Your holiday present from Iowa City's vegan foodies, Christmas recipes everyone can enjoy

Joyce Marner
·4 min read
Vegan holiday pancakes
Vegan holiday pancakes

I asked the vegan group for their favorite traditional Christmas recipes.

This group seems more about trying new things than sticking to tradition. Vicky Siefers sent this mouthwatering recipe from The Conscious Plant Kitchen Pinterest site. I googled the Conscious Plant Kitchen where I found many easy vegan recipes “to help you live a vegan lifestyle while saving the planet one bite at a time.” Vicki says this recipe is easy-peasy to stir up. Remember that the plant butter has to be cut in cold and kept cold for the buttery layers to form air pockets when baking.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Scones

  • 2 cups flour

  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

  • 1/3 cup sugar

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder

  • 8 Tablespoons cold plant butter or solid coconut oil

  • 1/2 cup plant milk

  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Mix flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl with whisk until well mixed.  Cut in the cold plant butter with a pastry cutter until pea sized pieces form.

Pour the milk and vanilla over the mixture and stir in until just mixed.  Add the chocolate chips and mix in with hands until a ball forms.  The dough will be sticky.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes, place on a floured surface and press into an 8 inch disc.

Cut into 8 wedges and place the wedges back in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 while waiting.

Place the wedges on a piece of parchment paper on a baking pan.  Brush the wedges with non-dairy creamer and place the pan on a middle rack in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  The author says this does not work for gluten free flour so be sure to use all purpose.

Vegan chocolate chip scones
Vegan chocolate chip scones

Sara Pinkham made Cinnamon Roll Pancakes, a fun breakfast for children and parents alike.

The recipe is taken from the new cookbook by Chloe Coscarelli entitled “Chloe Flavor”. Chloe sprang to fame by becoming the first vegan chef to win top prize on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars  and was named to the 2017 Class of 30 Under 30 by Forbes. She and her four best-selling cookbooks are a delight.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

  • 1 cup almond milk (or other plant-based milk)

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

  • 3 tablespoons vegan margarine or refined coconut oil, at room temperature

  • 5 tablespoons light brown sugar

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • Vegetable oil, for greasing

Glaze

  • 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

  • 1/4 cup water

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk and maple syrup. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk to combine. Do not overmix.

In a small bowl, mix together the margarine, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Transfer to a pastry bag or plastic zip-top bag and snip off one corner.

Lightly grease a large nonstick skillet or griddle and heat over medium heat. When the pan shimmers, measure out ¼ cup of the batter (or eyeball it) and pour it onto the skillet.

Pipe a circular swirl of the cinnamon mixture into the batter. Repeat to fill the skillet. When small bubbles appear in the center of the pancakes, after about 4 minutes, flip. Cook on the other side for about 1 minute more, until lightly browned and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil to the skillet between batches as needed.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and water and whisk until smooth.

Drizzle the pancakes with the glaze and serve.

When the sweet treats of the Christmas season have been thoroughly enjoyed and finished, we turn our thoughts to January and New Year’s Resolutions. If you are looking for inspiration to eat healthy, save the planet and be kind to animals, google the site “Veganuary”.

I join this free program every year to learn new tips about cooking and I receive 31 days of recipes and positivity. Their cookbook is free to download and you will receive their Celebrity Cookbook 2023 edition.

Who can resist Mayim Bialik’s Dilled chickpea burger with spicy yogurt sauce or Dr. Jane Goodall’s #Eatmeatless Strawberry “Cheese”cake or Venus Williams’ Trio of smoothies?

If you are looking for a new tradition for 2023 check out this valuable resource. Have a happy and healthy New Year.

Joyce Marner is on the board of Vegan Community of Eastern Iowa. Send questions or comments to veganeasterniowa@gmail.com. Visit the VCEI website at https://www.veganeasterniowa.org/  or join the group on Facebook and Meetup.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Vegan Christmas recipes