Unboxed: 6 vegan holiday dessert recipes for a festive season
Natural brands offer six fabulous holiday dessert recipes that use plant-based products in place of traditional dairy. Share these ideas with customers.
![Unboxed: 6 Vegan holiday dessert recipes to Enrich the Festive Season Unboxed: 6 Vegan holiday dessert recipes to Enrich the Festive Season](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt09e5e63517a16184/bltc72b63ccb5620f73/6536eb16f0e43d76a98c35b2/unboxed-vegan-holiday-desserts-featured-image.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Miyokos Creamery: Vegan Flaky Pie Crust
INGREDIENTS
— 2 cups pastry flour
— 1 tablespoon sugar
— 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
— 1 block Salted European Style Plant Milk Butter
— 1 tablespoon olive oil
— 2 tablespoon ice cold water
DIRECTIONS
— Put the flour in a bowl, and combine with sugar and salt.
— Cut the butter into 1-inch chunks, and using a pastry cutter, cut it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. A few pea-size chunks of butter are fine—they'll make the crust flakier!
— Drizzle in the olive oil and mix with a rubber spatula to combine.
— Finally, drizzle in the ice water, making sure to add only enough for the mixture to come together in a ball and stick together. It does not need to be smooth and it should not be wet. — Be careful not to overhandle.
— Form two balls, flatten slightly, and then wrap in wax paper or parchment and chill for a half hour or longer.
— When ready to roll out dough, roll out between two sheets of parchment. Peel the top sheet, place an inverted pie pan on it, then flip.
— Press into the pan, then peel off the other sheet of parchment. Repeat with the other ball.
Fill and bake as desired.
Milkadamia: Orange Cranberry Scones
INGREDIENTS
— 1/2 cup Milkadamia, unsweetened
— 2 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
— Zest of 1 orange
— 2 cups all-purpose flour
— 1/2 cup vegan cane sugar
— 1/4 cup chilled vegan buttery spread
— 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
— 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
— 1 teaspoon vanilla
— 1/2 cup cranberries, chopped
INGREDIENTS FOR ICING
— 1 cup powdered sugar
— 1-2 tablespoons orange juice
DIRECTIONS
— Preheat oven to 400°F.
— Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and whisk together. Add buttery spread to bowl. Cut in using a pastry cutter or two knives until the dough begins to form fine crumbs.
— Stir in the cranberries and orange zest.
— Add milk and vanilla; mix until it becomes a soft and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl
— Turn onto a parchment-lined cooking sheet sprinkled with flour and shape into a 8″ circle or use a springform pan.
— Cut into 8 triangles and gently separate scones, ensure they enough room to spread out as they bake.
— Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and edges begin to brown.
— Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Califia Farms: Pumpkin Pie Bars
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRUST
— 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
— 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon Califia Farms Pumpkin Spice Creamer
— 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
— 1 teaspoon baking powder
— 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING
— 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
— 1/2 cup cashews, soaked in water for 30 minutes
— 1/4 cup Califia Farms Pumpkin Spice Creamer
— 3/4 cup brown sugar
— 1/4 cup cornstarch
— 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
— 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
— 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
— Vegan whipped cream for garnish, optional
— Cinnamon for garnish, optional
DIRECTIONS
— Soak cashews in water for 30 minutes, then drain. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
— In a large bowl, beat together softened vegan butter with dark brown sugar with a hand mixer for 1 minute. Add Califia Farms Pumpkin Spice Creamer and mix in. Add flour, baking powder and salt and fold together until a thick cookie dough forms.
— Add cookie dough to a parchment-lined 8x8 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.
— Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
— Flatten dough with the bottom of a cup, set aside and continue to cool.
— Separately, in a blender or food processor, combine pumpkin puree, cashews, Califia Farms Pumpkin Spice Creamer, brown sugar, cornstarch, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Blend together until smooth.
— Pour the filling on top of the cookie crust and bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.
— Garnish with vegan whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
— 8 ounces Kite Hill Butter, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing on cookies
— 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup for working with the dough
— 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
— 2 teaspoons orange zest (optional)
— 1/4 teaspoon salt
— 8 ounces Kite Hill Plain Cream Cheese
— Turbinado sugar (or similar), for sprinkling
— 1/2 cup raisins
— 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
— 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
— 1/8 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS
— Using a teaspoon, scoop the 8 oz of butter into small pieces and place in a bowl. Freeze for 20 minutes.
— Place 4 pieces of cling wrap on the counter.
— For the dough, place the 2 cups of flour, granulated sugar, zest (if using), and salt in a large food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add cream cheese in small scoops, then pulse until well combined. It will start to come together into pea sized pieces of dough while also remaining a bit crumbly. Scrape sides and bottom. Add butter and pulse until butter is broken up and a cohesive dough just starts to form. Do not over-process.
— Remove dough from food processor and separate into 4 even pieces. Place each on cling wrap, form into a thick disc, wrap, and place in fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
— Before taking out of the fridge, prepare the filling. Place filling ingredients in a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Turn on until mixture is very finely processed and crumbly. Nut and raisin pieces will be the same in size and evenly distributed. Mixture will stick together when you press between your fingers. Scrape into bowl.
— Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 2 small, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper (quarter sheet size).
— Add 1/2 cup additional all-purpose flour to a small bowl. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside. Dough softens very quickly, so it is imperative to work quickly in these next steps.
