Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Dance of the Sugar Plum Vegan

There is something magical about the Nutcracker ballet... the music, the story, the thought of a land filled with endless sweets. Many years growing up, I looked forward to wearing my holiday dress and using those little glasses to magnify the dancers up on their toes. I would leave the theatre feeling like I too had been transported to the land of the sugar plum fairy with a nutcracker prince at my side. Since I didn't make it to the ballet this year, I put together my own little video to whisk me away to that magical place filled with holiday sweets...
(music from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker)


This year's holiday baking included veganizing some of my childhood favorites. They turned out so well that I'm going to share the recipes...


Mounds Bars - a graham cracker crust with a gooey coconut filling and topped with a layer of chocolate

Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance vegan butter, melted

1 cup coconut (sweetened, not dessicated)
3/4 cup sweetened condensed soy milk (recipe here)
1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 T chunky peanut butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix crumbs, sugar, and melted earth balance and press into an 8x8 pyrex dish.
2. Combine coconut, sweetened condensed soymilk, and vanilla in a small bowl. Spread carefully on top of crumbs in an even layer.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in 350 oven. Remove from oven and cool.
4. Melt chocolate chips on a double broiler. Add in peanut butter. Spread on top of baked bars.
5. Refrigerate until chocolate has set and ready to serve. Store in refrigerator.


Pecan Tassies - a creamy dough with a sugary sweet pecan filling

Ingredients:

1/3 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter, softened
1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp EnerG egg replacer + 2 T water
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 T Earth Balance vegan butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Line a mini muffin pan with liners and lightly oil. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer, cream together softened cream cheese and butter. Mix in flour until well incorporated. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
3. Shape dough into 24 - 1 inch balls. Place balls into greased muffin cups. Press dough into the bottom and up the sides of the cups.
4. Beat together the EnerG, sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Add the chopped pecans.
5. Fill the dough lined muffin cups with the pecan mixture. Top with extra pecans if desired.
6. Bake for 25 minutes at 325, or until filling is set. Remove from oven and cool until able to remove the tassies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup chunky natural peanut butter
2 cups crisped brown rice cereal
1/2 cup sweetened coconut

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combin rice cereal and coconut, set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil.
3. Add peanut butter and return to a boil. Continue to boil for approximately one minute.
4. Pour sugar and corn syrup mixture over cereal mixture and quickly coat the cereal.
5. Drop 1 T sized balls onto waxed paper and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday full of friends, family, and of course, lots of vegan sweets.

31 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I LOVE THE NUTCRACKER!! And the Sugar Plum Fairy dance/song is my favorite part :-D

Love the treats!!

Anonymous said...

This is sweets nirvana!! I have to try those Mounds bars (the HH will be forever in your debt--it's his favorite flavor!) :)

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Merry Christmas, Amanda, you vegan baker extraordinaire!

Anonymous said...

I've always wanted to see the Nutcracker. Those bars look so yummy, I'm craving one right now!

Eddie G said...

Wow...this is really making it difficult to be "good" this week! I'm tempted to get off my diet and start my detox at the new year :)

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

Just took down the recipe for your Pecan Tassies! I've never had one but they look so good.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that all sounds great- Thanks for sharing the recipes!

Leslie Richman said...

Delightful!!!

MeloMeals said...

I know you have a cool day job that you went to school for, but man oh man.. you should really open a bakery in all your spare time!

Anonymous said...

The mounds bars are awesome! I didn't realize it was veganized until you shared the recipe. Your sweets video is too cute. I saw the Nutcracker on ice when I was little and Sergio thinks the Nutcracker is a little scary.

Bex said...

The nutcracker is great. I've never seen it live though. I should make that a priority next season as I'm sure it's wonderful.

The sweets. Oh the Sweets! They look. . . .oh . . .so happy . . .no words . .

Happy Holidays!

Amy said...

Mmm it all looks amazing! And I'm especially loving the thought of those crispy peanut butter balls!

Erin said...

What a load of holiday treats! The pecan tassies look particularly good.

DJ said...

Wow - a Christmas Extravaganza of Vegan Sweets - I like it!!

Theresa said...

Happy christmas, Amanda! It looks like you celebrated in the yummiest of ways!

aTxVegn said...

Happy Holidays, Amanda! Those treats look fantastic!

Unknown said...

Wish I could have sampled the santa hat cupcakes at FNB night, but they quickly disappeared! : ) Thanks for posting the recipes of your delicious treats and I look forward to the one for the mint choc cookies, too. Dee-lish!!!

Would you believe I used to perform in a version of the Nutcracker at the Salt Palace every December while growing up. It was a big thing for little aspiring ballerinas, though we were terrified of our instructor -- she carried a stick. I was always glad for the holiday break, when I wasn't practicing 4 times a week and could enjoy family time and Christmas sweets. : )

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Ooh, everything looks so good! I think Ryan would love those Mounds bars! Happy Holidays!

Lauren said...

MOUNDS BARS!!! Ahhhh...droooool!

Happy Holidays, have a great new year!

tofufreak said...

yum! thanks for the recipes!!! (as if i needed more sugar! :D )

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

The Nutcracker! I loved your video! Thanks for sharing the recipes!

Bethany said...

nice video! I really liked the cupcakes with the frosting points and the ballerina.

of course the other cupcakes and delicious treats look awesome too.

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

Thanks for sharing your lovely photos and recipes!

...barbara... said...

you're creations continue to amaze me....
they look so lovely....
in the pile of desserts to try...
happy holidays...

jessy said...

i loved the video! so awesome! what wonderful & beautifully decorated holiday treats! i loved the santa hat cuppies and the snowmen ones the most! your mound bars = drooooooolworthy! and those pecan tassies = omg, mmmmmmmmm! thanks for the fun video and rock'n recipes!

hope your holiday was glorious, too! yay!

Anonymous said...

I have been trying to figure out how to make a vegan version of magic bars (your mounds bars) for ages. Thanks SO much for the recipe!

A.M. said...

Everything looks amazing!

Anonymous said...

I have such a mad crazy craving for sweets right now it's killing me to see the pic of your mounds bar and not go make them right now. Definitely saving the recipe for later.

Anonymous said...

Your cupcakes are making me so hungry! Love that you set them to music, as baking is an art form in itself. Thanks for blogging. I enjoy what you do!

Amanda said...

Just made the Mounds bars and they're fantastic! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

Qupid said...

Gosh! I can already tell that 2009 is going to be the hungriest year of my life. Your recipes are awesome!! Everything tastes better when it's vegan. I can't wait until I can cook all of this!

By the way, your blog is the second vegan blog with great recipes that I found by searching for "the vegan dance". Unfortunately, I haven't found the official vegan dance yet. Do we have one?