If you find #quarantinebaking relaxing, you are not alone! But sometimes trying those same basic recipes can get a bit boring. After all, how many times can you make that same recipe of banana bread?
It's time to getcreative with your baking. We dug through tons of food blogs to bring you the best dessert baking recipes you can try at home.
Matcha baked doughnuts
This unique recipe by loveandlemons pairs matcha's earthy flavor with sweet doughnuts.
Ingredients
You will need ¼ cup melted coconut oil, ⅓ cup cane sugar, 1 large egg, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon matcha powder, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla, 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour and ½ cup almond milk.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a bowl, whisk together coconut oil and sugar. Then add the egg and whisk again to combine.
Add the baking powder, baking soda, matcha powder, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla to the bowl and keep whisking!
Beginning with flour, alternate between adding flour & milk and repeat the process until thoroughly mixed.
After combining everything, draw the spatula through the batter. If the spatula leaves an indentation, your batter is ready.
Grease the doughnut pan, spoon in the batter, and bake for ten minutes.
Remove from the oven and let the yummy doughnuts sit for five to ten minutes before removing them from the pan.
Now comes the fun part: decorating the doughnuts with the following desired decorating options.
Matcha glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and matcha powder, then whisk in the almond milk until smooth. Dip each doughnut in the glaze and let the excess glaze drip off.
Matcha cane sugar: In a small bowl, mix the cane sugar and matcha powder. Add the melted coconut oil to a separate bowl and dip both sides of each doughnut, first into the coconut oil, and then into the sugar mixture.
Matcha powdered sugar: In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and matcha powder. Dip both sides of each doughnut into the sugar, tapping off any excess.
Caramel kisses brownies
These fudgy, gooey brownies jampacked with Caramel Hershey's Kisses by Atreatsaffairis every brownie lover's dream come true.
Ingredients
To make this mouth-watering recipe you will need 1/2 cup room temperature butter, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 2 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 bag Hershey's caramel kisses, and 1 egg.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter & sugar until it's light & fluffy.
Add two eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add the vanilla extract and combine.
Gently add the cocoa powder, salt, and flour. Then mix until just combined.
Reserve 3/4 cup of the batter and spread the remaining batter in the prepared pan.
Add the caramel kisses and arrange them on top of the brownie batter.
Mix the reserved 3/4 cup brownie batter with the remaining egg and pour it over the caramel kisses.
Bake the brownies in the preheated oven for about thirty-five minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting them into as many bars as you like.
Meyer lemon-blueberry cake
Craving something sweet & tart? Well, you're in luck! Thesedelectable bundt cakesbyCountry Livingare exactly what you need.
Ingredients
Gather 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter, 2 1/4 cup sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 cup sour cream, 1 tbsp grated Meyer lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons juice, 1 package blueberries, and nonstick baking spray.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F and coat a twelve-cup Bundt pan with baking spray.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
Combine butter and 2 cups of sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until it's light & fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until incorporated.
Beat in sour cream and lemon zest. Fold in blueberries. Transfer to prepared pan.
Bake for fifty to sixty minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for fifteen minutes, then invert onto a wire rack.
Combine lemon juice, 2 tablespoons water, and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Brush over hot cake. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon curd, if desired.
Thanks for signing up for Dessert of the Day!: Your 12-days of plant-based healthier dessert recipes are about to begin and make your holidays that much sweeter!
If you love sinful and fudgy recipes, made with better-for-you ingredients, you are about to receive, for free, 12-days of 'Healthier-for-You' Dessert of the Day recipes in your inbox every morning, along with three other plant-based recipe ideas to make that day. The first newsletter will come to you on Monday, December 7th.
Then every day you will get 12 days of delicious plant-based, low-sugar dessert recipes made with mostly whole foods, totally dairy-free ingredients and often they are oil-free and even gluten-free (but not all, so check before you make each one).
@the_bananadiaries
These desserts will be delivered straight to your inbox every morning along with three other recipes for healthier-for-you plant-based breakfasts, lunches and dinners to provide you with meals that compliment the desserts. Each newsletter will bring you four recipes to make cooking from home more delightful and delicious not to mention healthy and plant-based, so everyone in your household will be complimenting the chef this holiday season.
The desserts are the creation of plant-based recipe developer Britt Berlin, known as @the_bananadiaries on IG. She has also made follow-along videos to show you the step-by-step and every level of baker or cook can make these beautiful baked goods easily at home.
Here is your first healthier-for-you dessert, a Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake that is so easy to make, you don't even have to bake it! Watch the video below for inspiration.
And remember: With these plant-based recipes, you can have your cake and eat healthy, too.
