This is a recipe I bummed off my fabulous friend, Teri. Her son has an extreme allergy to dairy and eggs, so she and I talk vegan tips and tricks on the regular. I’ve actually been jonesing for some cinnamon rolls for quite a while, but haven’t had the time or energy to make any of the recipes I’ve found (the dough for one of them actually required something like six hours in prep time before it was even ready to bake – not happenin’). She mentioned these out of the blue a few weeks ago and I finally got around to making them this past weekend. Consider the spot hit, my friend.

The best part about these is how super quick and easy they are to whip up. I’m talking 15 minutes from start to finish. More than enough time for a weekday morning before school or work.

Quick Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe courtesy of my friend, Teri

Ingredients

1 roll, original Pillsbury Crescents
Earth Balance spread
cinnamon/sugar mix
1/2 cup powdered sugar
water

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Unroll crescents onto an ungreased, non-stick baking sheet (keep dough intact, one big sheet)
• Spread Earth Balance on dough and top with cinnamon/sugar mix (all to taste)
• Roll dough back up and slice into 1 – 1/2 in. pieces
• Space rolls evenly on baking sheet and bake for ~10 min. Remove as soon as they begin to brown
• Meanwhile add very small amount of water to the powdered sugar and stir to combine. Continue adding water in small amounts until desired consistency is achieved
• Let rolls sit for a few minutes before applying icing

Yield: ~10 mini cinnamon rolls

I don’t know what it was that struck me about this recipe, but when I saw it in the latest issue of PETA’s Animal Times, I couldn’t wait to make it!

These things turned out to be a pretty versatile little treat. They work really well as a dessert, by themselves or warmed over a bowl of ice cream (almond or otherwise). I’m told they’re also stellar with a cup of coffee – which leads me to what I think is their best format: a breakfast bar. My husband grabbed one of these for breakfast nearly every day last week.

Let me know how you think they work best!

Vegan Blueberry Oatmeal Bars
Recipe courtesy of PETA’s Animal Times, Issue 2, 2011

Ingredients

1 15 oz can blueberries
2 tbs cornstarch
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Juice of one lemon
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Earth Balance

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 9×13 in. baking dish with cooking spray
• Drain canned blueberries, reserving the juice. Whisk the cornstarch into the blueberry juice. Place the canned berries, juice, fresh or frozen blueberries and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 min. Set aside to cool
• In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, salt and baking powder. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs
• Press 2/3 of the crumb mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 min. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 min.
• Spread the blueberry mixture over the crust. Top with the remaining crumb mixture and bake for an additional 20 to 30 min., until bubbly. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into bars

Yield: ~16 bars

This is Alicia Silverstone’s favorite homemade french toast. Coincidentally, it is also my favorite homemade french toast – which is easily my favorite breakfast food.

I saw this on her blog, The Kind Life, about a year ago and could not wait to try it out. I had really high hopes that this would be good because I missed the sweet, gooey goodness of egg-battered bread terribly. This more than exceeded my expectations.

Incredibly, this is 100% as good as traditional french toast and yet cruelty-free and actually somewhat healthy! I would serve this to a non-veg crowd any day.

Added bonus: this recipe takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. Perfect for a morning meal if you’re anything like me and can barely wait the time it takes to pour a bowl of cereal to get food in your mouth in the morning.

Vegan French Toast
Recipe courtesy of thekindlife.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups firm tofu
Bread of choice (I like Wheat & Oat bread from Rudi’s Organic)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs brown rice syrup
1/2 cups soy milk (any non-dairy milk will do)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tbs corn oil
1 tsp vanilla
Oil of your choice for grill or pan

Directions

• Blend all ingredients together until smooth and creamy
• If too thick, add more soy milk
• Dip bread in batter (scrape each side to remove excess before grilling) and fry in hot oiled skillet or griddle until browned on both sides
• Serve with maple syrup and Earth Balance