Chocolate Oat Hazelnut Chewy Biscuits (Vegan)

Oh, chocolate biscuits - how heavenly you are. I try my best not to cook biscuits, because there are only two of us here and of course that means we would eat them all. Very easily.

But sometimes you just need a big giant home made chocolate biscuit, the kind with everything in it and which is chewy and fudgy and rich and spectacular. These are those biscuits, they were incredible.

Chocolate Oat Hazelnut Chewy Biscuits

Ingredients
2 tbsp ground flaxseeds (linseeds)
2/3 cup oat milk (you can sub soy or almond or hazelnut milk)
2/3 cup apple sauce
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups wholemeal flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts
3/4 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate chunks

To Make:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Whisk together the ground flaxsees and oat milk and then add the oil and the vanilla extract.
3. Add in all the dry ingredients, leaving the hazelnut and chocolate chunks til last and then folding them through.
4. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Drop about 3 generous tablespoons of batter onto the paper for each biscuit, leaving plenty of space between them (at least 2 inches) for them to expand as they cook. I could only fit six onto my rectangular tray. 
5. Bake for 12 minutes (they should have spread out and be cooked on the outside, but still a bit soft in the middle when you gently press on them), then remove from the oven and let them cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 
6. Continue until you have used up all the batter.

This makes about 8-10 really big biscuits, but you can make them smaller if you like, just reduce the cooking time by a couple of minutes. 

Vegan Oat & Cardamom Pancakes

I love having guests for breakfast, there is something so special about sitting down to the first meal of the day with a table full of people. We had a much bigger group for breakfast than usual recently so I took the opportunity to experiment with some new pancakes. It's great to have an excuse to cook something new and exciting for breakfast, and these pancakes were absolutely delicious! Serve with whatever toppings you like :)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup oat milk
1 cup soda water
7 tbsp non dairy margarine (such as nuttelex)
1/2 cup quick cooking oats

To Make
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and cardamom in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the soy milk and soda water. Stir with a whisk until batter is a smooth consistency (it doesn't matter if it's not completely smooth, as long as all the ingredients are combined). Stir through the oats.
2. Heat a large frypan over a medium heat and add 1 tbsp margarine.
3. Add about 1 ladleful of the batter to the pan at a time, you will need to cook them in a few batches. Flip the pancakes after about 2-3 minutes, or when bubbles appear all around the edge of the pancake and the bottom looks golden brown.
4. Add an extra tbsp of margarine to the pan as needed as you cook the batches. Eat straight away with any toppings you like - we had ours with stewed fruit and lingonberry jam. 

{Healthy & Vegan} Blueberry & Mulberry Porridge

Since coming back from Europe where I stuffed myself with every delicious cake I came across (not to mention quite a lot of mashed potato and amazing breads), I'm very proud to say that I've managed to lose the extra kilos that I gained while I was travelling for 6 weeks. I've been on a conscious health kick, and I'm really glad that it has paid off! I feel good, look a lot better and have more energy from eating less of those incredibly tempting things which are just so bad for you.

Breakfasts are a big challenge for me, they always have been. I never feel that hungry in the mornings but I know that it's unhealthy to skip breakfast. But I don't want to eat anything too big or with too many calories for breakfast because then I have to limit what I eat during the rest of the day to make up for it (which is no fun at all!). 

Luckily, spring means that there are lots of delicious and healthy fruits and berries which you can use to make your healthy meals special. At the moment we're having a bit of a blueberry craze, because it's so nice that they have come down in price. Out the back our mulberry tree is producing lovely berries (although a lot less this year than usual because it has been viciously pruned by our next door neighbour!) which are getting incorporated into a lot of meals. This lovely porridge needs no sweeteners and is full of juicy berries. The recipe serves two people and each serving is filling, but only 194 calories plus it's about 20% of your recommended daily calcium intake. So it's the perfect way to start your day! If you can't find mulberries then use any berries you like, or leave them out and just have blueberries.

Healthy Blueberry & Mulberry Porridge

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened oat milk

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 punnet blueberries

1 punnet of mulberries

To Make

1. Place the oat milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.

2. Add the oats and simmer until they are cooked, and the porridge is nice and thick (if it gets too thick and dry, add water a little bit at a time and stir vigorously until you get the consistency you like).

