Authors: Rip Esselstyn
B00AG0VMTC EBOK (35 page)
Inspired by Lux Hippie Blog
I love bananas, I love oats, and I love peanut butter. So does Jane’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Crile, who ate seven of these in one sitting. Teenage approval: That says a lot about how good these cookies are.
Prep time: 10 minutes • Cook time: 15 minutes • Makes about 15 cookies
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup natural chunky peanut butter
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup non-dairy chocolate chips or raisins
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix the bananas, vanilla, peanut butter, and maple syrup until they are a creamy consistency.
In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until they are well combined; the batter should be slightly sticky. Fold in the chocolate chips or raisins.
Place rounded, heaping tablespoon-size balls of the batter onto the lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
Gobble these up while they are still warm.
CAUTION! CHOCOLATE AHEAD!
By Betty Speer and Adonis
This is a chocolate cake for the gods—moist and chocolatey with dreamy, creamy Adonis Frosting (see
here
for recipe). Jill made this cake for my forty-ninth birthday party and it was a smash! The recipe comes from Jill’s aunt Betty and her wonderful eight-year-old grandson, Adonis.
Prep time: 10 minutes • Cook time: 30 minutes • Makes one 9 × 9-inch cake
1½ cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
cup pure maple syrup
6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup cold water
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set out a 9 x 9-inch nonstick cake pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda and mix well. Add the maple syrup, applesauce, vinegar, vanilla, and water and mix well to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
While the cake is cooking, make the Adonis Frosting (recipe follows).
When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and set aside to cool. When cooled, frost with Adonis Frosting or Zu-creamy Cashew Sauce (
here
).
Tip:
If you want a two-layer cake, then just double the recipe—and the frosting recipe below as well. Then frost in between and all over both layers!
By Betty Speer
Chocolate frosting of the gods!
Prep time: 5 minutes • Makes about 2 cups frosting; enough for one Adonis Cake, plus a few taste-tests
One 12-ounce package silken tofu
¾ cup dairy-free, semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Place the silken tofu in a food processor. Add the melted chocolate chips to the food processor and blend.
Add the vanilla and blend until chocolatey and creamy. Taste at this stage; if using grain-sweetened chips, you may want to add a bit of pure maple syrup—or not! Trust your own taste.
Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.
Tip:
This recipe can be used as a pudding as well. After preparing it, pour it into glasses, layer with sliced fruit, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Inspired by Chef A.J. and Ben Baker
This recipe was initially inspired by the Fundue recipe of Los Angeles’s own plant-strong dessert chef, Abbie Jay (A.J.). She prepared Fundue at the Travassa resort where Ben Baker is
head chef. Ben pulled out all the stops and helped us create a seven-day meal plan for plant-sensational meals that met the Engine 2 diet criteria. For dessert one night, Ben whipped up this amazing Date-Nut Chocolate Pie using a crust in the Engine 2 book and Chef A.J.’s Fundue filling. We also recommend trying this pie with a crisp Flapjack Crumble crust (
here
). Jane claims this recipe saved her from the grasp of an almond M&M addiction. This pie is that freaky good!
Prep time: 20 minutes (plus overnight soaking for dates) • Cook time: 25 minutes (only if using Flapjack Crumble crust) • Freeze time: 8 hours to overnight • Makes one 9-inch pie and some extra filling
10 ounces pitted dates (about 16 large Medjool dates)
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
8 ounces almond butter or peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
to ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup dates, pitted
cup raw walnuts
cup raw cashews
cup raw almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh fruit, for topping
Two nights before, start to make the filling: Place the dates in a container and pour almond milk over them. Seal the container and soak the dates in the fridge overnight.
The next day continue to make the filling by placing the soaked dates and almond milk in a food processor. Make sure there are no pits in the dates or your food processor will buck, splatter, and thump.
Blend the soaked dates and almond milk until well combined and creamy. Add the almond butter (or peanut butter) and vanilla to the food processor and blend again. If needed, add more almond milk for a thick but creamy consistency. Add the cocoa powder and blend well—it is just luscious at this stage. Set aside while you make the crust.
To make the Date-Nut Crust: Blend the dates, walnuts, cashews, almonds, and vanilla in a food processor until one big clump forms. Press the date-nut clump into a pie pan and fill with chocolate filling.
To make the Flapjack Crumble crust: Follow the directions for making Flapjack Crumble
here
, but shape the ingredients in the pie pan and bake as directed
here
.
Now pour the Chocolate Filling into the Date-Nut Crust or Flapjack Crumble crust–lined pie pan. Cover the pie and freeze overnight or for at least 8 hours before serving so it hardens.
Remove the pie from the freezer in time for it to thaw enough to cut. Slice into wedges and serve. Add fresh fruit on top just before serving.
Variation:
Pour any extra chocolate filling into a brownie pan, freeze, then serve cut into squares, rolled into truffle-like balls, or shaved into twirls with toasted and crushed almonds or walnuts on top!
By Anne Stevenson
Anne Stevenson (
here
) brought down the house when she brought this thick, creamy, chocolatey, fall-of-the-Roman-Empire, decadent dessert to my forty-sixth birthday party. We all did cartwheels it was so good.
Prep time: 5 minutes • Makes 1 cup chocomole
1 ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
¼ teaspoon sea salt (optional)
¼ cup water, or more as needed
Process the avocado, maple syrup, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, if using, and sea salt in a food processor or high-speed blender. Add the water, as needed, to achieve a smooth mixture.
Pour into glasses and chill, or serve immediately.
Variations:
If you don’t like cinnamon, do not add it. Or, instead of cinnamon add a drop of mint extract. Or add a pinch of cayenne for some heat!