VEGAN OREO DONUTS

Hello everyone! It was my boyfriend,  Reece and I anniversary on the 9th of July and I obviously needed to make him something amazing for that day.  We are both vegan and loveeee to eat! I asked him what he wanted and he said donuts! Which gave me the grand idea to recreate the new Oreo donut the Tim Horton's just launched,  vegan style. Oreos are already vegan so it was pretty easy! I baked the donuts this time but with a different recipe.  They turned out amazing! I was super pleased with the results. It was a super easy recipe and they baked quick. Donuts at e my favourite.  I'm still reminiscing the vegan donuts at voodoo donuts in Portland.  After going there in May 2013 I was really inspired to come home and make my own! These are by far some of my best yet and I guarantee anyone would love these! As long as you have a sweet tooth because they are sweeetttt.  The coconut milk makes the perfect icing for them too. I hope you enjoy this recipe and I would love for people to share pictures of their donuts if they try this recipe! Leave it in the comments or message my Facebook page,

Happy baking!

Donut Recipe

2 cups flour + 1/4 cup extra flour for kneading and dusting 

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/4 cup warm water

dash of salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cocoa

2 tablespoons vegan margarine, melted

3/4 cup coconut milk

dash of salt

Icing Recipe

1/3 cup vegan becel margarine, melted *link attached

1 cup vegan powdered sugar

3 tablespoons coconut cream *thicker chunks in your can of coconut milk

*save some for the drizzle

2 rows of oreos crumbled for toppings

To start your dough recipe you will need a 1/4 cup of warm water with a dash of salt added to it. Sprinkle your 2 teaspoons of yeast over top of the warm water the allow to sit for 10 minutes. This gives you time to combine all your dry ingredients. You can add more cocoa if you want chocolate donuts. These just had a slight hint of chocolate in them with the amount I added. Thats what I was going for. Once your yeast is ready, create a hole in the middle of your dry mix. Add your yeast, coconut milk then margarine. Mix together well with a fork until dough is form then begin to knead and mix with your hands.

Knead your dough for 7 minutes. Rub a bit of margarine inside the bowl your dough is in so it doesn't stick and cover with a clean dish cloth and allow to rise at room temperature for at least a half hour. The longer you let it rise the more donuts you will get out of it!

While your dough is rising you can make your icing!

First step is to melt your margarine. Keep in mind that becel margarine is WAYYY lighter then regular original earth balance which is what I normally use. This made a really nice butter cream frosting! You MUST add the coconut cream to get the right consistency though. My icing was very thin before I added that but afterwards it was the PERFECT icing. I highly recommend using becel vegan margarine for your icings(especially butter cream ones) but just try and keep in mind you will need a vegan thickener. Other examples of thickeners are mashed bananas, natural agar agar and ground flax seeds.   

Gradually add your vegan powdered sugar while using a mixer. Mix constantly while adding. Once your sugar and margarine is mixed together well add your coconut cream. Continue to mix until desired consistency. I mixed mine for about 5 minutes.  Once it's finished place it in your fridge with a lid. 

NOW, your dough has risen for a half hour or more and you need to preheat your oven to 325 F. 

Knead your dough on a clean, lightly floured surface on your counter or table. You'll need to knead it for about another 10 minutes. Keep adding flour as needed to your surface. Rub vegetable oil all over your baking tray. Begin to roll out your dough with a lightly floured rolling pin. Keep rolling until the dough is a 1/4" inch thick.

Using either a donut cutter or a knife begin to cut out even shapes of your dough and place on lightly oiled baking tray.

 Repeat until all your dough is used. Once they are all ready, rub a little vegetable oil on top of the donuts and throw into your heated oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Take out and allow to cool.

Allow to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before icing or your icing will just melt off because it's wayy too hot. Take your icing out of the fridge now so its not to hard to spread on the donuts.

Crumble up two rows of oreos in a bowl.

This will be for sprinkling on top of the icing. Begin to spread icing on all your donuts. Try to make sure you will have enough icing left for the drizzle on top of the oreos but if you don't just break the icing recipe here down into a 1/4 recipe and use that! Once all your donuts have icing on them begin to sprinkle oreos all over them. A lot of the oreo crumbles will probably fall onto the plate. I just kept scraping them all off and sprinkling them until it all stuck to the donuts. Once you've covered all your donuts add a light drizzle of icing over top of them all. This is the last step but MOST CRUCIAL ONE. It really does make the donut. These will last in your fridge for up to 5 days. These are some of the best donuts I've ever made and I hope you like them :)

VEGAN BAKED ONION RINGS

HELLO VEGANS and non vegans alike. Its Spring!! I know I haven't been posting very much but its because I am moving:) My boyfriend and I decided to move to Campbell River where my parents live to help them and be out of the city for awhile. I'm really excited because my sisters are super awesome chefs and it'll be nice to have some partners in crime! I got a lot of positive responses when I posted some pictures of these bad boys so I figured it was about time I get posting a recipe. So if you don't hear from me in a while you know why! Stay tuned though because everything is about to get much more exciting for my blog:)

Keep cooking!

