Sweet Vermicelli

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
2 ounces vermicelli nests
1 cup water
a pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon rosewater
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 tablespoons almonds, toasted and chopped
2 tablespoons pistachios, toasted and chopped

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the vermicelli. Stir until browned and add the water, salt, and sugar. Bring the water to simmer and cook until vermicelli is al dente. Stir in the rosewater and vanilla.

Pour into flat serving plate and garnish with the nuts. Serve warm.

Vegan Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
2 teaspoons ground flaxseed (optional)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chunks
sea salt flakes

Combine dry ingredients and stir in all the wet ingredients. Divide dough into 6 pieces and slightly flatten onto parchment paper. Sprinkle with the salt.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Swedish Almond Cake

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons coarse sugar

Cream sugar, zest, and butter together. Add the eggs one at a time, salt, vanilla, and almond extract.

Fold in flour and almond meal.

Pour batter into a greased baking pan and sprinkle with the sliced almonds and coarse sugar.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool before cutting.

Apple Turnovers

Ingredients:

2 apples, chopped
1/3 cup turbinado sugar plus 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
12 puff pastry squares

Toss apples with 1/3 cup sugar, flour, cinnamon, half the butter, and vanilla.

Fill each puff pastry square with the apple mixture and seal the edges with a fork.

Brush the tops of the puff pastry with the remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar.

Bake on parchment paper at 350 for 30 minutes until golden.

If desired glaze with a mixture of 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon water and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Semolina Pudding

Ingredients:

2 cups almond or cashew cream
1/4 cup semolina
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon orange blossom water
a dash of rosewater
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
a pinch of salt

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water
1/4 teaspoon rosewater

3/4 cup coconut cream
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons pistachios, slivered

Heat almond milk until warm and add semolina and sugar. Stir constantly until mixture thickens. Add orange blossom water, rosewater, vanilla, and salt. Pour pudding into serving dish or ramekins. Set aside or refrigerate.

Meanwhile, combine sugar and water and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add lemon, orange blossom, and rose water. Set aside to cool.

Whip cream until stiff peaks. Fold in powdered sugar and vanilla.

Top the pudding with the cream. Drizzle with the sugar syrup. Garnish with pistachios.

Pastiera

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup butter, frozen and grated
1 egg
1 egg yolk
a few drops of almond extract
2 swipes of lemon zest

1 cup wheat berries cooked in milk and butter
2 cup ricotta
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup chocolate chips or zest of one lemon and 1 teaspoon orange blossom water (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs

Cook wheat until completely tender and refrigerate overnight.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and almond meal. Toss with the butter then stir in the eggs, lemon zest, and almond extract. Allow to chill in the fridge, covered, for 1 hour.

Combine remaining ingredients with wheat in a bowl.

Line springform pan with parchment paper. Roll out 2/3 of the dough with a rolling pin to a circle about 1 inch larger than the pan (about 1/4 inch thickness). Line the pan with the dough. Level the ricotta filling inside the crust. Roll out remaining dough and spread across the filling, sealing the edges.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Invert onto serving platter and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with fresh fruit.

Tarte Tatin

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, frozen
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
6 granny smith apples
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 sprig rosemary
1 vanilla bean

Grate the frozen butter into the flour and toss together. Add the sugar, salt, lemon zest, and egg. Mix until it gathers into a ball, adding water as needed. Roll into a flat circle and refrigerate.

Combine sugar and butter in a saucepan and allow to caramelize and slightly thicken. Add a few drops of lemon juice, the rosemary, and vanilla beans. Set aside.

Peel and core the apples. Cut into six sections. Cut each of these sections into three pieces. Toss in lemon juice.

Remove rosemary from the caramel. Pour the caramel into a baking dish. Arrange the apples chunks over and roll out the dough on top. Make a few holes in the dough.

Bake 35-40 minutes at 375 until crust is golden. Remove from oven and allow to set for about 10 minutes before flipping over into a serving dish.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Baumkuchen

Ingredients:

3/4 cup almond paste
3 tablespoons cream
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cake flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
5 ounces apricot jam
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tablespoon honey
2 ounces chocolate

Beat the almond paste with cream. Add the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Alternately add egg yolks with the flour and cornstarch. Set aside.

Beat  egg whites until stiff peaks. Fold into the almond batter, half at a time.

Line a 6-9 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Spread 1/4 cup of the batter into the bottom of the pan. Use a brush to spread it evenly. Broil until evenly browned. Remove from the oven and repeat. Spread with the apricot jam every three layers until batter is all used up.