3. When the oats are almost done, add the blueberries and mulberries.

4. Serve immediately. You can add fresh berries or other fruit on top if you like.

Serves 2

NOTE~ The berries will only be lightly cooked, if you like them cooked more then add them at the same time you add the oats. 

Scottish Vegan Oat Scones

Oats and scones are both very quintessentially Scottish - so oat scones are about as Scottish as they come. These delicious oaty and currenty scones turned out delicious, however, I almost didn't post them because the photos didn't turn out that well. But in the end Scottish food is about delicious homely cooking so taste won out. 

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups plain wholemeal flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup dried currants

1/3 cup soy milk

1/3 cup oat milk

1 tbsp tapioca starch or arrowroot powder

125g Nuttelex (or other non dairy margarine), melted.

To Make

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

2. Combine the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, tapioca starch, currants, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.

3. Make a well in the middle and add the melted Nuttelex and milks. Mix to create a soft dough.

4. Turn out onto a floured benchtop and knead briefly until the dough is a smooth ball. Flatten slightly into a thick disk about 8-10 inches diameter. Score the top into eight wedges.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Cut into wedges and serve warm spread with Nuttelex (and a cup of tea preferably).

I'm featuring lots of recipes from the United Kingdom,

Check out my other recipe posts here:

Vegan Cauliflower Cheese

Summer Pudding

Mushroom & Guinness Pie

Treacle Tart

Vegan Bakewell Tart

Roasted Love Apple and Wine Soup

Cranachan (Whiskey Cream with Raspberries and Oats)

Orange and Lemon Vegetables

Swede & Parsnip Mini Cottage Pies

Vegan Cranachan (Scottish Whiskey Cream with Raspberries and Oats)

You can't really go wrong with raspberries and whipped cream, right? But I'll tell you what you can do - make it even better! What could be a better addition than whiskey, toasted oats and almonds? Oh, and some more whiskey on top :) This is a vegan version of a Scottish dessert called Cranachan, with some personal touches.

There are two options on how to finish it off, you can use the whiskey syrup (below), or if you are a real hardcore whiskey fan you can just drizzle a teaspoon of straight whiskey over the top (although, this gives it rather a kick!). I tried both and I did prefer to use the whiskey syrup.

It's also wheat free, dairy free, egg free, peanut free, tree nut free (if you omit the almonds), sesame free and soy free. So bring on the dessert, allergy sufferers!

Ingredients

2 tins coconut cream, chilled in the fridge for at least 24 hours (the longer the better)

2 tbsp soft icing mixture

3/4 cup rolled oats

2 cups fresh raspberries (or frozen is fine)

2 tbsp scotch whiskey

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Toppings:

Slivered almonds, as many as you like! (optional, leave off to make nut free)

1/4 cup scotch whiskey

2 tbsp raw sugar

To Make

1.  Refrigerate the 2 tins of coconut cream over night (minimum- I prefer to leave for 2-3 days).

2. When you open the tin you will notice that the top is a very solid thick cream. Scoop out all of the solid thick cream on top (you can reserve the rest of it to use in another meal – like a curry).

3. Put the thick cream into a bowl and mix well using a hand held electric mixer. Move the beaters up and down to try and get as much air into the cream as possible. Add the sugar and beat until it pretty much resembles thick cream.
4. Whip in the whiskey and vanilla.
5. Heat a non-stick pan and add the dry rolled oats. Toast for 2-3 minutes, stirring them frequently to prevent burning. Generally keep your eye on them as they burn quickly. Allow to cool.

6. To make the whiskey syrup, place the whiskey and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently. Bring to a low simmer and simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

7. Fold the cooled toasted oats and raspberries into the whipped cream. Distribute amongst 8 bowls. Top with slivered almonds and 2 tsp cooled whiskey syrup.

Makes 8 servings.

I'm featuring lots of recipes from the United Kingdom,

Check out my other recipe posts here:

Vegan Cauliflower Cheese

Summer Pudding

Mushroom & Guinness Pie

Treacle Tart

Vegan Bakewell Tart

Roasted Love Apple and Wine Soup

Orange and Lemon Vegetables

Scottish Vegan Oat Scones

Swede & Parsnip Mini Cottage Pies

Cherry and Almond Bircher Muesli

I'm doing my best these days to eat breakfast. One thing that has helped me hugely has been making a meal plan so that I know exactly what I'm going to have for breakfast the next day. Most of the time I skip breakfast because I wake up in the morning and this is my thought process: 

"I should eat breakfast. I'll have some breakfast."

