Vegan Banana Bread with No Added Sugar

Banana bread really is the best loaf and I am betting that for many of us it is the ultimate comfort food. I love the idea of turning lonely, inedible bananas into something that everyone wants a bite of. This banana bread is special. Really, it is. It is made with 100% whole wheat flour, contains no added sugar or sweetener, and has no oil in it. You really can omit white flour, oil, chocolate chips, and sugar and no one will know you did.

So embrace those blackened bananas filling your counter or your freezer (thanks to my friend Josey for providing me with a giant bag of aging bananas; without you, this recipe would not have been possible) and get baking! Makes 1 loaf.

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup chopped fresh/dried dates (I used dried)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, processed in a food processor until powdered

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, mash the bananas (I use a potato masher), until very mushy. Add the lemon juice, applesauce, and dates. Stir until mixed.
3. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, processed pumpkin seeds, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
4. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir gently until “just mixed.
5. Spoon into a lightly oiled loaf pan and bake 40-50 minutes. Test with a toothpick to see if done.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sandwich Cookies

Shut the front door. No wait, don’t… this is for real! Did I really make a sandwich out of chocolate chip cookies with a chocolate chip cookie dough and creamy icing centre? You bet! I want to make a disclaimer immediately- while there are healthy elements in this recipe, it is delicious, not nutritious. I promise to reserve it for occasions and holidays that call for a special treat. After all, cookie dough sandwiched between 2 cookies basically means you are eating three cookies at once, but before you health fiends close the book on this recipe, you need to know that it is AMAZING. It’s also vegan (no eggs, dairy, or other animal products incorporated) and contains super-healthy pumpkin seeds. I guarantee you that the first words out of your mouth after trying this cookie will be “Oh, my, gosh.” You get the best of all cookie worlds, a crisp delicious exterior, icing, and a rich, buttery interior.

These cookies are amazing to eat frozen. It’s just like eating an ice cream sandwich, only better. These cookie sandwiches seriously disappeared faster than any other cookies I have ever made. So without further adieu, the recipe, which was inspired almost entirely by the Oh She Glows recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich. Makes 1 dozen cookie sandwiches.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegan margarine (like Earth Balance or Becel Vegan)

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)

1/2 tbsp egg replacer (like Celimix, Ener-G, or 1 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp baking soda) + 3 tbsp warm water, mixed

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup pumpkin seeds, processed

1/2-3/4 cups vegan chocolate chips (try PC The Decadent Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips)

Icing (1 cup icing sugar + 1 tbsp of soy milk + 1 tbsp melted vegan margarine, combined)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together egg replacer and water. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the margarine for about 60 seconds until smooth. Now add the brown sugar (no clumps!) and the white sugar. Beat for 4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl when necessary.
4. Add the vanilla to the egg replacer mixture and stir until mixed. Add this to the sugar mixture and beat for an additional 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Add the white flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until “just” combined.
6. Add the chocolate chips and ground pumpkin seeds and beat until “just” mixed.
7. Roll into balls about 1 tbsp in size and slightly flatten each ball with your hand. The more you flatten your cookie dough, the more it will spread. Place cookies 3 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Set aside about 1/3 of the cookie dough to make the sandwich filling.
8. Bake 10 minutes (no more) at 350 degrees. Let rest on the cookie sheet 5-10 minutes before removing from pan. The cookies may seem too soft, but do not fret, they firm up a lot when they are cool. Prepare your icing while the cookies bake. You can simply stir the icing ingredients together in a 4 cup measuring cup/bowl with a spatula.
9. Form the cookie dough into 12 balls and form them into small patties about the same size as the cooked cookies. Flip 1 cooled cookie so it is bottom side up and place the dough patty on top. Spread icing on the bottom of a second cooled and baked cookie and sandwich the two cookies together. You’ve just created cookie magic. See you later Oreo!