Tag: Baking and Confections

Oatmeal Spelt Banana Bread [Vegan] | EmmaEats

Oatmeal Spelt Banana Bread, 2 ways [Vegan or Dairy-Free]

August 15, 2013 by EmmaEats

The first day of school will be here in a flash. Truth be told, I’m not ready for the first day of school quite yet. And, I’m pretty certain Emma isn’t either. How about you? Are you and the kids ready to call it quits on summer vacation already? Since the first few days of school will be rather bittersweet, I’m hoping to ease the bitterness with a few treats including these ever popular spelt crust pizza buns and this banana […]

Categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian • Tags: baking, Baking and Confections, banana bread, Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Chocolate, coconut oil, Coconut sugar, Cooking, dairy-free, Dessert, desserts, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, quick and easy, Recipes, School Snacks, spelt, Vegan, Vegetarian

Vanilla Bean & Cocoa Pate Sablees [Vegan] | EmmaEats

Vanilla Bean and Cocoa Pâte Sablées [Vegan]

August 8, 2013 by EmmaEats

One cannot predict when inspiration will strike. And, with all the warm summery weather, one might think that turning on the oven for anything, let alone to bake cookies might be the last thing on my mind. Maybe. But probably not. Over Emma’s break from school, we’ve made an effort to explore a few local bakeries and I was pleasantly reminded of a favourite childhood treat when we visited a nearby French patisserie. We’ve since been back a few times […]

Categories: Desserts, Recipes, Vegan • Tags: baking, Baking and Confections, Chocolate, chocolate pinwheels, Christmas, coconut oil, Cooking, dairy-free, Dessert, desserts, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, icebox cookies, Kid-friendly, nut-free, Recipes, Vanilla, Vegan

Chocolate and Raspberry Cake with Marshmallow Fluff Frosting

Chocolate and Raspberry Cake with Fluffy Marshmallow Frosting [Dairy-free]

July 25, 2013 by EmmaEats

We’re back! Happy Happy! We kicked off our summer by celebrating Katie’s birthday with a big old backyard barbecue on a rainy, hot, steamy and finally sunny Saturday. For those that have been visiting EmmaEats for awhile, you might know that our house doesn’t have central air-conditioning so hosting a large group, indoors, in the heat of the summer would likely make for a short and sweaty party! As we were pulling together the last-minute preparations, I was certainly […]

Categories: Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian • Tags: baking, Baking and Confections, Chocolate, coconut oil, Cooking, dairy-free, Dessert, desserts, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, Raspberry, Recipes

Ham and Cheese Quickbread

May 23, 2013 by EmmaEats

I wish everyday could be Mother’s Day. With children, there are few places where quiet can be found. Usually, quiet comes along with bleary-eyes late at night, or occasionally, early in the morning after a long night. Hopefully that quiet is accompanied by your significant other, maybe a glass of wine, or a good book or movie. Quiet came for me early on Mother’s Day morning. We had a late night the evening before so the girls were still asleep. I […]

Categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Recipes, Super School Snacks • Tags: baking, Baking and Confections, Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Cooking, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, Maple syrup, Mother's Day, nut-free, Olive oil, quick and easy, Recipes, Whole wheat flour

Vegan Strawberry Scones

April 18, 2013 by EmmaEats

I’ve experienced a major shift in cooking and baking this year. It’s revolutionary from my family’s perspective — a family of accomplished bakers and cooks who have relied entirely on using butter and animal fats to concoct so many marvelous creations. Slowly, I’ve been expanding into unknown territory – using new techniques and new ingredients. Alternate flours, vegan margarine, cocoa nibs, chia seeds (apparently they are the seeds used in Chia Pets!) and coconut oil: they’ve all come into our kitchen […]

Categories: Brunch, Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes, Super School Snacks, Vegan • Tags: baking, Baking and Confections, Biscuit, Brunch, coconut oil, Cooking, dairy-free, Dough, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, quick and easy, Recipes, scone, spring, strawberry, summer, Vanilla, Vegan, Whole wheat flour

Braided Easter Bread [Paszka] | EmmaEats

Braided Easter Bread, 2×2 ways

March 14, 2013 by EmmaEats

Food is more than just sustenance. It’s appreciation. It’s an exercise for your senses. It’s family. It’s tradition. Every Easter (and most Christmases), my Mother and prior to her, my Grandmother, made a golden sweet braided bread, similar to challah, baked in a large bowl to be shared during our celebratory feast. As a child, I didn’t really understand the meaning of the bread, only that I loved it and that it was a tradition of our family to share […]

Categories: Appetizers, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes • Tags: baking, Baking and Confections, Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Christmas, Cinnamon, coconut oil, dairy-free, Dessert, desserts, Easter, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, Recipes

