Let's just call it like it is. Granola is a gift from the heavens.

It has a perfect crunch, it's sweet, and it's super versatile.

But if you get granola from the grocery store, it'll have a ton of extra sugar added in.

And making your own is such a chore, right?

Wrongo!

This granola has a total of 3 ingredients (all of which you probably already have in your pantry anyway), is a snap to make, and it won't give you a sugar coma, but will still satisfy your sweet tooth.

Plus your house will smell like delicious peanut butter goodness. Who wouldn't want that?

MIRACLE OF MIRACLES, THE EASIEST PEANUT BUTTER GRANOLA!

Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 30 mins
Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
- 3 cups of oats (best to use old fashioned, but you could use any really)
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup maple syrup

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 180 celcius
- Place oats in a large bowl
- In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter and maple syrup. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Pour over the oats and stir until well combined (at this stage, you can keep it as is, or add whatever else you want... a little sea salt, cinnamon, dark chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, or dried fruit are all great options)
- Spread the oats evenly onto the baking sheet
- Bake for 15 minutes, stir, then bake for another 15 minutes. or until granola is slightly golden brown
- Remove (don't stir when you take it out) and let cool completely on the baking sheet
- Store in an air tight container for up to 1 month (like it'll last that long)

These are just as delicious as they are adorable.

Put a little love in your heart and your belly with these lil' cute-sters.

Plus raspberry preserves. Nothing can go wrong when you've got raspberry preserves in a recipe.

I don't care how you felt about Valentine's Day before this... now you've got a reason to love it.

Yerm!

Recipea:

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoons ground flaxseed        
3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup vegan butter
3/4 cups white sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons powdered sugar
6 tablespoons raspberry preserves


Preheat oven to 180C.

In a small bowl, mix together the flax seeds and water and set aside to thicken.

In a medium bowl mix together all the dry ingredients.

In another medium bowl beat the vegan butter and sugar together until creamy.

Add the remaining wet ingredients including the flax mixture, and mix well to combine. Add the dry mixture into the wet in two batches and combine until a dough is formed.

Put the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick. Place it on a baking tray and chill for 15 mins in the freezer or 30 mins in the fridge.

Once chilled, use a heart cookie cutter to make as many heart cookies as possible. Leave half of the heart cookies whole, and use a smaller heart cookie cutter to cut out the center of the other half.

Continue until all the dough has been used up (you may need to stick it in the fridge between baking to keep the dough cold.

Lay the cookies on the parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 7 - 11 minutes, until they are just a little bit golden on the bottom.

Let the cookies cool completely. Place all of the cut-out heart cookies on a piece of parchment paper or plate. Use a fine strainer or sifter (I always use one of those clamp loose leaf tea holders - does the job perfect!) to sprinkle the powdered sugar over top.

Take the whole cookies and spread about 1 teaspoon of the jam over the top, keeping most of it in the middle of the cookie. Top with the sugar-coated cut-out cookie. Repeat with all the remaining cookies.

NOM.

It's a cake.

With crumbled up chocolate chip cookies inside.

Do I really need to say anything else?

Thought not.

Also, shout out to my good pal Dave, who's 33rd year of life inspired this delicious concoction. Who knows what 33.3 will bring!?

Recipea:
Makes 1 cake
Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 60 mins | Assembly time: 15 mins

Cake:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
8.5 tbsp dairy free butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup self raising flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Icing:
7 tbsp dairy free butter
2.5 cups icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tsp dairy free milk

Cookies:
Make 1/2 of my Best Chocolate Chip Cookies recipea (hyperlink isn't working for some reason - type "chocolate chip" into the search bar on my main page). Or make the whole thing. If you have way too many leftover, well that seems like a problem that isn't really a problem... to me, at least. Also you can freeze the dough for those times where you want cookies but can't be fussed to prep all the ingredients. Your future self will thank you.


Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 160 celcius and grease two round cake tins. Place parchment rounds on the bottom of each tin.

Mix the milk and vinegar in a small bowl and let sit for a few minutes.

