Apparently it was not a dumb question, because dinners won!  Although, that was only out of 11 votes.

This [...]]]> Yesterday on facebook, I asked if you guys were more in the mood for dinner or cookie recipes.  I then asked if that was a dumb question to ask, figuring the answer would clearly be cookies.

Apparently it was not a dumb question, because dinners won!  Although, that was only out of 11 votes.

This is definitely the time of year when healthy dinners go flying out the window, and quick + easy take out sounds so much easier.  And then there are the cookies.  Cookies, cookies, everywhere!  Personally, I have not gotten my fill of cookies yet, so you will definitely be seeing a few gluten free cookie recipes soon!  I’ve really been cookie deprived for the past year, because I’ve been scared to attempt GF cookies.  I figure December is the best month to conquer my fear.

But back to the point of this post.

Dinner.  I ran out to grab a few last minute things at the store, once Chris got home [only have 1 car] and whipped this up in only about 20-25 minutes.

First, I got a huge pot of water boiling and 2 boxes of GF noodles out + ready.  Each box only has 4 servings, as opposed to the typical 8, for non-GF noodles.

Around 5pm, I quickly [seriously this took 5 minutes] added ingredients into the slow cooker, for my homemade red sauce.  I’ve never tried it in the slow cooker, but knew it could be done.  And let me tell you, I will never be making it on the stove again.  I set it on high and let it cook for 3hrs.  You can also set it to low and let it go all day while you’re at work.

I doubled the recipe, obviously.

When it takes no extra effort to double something, I double it.  Especially when it’s freezable!

While the water was coming to a boil, I got started on the creamy pasta sauce.

First, add the garlic + whirl it around.

Next, add the tofu, spices, oil, milk + cheese.

Whirl that around until creamy + smooth.  Taste test x100.

Add the noodles to the pot!

If using GF noodles, do not overcook!!!

If using GF noodles, do not overcook!!!

Yes, I repeated myself.

And always rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and prevent a gummy mess.

While the noodles were cooking, I got started on our veggie side dish.

Green beans, for a change of pace.

Lemonized + garlicized.

After rinsing the noodles, they went back in the pot, along with 6 handfuls of baby spinach + the creamy sauce.

This cooked for about 5 minutes over medium heat, until everything was nice + hot.

Now, I’m kind of stumped on what to call this.

It’s kind of like a ricotta stuffed shells, manicotti, and lasagna filling, but a bit creamier.  I realize you may think tofu as a sauce sounds weird, but let me tell you, it’s delicious.  I fed this layered in lasagna, to my Ohio family, and they loved it.

If you’re new to tofu, this is the first recipe you should start with!  Plus, an added bonus, you don’t have to press the tofu!  Another bonus, you don’t have to fill shells or manicotti noodles or spread it on partially cooked lasagna noodles.  Believe me, it’s quite the mess.  A third bonus!, there is no need to bake this meal in the oven!

Winner, winner, creamy pasta dinner.

Can we just call it, creamy pasta?

Marinara Topped, Creamy Pasta?

Yes, I think that’s what I’ll call it!

Marinara Topped, Creamy Pasta serves 6 [adapted from Dairy-Free Spinach Stuffed Shells]

• 16oz pasta of choice
• marinara sauce
• 16oz block, extra firm tofu
• 6-8c fresh baby spinach
• 2T sunflower oil
• 3T milk
• 1/4c parmesan cheese
• 1 large garlic clove
• 2t oregano
• 1t basil
• 1t parsley
• 1/2t salt
• black pepper
• 1/4t red pepper flakes [opt]

1. Boil noodles according to package directions + rinse with cold water when done cooking.
2. While water is boiling, add the peeled garlic clove to your food processor and process for a few seconds.
3. Empty the water from the tofu carton and squeeze excess moisture out with a kitchen towel or paper towels.
4. Add the tofu, milk, oil, cheese, all spices to the food processor and process until smooth. 
5. Taste + add seasoning if desired.
6. Add pasta, spinach and tofu sauce back to the pot over medium heat, stirring frequently until heated through + spinach has wilted. ~5-7min
7. Top with marinara + extra cheese.

