Vegan (but you wouldn’t know it) Banana Bread

As I’ve mentioned before, I am not a vegan but I seem to attract people who are to some degree or another. Many of my friends are devoted vegans, others just until dinner, or on mondays, or until they travel to Argentina, or vegan because that’s how they justify their french fry consumption, in other words vaguely vegan….Vague-An. Regardless of how flexible my friends are in their commitment to eliminate all animal products from their diets, I still really enjoy having a recipe in my arsenal that I can offer them when they come over or when I’m invited to their homes.

This banana bread is vegan but you wouldn’t know it. It’s so easy to make, it’s moist, chocolatey, and even the non-vegans in the group will love it. It’s free of animal products but contains (are you sitting down?) WHITE all purpose flour because whole wheat, gluten free, and sawdust flour really alter the magical texture of this recipe. Also, just how annoyingly healthy do you want to be? The secret to this banana bread’s texture: coconut oil. Oh and the (vegan) chocolate chips don’t hurt one bit.  Continue reading

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Deep Dark Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Have you ever been invited to someone’s home and you offer to bring desert before finding out that among the guests there is:

a) a wheat allergy

b) a dairy allergy

c) a psychotic adversity to fat

d) a nut allergy

and oh it just happens to be Passover. Yes, I could bring a boring, self-righteous, no-one-really-wants fruit salad, but instead I have these in my arsenal. These are my go to cookies for just this occasion.

I shared this recipe with my friend Denise Cummings the owner of Pip’s Place a gluten free bakery in NYC because it is a celiac friendly cookie since the recipe has no flour. It is one of her best sellers and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it makes me a little proud to have contributed this cookie to her ever expanding gluten free empire.  Continue reading

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