— Generously flour your clean work surface. Working quickly, remove 1 disc from the fridge. Flour top of the dough and rolling pin generously. Roll out to 8-inches wide (no larger), a little over 1/8-inch thick. Add more flour under the dough if it starts to stick. Scoop 1/2 cup of the nut and raisin mixture onto the rolled dough and evenly distribute, pressing in gently, and leaving 1/2-inch border with no filling around the edge. Using a pizza wheel, slice into 12 equal pieces. (You can start by slicing down the center, then down the center in the other direction, to form quarters. Then, slice each quarter into 3 equal pieces to get 12.)
— Quickly and gently roll each triangle towards the center with your fingertips (and with help of a bench scraper or offset spatula if needed). Place on the baking sheet. Repeat. All 12 should fit in two rows on the baking sheet. You might hit a small pocket of soft/melted butter here and there, this is normal. Place filled baking sheet in the fridge. Repeat rolling of dough steps with 1 more disc of dough. Place cookies on second baking sheet.
— Remove first baking sheet from the fridge. Lightly brush cookies with melted butter and sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar.
— Place both baking sheets in the oven for 27-33 minutes on separate racks. Rotate pans after 15 minutes. Cookies are done when starting to look light golden brown at the edges. Let cool for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Let cool another 20 minutes before eating. Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.
— Once baking sheets are completely cool, replace parchment paper and repeat steps with remaining 2 discs of dough.
Violife Foods Vegan Buche de Noel
INGREDIENTS
— 1 cup almond milk
— 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
— 1/2 cup golden caster sugar
— 1 tablespoon cacao powder
— 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
— 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
— 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
— 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING
— 1 pack Violife Just Like Cream Cheese Original
— 1/2 cup icing sugar
— 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
— Preheat the oven to 350°F.
— In a small bowl combine the vinegar with the almond milk and whisk. Set aside for 10 minutes.
— In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, cacao powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
— Add the melted coconut oil to the almond milk mixture and whisk. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
— Line a baking tray and pour in mixture, spreading evenly. Bake for 15 minutes.
— On your working surface, lay a piece of baking paper and sprinkle with cacao powder. Flip the sponge cake onto the baking paper and peel away the original paper. Start rolling up from the short side with the baking paper inside. Set aside to cool.
— To make the filling, whisk the Violife Just Like Cream Cheese Original with the icing sugar until mixture is creamy and add the vanilla extract.
— When sponge cake is cool, unroll it and spread a thin layer of the creamy mixture all over. Tightly re-roll without the paper inside. Wrap with baking paper and place inside the fridge until ready to serve.
— To serve, sprinkle with icing sugar, cacao powder or sprinkles of your liking.
Melt Organic Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
INGREDIENTS
— 1 cup Melt Organic Vegan Butter Sticks, softened at room temperature
— 1 cup sugar
— 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
— 1/2 cup cocoa powder
— 2 1/4 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
— 16 ounces melted dark chocolate
— 1/2 cup crushed candy canes
DIRECTIONS
— Preheat oven to 350°F.
— Soften Melt Organic Butter at room temperature.
— In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until well incorporated and creamy. Add vanilla and cocoa powder and continue beating until incorporated. Add gluten-free flour and beat just until mixture starts to come together.
— Transfer to a non-stick surface sprinkled with some flour. Knead the dough slightly into a ball. Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness, then cut into desired shapes.
— Transfer to parchment paperlined baking sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. Let cool completely before decorating.
— Melt dark chocolate and crush candy canes. Dip/drizzle cookies with chocolate and sprinkle with peppermint. Let harden before eating. Enjoy!
Melt Organic Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
INGREDIENTS
— 1 cup Melt Organic Vegan Butter Sticks, softened at room temperature
— 1 cup sugar
— 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
— 1/2 cup cocoa powder
— 2 1/4 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
— 16 ounces melted dark chocolate
— 1/2 cup crushed candy canes
DIRECTIONS
— Preheat oven to 350°F.
— Soften Melt Organic Butter at room temperature.
— In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until well incorporated and creamy. Add vanilla and cocoa powder and continue beating until incorporated. Add gluten-free flour and beat just until mixture starts to come together.
— Transfer to a non-stick surface sprinkled with some flour. Knead the dough slightly into a ball. Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness, then cut into desired shapes.
— Transfer to parchment paperlined baking sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. Let cool completely before decorating.
— Melt dark chocolate and crush candy canes. Dip/drizzle cookies with chocolate and sprinkle with peppermint. Let harden before eating. Enjoy!
The annual parade of pies, cakes, cookies and other holiday desserts is nearly upon us.
Natural products consumers load up on Regenerative Organic Certified flour and cans of organic pumpkin puree. They roam market aisles, filling carts with domestic pecans, Fair Trade Certified sugar, organic peppermint oil and sustainable vanilla, along with jam made from upcycled fruits and pasture-raised eggs.
While many traditional holiday bakes call for dairy, today's natural grocery stores also offer a wide range of plant-based dairy products, alternatives to butter, cream and everything in between.
Whether they are vegans, flexitarians, omnivores or even just cooking for others, consumers now have myriad options to add more plant-based sweets and desserts to their holiday tables, thanks to top-notch alternatives crafted from cashews, soybeans, oats and other popular ingredients.
To make this switch easy for everyone, some of the industry’s leading plant-based dairy brands invest in testing recipes and publishing them online.
Click through the gallery for exquisite holiday desserts recipes from six vegan dairy brands.
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