tips/substitutions:  The pasta I showed in the first photo is decent for GF pasta.  It wasn’t gummy in this dish at all, but the flavor is slightly earthy.  However, that is masked by the flavor of the dish.  It was on sale + has decent nutrient stats.  If you want to veganize this, add 2T nutritional yeast, instead of parmesan cheese or just leave it out altogether.

slow cooking the sauce:  I added all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and placed on high for 3 hrs.  I uncovered the slow cooker for the last 45min to let some of the moisture cook off.  You can also add all ingredients and place on low for 8hrs.  If it’s too thin, add 1T more tomato paste, until desired consistency is met.  You can use any spices you like.  For this batch, I used garlic, oregano, basil + thyme.  It freezes well, once cooled, in jars or freezer bags and is far superior to store bought sauce.

How about those green beans?

Lemon Garlic Green Beans

• 2 large servings of green beans
• 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2T sunflower oil
• salt + pepper

1. Heat a pan to med/med-high and add the oil.
2. Once hot add the beans + juice from 1 lemon, stirring occasionally until crispy + brown.  ~7-9min
3. In the last minute of cooking, stir in the garlic + serve immediately or the garlic will burn in the pan.
4. Top with salt + pepper.

Couldn’t get easier than that!  Loved these and this whole dinner.

Definitely going to become a staple around here, and i already froze 2 portions for leftovers.

And the iPhone photos?  Well, I got rid of my light box, since it’s so large + our house is so small.  Phone photos actually turn out better than my camera photos, when using kitchen light.  Crazy but true.

Aaand, I was going to post another Photography 101 post today, but tonight’s dinner trumped a photo lesson.

Hope you don’t mind.

Back to the cookies tomorrow.  Mandel bread perfecting continues!

Ashley

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I’ve been missing cookies like crazy lately, [...]]]> You know how sometimes I go on baking sprees?  Like with my zucchini breads 1, 2, 3, 4 + 5?  Testing out different versions of a recipe to get them juuuust right?  I did this before going gluten free, but now that I’m GF, it happens even more.

I’ve been missing cookies like crazy lately, and what better month to start baking cookies then December?

Last year, I was on a mission to perfect mandel bread, a Jewish cookie similar to biscotti.  Traditionally, it’s made with sugar, white flour, eggs, oil, baking powder, vanilla + walnuts.  It’s a very simple recipe, but for some reason it was giving me issues.  I blame the altitude! 

I made a few changes to compensate for the altitude + also came away with a vegan version as well.

Well today, I was back at it again.  I’ve missed this crunchy cookie for the past year!  I am determined to perfect a gluten free version. 

Today, I made a list of 4 different versions to try.  First, I cut the recipe down to only 1/3.  It calls for 3 eggs, 3c of flour and other easy measurements to change.  Why have 4 full-sized batches around, when I don’t know how they’ll turn out?  I threw together 4 trials in about 20min or less and was on my way.

Here are the flour combinations I tried:

1. 1/2c + 2T GF oat flour + 1/4c rice flour + 1/4c almond meal
2. 1/c + 2T GF oat flour + 1/2c rice flour + 3T tapioca starch
3. 1/2c + 2T GF oat flour + 1/2c sorghum flour + 1T tapioca starch
4. 1/2c + 2T sorghum flour + 1/2c almond meal + 2T tapioca starch

*tapioca starch = tapioca flour – A common starch used in baked goods, which acts as a thickening agent.  You’ll commonly see this called for in pies.  It blends really well, unlike some other starches, which can ball up + become gelatinous.  Different starches are good for different types of recipes.  I’ve read this is a great addition to GF cookies because it helps give them a chewy texture.  I wasn’t looking for a chewy texture with these cookies, as they are crunchy, but it’s good to know tapioca starch can help.

Before baking, I numbered the different batters in pencil, on the parchment paper.  The worst thing about baking multiple batches at once is getting them mixed up!

