This month has been INSANE. We've all seen the memes - January felt like it lasted 2018287324 days and let me be the first to say THANK GOD it's over. I feel like it was one things after another  - things going wrong at work, won't weather, days just not being long enough to get everything - or seemingly anything - done. Luckily, amongst the chaos, I had a little bit of a plan: #BeYourBestBabe2019! I loved creating this challenge with Nathalie, my partner on the Real Good Podcast, and I loved participating in it even more! The challenge was broken down into 4 weeks, each week with a different focus, and each filled with simple and fun daily challenges designed to help the crazy month be as productive as possible. It was fun, and even though the month flew by, I feel like I can actually look back and realize I had a pretty successful month! 

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups AP flour
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (vegan or regular, unsalted), softened to room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener (or you can always just use stevia or brown sugar here, instead! You've got options. 😊)
1 large egg yolk (or 2 tablespoons mashed banana, to keep 'em vegan)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup jam or preserves of your choice (I like raspberry but could only find seedless for this batch)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. 

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and salt. 

In a larger mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add in the egg yolk or banana and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Begin to pour the dry ingredients into the larger, wet ingredient mixing bowl about a cup at a time, mixing consistently until a uniform dough forms. Chill dough for 20-30 minutes.

Scoop 1 inch balls of dough two-inches apart onto your cookie sheet and gently press your thumb into the center to make a small indent for the jam to sit comfortably inside of. Once your cookies have all been pressed, scoop your 1/3 cup of jam into a small bowl and microwave for about 20 seconds to soften. Mix the jam after warming and gently scoop hefty teaspoon-sized amounts into the thumbprint in each cookie, filling to the brim.

Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 10-11 minutes, or until bottoms and edges are beginning to turn golden brown in color. Remove the cookies from the oven and place them onto a cooking rack. Once completely cooled, enjoy immediately or wrap and save for up to three days!

This recipe has quickly become a favorite in our house - which is funny, because jam-filled cookies were literally my least favorite for YEARS! I don't know if I'd just had too many fig newtons forced on me as a kid or if the jam my cookies were being topped with just wasn't as up to par, but I never liked them until now! These ones are soft, buttery, and topped with the perfect amount of sweet jam on top. I am super guilty of eating a half-batch in a day. Thank goodness they're HEALTHIER! 

If you're interested in following along with the #BeYourBestBabe2019 challenge, head here and print out the challenge calendars. You can do them week by week or all at once - just enjoy the extra productivity and see if it makes you feel like you're being YOUR best babe this month! 

I have always been the kind of person who LOVED birthdays. I would celebrate as long as possible - the whole month if you'd let me! If you listened to the latest episode of my podcast, you know that I'm a total PITTA and that fire in my belly keeps me craving attention, so it makes sense that I would love a day centered around celebrating ME! I've had a pretty great last few birthdays, but this year totally snuck up on me. I have been so insanely busy between the blog, podcast, and new promotion at the yoga studio (studio assistant what whatttt) that I literally didn't realize until just a few days ago when my husband reminded me that we needed to figure out how we were going to celebrate. YIKES! (I must be getting old guys - I'm already forgetting my OWN birthday! 🙈)

It's the Thursday before my Saturday birthday and I still don't know how I want to celebrate (taking suggestions!) but I DID know what I wanted to eat on my birthday. I love sweets but I'm all about that low-sugar life, so I created the birthday cookie cookie of my dreams - an Organic Funfetti Sugar Cookie that hold its shape when it bakes, so you can cookie cut them into whatever cute shapes you like! They're light, sweet, and the PERFECT cookie to splurge on for your birthday - because you can eat as many as you want without having to worry about your sugar intake! Also it's your damn birthday and SOMEONE better make you cake, so let these be your at home treat. I had 6 yesterday. No regrets - bring on 28! ​

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cup organic all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup non-dairy butter
1 cup monk fruit sweetener (I used this brand, but you can always use sugar or your fave sub instead. If you choose to use stevia, I would recommend only subbing half the amount for taste.)
1 egg (or vegan egg substitute - a chia egg works great here!)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sprinkles

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate, larger mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar (or sweetener) together until fluffy. Add in the egg and the vanilla and beat until the mixture becomes fluffy again. Pour in the dry ingredient mixture, continuously mixing until a dough forms. 

Pour in the sprinkles and use your hands to mix them evenly into the dough. Refrigerate the dough, covered, for 20-30 minutes. While the dough chills, lay out some parchment paper and grab a rolling pin. When your dough is ready, roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out your favorite shapes.

Place cut cookies onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool before enjoying. Leftovers save well in a sealed container for up to a week - if they last that long! 

