating chocolate for breakfast.

"King and Lionheart" Of Mice and Men

From The Brown-Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.
2. Melt the butter and half the chopped chocolate together in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from the heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients and the melted butter and chocolate over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Do not overmix the batter. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Tropical Smoothie

This a prefect breakfast smoothie. The orange juice adds a tropical zeal! Even in frigid November.

"I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts" Merv Griffin

Ingredients

• 1 banana, peeled and sliced
• 1 pear, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups of orange juice 

Directions 

Blend ingredients until smooth.

 Alternative Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 banana, peeled and sliced
• 1 pear, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups of cranberry juice

Directions 

Blend ingredients until smooth.

Pumpkin Muffins

 Pumpkin muffins are in many ways, the best part of fall.

That and pumpkin pie, leaves, Halloween, Thanksgiving, cooler weather, my birthday, etc.

 

The liners bled onto the pan, so my muffin pans now have little rabbits on them.

  "The Freshman" Verve Pipe

Ingredients:

• Softened unsalted butter, for the pan
• 3 2/3 cups pastry flour, sifted
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 1/3 cups superfine sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
• One 15-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 cup seedless golden or dark raisins
• 1/4 cup hulled unsalted sunflower seeds

Directions:

  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400˚F. Brush the insides of 12 to 14 muffin cups with softened butter, then brush the top of the pan. 

  Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt together into a medium bowl. Beat the butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed until creamy, about I minute. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue beating, scraping the sides of the bowl often with a silicone spatula, until the mixture is very light in color and texture, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the eggs. Reduce the mixture speed to low. Beat in the pumpkin; the mixture may look curdled. In thirds, beat in the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, and mix until smooth. Add the raisins. Increase the speed to high and beat until the batter has a slight sheen, about 15 seconds, no longer. 

Using a 2 1/2 inch-diameter ice-cream scoop, portion the batter, rounded side up, into the prepared cups. Sprinkle the tops with the sunflower seeds.

 Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a wire cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 minutes more.

 Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

      Whoa, what a week! With all this snow in the northeast, I don't know if I should be jealous that I'm not missing school or grateful that I'm not snowed in without power. To those of you who are snowed in or have lost power or both, hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

      I've been meaning to make this banana bread since it was first posted on fortheloveofcooking.net. Finally, two brown bananas later, I have. I made one change from the original: chocolate almond milk instead of buttermilk. Mainly because chocolate milk was the only thing I had on hand, and I really wanted to make this today. So if you're feeling adventurous (or you can't be bothered with buttermilk), you can substitute chocolate milk and see how it goes (tastes great to me!).

           Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the sugars and oil with a mixer until creamy and smooth.

 

Add the mashed banana, eggs, milk, and vanilla then beat until blended. Gently fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture and mix batter until just combined.

 

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-40 seconds or until almost melted. Stir until smooth (cook for a few more seconds if it's not completely melted).
Add 1 cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined.

 

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, alternating between plain batter and chocolate batter. Swirl batters together using a knife. Place additional chocolate chips on top, if desired.

 

Bake for 70 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve. Enjoy.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Yield: 8-10

Prep Time: 15 min.

Cook Time: 70-75 min.

Total Time: 90 min.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (3 bananas)
2 eggs
1/3 cup low fat buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
Additional chocolate chips, for topping (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the sugars and oil with a mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the mashed banana, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla then beat until blended. Gently fold the flour mixture into the banana mixture and mix batter until just combined.
Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-40 seconds or until almost melted. Stir until smooth (cook for a few more seconds if it's not completely melted).
Add 1 cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, alternating between plain batter and chocolate batter. Swirl batters together using a knife. Place additional chocolate chips on top, if desired.
Bake for 70 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve. Enjoy.