Just like with biscotti, these get double baked. 

They all held together perfectly!  This is a slightly crumbly cookie to begin with, and then trying to make it gluten free, could have caused disasters.  Since there is no gluten in GF flours, baked goods don’t hold together nearly as well and their textures are noticeably different than baked goods using white, wheat + spelt flour.

Gluten helps bind ingredients together + creates an elastic, doughy texture, typically difficult to mimic with gluten free flours.  Often times, you’ll see gluten free baked goods with extra eggs, added starch, or xanthan gum.  These are ingredients that help bind everything together and give them better texture.

This was my first time baking with sorghum flour + tapioca starch.  [I’ve uses tapioca starch, but only in pies.]  Sorghum flour has 120 calories, 3g fiber + 4g protein, per 1/4c serving.  It’s described as a sweet flour, which can commonly be found as an ingredient in cereals.

1. 1/2c + 2T GF oat flour + 1/4c rice flour + 1/4c almond meal
• The combination of flours provided great flavor.  The cookie is traditionally light in flavor, which is what made me think to use oat flour.  The rice flour doesn’t have much flavor impact, and I thought the almond meal would help to richen it up a bit.  The rice flour was definitely detectable in texture.  It was a bit too grainy for my liking, even though it was a very finely ground.
2. 1/c + 2T GF oat flour + 1/2c rice flour + 3T tapioca starch
• This recipe used the most starch, and you could definitely tell in the end result.  It was the lightest cookie in texture.  Not quite as hearty as the original.  It was also slightly bland from the starch and not including any almond meal, like trial 1.
3. 1/2c + 2T GF oat flour + 1/2c sorghum flour + 1T tapioca starch
1. The flavor of this was almost spot on, but the sorghum flour actually made this batch too sweet.  Also, the sorghum flour made the cookie have a slightly mealy texture, similar to the rice flour.
4. 1/2c + 2T sorghum flour + 1/2c almond meal + 2T tapioca starch
1. This was by far the best texture, which I attribute to the 1/2c of almond meal.  The sorghum flour was still detectable in texture however and the flavor needed to be a bit more mellow.

Findings:

• Sorghum flour adds a mealy texture when too much is used.
• Sorghum flour can also make things too sweet and give a slightly malty flavor.
• Be careful with almond meal, as it is more heat sensitive and can burn.
• Too much tapioca starch will cause these to be airy + light.
• Brown rice flour has a noticeably grainy texture.
• Amount of eggs, oil + sugar will remain the same. 

Now what?

• First, I will use sweet rice flour, instead of brown rice flour in baked goods.  I use the sweet rice flour in all of my doughnut recipes, and the graininess is never detectable.  I bought a bag of brown rice flour because it was much cheaper, but the sweet rice is far superior.
• The amounts of sorghum and/or rice flour used, need to be lessoned.
• No more than 2T tapioca starch will be used. [or 6T in the full recipe]

Three more trials coming at you later this week.  While all four of these recipes worked, I think I can get it a little closer to the real thing.

We shall see!  Ohhh, how I love kitchen experiments!

Ashley

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#1 – I did not invent a new dance move called the peanut butter slide. 

#2 – There is no recipe in this post, just a lot of photos of peanut butter + chocolate, that turned into a sliding mess.

All I wanted to do today was make peanut butter [...]]]> Don’t get too excited.

#1 – I did not invent a new dance move called the peanut butter slide. 

#2 – There is no recipe in this post, just a lot of photos of peanut butter + chocolate, that turned into a sliding mess.

All I wanted to do today was make peanut butter cups.  Somehow I got the brilliant [or dumb] idea to make peanut butter cup bars.  I was thinking it would be so easy to spread everything into a pan and then just cut individual squares.

This should have been a cake-walk recipe.  How could I screw something up that uses no flour and doesn’t have to be baked?

Do you remember in science class when you would write out the steps to the Scientific Method for all of your experiments?  Sometimes I feel like I’m in science class.  Today was one of those days.