INGREDIENTS:
COOKIE BASE RECIPE
2 1/4 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (non-dairy) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup monk fruit sweetener*
1 egg (vegan if you prefer)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
Strawberries, blueberries + raspberries for topping

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
8 oz. plain, non-dairy cream cheese
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest of half a lemon
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Maple syrup and/or monkfruit sweetener to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line a round pan (or baking sheet) with parchment paper.

In a large sized bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. In a smaller, separate bowl combine the sugars, egg, vanilla, lemon juice + lemon zest. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing completely. Once the dough has formed, roll it evenly into a round shape on the pan, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown, then let cool completely. While the cookie layer cools, mix the frosting and chop up the fruit. Once cool, frost the cookie like a pizza and top with fruit. Enjoy babes!

NOTES:
​You can use real butter, eggs and milk here if you prefer. I adapted this recipe from my Mom's original which did in fact use the original versions with great success. 

Leftovers last up to 2 days on the counter and up to 4 days in the fridge, but - like most things in life - is best enjoyed fresh.

*You can also sub the monk fruit sweetener for stevia or more real sugar.

Guys, I love breakfast. It is my FAVORITE meal of the day. I love it sweet, savory, salty, sticky, soupy - any which way, I'm here for it! I'm also a HUGE fan of fresh cherries. As soon as they're  in season I make my way to my farmer's markets and buy them up by the slightly overpriced pound. It's my favorite time of the year! So I combined my favorite meal with my favorite season and got these sweet, delicate, delicious beauties! 

They're light and sweet but full of flavor and just the right amount of 'scone dry' - perfect alongside a glass of milk or a cup of tea. I kept them lower sugar and you can keep them even lower in sugar by skipping the maple drizzle altogether - your choice! Best of all, this scone recipe is super versatile so you can mix it up by adding in different fruits or flours and will always have success. I love it! I've thrown in raspberries, blueberries, even peaches, and they always come out totally brunch- and instagram- worthy.

If you love a good scone (and who doesn't?) then this recipe is for you. Just the right amount of moist and 'scone' dry, they whip up super easily and are easily made when you're ready to eat them but also last well overnight so you can bake ahead and sleep in before brunch, no stress. What're we doing still chatting? You've got some baking to do, babes!

INGREDIENTS
Cherry Scones
2 cups AP or whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold (vegan) butter
3/4 cup mashed banana or 2 eggs
1/4 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 heaping cup pitted and chopped fresh cherries
​
Glaze
1/4 cup maple syrup (OPTIONAL - or check out our other scones glaze recipes below)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

To make the scones, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger and salt. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in the cold vegan butter until small crumbs form. Pour in the mashed banana (or eggs), almond milk, maple syrup and vanilla and stir together with wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Fold in the fruit gently.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form a 1-inch thick disk. Cut the disk into 8 equal scone wedges, like a pizza. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes, until golden.

Place the scones on a wire rack to cool. While they cool, prepare the maple glaze by beating the maple syrup until it begins to aerate and get a little creamy. Drizzle the glaze over completely cooled scones and enjoy! 

NOTES
Makes 8 scones.

Leftovers save well sealed in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. Longer than that, save frozen and heat in the toaster oven when ready to enjoy.

Check out other scone recipes here: Vanilla Glazed Matcha Scones, Mini Chocolate Chunk Scones.

For one whole summer, Alex worked as the head pizza chef at a local farm and cafe and their Friday night pizza night got POPPIN'! And I don't want to brag too much, but it was absolutely because his pizza was the best pizza around. My husband makes a mean pie, friends. It's one of the reasons I married him! Seriously - who doesn't love a man who can cook?! His pizza skills were so good that literally the whole town would come out to party, commune, and share a slice each week and he became kind of small town famous for his crispy, chewy, thing crust pizzas with creative, straight-from-the-farm toppings. He would take whatever local and seasonal produce was around and make a pie worthy of a trip out even in blizzard weather - and he still makes me those fresh, creative pans weekly. I'm a very lucky lady. When we started sharing his creations at mealtime on IG, we got a ton of positive feedback! People wanted our PIZZAS! And while we haven't quite figured out how to get them to you directly through the internet, I can share our homemade crust recipe and some of top tips for homemade pizza making so you can have as much success as possible when you're trying it at home. 

Alex is the king of all things 'za in this house, and he has officially declared this the ‘perfect pizza dough’. So who am I to argue? It comes together pretty easily, makes a great crispy, chewy crust and makes enough dough for two pizzas - so you don’t have to share. It's the same recipe he used to wow all the fans at the Friday night pizza parties, so you can be sure it'll make a fool-proof, crowd pleasing crust! And that makes it pretty perfect to me. Enjoy, babes! And be sure to let me know what you think - and what you top it with - in the comments below. Keep scrolling for my top pizza-makin' tips!

