This class guided you through preparing holiday treats, including festive sugar cookies and a warming apple gingerbread cake.

1-Bowl Apple Gingerbread Cake

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 10 slices

Ingredients

Cake

2 Tbsp flaxseed meal (to make flax eggs)
5 Tbsp water (to make flax eggs)
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp molasses
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup avocado oil (or sub olive or melted coconut oil with varied results)
1 1/4 cup grated apple (loosely packed, a mix of sweet and tart)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (sub up to 1/3 with water)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Whole-Wheat Flour
1/2 cup rolled oats

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup vegan cream cheese (softened, such as Tofutti or Trader Joe’s brand)
1/3 cup vegan butter (softened, such as Earth Balance butter sticks)
2 1/2 - 3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup flour (optional for thickening, or sub more powdered sugar)
1 cup chopped pecans (optional, for topping)

Instructions

Preheat Oven Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C). Butter two 8-inch round cake pans or an 8x8 baking dish. Add flour to coat, shake out the excess, and set aside.
Prepare Flax Eggs In a large mixing bowl, combine flaxseed meal and water, and let it rest.
Grate Apples Core and grate apples (no need to peel). Use a mix of finely and coarsely grated. Place the grated apple on a clean dish towel and gently squeeze to remove about half of the juice. Set aside.
Mix Wet Ingredients To the flax egg mixture, add cane sugar, brown sugar, molasses, oil, vanilla, almond milk, and grated apples. Whisk to combine.
Add Dry Ingredients Set a sifter over the bowl and add dry ingredients in this order: 1 cup whole-wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and the remaining 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour. Sift over wet ingredients and stir gently, being careful not to overmix.
Add Oats Add rolled oats and stir to combine, careful not to overmix. The batter should be thick but pourable. If too thick, add more almond milk.
Bake Pour batter into prepared cake pans, spreading evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes (for 2 round pans) or 40-50 minutes (for an 8x8 pan). A toothpick inserted should come out clean, and edges should be browned. Let the cake cool completely.
Prepare Frosting In a cleaned mixing bowl, add softened cream cheese and butter. Beat until combined, then gradually add powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time) until thick and spreadable. Add flour or more powdered sugar if needed for thickening.
Assemble Cake Once the cake is cooled, frost the top of the bottom layer with 1/3 of the frosting. Add the top layer and frost generously, coating the sides last. Sprinkle crushed pecans around the edges (optional).
Store Cover and store in the fridge for freshness. The cake will keep for 3-4 days and can be frozen after that. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

Notes

Nutrition information is a rough estimate with frosting and pecans.
Adapted from Vegan Gluten-Free Apple Muffins and Gluten-Free Zucchini Cake.

_____________________

Vegan Cut Out Sugar Cookies

Vegan Sugar Cookies made with just 8 ingredients, including cashew butter, gluten-free flour, and maple syrup. Easy to make, cut out, and glaze—perfect for special holidays like Valentine’s Day!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 23 minutes

Yield: 10 cookies

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup cashew butter (128g)
1/3 cup maple syrup (106g, add 1 tbsp if needed)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup super fine oat flour (90g)
1/3 cup rice flour (50g)
1 tbsp tapioca starch (10g)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Glaze Options

Option 1: 1/3 cup coconut butter, melted + 1 tsp strawberry powder or natural food coloring
Option 2: 3/4 cup coconut sugar + 1/2 tbsp non-dairy milk
Option 3: 1/2 cup powdered cane sugar + 1/2 tbsp non-dairy milk + 1/2 tsp strawberry powder

Instructions

For the Cookies:

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cashew butter, maple syrup, and vanilla until combined.
Sift in the oat flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt. Mix until a dough forms.
Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out cookies with a cookie cutter and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 7-8 minutes, just until the edges start to brown. Let the cookies sit for 3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a cooling rack once cool enough to handle. Don’t leave them on the hot baking sheet too long, as they may continue cooking.
Allow cookies to cool completely before glazing.

For the Glaze:

Option 1: Stir melted coconut butter with strawberry powder and glaze the cookies using a piping bag.
Option 2: Blend coconut sugar into a powder, then add non-dairy milk 1 tsp at a time until it reaches an icing consistency.
Option 3: Stir powdered cane sugar with non-dairy milk to form a glaze.

Notes

Helpful Equipment: Light-colored baking sheet, parchment paper or silicone mat, cooling rack, cookie cutters, rolling pin.
Recipe adapted from Almond Flour Sugar Cookies.
Nutritional information is a rough estimate calculated with Cronometer.