• Ask a Question
• Can peanut butter cups be made into peanut butter cup bars?

• Do Background Research
• I scoped out a slew of peanut butter cup recipes, and adapted it into a simple version.

• Construct a Hypothesis
• If I melt the chocolate, then freeze it for 10min, I can spread the peanut butter filling more easily and then top with chocolate and set in the freezer.  After letting it set, I can cut the pan of deliciousness into bit sized bars.

• Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
• The experiment was making the recipe using the method above.

• Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
• My data shows that this method did not work.  It turned into an oozing, cracked, messy, fail.  Where did I go wrong? 
• too much peanut butter filling
• didn’t leave an open edge around the peanut butter filling for both chocolate layers to touch + bind together
• didn’t think the bars needed to be completely solid before cutting

• Communicate Your Results
• Communicated through photographs.

While they may have tasted great, cutting these was not easy, and they ended up looking pitiful.  Fine to munch on at home, but not to hand out as a gift!

A few hours later, I took the pan out again to cut a few more squares and had a very “duh” moment.

The bars needed to be frozen solid before cutting!!  They were much easier to chop that way.

While I may have solved part of the problem, the peanut butter to chocolate ratio was still a bit skewed.  Not to worry, round 2 is complete + will be photographed tomorrow.  Simple recipe coming your way soon.

Because I know this is just what you need, the day after Halloween.  A peanut butter chocolate recipe.  Stellar timing on my behalf. 

I’ll wait a few days and hopefully you’ll have your sweet tooth back!

Ashley

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This week was also my 2 year blogiversary, which I intended on talking about, but forgot.  Or got lazy.  I can’t remember.

And another year went by, with no festive Halloween cookies or treats.

Despite my best intentions, this is all I have for you.  [...]]]> No recipes were made this week that I intended on.

This week was also my 2 year blogiversary, which I intended on talking about, but forgot.  Or got lazy.  I can’t remember.

And another year went by, with no festive Halloween cookies or treats.

Despite my best intentions, this is all I have for you.  I’m blaming it on the snow.

It’s not a cookie, it’s not a comforting Halloween meal, it’s just cornbread.

But it’s damn good cornbread.  Two ways.

I’ve been on a cornbread kick this fall.  There really is no reason not to be on a cornbread kick, but I think my reasoning is because it’s really easy to make gluten free.  While I don’t eat too many sandwiches/bagels/bread products, with the ridiculous cost of GF bread, there is no lack of carbs in my diet.

I was hesitant to make this cornbread, because I was out of eggs.  While vegan baked goods are delicious, vegan + gluten free baked goods can be quite disastrous.  I’ve heard of pumpkin cornbread before, and thought the combination sounded like a winner.  I also thought the pumpkin would help thicken + smooth out the texture, which is oftentimes gummy when vegan + GF.

I wanted this cornbread to have a traditional consistency.  Thick, cracked on top, and not too crumbly or airy.  So I kept things simple with 3 types of flour.

• cornmeal
• masa harina
• raw buckwheat flour

No potato starch, xanthan gum, or rice flour needed.  Just a little bit of ground flax to hold things together.  But no “flax-egg.”  As previously mentioned, I’m almost positive that I’ll never make a flax egg again.

Flax eggs may work with vegan baking when using gluten flours, but I just haven’t had good results when you throw gluten-free flours into the mix.  The flax-egg is gummy and it causes baked goods to be, well, gummy.  And who wants that?  I want a baked good that you bite into and have no clue that it’s gluten free or vegan.  In the past few weeks, I’ve started to figure out the technique in making that possible.  Maybe you already know this, but maybe not.

#1 technique that has helped: Using plain ground flax meal, instead of a flax egg.

• What I’ve noticed – The flax egg makes it much harder to tell when your baked good is done baking.  It always leaves things a bit of the gooey/gummy side and more dense than I like.  This makes me want to go back and re-create every single vegan + gf buckwheat bake that I’ve made.  I know I can improve the texture a lot, now that I know this.

#2 technique that has helped: When baking gluten free and vegan, you want the dough texture to be much thicker than in plain gluten free or wheat flour baking.