Raw Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
Serves 10
Prep time: 15 minutes Chill time: 120 minutes
Ingredients
Crust
1 cup pitted Medjool dates (soaked for 4–6 hours)
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
3/4 cup cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup coconut milk, nut milk, or water
Cheesecake Filling
2 cup raw cashews (soaked for 3+ hours)
1 cup coconut cream
1 cup cacao powder
½ cup vegan peppermint candies
1/2–1 large lemon (squeezed)
Instructions
Line an 8″ springform pan with parchment paper (trick: to get the parchment paper to stick, grease the cake pan first with coconut oil and then place the parchment paper on top).
In a large food processor, add in all of the crust ingredients and blend until it forms a sticky dough.
Press the dough into the bottom of the cake pan evenly. Set aside.
In a large food processor, pulse the cashews and coconut cream until smooth.
Add in cacao powder, peppermint candies, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth and creamy (there shouldn't be any clumps of cashews).
Pour cheesecake batter into the pan and place on an even surface in your freezer.
Freeze for at least 2 hours, or until set.
When removing from the freezer to slice, allow the vegan chocolate cheesecake to come to room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Use a knife to wedge between the crust and the sides of the pan, then remove the springform pan sides.
Serve with more crushed vegan peppermint candies and enjoy!
Few things are as comforting as indulging in tasty treats with your friends and family over the holidays. But it doesn't mean that you should throw your health goals out the window during the festivities. Satisfy your sweet tooth—without derailing your healthy eating efforts—with these better-for-you dessert recipes that don't sacrifice flavor:
Fudgy Paleo Brownies: These delicious, melt-in-your-mouth brownies are made without any flour or sugar. Plus, the recipe requires just seven readily available ingredients and is super easy to put together. Pair it with homemade paleo ice cream and you've got a classic dessert to treat yourself to. Get the recipe here.
Keto Cinnamon Shortbread Cookies: Made with almond flour, these sugar-free shortbread cookies use less butter than traditional shortbread. Since the dough freezes well, you can make it ahead of time and bake as needed. Here's the full recipe. Add orange zest or dark chocolate to pack in more flavor. You might also want to check out this recipe for Gluten-Free Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies.
Vegan Berry Chocolate Tart: This decadent vegan dessert features a delectable berry curd filling along with rich white chocolate ganache nestled in melt-in-your-mouth pistachio shortbread crust. Garnish with a crown of colorful, antioxidant-rich berries and you're all set. Get the recipe here. This Dark Chocolate-Pistachio Tart recipe is also highly recommended.
Beet and Zucchini Chocolate Bundt Cake: Sneak more veggies into your diet with this decadent chocolate cake that is made with good-for-you ingredients like dark chocolate, extra-virgin olive oil, Greek yogurt, raw red beets and zucchini. In addition, the recipe swaps in whole grain flour for some of the all-purpose flour to make it even healthier. Here's the full recipe. These recipes for Low-Fat Gingerbread Cake and Tropical Fruit Bundt Cake are also highly recommended.
4-Ingredient Peppermint Chocolate Crunch Bars: These crispy, peppermint-flavored chocolate bars are the perfect last-minute treat to whip up during the holidays. Made with four simple ingredients, they require minimal culinary prowess to put together. Plus, they are vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free, what's not to like? Check out the recipe here.
Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Made with seven simple ingredients, these chewy, fiber-rich cookies are a healthy twist on traditional peanut butter cookies. Though the recipe uses brown sugar, you can go with pure maple syrup or stevia to make the recipe even more healthy. Get the recipe here.
Dark Chocolate Coconut + Cranberry Bark: This scrumptious holiday dessert is packed with the goodness of antioxidant-rich superfoods like cranberries, macadamia nuts and dark chocolate. Plus, you can assemble the whole thing in just ten minutes! You can swap macadamia nuts in the recipe with almonds, pecans or walnuts if you'd like. Check out the easy-peasy recipe here.
Vegan Strawberry Peppermint Cheesecake: Packed with wholesome ingredients like magnesium-rich cashews, pure maple syrup, coconut milk and fresh strawberries, this no-bake cake is as scrumptious as it's healthy. Here's the gluten-free, dairy-free cheesecake recipe.
Snowball Christmas Keto Cookies: These buttery shortbread cookies are made with better-for-you ingredients like almond flour and erythritol—a low-calorie sugar substitute. Plus, they can be put together in a snap. You can garnish the cookies with dried cranberries to make them look like cute Christmas ornaments. Nuff said. Get the recipe here. You might also want to check out these recipes for gluten-free Cranberry Coconut Macaroons and Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies.
Cherry Chocolate Walnut Truffles: Satisfy your sugar cravings without packing on the pounds with these delish vegan truffles that are made without any flour, oil or added sugar. I like to use soy milk in the recipe for an added protein punch. Get the recipe here. You might also like these recipes for Almond Chocolate Truffles and no-cook Date Truffles.
What's your go-to healthy holiday dessert? LMK in the comments below!