Beat the butter and sugar for 1 minute or until combined. Mix in the vanilla.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and milk and vinegar mixture and beat until well combined.

Pour equally into your cake tins and bake until the cake springs back when pressed - or when a toothpick or knife comes out clean. Will probably be around 40 minutes, but check at 30 just to be sure.

Let cool in the pan.

Bake the chocolate chip cookies, following the "Best Chocolate Chip Cookies" recipea. Use teaspoon sized dough balls instead of tablespoons, so that you have smaller cookies to place whole on the top of the cake. Once the cookies are cooled, reserve 10-12 of the cookies for the top of the cake. Loosely break up the rest of them, making chocolate chip cookie chunks/crumbles.

Make the icing: Beat the butter to soften, and then gradually add the icing sugar and vanilla. Add in the dairy free milk to loosen the icing a little. Start with 1 teaspoon and if you need it looser, add a bit more milk in 1/2 teaspoon increments. Much easier to add than take away! If it gets too runny - add more sugar.

Once the cakes are cooled, run a knife around the sides. Lift one of the cakes carefully onto a cake plate. Spread a thin layer of icing over the top.

Place the crushed chocolate chip cookies on top of the icing. Go on - pack in as many as you can (reserving about 1/2 cup of the crumbs to decorate the outside of the cake).

Lift out the other cake onto a rack and spread a thin layer of icing on top of this cake as well. Carefully flip the cake icing side down, so that the icing side rests on the cookie crumbs. (If you think this will be too tricky, you can instead place a thicker layer of icing on the bottom cake and really press the chocolate chip cookies into the icing. Then just bypass the second layer of icing and place the second cake directly on the cookie layer.)

Spread the rest of the icing to cover the top and sides of the cake.

Arrange the 10-12 whole cookies you reserved on top of the cake and press the 1/2 cup of cookie crumbs you reserved onto the sides of the cake.

Enjoy the greatest fusion of cookies and cake you ever did eat!

Yes, you will be in a sugar coma after. It's worth it, don't worry.

Wondering what to do with the other half of that can of pumpkin from the Pumpkin Pasta recipea?

I've got your solution right here, baby.

These cinnamon rolls take only an hour to make - no rising overnight business... because let's be honest, when you're craving a cinnamon roll, you want one as soon as humanly possible. Ain't nobody got time for waiting till tomorrow...

So get in there, people! Delicious cinnamon rolls await!

Recipea:
Prep time: 45 mins | Cook time: 15 mins
Makes 12-20 rolls

4 1/2 teaspoons quick rise yeast
1 cup warm water 
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (*for the rolls pictured, I used half wholewheat and half all purpose. Either works well, but for more traditional rolls, go for all all-purpose)
1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon melted vegan butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
1/4 tea. vanilla extract

It's officially autumn. And all I want is blankets and baths and books and pumpkin bread.  I have two secret weapons. One is my Banana Bread. The other is this Pumpkin Walnut Bread.

That's right, I said it. These are perfection.

I've been trying for a WHILE to master the perfect pancake, and by golly I think I've done it.

The fluff factor of these bad boys are on point and the lemon and blueberry give them just the right amount of freshness.

Ohmygoodness. They are everything that is right and good in this world.

Whoever said vegan food is lame? These taste EXACTLY like the buttermilk pancakes I remember as a kid.

Make them. Do it. You can thank me later.

Recipea:
Makes 3 large pancakes. 
Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 15 mins

3/4 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
Big ol' handful of blueberries
3 teaspoons vegan butter

In a medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
Add lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. There'll be a fizzy reaction with the baking soda (ooh, science!).
Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and almond milk and stir until just combined.
Fold in the blueberries (however many you like).

In a preheated medium pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 teaspoon of the butter and pour 1/3 of the batter onto the pan, forming a large pancake. Let cook for 3-4 minutes, or until bubbles begin rising to the surface and popping in the center of the pancake. Flip and let cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side. Remove and set aside. Repeat this until you're done with the batter (there should be enough batter for about 3 large pancakes). Top with some more fresh zest and blueberries, maple syrup, and/or maybe even a little powdered sugar. Eat your heart out :]