• This is a tricky one, and so far only applies to things like cornbread, zucchini bread, and heavier type baked goods.  I haven’t tested this more delicate baked goods, like cake.  If you look at the very first photo, you will see a very thick batter.  It’s not even pourable.  The ground flax absorbs a lot of the moisture, which you want.  If there is too much liquid added, you’ll encounter the same result as when using the flax egg.  Gummy + tough.  In breads like zucchini/banana/etc the dough will be slightly more pourable.
• The other tricky part about the dough, is that you can’t just add a little liquid at a time and keep stirring until it’s the right consistency.  When gluten free baked goods are over stirred, the texture goes south, quickly.  It’s kind of a guessing game.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Lucky for you, I did all the guessing for this recipe, and now all you have to do is follow along!

Pumpkin Cornbread [vegan + gluten free]

• 1/2c raw buckwheat flour [ground from raw buckwheat groats, not Kasha]
• 1/2c med/fine cornmeal
• 1c masa harina [or corn flour]
• 3/4c pumpkin puree
• 6T brown rice syrup [or maple/honey]
• 1c unsweetened nut milk
• 2T ground flax meal
• 2T sunflower oil + 1T [for the pan]
• 1T baking powder
• 1/2t baking soda
• 3/4t fine grain sea salt

1. Preheat your oven to 375*.
2. Place your baking pan in the oven [9” cast iron, 9” round or square pan] to heat.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir until mixed thoroughly.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients [except for the 1T of oil], until thoroughly combined.
5. Remove pan from the oven + add 1T of oil to it.  Place back in the oven.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl and mix with a large spoon until just combined.  The dough will be thick.
7. Remove the pan from the oven, and with a pastry brush or carefully turning the pan, spread the oil around the bottom and all sides.
8. Scrape the dough out into the pan, and gently push the dough to the edges of the pan + smooth the top, with a spatula or butter knife.
9. Bake for 30-35min, and test with a toothpick.  It should be moist, but not gooey or bone dry.  The top should be golden brown + cracked, which the edges being slightly darker.
10. Let the pan cool for at least 15min before cutting.  The cornbread will have a better texture once fully cooled.  Reheat when serving if desired.

High Altitude: oven at 400*, decrease baking powder to 2.5 teaspoons

*Feel free to sub gluten free oat flour [ground from GF oat groats/steel cut/rolled oats] for the buckwheat flour.  Wheat flour should also work in this recipe.

*While this recipe does not taste like pumpkin whatsoever, feel free to sub well mashed banana [will take on a banana flavor], butternut squash puree, sweet potato puree, or 1/2c + 2T unsweetened applesauce instead.

*2 eggs can be substituted for the flax, but the liquid will have to be decreased.  I would guess, by 4T, but don’t hold me to it!  Let me know if you come up with the right ratio.

To have a gluten free + vegan baked good that doesn’t crumble when you cut it, isn’t gummy, and doesn’t use 5 different flours, makes this girl incredibly happy.

And now moving on to another cornbread recipe, that has a warm, pumpkin spice flavor, while still holding on to that familiar cornbread texture.

Pumpkin Spice Cornbread [vegan + gluten free]

Using the same recipe + method as above, add in the following ingredients.  The molasses should be added in with the wet ingredients and the spices to the dry.

• 1T molasses
• 1.5t cinnamon
• 1/2t ginger
• 1/8t nutmeg

Both recipes were made and demolished within 2 days.  They’re easy to throw together and you can always tightly wrap + freeze the extra.  Eat this with your dinner, as breakfast, or an afternoon snack.

I chose all three options and now we’re out.

Maybe next week will go a little more as planned?

But I’m not too concerned…

Ashley

Hey guys!  Just curious who all is heading to San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Festival next week??  I would love to know who all is coming to my photography breakout session on Saturday!  I’m very excited [and nervous!] to be presenting, and may sound like a blubbering fool for the first 5 minutes.  Just a warning.