"What should I eat? Do I have anything in the house that I can eat?"

"I could make pancakes. No, couldn't be bothered, don't want to clean up the mess."

"Ok. I'll just have something quick. Toast or cereal."

"Yeah, maybe not because I don't actually like toast or cereal much. Also, there's no bread."

"Oh look, it's 11:30 and I still haven't eaten anything. Oh, well.... I might as well just have an early lunch instead."

I don't know if anybody else does that but I do it almost every morning. The only way I can get around it is if I already know exactly what I'm going to eat for breakfast and if possible I've made it the night before. That is why bircher muesli is the new breakfast appearing weekly on my meal plan. The best thing about it is that I spend 5 minutes on it the night before and 5 minutes more in the morning and then it's done. It's also incredibly versatile and I can use any fruits and nuts and seeds that I have. In short: love it.

What is your favourite thing to put in your bircher muesli?

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 tbsp pepitas 

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

2 tsp ground flaxseeds (linseeds)

1/2 cup whole almonds

1 cup apple juice

1 apple (I used a sweet and crunchy royal gala)

Morello cherries (or other sour cherries)

To Make:

1. Mix the oats, flaxseeds, almonds, pepitas and sunflower seeds in a small bowl. Mix the apple juice in and leave to soak in the fridge overnight (or minimum 1 hour).

2. The next morning, peel and coarsely grate the apple. Stir through the soaked oats. 

3. Serve with morello cherries.

Serves 2.

On another note - I've been nominated for the Best Australian Blogs 2012 People's Choice Award - you can vote for me by hitting up this link: http://www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au/bloggingcomp/peopleschoice.html

Peach, Date and Walnut Bircher Muesli

I have a confession to make. I'm not good at eating breakfast. I beat myself up about it a lot because I know how important breakfast is. I'm always telling my patients how important it is to have breakfast and yet each morning I struggled to get inspired to eat and I usually end up skipping it. But now, I'm trying to kick myself in the backside and eat more regularly and get a healthy routine happening. The big first step is making sure I have breakfast every morning.

There are two main reasons I don't ever want to eat breakfast. Firstly, I never feel hungry in the mornings (this may be something to do with the fact that I usually have a big dinner). Secondly, I just don't like many breakfast foods. As a vegan I don't eat eggs, milk or yoghourt. That cuts out a lot of traditional breakfast foods. I'm also not big on eating a lot of wheat because it just isn't the kind of thing I want to fill my body with! All that really leaves me with for breakfast is elaborate things like pancakes (which I don't have the time or energy to make every day). So, I have set myself the mission of coming up with new things for breakfast which will actually excite me and make me want to eat breakfast!

This gorgeous bircher muesli was a fantastic start and made me feel really excited about my new routine! The thing I liked best about it was the fact it takes me 5 minutes to prepare it the night before and then it's just in the fridge waiting for me when I get up - so quick and easy! I loved this so much I decided to make exactly the same thing again for my breakfast the next day.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/3 cup dates, chopped

1 tbsp pepitas 

1 tbsp sunflower seeds

1 cup apple juice

1 large ripe peach

1/3 cup walnuts

2 tbsp slivered almonds, lightly toasted in a dry fry pan or for about a minute in a pre heated oven

To Make:

1. Mix the oats, dates, pepitas and sunflower seeds in a small bowl. Mix the apple juice in and leave to soak in the fridge overnight (or minimum 1 hour).

2. Slice and pit the peach and dice. Break the walnuts up with your hands and mix them and the peaches into the soaked muesli. 

3. Serve sprinkled with toasted slivered almonds.

Serves 2.

You'll be seeing a lot of new breakfast recipes from me I hope! What is your favourite quick and easy breakfast?

UPDATE:

It't been a few months now since I pledged to find and share some yummy vegan breakfast ideas, so here are some links to the ones I had added:

For more great vegan breakfast ideas that are worth getting up for check out:

Vegan Blueberry Oatbran Muffins (plus variations!)