Dairy-free Dark Chocolate, Apricot and Granola Muffins

[Dairy-Free] Dark Chocolate Granola Muffins with Honey and Apricots

February 28, 2013 by EmmaEats

It’s been a muffin-eating frenzy here lately. We don’t normally eat muffins very often. Many years ago, I had a failed attempt at making them (imagine mini boulders) and was scarred by the outcome. Now suddenly these little babies saunter into our kitchen and have been utterly irresistible to all members of our household. Emma even requested them for her snack day at school. Unbeknownst to her, these muffins are little fibre powerhouses. Between the whole wheat and spelt flours, […]

Categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes, Super School Snacks • Tags: Apricot, baking, Baking and Confections, Breakfast, Brunch, coconut oil, Cooking, dairy-free, Dried fruit, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Granola, Homemade, Honey, Kid-friendly, Muffin, Nigella Lawson, nut-free, quick and easy, Recipes, Whole wheat flour

Candy Cane Fudge

January 17, 2013 by EmmaEats

New Year’s resolutions are so overrated. This is the time of year where everyone feels the pressure to get fit, eat well and forego all extravagances after a month of indulgence. Many choose to go cold turkey – me, I prefer a more moderate approach. We eat more healthy foods, we work to get more active, we try to get more sleep and we still enjoy some treats. We’ve enjoyed a version of this fudge before – as Fudgey S’mores. […]

Categories: Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes • Tags: Baking and Confections, Candy cane, Chocolate, Cooking, Dessert, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Gift-giving, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, quick and easy, Recipes

Macaroons, Ginger Spice Cake and Crispy Mint Chocolate Bark

Homemade for the Holidays – Coconut Macaroons and Crispy Mint Chocolate Bark

December 27, 2012 by EmmaEats

Here’s a little gift to you – from our house to yours. Hope you and your families are having a wonderful holiday filled with much love, health, happiness and joy! Coconut Snowballs adapted from Diamonds for Dessert: Frosty the Snowman (makes 24 1 1/2″ snowballs) 3 1/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut 3/4 cup vanilla sugar pinch of ground kosher salt 3 egg whites (from large eggs) 1 tsp pure vanilla extract a few squares of dark chocolate Line a baking sheet […]

Categories: Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes • Tags: Baking and Confections, Candy cane, Chocolate, Christmas, Cooking, dairy-free, Dessert, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, quick and easy, Recipes, Rice Krispies

Family-friendly Christmas Fruitcake

December 20, 2012 by EmmaEats

Fruitcake snob = me. For the first 30+ years of my life, I did not like fruitcake. The thought of aged cake with glaceed fruits and almond paste that could be a year old or more was unfathomable. I was blissfully living a fruitcake-free existence when I realized that G loves it. I had no choice but to find a way to make this traditional cake palatable. Fruitcake has now become a family favourite. This was even our wedding cake. […]

Categories: Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes • Tags: Autumn Recipes, baking, Baking and Confections, Christmas, Christmas cake, Dessert, Dried fruit, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Fruitcake, Gift-giving, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, Recipes

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cherry Bites

December 6, 2012 by EmmaEats

It can’t be so. Cookies with no nuts, no butter and no eggs and entirely irresistible. Well, it is indeed so. These incredibly flavourful cookies are definite crowd-pleasers and even diehard non-vegans won’t even notice that these tasty morsels are in fact without the butter, egg and nut triumvirate. Emma picked these for her school snack day awhile back and the platter came back clean. Empty. As were the bowls of them at her birthday party. As was the tray […]

Categories: Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes, Super School Snacks, Vegan • Tags: Autumn Recipes, baking, Baking and Confections, Cherry, Chocolate, Chocolate chip, coconut oil, Cooking, dairy-free, Dessert, desserts, Dried fruit, Fall recipes, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, quick and easy, Recipes, spelt, Vegan

Ginger and Spice Cake

November 29, 2012 by EmmaEats

Not all cakes have to be frilly, frosted and fantastical in nature to knock your socks off. We’re heading into the holiday season and this cake is the perfect way to kick it off. It doesn’t sparkle. It’s not iced. It isn’t fancy in any sense of the word. But what it lacks in wow factor at first sight, it makes up for with the first bite. We’ve been eating it ever since the coolness of autumn started to roll […]

Categories: Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes • Tags: Autumn Recipes, baking, Baking and Confections, Brunch, Christmas, Cinnamon, coconut oil, Cooking, Dessert, desserts, Fall recipes, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Ginger, Gingerbread, Homemade, Kid-friendly, Maple syrup, nut-free, quick and easy, Recipes, spelt, Spice Cake, Whole wheat flour, Winter recipes

