Tiny Treats
Vegan Recipes that will Tantalize Your Taste Buds and Nourish Your Soul
Nic le Axw rthy and Lisa Pitman Homemade Basics
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Tiny Treats: Vegan Recipes that will Tantalize Your Taste Buds and Nourish Your Soul By Nicole Axworthy and Lisa Pitman Copyright Š2012 Nicole Axworthy and Lisa Pitman All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the authors, except for a brief portion quoted for review purposes. Published by Nicole Axworthy and Lisa Pitman Photography and styling by Nicole Axworthy, Marika Collins and Lisa Pitman Designed by Cindy Reichle, www.cindyreichle.blogspot.ca Tiny Treats Digital Edition v1.0 www.adashofcompassion.com www.veganculinarycrusade.com
A note from Lisa and Nicole
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Homemade Basics Almond Milk 7 Date Paste 9 Chocolate Coating or Chips 11 Creative Cookies Chocolate Chip Lavender Cookies Pecan Date Cookies Vanilla Almond Cacao Cookies Maple Cinnamon Macaroons
13 15 17 19
Brilliant Bars Samoa Bars Nutella Nanaimo Bars Pecan Praline Bars Hazelnut Brownies with Maple Chocolate Ganache
21 23 25 27
Cakes of all Kinds Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bites Carrot Cake Petit Fours Lemon Lava Cakes Coconut Mango Cupcakes
29 31 33 35
Fruitful Treats Fruit Tacos in Chocolate Crepe Peach Caramel Crumble Coconut Raspberry Pops Strawberry Basil Parfait Blueberry Cream and Fruit Tarts
37 39 41 43 45
Amazing All-sorts Mango-Mint-Lime Ice Cream Ginger Cookie Sandwiches Raw Almond Yogurt Cinnamon Bun Granola Chocolate Pudding Cups Masala Chai Affogato
47 49 51 53 55
contents
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Dear Readers When we introduce people to the plant-based lifestyle, we always start with dessert. We love seeing the surprise on people’s faces when they realize that combining avocado, cacao powder and maple syrup in a food processor creates a rich and creamy chocolate mousse, or when they bite into a slice of raw cheesecake that looks like it came off the shelf of a bakery but is, in fact, only made from nuts, fruit and agave. Their raves and reactions are enough motivation to keep us concocting, but knowing the array of delights we present are packed with nutrition keeps us feeling proud about the treats we share with the people we love. As two long-time vegan culinarians, our mission has always been to create desserts that make you feel good about yourself; the kind that you want to share with others and that inspire you to think differently about what you eat. We may be biased but we think our desserts taste better than their traditional counterparts because they’re made with ingredients our bodies were meant to eat. In other words, you won’t find any refined flour, sugar, eggs or dairy in these recipes. We believe simple, high-quality, organic ingredients at their freshest are the building blocks of any great dish. Fruit, nuts, seeds, cacao and natural sweeteners like maple syrup and date paste are what we rely on for our creations.
We spent many months developing and testing these recipes just for you, but what made it so fun was how inarguably creative things got in the process. We both found ourselves inspired by notes of nostalgia, adventures abroad and family favourites. This dessert book includes a collection of recipes you might not typically expect, like Fruit Tacos in Chocolate Crepe, Masala Chai Affogato and Lemon Lava Cakes. Classic flavours also abound. We promise you won’t be disappointed by the Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bites or the Cinnamon Bun Granola. And because we love all things mini, these desserts come in cute little serving sizes, making them easy to fit into a healthful diet. If this kind of dessert-making is an entirely new process to you, we encourage you to embrace it! The majority of ingredients can be easily found at your local grocery store–check the bulk bins for raw nuts, dried fruit and spices. Our desserts are prepared using many of the same equipment as other desserts– mixing bowls, measuring cups, a standard 8x8-inch square pan, a blender and a food processor are the most frequently used. And most of the recipes involve simply placing the treats in your fridge or freezer rather than baking them, so be sure to make some room! Life is short, take time to enjoy the sweetness. Love and cupcakes,
L isa and N icole
a note from lisa and nicole
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Alm nd Milk
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lmond milk is one of the easiest food products to make at home. This recipe is light enough to serve as a mild liquid base in some of the recipes in this book. For other uses, you can add flavourings and sweeteners to taste–a few dates and a dash of vanilla is one of our favourite variations.
milk 1 cup (150g) raw almonds, soaked in water for at least 4 hours 4 cups (940mL) water
Instructions 1. Drain and rinse the soaked almonds. 2. Using a blender, blend all ingredients until the almonds are broken down and the mixture is fairly smooth. 3. Strain the mixture through a nut milk bag or a few layers of cheesecloth that is held over a bowl or milk container. Squeeze gently to get all the liquid out. Store milk in the refrigerator. Reserve the pulp for other uses. Makes 31/2 to 4 cups
Homemade Basics
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