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Tag Archives: nut free

Spiced Banana Rum Cookies

This weekend, I collaborated with my sister from Lauren and the Foreign and Stolen Smoked Rum to create these Spiced Banana Rum Cookies. The recipe was inspired by Bunner’s Bakeshop, my favorite bakery in downtown Toronto. They are totally vegan and gluten free and since they don’t use nuts in the bakery either, it it all safe for me! I don’t eat from any bakery uses eggs or nuts even if certain products are supposedly “safe”. There is way too much risk for cross contamination and I just don’t trust people. So when I stumbled across Bunner’s a few years back, it was pretty life changing. Like the “I was 16 years old and had never eaten from a bakery” kind of life changing.

Bunner's cookbook

Since I don’t get up to Canada very often, I got their cookbook which was a really big inspiration for me to start baking more. Since then, I’ve been enjoying trying new recipes, adapting them, and getting creative to make them my own.

For these Spiced Banana Rum Cookies, I made a few changes to the original recipe found in the cookbook. I subbed coconut oil for canola and regular flour instead of gluten free. I also made the frosting non-vegan by using real dairy butter and half and half. Rarely do I follow a recipe word for word, but that’s where a lot of the fun comes in!

spiced banana rum cookies

The cookies were absolutely delicious! They’re soft with a somewhat cake-like texture and the drizzle of frosting really adds a nice touch. It’s important to use overripe bananas and high quality spices to maximize the flavor. Although any dark rum would work, Lauren and I prefer using Stolen Smoked Rum because the real smoke flavor so unique. I’m the kind of person who basically never drinks, but I do like adding things to my cooking and baking. The alcohol doesn’t really have any effect once it’s cooked and it really takes recipes up a notch!

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Print Recipe

Spiced Banana Rum Cookies

These Spiced Banana Rum Cookies are perfect for any occasion! The sweet banana combined with fall spices make the perfect compliment to the hint of rum.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time25 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana, cookie, rum, spiced
Servings: 24
Author: Rachel Alexandra

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp Penzeys ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Penzeys ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp Penzeys ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ½ cup mashed, overripe bananas
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Stolen Smoked Rum
  • 1 Tbsp molasses
  • 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Frosting

  • 2 Tbsp softened butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp half and half
  • 2 Tbsp Stolen Smoked Rum

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the mashed banana with the melted coconut oil. Then add the sugar, molasses, rum, and vanilla.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Be sure not to over mix.
  • Using a two tablespoon cookie scoop, form balls of dough and place on a baking sheet about two inches part. Do not flatten the cookies.
  • Bake the for 10 minutes until slightly golden and puffy. Cool for 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Frosting

  • In a medium bowl, whisk the softened butter, sugar, half and half, and rum.
  • Transfer to a piping bag and drizzle over cookies.
  • The cookies can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

Notes

Wait until the cookies are completely cool before frosting.
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Vegan Nut-Free Granola

Sweet, crunchy granola over smooth, tangy yogurt

For those of us with food allergies, it can be really hard to find a nut-free granola. And if you’re avoiding animal products too, a vegan nut-free granola can be even tougher! Most anything on the store shelves, aside from a few “allergen free” brands is full of all sorts of tree nuts. Then again, when I look at the ingredient lists, I can’t help but think that maybe I’m better off not being able to have it at all. Although marketed as “health food”, granola is often chock full of sweeteners that hide in the labels. Things like brown rice syrup, tapioca syrup, barley malt syrup, and agave are all refined sugars, not to mention straight up cane sugar, brown sugar, and molasses.

nut-free granola

When I set out to make this Vegan Nut-Free Granola, my top two criteria were no nuts and no refined sugar. Nuts are easily substituted with seeds and for sweeteners, I only use raw honey or pure maple syrup. (Of course if your goal is to avoid animal products, skip the honey and go with syrup instead.) Yes, these are still forms of sugar and should be used in moderation, but as far as sweeteners go, honey and maple syrup are natural and unrefined.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it is super adaptable! The ingredients I use are:

  • Rolled oats
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Cloves
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Shredded coconut
  • Maple syrup
  • Coconut oil
  • Raisins

That being said, there are so many ways to mix it up based on what you have in the pantry. Other seed options would be flax or chia seeds. For dried fruit, you could substitute cherries or blueberries, or anything else without added sugar. (That’s why I don’t recommend dried cranberries, but if you don’t mind the sugar or have some without, they’d work great too.) Spices can be adjusted or swapped according to your flavor preferences and once the granola is cool, you could even add in a few mini dark chocolate chips. So go ahead, make it your own, and enjoy!

A perfect breakfast of nut-free granola with plain Greek yogurt

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Print Recipe

Vegan Nut-Free Granola

Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: breakfast, granola, low sugar, nut free, vegan
Servings: 5 Cups
Author: Rachel Alexandra

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 tbsp Penzeys ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp Penzeys ground nutmeg
  • Pinch Penzeys ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ¾ cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
  • ⅓ cup raw honey or pure maple syrup
  • ¼ cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup unsweetened dried fruit

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl mix the oats, spices, and salt. Then add the seeds and coconut. When the dry ingredients are well combined, add the honey or syrup and coconut oil.
  • Spread the granola evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Take out the pan and gently turn over the granola with a wooden spoon. At this time, you can add the dried fruit.
  • Bake for another 15 minutes, then remove from oven allow it cool and harden. Break up any big pieces and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi everyone! It’s finally spring, but remember way back around Christmastime when I shared a recipe for  Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake? Instead of a standard graham cracker crust, I always like to use cookie crumbles, so I wanted to share my favorite recipe. If you’re looking for the perfect cheesecake crust material or just want a batch of warm, hearty cookies, this is just the recipe! (Also check back next weekend for new Easter cheesecake! 🐣)

IMG_20180317_084926284

This original recipe that I adapted always caused the cookies to spread very thin and as a result, they were pretty brittle. I changed two things so they hold they’re shape and are more chewy than crisp. The first is that instead of using granulated white sugar, I substituted powdered sugar. I also chill the dough for 30 minutes prior to baking. Feel free to keep the dough in the refrigerator longer for convenience’ sake, but it won’t make anymore of a difference after the initial half hour.

Ingredients

2 sticks butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup boiling water

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

  1. In a deep bowl, cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla.
  2. Add the flour and salt and mix until combined.
  3. Dissolve the baking soda in boiling water and add to the mixture.
  4. Fold in the oats and chocolate chips
  5. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to reduce spread. It can stay in the refrigerator for longer, but doing so won’t have any extra effect.
  6. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats
    .
  7. Role the dough in to balls about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter and place on the baking sheets.
  8. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden on top.

Notes

  • Substitute raisins for all or half of the chocolate chips to make a delicious batch of oatmeal raisin cookies.
  • Whatever cookies you can’t eat within a few days can be stored in the freezer for a few months.