Sweets & Treats

Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Seeds

2-ingredient chocolate covered pomegranate seeds topped with shredded coconut. Store in fridge for a chocolate-y snack throughout the week.

Guys– I finally got my mini Christmas tree up this weekend.

Do you have yours up yet?

I picked one out at Whole Foods last week, walking up and down the sidewalk outside, searching for the most symmetric and full branches.

The trees were cute and well taken care of, with already attached tree stands and fine needles that don’t shed much.

Just my type.

Last Friday, I knelt on the woven red tree skirt and searched for the *perfect* place to put all of my childhood ornaments.

When M asked how he could help, I put him to work attaching green wire hooks to glass balls.

Together we distributed the trinkets amongst branches while Alexa played contemporary Christmas music in the background.

I don’t have any electric lights or a tree topper, but the result was still colorful and just the right balance of comforting and nostalgic.

Everything felt cozy and Christmas and nice.

I also seeded a pomegranate (and then covered it in Hu chocolate) this week.

These Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Seeds require just TWO ingredients for a quick holiday inspired treat!

…

Vegan & Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free gingerbread cookies sweetened with coconut sugar and molasses. Roll them into round cookies or cut into gingerbread men!

This past Sunday I ran a half marathon in my neighborhood.

While it was the longest run of the year, it was also by far the coldest.

My Apple electronics that I used to track the 13.1 miles started dying rapidly after the first 5K (which I later learned was probably a factor of the extreme cold and wind), so I finished the race with an educated guess at distance.

I went off of the established fact that 1 loop around the duck pond is equal to ~1 mile — in case you were curious.

It was quiet while I was running (I’d turned off the music to preserve battery life) so I had plenty of time to think.

I thought about 2020, about what a wild and heart-wrenching ride it’s been.

I thought about how I had signed up to run this race as an empowerment run; it was something to work for to establish my newfound post-divorce identity.

I also thought about Christmas, and how the holidays have a comforting way of showing up every year no matter how hard the months and days before it were.

Lucky for you, I also had time to think about Christmas baking.

So here’s a seasonably appropriate recipe for you, just in time for your holiday cookie exchanges.

These Vegan & Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies are naturally sweetened with blackstrap molasses and coconut sugar.

They also happen to be oil-free, grain-free, and an absolute delight to make and consume!

…

Vegan Dark Chocolate Swiss Roll

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

Vegan dark chocolate swiss roll with coconut swirl rolled in chocolate cake with a 2-ingredient chocolate ganache.

Guys, since we last spoke, I received my first Christmas card via snail mail.

Which is kind of a big deal, because I always tape all of my received holiday cards on the back of a door in my house.

A tradition my mom started in our house that I carry on in my own, watching the door fill up with Merry Christmases and Happy New Years!

The closer it gets to Dec 25 the harder it is to find space to tape up photos and greeting cards.

Yeah, this time of year had always been special to me and always will be.

The pearly white ceramic Christmas tree my grandma made for me sits to my left, faintly glowing with multi-colored bulbs.

M asked me last week what the function of a particular reindeer serving bowl was on my dining room table.

It has no function, I said, laughing. It just is.

And that’s the beauty in it, right?

Usually I’m team function over form any day of the week, but when it comes to Christmas, anything goes.

I have a special holiday inspired recipe to share with you today that has beautiful rolled form and a delicious function.

This Vegan Dark Chocolate Swiss Roll has a rich taste and appearance that is made with less than 10 good for you ingredients!

…

Tahini Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies with a tahini twist and plenty of dark chocolate chips. A vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free dessert!

OK, it’s officially cookie season, and I’m excited to share a cool new cookie with you.

I don’t use macadamia nuts enough, do you?

I’m always nuts for nuts, but macadamia nuts are one I tend to overlook.

My parents used to get a canister of them from Costco growing up and I savored the rich buttery nuts like golden nuggets.

These healthy holiday cookies are absolutely decadent, combined with tangy tahini and bittersweet dark chocolate.

You’re going to want to add these Tahini Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies to your holiday baking list this season.

They’re vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free made in 1-bowl with just eight easy ingredients.

…

Vegan Apple Cider Donuts

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Vegan apple cider donuts made with oats, almond butter, and apple cider finished with a refined-sugar-free cinnamon and apple chip dusting!

Did you learn any languages during quarantine this year?

For the past few weeks I’ve been learning German.

Well, for me, it’s actually a lot of re-learning because I took three solid year of German in high school.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

I’ve always struggled with languages, honestly.

I flunked out of Italian in college, and, to fulfill the language requirement, managed to pass two semesters of French that I have no memory of.

No, really, I must have tucked my knowledge of French in short term memory because it’s *all* gone now, down to the very last amour.

German must have stuck somehow, because words and phrases are starting to come back to me.

And, it’s fun having an app to motivate me with epic winning streaks.

Every night around 9 PM my DuoLingo app notifies me with a banner text message that it’s time to practice German.

I play until I have no “hearts” left, addicted to the “briiiiiing” signifying a correct answer and the wiggly dance the owl mascot makes when I hit a new goal.

I also retaught how to make donuts– because it’s been a second (and by a second, I mean years) since my last donuts recipe on the blog.

These Vegan Apple Cider Donuts are made vegan and gluten-free with oat flour, almond flour, almond butter, and apple cider.