Rainbow Banana Pancakes with Bourbon Syrup

Peach, Date and Walnut Bircher Muesli

Quadruple Hazelnut and Date Breakfast Muffins

Cherry and Almond Bircher Muesli

Chocolate Raspberry Pancakes

Vegan Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins (plus variations)

This is a basic blueberry muffin recipe with the added specialness of the oat bran, which gives it a delicious porridge kind of flavour. These blueberry muffins are also incredibly healthy overall and make a great breakfast or afternoon tea. I'm eating them for breakfast right now in fact. Given that these ones are your basic plain blueberry muffins I have added some variations down the bottom for those of you who fancy something a bit different.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

1/2 cup oat bran

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup soy or oat milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup apple sauce

2 tbsp canola or rice bran oil

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries (You can also use fresh blueberries, however, I prefer to use frozen because a) they are more cost effective and b) fresh blueberries should be eaten fresh and not baked with)

To Make:

1. Preheat your oven to about 180 degrees C.

2. Put the flour, oat bran, sugar, bicarb, baking powder and salt in a bowl and mix well to combine and remove lumps (a whisk or a fork work well for this).

3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the soy milk. Mix well to combine. Add the apple sauce, canola oil, vanilla and lemon zest and mix well.

4. Just before cooking stir through the blueberries. You have 2 options here, you can either mix them well to make your muffins come out a  purpley-greeny colour or you can mix very gentle and sparingly so that your muffins come out slightly marbled/swirly looking - either way make sure the blueberries are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

5. Either grease a muffin tray well or cheat a bit and use cupcake liners (which I did - it's just easier!!). Fill the tray/liners to the top and then bake for 23-25 mins. 

6. Remove from the oven when they are golden on top and transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Variations:

Orangey Blueberry Muffins:

Substitute 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice for the soy milk and use orange zest instead of lemon zest.

Mixed Berry Muffins:

Substitute frozen mixed berries for the blueberries.

Blueberry Pecan Muffins:

Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the batter just before adding the blueberries. Top each muffin with a pecan for decoration.

Double Blueberry Muffins:

Add reduce the brown sugar to 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup blueberry jam to the mix.

Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins:

Reduce the amount of blueberries to 1 cup and include 2/3 cup vegan white chocolate chips.

Blueberry Wheat Bran Muffins:

Substitute wheat bran for the oat bran.

Apple and Mulberry Crumble

Mulberries are just starting to become available in shops now so it's the time to seize the season and indulge in berry-tastic dishes! The amazing crumble topping is the star of this dish, so much so that I feel a bit sorry for the delicious berries underneath. This is made in a fairly shallow baking dish so if you have a deeper one then double or triple the quantities of fruit to make it more fruity! Serve with some vanilla soy ice cream. 

Ingredients

5-6 green apples

2 cups mulberries

1/4 cup water

2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pepitas

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup hazelnuts

1/3 cup walnuts

1 tbsp ground flaxseed (linseed)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp dessicated coconut

2/3 cup Nuttelex (or any other vegan margarine)

To Make

1. Preheat the oven to about 180 degrees C.

2. Peel and roughly chop the apples and put in a saucepan. Wash and remove stems from mulberries and add to the saucepan as well with the 1/4 cup water. Put on a low heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the apple is cooked.

3. Roughly chop the walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and pepitas (this is best done using a really big knife and keeping your fingers well away!). 

4. Combine the oats, nuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, brown sugar, flaxseed and dessicated coconut in a big mixing bowl and mix well to combine. 

5. Melt the margarine (either on the stove or in the microwave). Make a well in the middle of the dry mix and pour the margarine in. Mix very well until all the ingredients are coated in the marg. 

6. Grab a baking dish and  pour the cooked fruit into the bottom of it (including any cooking juices), spread out to make an even layer. Layer the crumble mixture on top evenly, spreading it all the way out to the edges.

7. Bake for 15 minutes in the oven, or until the top goes hard and crunchy (just touch the top with you hand to check - if it feels hard like a biscuit then it's done, if not give it another 5 mins).

8. Serve immediately (preferably accompanied by vanilla soy ice cream).

Serves 6 (or 3 people for 2 nights).

NOTE: The thing about crumble leftovers is that you CAN'T microwave them because it is a crime and the top will go all soggy. So when you want to eat your leftovers just pop it back in the oven for 15 minutes or so to warm up.