Allow cake to cool in the fridge overnight. Remove cake from pan and invert. Cover top and sides of cake with a thin layer of jam.

Melt butter in a double broiler and add vanilla, honey, and chocolate. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes and pour the glaze over the cake. Cover the sides of the cake with the slivered almonds. Refrigerate until the glaze sets.

Bionicos

Ingredients:

heavy cream
condensed milk
evaporated milk
vanilla bean paste
cantaloupe
green apple
red apple
banana
strawberries
granola
shredded coconut
pecan, toasted and chopped

Combine cream with milks and vanilla. Allow to cool in refrigerator before serving.

Dice all fruit and toss together.

Pour desired amount of cream mixture over the fruit and top with granola, coconut, and pecans.

Black Sesame Pudding

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sesame powder
1/4 cup agave or honey
1-1/2 cups almond milk
1 cup coconut cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cornstarch or agar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and add cornstarch or agar. Refrigerate and allow to set. Whip for 5 minutes to lighten. Serve with whipped cream and fruit.

Matcha Tea Cakes

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons matcha
black sesame seeds (optional)

Dissolve matcha in 2 tablespoons of hot water. Set aside.

Beat oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract in a bowl. Add matcha then add flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop 1 inch balls for each cookie and roll into a ball with slightly dampened hands. Sprinkle cookies with sesame seeds, if desired.

Bake 10 minutes at 350.

Dust cookies in matcha sugar while they are still hot, if desired.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups hot water
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon salt
butter, melted
brown sugar
cinnamon

Add water to yeast and sugar and set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat butter, sugar, and salt together until creamy. Alternately add the flour, egg, and yeast mixture and continue beating until well combined. Knead for about 2 minutes until smooth dough forms, adding more flour as needed. Cover and allow to rise, half an hour.

Roll dough out onto a floured surface into a rectangle. Spread evenly with melted butter, cinnamon and a generous amount of brown sugar. Roll up into one large roll, keeping the seam downwards.

Cut rolls using dental floss about 2 inches thick and place onto greased baking sheet. Let rolls rise in baking sheet for about half an hour.

Bake for 10 minutes at 425 and then 5 minutes at 350.

For frosting, combine 2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and some vanilla bean paste. Frost rolls after they are cooled.

Bougatsa

Ingredients:

10 sheets phyllo dough
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup semolina
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Allow phyllo to defrost.

Heat milk, butter, and lemon zest in a saucepan. When milk is hot and butter is melted, slowly stir in semolina.Remove from heat and continue to stir until thickened.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, yolks, and vanilla. Add this mixture to the semolina. Set aside to cool.

Melt remaining butter and grease the bottom of the saucepan with some of the butter. Line the baking sheet with six sheets of the phyllo, brushing each with butter.

Spread semolina mixture over the phyllo in an even layer.fold the sides of the dough over the custard. Layer four more sheeets of phyllo and butter. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve warm and garnish with whipped cream, fresh fruit, and more cinnamon.

Chocolate Chip Reeses Cup Brownie Bites

Ingredients:

chocolate chip cookie dough
reeses cups
brownie batter

In a muffin pan or hinged cupcake liners flatten a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough. Place reeses cup on top of the cookie dough upside down. Spread brownie batter on top. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Loosen sides and invert from muffin pan. Allow to cool.

*for a variation, use miniature york patties or fun sized snickers instead of the reeses cups.

Banana Split Cake

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup graham cracker or biscoff cookie crumbs
1 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup vegan butter
8 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened
20 ounces crushed pineapple
4 medium bananas, sliced
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups almond or coconut milk
2 packages vanilla pudding mix
2 cups whipped coconut
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
maraschino cherries

Mix crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and butter. Press on bottom of deep pan. Freeze 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar. Gradually fold in half the coconut whipped cream. Spread over the crust. Top with pineapple, then coconut, then banana slices.

Pour milk in a bowl and mix in pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk and stir in half the remaining whipped coconut. Pour the pudding mix on top of the fruit.

Spread the remaining coconut whip on top and garnish with coconut, nuts, and cherries.

Pumpkin Cookies with Icing

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
1-1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg replacer
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon vegan butter
3 tablespoons almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups confectioners sugar

Cream butter, sugar, and pumpkin. Add egg replacer and vanilla. Mix in spice, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour.

Drop from spoon to cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile make the icing. Mix butter, milk, vanilla, and sugar until dissolved. Add more milk or sugar as needed to reach desired consistency. Spread over the cookies.