Finish them off with a sweet refined-sugar-free dusting of coconut sugar and an apple chip crumble!

Sehr gut!

…

SunButter Sugar Cookies

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

3-ingredient “sugar” cookies made gluten and grain-free with SunButter! Finish them with red and green sprinkles for a festive treat.

Have you started decorating for the holidays yet?

I usually have a hard and fast rule of taking things one holiday at a time.

Which means I’m still hard at work on my Thanksgiving menu, thank you very much.

But many of my friends have told me they’ve already got their Christmas trees out and ready to rock around.

Which I support 100% , especially this year.

With much of the world spending more time at home than ever before, why not making it as cozy and Christmas-y for as long as possible?

Even though I haven’t started decorating or gift-giving yet, I did get my annual snowman Christmas cards in the mail.

If you’ve been following me a while you might know that Christmas cards are my thing.

I tried to explain my tradition to M, recently, who laughed and shook his head.

Yes, I’ve been writing snowman Christmas cards since I was 16 and yes I will continue to do so forever and ever.

Because there’s something about the joy of gifting and receiving snail mail that nothing else can come close to trumping.

Except, maybe, baking Christmas cookies.

I have a really simple, healthy, and deliciously festive cookie to share with you today that’s totally grain-free, refined-sugar-free, and oil-free.

You can make these SunButter Sugar Cookies with just 3-ingredients for a festive holiday treat!

…

Butternut Squash Pie with Almond Flour Crust

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan and gluten-free butternut squash pie with an almond flour crust. Perfect for a fun holiday dessert alternative to pumpkin pie!

Hey, guys!

Tomorrow will officially be two weeks until Thanksgiving Day.

What do you have planned for Thanksgiving?

Ever since the severity and length of the pandemic was obvious, I started to stress about how the holiday season would pan out.

“But what about the holidays?”

The thought loomed in my mind all summer and fall.

As COVID continues to rage on in United States, the fourth Thursday of November will look a little differently for me.

I’ll be zooming my parents and sister to share our Thanksgiving plates instead of sitting across from each other at their dining room table.

But friends, the most wonderful time of the year can still be wonderful.

Let’s create new traditions this year, like this Butternut Squash Pie with Almond Flour Crust.

It’s vegan and gluten-free with a sweet and creamy squash filling and a flaky almond flour based pie crust.

…

Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Easy 5-ingredient apple butter made with unsweetened applesauce. This fall spread is lightly sweet with maple syrup, apple cider, and a touch of kombucha.

I miss my extended family, guys.

Most of them are split between Indiana and North Carolina with a few scattered from coast to coast.

Our annual family reunion was canceled this year in an abundance of COVID caution.

We’re planning on connecting virtually over the holidays in a Zoom Room, but it’s not *quite* the same as exchanges hugs and laughs and food.

I texted my Aunt Janet on Halloween and told her how much I missed her apple butter.

I always coveted the little mason jars she sent to my parents and me, eating greedy spoonfuls on anything and everything.

It was brimming with fresh sweet apples, warm spices, and just the right amount of sweetness.

Feeling nostalgic, I decided to create my own apple butter this season that’s made super simple with applesauce.

You can make this Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter in under an hour with just 5 simple ingredients!

…

Pumpkin Apple Bliss Balls

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Pumpkin apple bliss balls made with oats, chia seeds, nut butter, pumpkin purée, and applesauce. Add baked apple chips and pecans for some crunch!

I’m writing this in my recliner next to windows so mottled with raindrops that the leaves on the trees look like an impressionistic painting.

The weather has been seriously gloomy this week.

Which is kind of a bummer because that means no outdoor adventures.

Well, unless you count braving the grocery store in sheets of rain.

The weather is a big switch from last week when I climbed Juliet’s Balcony at Great Falls National Park five times.

It was a good day of climbing; the rock felt grippy and malleable under my chalked fingertips and my feet found impossibly comfortable footholds.

At the top, I whooped and hollered and at the bottom I sat with M and we ate Pumpkin Apple Bliss Balls.

Usually when climbing outdoors pre-packaged bars are my go-to for refueling.

So it really was a treat to sink my teeth into these energy bites made with apple, oats, and pumpkin.

Make these Pumpkin Apple Bliss Balls in 10 minutes and take them with you anywhere you need a all boost!

…

Vegan Ferrero Rocher Truffles

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan ferrero rocher truffle copycat candies made with dark chocolate, coconut milk, and hazelnuts lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup.

Pumpkin carving is *always* harder than I think it will be.

And messier.

The pumpkin pulp managed to find its way around my living room despite the blanket of newspapers I spread underneath the carving space.

M and I knelt in concentrated silence, working our paring knives back and forth to create triangular teeth and wide oval eyes.

His was scary and mine was silly.

We arranged the pumpkins on the doorstep and backed up six feet to admire them from the sidewalk.

Lit with a single candle, their faces flickered, flanking either side of my doorstep like spooky watchmen.

I snapped a few pictures to document our success, beaming with pride at our pumpkin carving abilities.

I’m also pretty proud of these Vegan Ferrero Rocher Truffles that will light up your holiday season.

You just need five ingredients to make a vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free version of this classic candy!

…

Sweets & Treats

Footer

what’s happening now on instagram