Dairy-free Vanilla Birthday Cake with Rose Ombre Frosting

November 15, 2012 by EmmaEats

Another year has flown by in the blink of an eye. Actually, the last five years have flown by in the blink of an eye. Yesterday, we celebrated Emma’s 5th birthday. How could it be five years already? What a wonderful young girl you’ve become, Emma! She wows us often with her inquisitiveness, her kind heart and cheerful nature. There are so many things we love about our Emma. She brings her artistic creations home from school everyday […]

Categories: Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes • Tags: baking, Baking and Confections, coconut oil, dairy-free, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, Recipes, Stuart McLean, Vanilla

Ein Prosit — Whole Wheat and Honey Dairy-Free Pretzel Bites

October 18, 2012 by EmmaEats

Oktoberfest is here. Or at least it was here until earlier this month. Years ago, living in Waterloo, we celebrated with the locals at the second largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world. There was lots of warm, comforting and filling Bavarian food including bratwurst, sauerkraut, schnitzel and pretzels. Things have changed since then — now that we are parents, the only biergarten we occasionally see is the one at the German pavilion at Disney’s Epcot. Thankfully, they have good pretzels! […]

Categories: Appetizers, Really Yum Yum, Recipes, Sides, Super School Snacks • Tags: baking, Baking and Confections, coconut oil, Cooking, dairy-free, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Germany, healthy, Homemade, Kid-friendly, nut-free, Oktoberfest, Pretzel, Recipes, Whole wheat flour

What have you got — Cheerios Cranberry and Granola Magic Wands (dairy-free)

October 4, 2012 by EmmaEats

Now here’s a snack fit for a princess. Or your superstar. In our household, we are currently going through very large quantities of Cheerios. Boxes of them. Are Cheerios something that your little ones enjoy a lot? Katie loves handfuls them. Emma loves bowlfuls them. Dry or in milk — it’s all very well-received and quickly consumed. This is why it is no surprise that a) Emma was flipping through a Cheerios cookbook; b) she came across a Cheerios snack […]

Categories: Desserts, Recipes, Super School Snacks • Tags: Baking and Confections, Cheerios, coconut oil, dairy-free, Dessert, desserts, Dried cranberry, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Gift-giving, Granola, Homemade, Kid-friendly, Marshmallow, nut-free, quick and easy, Recipes

Winter is Coming — Apple Spice Layer Cake with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Frosting [Dairy-Free]

September 27, 2012 by EmmaEats

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. I am thankful that although winter is coming, it is not quite here. Thankfully, it’s still months away! We’re just being greeted by Autumn — with her cool evenings, sunny days and breathtaking colours. It also means apple season is here and it’s time to take advantage of something else Autumn has brought us. Crisp, fresh and flavourful apples. This apple cake was inspired by many attempts to make the right apple cake over past […]

Categories: Desserts, Recipes • Tags: apple season, Autumn Recipes, baking, Baking and Confections, Cinnamon, Cooking, dairy-free, Dessert, desserts, Fall recipes, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, Maple syrup, nut-free, quick and easy, Recipes, royal gala apples, spelt, spelt flour

Whole Wheat Banana Flax Baked Pancakes on fresh fruit skewers

I can make it on time — Whole Wheat Banana Flax Baked Pancakes

September 27, 2012 by EmmaEats

There is no longer any reason to start your morning without pancakes. Even when you’re running late. Like you, I try to do my best to provide a well-rounded healthy breakfast for my kids. Even though it only takes a few minutes to scramble an egg in the microwave/make toast/have a half a banana, somehow, that is too much to coordinate some mornings. Overhearing Emma’s teacher asking the children what they had for breakfast one morning got me thinking. Nearly […]

Categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Lunch, Really Yum Yum, Recipes, Super School Snacks • Tags: baking, Baking and Confections, banana bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Chocolate chip, coconut oil, Cooking, dairy-free, Dessert, Family-friendly, Flax, Food, food-photography, Homemade, Kid-friendly, Maple syrup, nut-free, Pancake, quick and easy, Recipes, School Snacks, Whole wheat flour

Get the Balance Right — Homemade Caramel Corn, 4 ways

August 9, 2012 by EmmaEats

We’re fresh off a visit to Disney World. One of Emma’s favourite Disney treats, among the many, is caramel corn. In general, it’s off-limits since most varieties are plastered with peanut warnings or contain added nuts. So we’re not talking just any caramel corn here. This is a nut-free, explicitly-stated-on-the-package kind which we only find at one shop over on Main Street. On past trips, we’ve even returned home with a few bags. This time, however, we didn’t have to! […]

Categories: Desserts, Really Yum Yum, Recipes, Vegetarian • Tags: Baking and Confections, Caramel corn, Cherry, Chocolate, Cooking, Cranberry, dairy-free, Dried fruit, Family-friendly, Food, food-photography, Gift-giving, Homemade, Kid-friendly, Maple syrup, nut-free, Recipes, Vegetarian