Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes Stuffed with Cinnamon Cookies & Topped with Cinnamon Buttercream

I don't know why but I had a craving for cupcakes that contained a cookie. I didn't know how these would turn out. Would the cookie be crunchy or soft? Could you even tell it was there?

I broke the cookies up a bit before adding them to the batter but I think you could even live dangerously and keep them whole. When you bite into the cupcake the cookies are soft and almost melted into the cake. They leave these delicious sugary cinnamony streaks. Add the cinnamon buttercream and you you have a winner.

Vanilla Cupcakes Stuffed with Cinnamon Cookie

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups almond milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed until liquid
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 - 2 cups of cinnamon cookies, broken up slightly (I used 1 package of Lucy's Cinnamon Thins)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 muffin pans with 20 paper baking cups. 

Measure the apple cider vinegar into a 2 cup measuring cup. Fill with almond milk to make 1 1/2 cups. Let stand until curdled, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk mixture, coconut oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Add the cookie pieces and spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly. 

Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool then frost with cinnamon buttercream.

Vegan Cinnamon "Butter"cream Frosting

1 cup soft vegan margarine
1 lb powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Combined all ingredients and mix for 5 minutes. Keep covered in fridge until ready to use.

Vegan Chocolate Almond Butter Pie

This pie was made and eaten in the span of about 2 hours. It was so tasty. The filling is quite thick and very creamy. If you like you can add more milk to the mixture for a lighter filling.

Graham Cracker Crust
10 graham crackers
1/3 cup Earth Balance, melted

In a food processor (or by hand with a ziploc bag and rolling pin) grind graham crackers until they are crumbs. In a mizing bowl combined graham crumbs with butter and mix. Press mixture evenly into a 9 inch pie plate and bake in a 375 oven for 5 minutes. Set aside.


Vegan Chocolate Almond Butter Pie
200 grams dark chocolate
2 cups almond butter
1/2 soy sour cream (Or cream cheese)
3/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)
1/2 cup almonds, chopped

Melt the chocolate in a double broiler. Meanwhile, using a hand mixer, blend the almond butter, sour cream, and soy milk together. Add melted chocolate and mix thoroughly. Taste to see if you need to add the maple syrup. (I don't like my desserts to sweet). Pour mixture into prepared crust and top with almonds. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until filling is firm. Cool and serve.

Salmon Chowder

I love the fall. I can start wearing sweaters and scarfs and layering outfits. Plus it means yummy soups and stews. My dad was visiting us with his new lady friend and I decided I would make something with salmon. But the fish monger also had some really beautiful scallops and mussels. I couldn't choose between them so I made this chowder with all three!

Salmon Chowder

Olive oil
1 large leek, sliced into rounds
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 carrots, chopped
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
2 - 3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
Broth
2 ears of corn, kernels removed with knife
1 can of coconut milk
1 fillet of salmon, skin removed, cut into 1 inch cubes

8 medium scallops
10 mussels, cleaned
Fresh herbs (I used basil, thyme and oregano)

In large pot cook the onions and leeks in a little olive oil until onions are translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, cauliflower, and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add enough broth to cover the veggies by about an inch. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. You may want to add a bit more broth depending on how thick you want the chowder. Add corn kernels, coconut milk and salmon. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add scallops, mussels and fresh herbs and simmer for another 3 - 4 minutes or until all seafood is cooked. Serve piping hot with these potato biscuits.

Vegan Potato Biscuits

These biscuits are a cinch to make when you have left over mashed potatoes and are really delicious.  The inspiration for these comes from a non-vegan recipe in The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book. I happened to have a little Daiya cheese in the fridge so I topped each biscuit with a little before cooking. Super tasty but I think they would be just as good if you skipped the "cheese".

Vegan Potato Biscuits
1 cup soy milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup cold Earth Balance, cubed
3/4 cup mashed potatoes
Handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used basil, rosemary and thyme)
1/2 cup Daiya shredded cheese (Optional)

Dust rimless baking sheet generously with all-purpose flour; set aside.

Mix together soy milk and apple cider vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper. With pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly, with a few larger pieces.

In a separate bowl, whisk soy milk mixture with potatoes until smooth; pour over dry ingredients. With fork, toss together until soft ragged dough forms. Turn out onto floured surface; knead 3 or 4 times until dough holds together.

Pat out and with a round cookie cutter cut out biscuits. Arrange on prepared pan,sprinkle with cheese if desired. Bake in centre of 400°F oven until golden, about 18 minutes.