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As many of you guessed, the last trial I had in mind used coconut milk. 

Full fat, canned, coconut milk.  Not coconut [...]]]> I know you were all on the edge of your seat waiting for this recipe.  And how nice am I, to take my grand ol’ time getting this post up today? 

As many of you guessed, the last trial I had in mind used coconut milk. 

Full fat, canned, coconut milk.  Not coconut milk from a carton + not low-fat coconut milk in a can.

About a year and a half ago, I realized coconut milk could be whipped into coconut whipped cream.  I’m sure it was previously discovered, but it was new to me, and quite exciting. 

My plan for the last two trials, was to fold in coconut whipped cream to the “smoothie” part.

I decreased the portions for the trials, to avoid plowing through bags + bags of frozen fruit, yogurt, milk, etc.  I also left out the crust, since I knew that component already worked.

Currently, my freezer is packed FULL of little ramekins.  And every single one has a bite taken out of it.  Guess I won’t be serving these to anyone but myself.  I may have planned that.

As a side note:  A few of you have noticed my photos looking a bit different the past few days.  My you are an observant bunch!  I switched to a new area in the house to take photos, and am loving it so far.  The backlit photos were getting quite old.

The version with the store bought natural “cool whip” was tasty, but with minimal effort and less cost, I recommend just making your own.  You can do this with coconut milk or whipping cream. 

I chose coconut milk for both versions, since it definitely was needed for the vegan version.  If you’ve never had coconut milk, it has a very light coconut flavor.  It’s not overpowering in any way, and has a nice natural sweetness to it as well.

After 8 versions, I finally had 2 winners.  Definitely worth the effort.

If you’re curious about the color differences, it had nothing to do with the fruit that was used.  Each little cup has the exact same amount + type of fruit.  The difference is with the vegan version, which uses chia seeds, resulting in a darker color.

The problem with the first few versions, was that the texture was too icy.  It was hard to eat, even when slightly thawed.  I still was looking for a frozen dessert, but one that wasn’t as icy.  I wanted a creamier-iced texture, if that makes sense.  Not like ice cream, but not like a popsicle.  Somewhere in the middle.

It ended up having the exact same texture that I remember my mom’s original frozen yogurt pie having.

Enough yammering, here are the recipes!

The crust I used was the “dough” from my cocoa coconut energy balls.  Below is the recipe again, so you have it all in one place.  Another flavor that would add contrast and some zing, is my lemon ginger date bar recipe.  Can’t wait to try it with that version!

Cocoa Coconut Energy Balls [makes 12-14 balls]

• 1/2c raw walnuts
• 3/4c raw almonds
• ~12 medjool dates
• 3T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1.5T coconut oil [optional]
• 2T unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1t vanilla extract

1. Process [in food processor, vita-mix, magic bullet, etc] nuts together, until you have small pieces.  Be careful not to process to long.
2. Empty into a bowl.
3. Cut out pits in the dates by lightly slicing down the middle.  Remove pits with fingers.
4. Process dates into small pieces, until very sticky. 
5. Add nuts + dates back into food processor, along with cocoa powder, coconut oil, coconut + vanilla.
6. Pulse until mixed together.  Do not over process! Scrape bowl once or twice + pulse around again. 
7. When you can form a ball with the dough, it’s done! 
8. Spread evenly into whatever type of pan you’re using.  Press into the pan so there are no gaps around the edges.  I used a spring form pan, and only pressed it into the bottom.  [9” spring form pan, pie pan, or small ramekins, etc.  I liked having about 1/4” thick crust.  If you have extra, just roll into balls and refrigerate.]

