Irish Soda Bread in a Mug

For St. Patrick's Day, serve yourself a treat: Irish Soda Bread for breakfast. This bread doesn't get crusty in the microwave, although maybe you could bake it to make it so. I also removed the raisins, which is probably a definitive component of Irish Soda Bread. But, raisins ruin everything. I got this recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor.

Ingredients:
¼ cup (2-oz) almond milk 
1 tbsp white vinegar 
1 cup oat flour 
2 tbsp raw sugar 
1 tsp baking powder 
½ tsp baking soda
pinch salt 
1 cup applesauce 
12-oz yogurt 
¼ cup jam, flavor of your choice

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk milk with vinegar so it curdles. Set aside. 
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk oat flour, raw sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and a tiny pinch of salt. 
3. Stir in milk mixture and applesauce.  
4. Spoon batter into 4 microwave-safe mugs and microwave each separately for 90 seconds, or until firm. 
5. Top with a dollop of yogurt and jam. 
6. Eat remaining yogurt on the side.

Notes:
Serves 4
Per serving: 274 calories, 2.7g fat, 54.4g carbs, 3.4g fiber, 33.4g sugars, 8.0g protein

If you want the raisins, you can add 1/4 cup raisins after the applesauce step.

Scotch Oat Cake with Broiled Brown Sugar Topping (vegan)

Where to put this? It's cake, so that implies dessert. But, it's like a coffee cake in that you would serve this crumbly confection with coffee. Does that mean it's breakfast or bread? I'll keep it as a dessert. 

I based this off a cake I made several years ago. I made the recipe vegan, and I altered some of the ratios. Very tasty. I brought it to work so that I would not eat the entire thing myself. Nearly every person I gave a piece to said how good it is. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup apple juice
2/3 cup Scotch oats or steel-cut oats or bulgur wheat
1 2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup brown sugar or raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping:
3 tablespoons vegan stick butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the apple juice to a boil, then add the oats or bulgur. Return to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let cool, uncovered. 
2. In a medium bowl, mix lemon juice with almond milk. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Oil a 9-inch square baking dish.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, brown sugar, and salt. 
5. In the medium bowl add oil, vanilla, and oat mixture to the milk mixture. 
6. Mix into the dry ingredients, stirring until well mixed. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. 
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. While the cake bakes, make the topping. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, vanilla, brown sugar, salt, and walnuts. When the cake is done, place it on a cooling rack. 
9. Turn the oven to broil, and put a rack 4 to 5 inches from the heat. Drop spoonfuls of the brown sugar topping over the cake, spreading it gently and leaving 1/2 inch bare around the edges. 
10. Broil with the door open, watching closely, just a minute. When the topping is bubbling and melted, take it out to cool. 
11. Serve warm, after the topping has set.

Other details:

• Serves 8 

Baby Churros

Breakfast or Dessert! I made these Baby Churros several times. They could stand to be crispier, since churros have a crispy fried outside with a soft inside. But, if you're craving churros, this is a pretty quick and easy recipe to put together.

Ingredients:
1¾ cups flour 
2 tsp ground cinnamon 
¼ tsp baking powder 
¼ tsp salt 
5 tbsp pure maple syrup 
3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk 
1 tbsp raw sugar 
¼ cup applesauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 
2. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. 
3. Make a well in the middle and stir in maple, milk, and sugar into flour mixture and mix well. 
4. Add applesauce, stirring to combine. 
5. Take about 1½-tsp of dough and shape into little elongated ball. 
6. Place the ball on baking sheet and repeat until you have used up all the dough. 
7. Sprinkle churros with additional cinnamon and sugar. 
8. Bake 11-12 minutes, or until churros are golden and bounce back slightly to the touch.

Notes:

• Makes about 20 churros. 
• 5 churros/serving

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

These cupcakes are too good to be true. Get yourself some fresh strawberries to top these. I got the original recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. They were enjoyed by everybody in the house.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
½-tsp baking soda
½-tsp fine salt
¼-cup applesauce
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp lemon extract
sliced strawberries

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
red food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. 
3. In a large bowl, whisk applesauce, raw sugar, almond milk, and lemon extract until well combined. 
4. Pour dry mixture into wet mixture in 3 to 4 batches, stirring until just combined. 
5. Bake in lined muffin cups for 15-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Icing

1. Whisk powdered sugar, almond milk, vanilla extract, and a drop of red food coloring in a small bowl, adding more sugar to thicken or more milk to thin it out. 
2. Once the cupcakes have fully cooled, slather icing over top and garnish with fresh strawberry slices. 

Notes:

• Makes 12

Apple Crisp Muffins

These apple crisp muffins are so good! I had a couple, one child had a couple, and someone else had at least half dozen. I got them from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor, which is a whole foods plant-based no oil meal plan. It's not a diet. All the same, I was told, "These don't taste like diet muffins." And I was asked to make them again. 

Ingredients:

1½ cups flour (white whole-wheat or GF) 

½ cup dry rolled oats, uncooked 

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp baking soda 

2 tsp ground cinnamon 

¼ tsp ground ginger 

dash of ground nutmeg 

¼ tsp salt 

½ cup raw sugar 

¼ cup brown sugar 

1 cup applesauce 

¼ cup pure maple syrup 

1 red apple, diced

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Mix dry ingredients together. 
3. Add remaining ingredients, mix until just combined. 
4. Spoon into lined muffin cups. 
5. Sprinkle with additional oats and brown sugar, if desired. 
6. Bake for 18-25 mins.

Notes:

Makes 12 muffins.

Per muffin: 124 calories, 0.4g fat, 28.8g carbs, 2.4g fiber, 15.4g sugars, 1.8g protein

Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel Topping

These are fantastic pumpkin muffins! The streusel topping is very good, the muffins are dense and yummy. I ate 2 straight out of the oven and several more throughout the day. The kids really enjoyed them as well. I adapted the recipe from May I Have That Recipe.


Ingredients:

Muffins:
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk 
2 tbsp flax meal
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 tbsp maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup sugar in the raw
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Streusel Topping:
1 tbsp coconut oil at room temperature
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with foil liners and spray them lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine almond milk and flax meal. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Add almond milk/flax mixture and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, salt and walnuts. Slowly add to pumpkin mixture, whisking gently until just incorporated. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients, mixing gently with your fingers or a fork.
6. Spoon batter evenly in muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with streusel mixture. Bake at 350ºF until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Other Details:

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 20-25 minutes
• Yields 12 muffins
• Original Recipe