VEGAN BAKED ONION RINGS

1-2 large onion peeled and sliced

Batter

1 cup organic unbleached white flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of silk coconut almond milk blend

1 teaspoon organic apple cider vinegar

Breading

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4 nutritional yeast

1/4 bobs red mill cornmeal

Steps
SERVES 2

Preheat your oven to 450F. Slice your onion up in 1/4 thick rings.

Make sure you push out all the silly little pieces that obviously won't make good onion rings. You want big circular pieces for this. Once all the onion you need to cut up is ready its time to make the batter. Combine all your dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Whisk together with a fork while dry so you can make sure there is no bumps in it at all. Add half of your almond milk and stir it in well. Then pour the other half into a measuring cup and add your apple cider vinegar. Add that mixture to your dough and keep stirring everything together. If your batter is too thin you can add a tablespoon of flour one at a time to thicken it. Once your batter is ready its time to get your breading together. Now this part can really be changed to whatever your preference is. I prefer to have a little crunch in my onion ring so I like adding things like cornmeal that give it a kick. If you prefer a smoother batter try just adding bread crumbs and nutritional yeast. I made my own bread crumbs by toasting some Silver Hills Squirrely bread then crushing it in my hand. Worked like a charm!

By this point your oven should be preheated so you'll want to oil a baking tray or line it with parchment paper.

Pick up a single onion ring with a fork and place it in your batter. Make sure the onion ring is completely covered with batter.  Pick it back up with the fork and let the excess batter drip off. Place the battered onion ring in your bread crumb dish and flip to cover both sides. Place the onion ring on your baking tray and repeat those steps until all onion rings are battered and ready to bake. Bake for 8 minutes, flip and bake for another 6 minutes. Take them out and remove from baking tray.  Place them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb some of the excess oil and allow them to cool.
I had mine with simply organic ketchup and it ruled:)
Enjoy!

We had ours with some Gardein Crispy tenders on the side. They we delis!
(there is links attached to the companies of products I used if you want to check them out!)

VEGAN GF SOUTHERN STYLE SHEPHERD'S PIE

I know I just did a shepherd's pie recipe not too long ago but I love them! They are so easy and so satisfying.  You can use up lots of your random leftovers from previous meals during the week and serve tons of people during the process.  This recipe I actually split into two medium sized pies. It worked out great and the flavours were all really complimentary to each other. My boyfriend and I had some southern style meals earlier this week so I wanted to use up my cabbage  and broccoli. Im so glad I did!  Also the rice was a great addition. Its an awesome cheap filler if your low on beans in your pantry. Just spice it to your preference. Rice and lentils also make a whole protein so you know what you're eating is good for you. A great cheap meal to make for a vegan potluck or if you're broke and need food for a couple days. This stores awesome in the fridge and its even better the next day. I made this recipe fun and gave it a little twist, barbecue sauce! Don't be alarmed, its actually really good! Enjoy it, share it, eat it! 

VEGAN SOUTHERN STYLE SHEPERD'S PIE

RECIPE
GLUTEN FREE

1/2 purple onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced
3 mushrooms, diced

2 carrots, chopped

1 head of broccoli, chopped

1 cup cabbage, chopped small

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 drops liquid smoke

1 cup rice, cooked

 * add 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt & 1 teaspoon pepper 

1 tablespoon earth balance

1/2 cup tvp ( soaked in 1/3 cup boiling water ) 

4-6 drops liquid smoke

1 tablespoon barbecue sauce & 4 tablespoons for veggie mix

1 can corn

1 can lentils

1 can peas

6 yellow potatoes,  boiled, mashed

1 tablespoon earth balance

5 tablespoons coconut milk

1 teaspoon salt

paprika and nutritional yeast for on top

STEPS

Makes 2 medium sized pies

Preheat oven to 350F

Start by filling a large pot with water and a dash of salt to make your mash potatoes. Bring it to a boil. Peel and cut your potatoes.  Soak them in a large bowl to help get rid of the starch. Drain after 5 minutes. Once your water is boiled, add your potatoes.  Next cut up all your veggies.  You want them fairly small so you can fit everything.  Sautee your garlic, onion, carrot, mushroom and broccoli. Saute with olive oil, pepper, salt and a couple drops of liquid smoke. Drain your corn, peas and lentils. Boil some water to make your tp. Measure out 1/2 cup of tvp. Add 1/3 cup boiling water, liquid smoke and barbecue sauce.  Stir together until all water is absorbed.  Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain your potatoes once they are soft enough to poke with a fork. Add your coconut milk, earth balance and salt. Mash together, stirring all the ingredients in while doing so. Once everything is prepared, oil two medium sized baking pans or one large one.  Add your corn, lentils, peas and veggie mix along with your barbecue sauce. Stir everything together well and press down the mix till it takes up about half your pan. Add a layer of tvp then your potatoes. Smooth everything with a spatula and sprinkle paprika and nutritional yeast on top. Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool before serving! 

Enjoy :)