For the almond lovers… these biscuits are from a Moroccan cookbook called Orange Blossom and Honey by John Gregory Smith. He based them on the biscuits from the Medina and they are absolutely delicious. They are chewy, nutty and macaron like and perfect served with an espresso. They are also dairy and gluten free.
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For the Ferrero Rocher lovers who don’t eat gluten and or dairy, but still fancy those flavours, they are really easy to make too. They are chewy, chocolatey, nutty and are perfect served with an espresso. They really don’t taste dairy and gluten free.
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These clementine amaretti biscuits are traditionally very crunchy on the outside and chewy and a bit marzipany in the middle. They are really easy to make and are gluten and dairy free. They are perfect at Christmas for your guests or as gifts in little bags tied with a ribbon. I serve them with coffee at the end of a meal instead of making a dessert, or after dessert.
This cinnamony Apple cake is dairy free and made with olive oil. It has bourbon vanilla and lemon juice and zest in it and I make it with spelt flour, so it’s healthier because spelt is an ancient grain packed with nutrients that processed flour hasn’t got much of.
The top goes a bit apple crumble-like and the sides go a bit biscuity but it stays moist in the middle, and all my friends really love it and can’t tell it’s dairy free. Perfect for Bonfire Night and Christmas or just for tea time. I sometimes have it for breakfast with coffee too.
These are my version of the traditional biscuits called “Brutti-ma-Buoni” in Italian… they are light, chewy, crispy and melt in the mouth and a bit macaron like and the chocolate and nuts magically end up in the centre. They are also gluten and dairy free. Pistachio and chocolate are a fantastic combination and they are perfect with a coffee at the end of a meal and they are super easy to make. I think they make fantastic home made gifts wrapped in cellophane with a ribbon. Perfect at Christmas or anytime.
Raspberry sorbet always reminds me of summer holidays in France with my family when I was little. And when I eat it now in all its jewel red gorgeousness I am transported back to places we visited there and adored. Anyway, ices have always been my favourite thing, my Italian grandfather made Gelato so it’s in my blood.
This raspberry sorbet doesn’t need an ice cream machine and is made with raw raspberries that have been frozen and the only other ingredients are lemon juice and maple syrup, so it’s raw and low glycemic and really easy to make. I usually get a punnet of raspberries and stick them on a plate so they are separated as much as possible from each other and them bung them in the freezer till rock hard or over night, alternatively you can buy a punnet or bag of already frozen raspberries.
These vanilla cookies are very melt in the mouth and very buttery tasting and shortbread is one of the easiest biscuits to make as it has very few ingredients and doesn’t spread out during baking like other biscuits. I’ve tested these shortbreads out on friends who said they couldn’t tell they were vegan and they really love them and were surprised there was no butter in them at all.
I think if there were more vegan recipes that were really delicious and looked very appealing more people would happily opt for them. I hope to change that with my vegan recipes and I think that food should be delicious and look lovely and that includes vegan. I don’t believe in being obsessively saintly as that’s too extreme, my recipes are healthy and delicious with a bit of an indulgent bias both visually and taste wise. If you prefer to make them with butter you can, I just tend to be as dairy free as much as possible.
It’s challenging converting a tasty recipe to vegan as the flavours and textures can be very different from the original recipes. I always think vegan recipes need to be more fun, so I am trying to come up with fun recipes on this blog that are not only vegan but look and taste as good if not better than the original. I’m trying these cookies out on three foodie friends in a minute who love dairy, and they don’t hold back in telling me what they think about my new recipes.
Ok, I’m back…they loved them and they thought they were very pretty and tasted delicious and wanted the recipe before I publish it. We all decided they would be very nice with vegan vanilla ice cream, I love Swedish Glace and fresh strawberries or they would be perfect for making an ice cream sandwich with…or simply with just a slice of strawberry on top.
Crunchy, chewy and spicy…these cookies tick all the boxes. I found a recipe in the Waitrose supermarket, converted it to vegan and reworked them with healthier coconut oil and spelt flour. They are really easy to make and would be fantastic dipped or drizzled in melted dark chocolate. They are also perfect for making an ice cream sandwich with, with dairy free ice cream stuffed between two cookies. My favourite dairy free ice cream is Swedish Glace,I’m testing them out on my friend Emily tonight and I’ll get back to you.
They passed the very ‘moorish’ test….hurrah!
These really are the best brownies I have ever tasted because they are not too sweet and are really chocolatey and nutty. My friends all ask me to bake them for them after they saw the shots on Instagram and started dribbling at the sight of them, and they really are dribble-worthy. The story about these amazing chocolate brownies is as follows. This recipe was found amongst the painter Georgia O’Keeffe’s collection of recipes in her cookbooks. She was a passionate cook and this recipe was hand written by her on Waldorf Astoria note paper. She was was staying there on April 30th 1963 to collect an award for the creative arts from Brandeis University, so they think she must have asked the hotel for the recipe because she loved them so much. O’Keeffe was a passionate foodie and collected recipes wherever she went, and a bit like me she dipped into healthy food and dipped into more indulgent food depending on her whim. Try them, they are beyond and there’s dairy free and vegan alternatives if you prefer.
