Vegan Christmas
Vegan Christmas Dinner
We celebrate Christmas here. This year we had a few people over who were not interested in trying a vegan meal. So, in the spirit of the holidays, we suggested they bring the "meat" dish of their choice, and promised they'd love our sides. (The bit of non-vegan fare on the table is not shown in photo.)
Our dinner was almost identical to our Thanksgiving. I begged Jane and she acquiesced, but I don't think I'll be getting a repeat any time soon. We're still eating leftovers and she's starting to tire of the same meal, after all we just had a week of it for Thanksgiving. Regardless of her waning enthusiasm, it's a spectacular meal. The mashed cauliflower was a huge hit, as was our stuffing. The red cabbage has been a standing family dish forever, and people always comment on our brussels sprouts.
Vegan Christmas Cookies
But the big winner was the cookie tray. Jane did a ton of baking this year. My expanding waistline can attest to two facts: 1) It is possible to gain weight on a vegan diet; and 2) vegan desserts can be DELICIOUS.
Starting at the 9 o'clock position and moving clockwise we have:
- Vegan Brownies from The Joy of Vegan Baking, the best brownies ever!
- Nikki's Healthy Cookies from the 101 Cookbooks blog (I didn't care for these. Jane added sugar, and they still weren't sweet enough for my taste). Jane won't be making these again, but we did hear rave review from one of our guests.
- Zimtsterne (or Cinnamon Stars) from Mihl's blog Seitan Is My Motor. Jane's favorite non-vegan cookie... this recipe is almost as good! A definite addition to her repertoire.
- Spritz cookies (Jane veganized her standard recipe).
- Lemon Gems from Gails blog, Cooking at the Pacific Outpost. We've had several requests for this recipe and these were my favorite cookies by far. Gail also has a recipe for Spritz cookies that Jane said she might try next year.
- Peppermint truffles. Jane's concoction. I have no idea what's in them, but damn they're good!
- Ganache truffles. Jane used a failed Daring Bakers' ganache for the December Challenge (that's tomorrow's post) and rolled them in some kind of crumbled macadamia nut brittle. Can we say calories?
Whatever you celebrate at your house, we hope you are having a happy holiday season! Now off to bed with dreams of sugarplums (or vegan cookies) dancing in my head.
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What an amazing spread! I am glad you liked the cookies
Your meal sounds fantastic, and your entire cookie tray looks soooooo good – I am so happy that I could contribute! I made the gems again last week and left the icing off but compensated by adding some extra lemon juice to the dough … oh my, I highly recommend it!
The truffle flavors sound incredible. I harbor a desire to make truffles but, alas, have yet to fulfill it … I always get a wee bit intimidated. The ones on your tray look like they came out perfectly.
Happy Holidays!
Hi Mihl,
Thanks, it was pretty amazing. Loved the cookies. Jane was so excited when she found your recipe.
Hi gail,
Thanks, we really enjoyed the meal. The cookie tray was fantastic. Jane didn’t use the icing, and her first batch had a stronger lemon flavor. She was thinking she probably had more zest.
As for the truffles… they are incredibly easy (shhh… don’t tell!).
Happy Holidays to you as well!
Thanks for the interesting post. I like the idea of the vegan meal, but I like the cookie selection even more. Since we have a snow day today I think that we will try some!
Hi Kristen,
Hope you enjoyed the cookies, and the snow!