Frozen Fruit Pie Thing gluten free

• 2.5c 2% plain Greek yogurt or plain whole milk yogurt
• 2c frozen fruit
• 1.5t vanilla extract
• 1/4t salt
• 3/4c full fat canned coconut milk
• 3-5T sucanat

1. Pour coconut milk into a metal mixing bowl and freeze for 15min.  It’s very important that the coconut milk is ice cold, but not frozen.
2. In a blender, blend yogurt, fruit, vanilla, salt, and 3T sweetener together until smooth.  Taste and add more sweetener if needed.
3. With a stand mixer, or hand mixer using the whisk attachment, whisk the coconut milk on high for about 5-7min until peaks form.  *You’re looking for cool whip consistency.
4. Measure out only 1.5c of the coconut whipped cream.
5. Pour the blended mixture into a bowl and stir in the coconut cream.
6. Pour into whatever type of pan or cups you’re using, over top of the crust.
7. Cover and set in the freezer for about 4hrs, until frozen solid.  Let thaw for 10min before slicing + serving. 

There are quite a lot of options/substitutions with this little dessert, so here they are:

• If you don’t feel like making the “dough” crust, make or buy a graham cracker crust.  Delicious combination!
• Or, go crust-less!
• You can use vanilla yogurt if you want, but you most likely won’t need to add additional sweetener and you can omit the vanilla extract.  Taste before adding extra.
• Whole milk yogurt + 2% Greek yogurt [or full fat Greek yogurt] resulted in the best consistency.  You can use low-fat plain yogurt, but it will be a bit icier.
• Use pure cane sugar, honey, brown rice syrup, or maple syrup instead of sucanat, if desired.
• If you don’t want to use coconut milk, or don’t like coconut, use heavy whipping cream instead. 
• You will most likely have extra of the whipped topping.  Save it in the fridge, in a sealed container and use as a topping for the dessert. 
• I used a combination of about 1/2 blueberries, 1/4 strawberries,and 1/4 blackberries.  This was a great combo!
• This recipe should fill a 9” spring form pan, with possibly a little leftover, depending how thick you make your crust.  Pour extra into ramekins or any other freezable bowl/dish. 
• Muffin tins would also work.  Press the dough into the bottom and up on the sides, then fill with the mixture.  Freeze + use a fork to help scoop them out of the pan. 

After letting it thaw for about 10-15min, the texture is frosty, creamy and just right.

And now for the vegan version. 

A few of you left suggestions to use soaked cashews or silken tofu.  Both great options, but I wanted to see if milk and chia seeds would work, to mimic the thick yogurt texture.  I was very happy with the outcome!  Because the chia seeds are blended into the mixture and then frozen, there is no sliminess. 

Vegan Frozen Fruit Pie Thing gluten free + vegan

• 2.5c unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 5T chia seeds
• 2c frozen fruit
• 2t vanilla extract
• 1/4t salt
• 3/4c full fat canned coconut milk
• 5-8T maple syrup/sucanat

1. Pour coconut milk into a metal mixing bowl and freeze for 15min.  It’s very important that the coconut milk is ice cold, but not frozen.
2. In a blender, blend milk, fruit, vanilla, salt, and 5T sweetener together until smooth.  Taste and add more sweetener if needed.  The chia seeds dumb down the sweetness of the fruit a bit.  I used about 6T.
3. With a stand mixer, or hand mixer using the whisk attachment, whisk the coconut milk on high for about 5-7min until peaks form.  *You’re looking for cool whip consistency.
4. Measure out only 1.5c of the coconut whipped cream.
5. Pour the blended mixture into a bowl and stir in the coconut cream.
6. Pour into whatever type of pan or cups you’re using, over top of the crust [directions above].
7. Cover and set in the freezer for about 4hrs, until frozen solid.  Let thaw for 10min before slicing + serving.

*I don’t recommend ground flax instead of chia seeds, because the flavor of ground flax will be too strong.

While this may seem overwhelming to make, it’s only because I talk too much.  I just like to be thorough.

The crust takes about 15-20min to make and press in the pan.  The smoothie mixture takes about 5 minutes.  The coconut whipped cream takes about 5-7min.  Mixing the coconut cream into the smoothie mixture and pouring it in the pan takes 2min. 

Not bad, not bad.

The end result, with crust, will look something like this. 

While I have a freezer full of little frozen fruit cups, I think it’s time for a beer.

Hope you’re all enjoying the weekend!

Ashley

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