Okay, babes - before we get to the magical dough recipe itself, let's go over a few top tips for making your homemade pie the best it can be! Write 'em down or print 'em out - these tips are about to seriously improve your pizza game!

1. Don't over-handle the dough! Keep your handling of the dough to a minimum until you're ready to stretch it out, and even then don't fold the dough in on itself after separating into two doughs, even though it's tempting. You want your dough to have some lightness and air or you'll have a stiff, too chewy crust.

2. Bake your pizza at 450 degrees F or more. The higher the temperature, the better. Seriously - if your oven gets to 700 degrees, go for it. You'll adjust cooking times properly, so start with about 10 mins and go from there. When the crust is golden to preference and lifts in one solid piece from the pan, you're ready to eat. 

3. Shred your cheese, or break in into smaller pieces to ensure even melting - especially if you're using vegan cheese, which tends to be less melty. Our favorite brand to use is Miyoko's Vegan Mozzarella.

4. Once your crust is tossed and spread onto your baking surface, use a fork to poke small holes evenly around the crust to reduce air bubbles forming in the crust.

5. Use a high-quality baking surface. We use a large steel pizza pan, but anything that will heat and cook evenly will work great! We use flour to prevent the dough sticking to the pan.

Now, let's EAT! Scroll on for my dough recipe - there's a printable there version, too!

PERFECT PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE 

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) warm water
3 1/2 cups (525 g) all purpose flour, plus more as needed 
2 teaspoons (6 g) salt
1 teaspoon sugar 
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil, plus more for greasing

DIRECTIONS
Pour the yeast and warm water into a small bowl and stir. Set aside for 5 minutes.

In a stand mixer combine the flour, salt and sugar. Pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil and using the bread hook attachment, knead the mixture together until it comes together and forms a ball. If the dough seems too sticky, add flour as needed. If it’s too dry, add a bit of water. 

Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth, firm, ball. Grease the inside of the mixing bowl lightly and place the dough back inside. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean dishtowel and place in a warm place to double in size, about 1-2 hours.

When ready, turn the dough to a lightly floured surface and, handling as little as possible, cut the dough into 2 equal pieces. Let them rest for 10 minutes before tossing and stretching for pizza!

NOTES
Makes 2 doughs.

Dough can be refrigerated up to two days or frozen indefinitely.

These are maybe one of the yummiest things I’ve ever made. They take a little work, but they are SO SO worth it. Basically a healthier, adult-friendly pop tart, these sweet little guys are packed with fruit and drizzled in sweet vanilla glaze. They’re buttery, rich, and taste WAY BETTER than store-bought! That I can promise. These babes first debuted in my Homestyle Vegan Cookbook two years ago, but they've become a Sunday morning staple in our house ever since! They're easy to whip up, and are a total crowd pleaser. Who doesn't love pop tarts?! 

My second cookbook, a collaborative effort titled 'Vegan Bible' will be out later this year, in October. Lots more fun new recipes coming your way! In the meantime, I thought I'd revisit one of my favorites in case you haven't gotten your copy of the cookbook yet. Seriously cannot wait to hear what you guys think when you try them. And know that if strawberries and basil together isn't your favorite flavor combo, you can always ditch the basil, sub out the strawberries for another fruit, or come up with your own flavor combination entirely! No matter what you decide, they're gonna be good. Let’s bake! ​

INGREDIENTS
Hand Pies:
1 heaping cup (210 g) fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced
1 tablespoon (15 ml) water (ONLY IF USING FRESH BERRIES)
1 tablespoon (3 g) fresh basil, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 cups (315 g) whole wheat pastry flour
1/8th teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (150 g) cold vegan butter
2-4 tablespoons (30-60 ml) ice water

Vanilla Glaze:
6 tablespoons (48 g) powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1-3 teaspoons (5-15 ml) unsweetened almond milk

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the strawberries, water (ONLY IF USING FRESH BERRIES), basil, sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally and smashing down the fruit as it cooks. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or pastry cutter until small crumbs form. Drizzle ice water over the mixture about a tablespoon at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon, until a dough begins to form. The dough should be moist but not sticky.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a disc. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large, 1/4 in. thick rectangle. Use a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough to prevent cracking as you roll it out, if needed. Cut the rectangle into 12 equal squares (or rectangles) and move half of them to the lined baking sheet.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling onto the 6 laid squares, leaving about 1/4 inch of space around the edge. Using your finger, dab a bit of water around the edges to help seal them. Top each square with its matching other half, pressing around the edges with a fork to seal them.

Use a toothpick to poke a poke a few small holes in the top, then bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. While they cook, prepare the glaze by mixing together the powdered sugar, vanilla and unsweetened almond milk.

When the hand pies are finished, let them cool on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes before topping with glaze.

TIPS
Makes 6 hand pies.

Leftover hand pies taste great cooled - no need for reheating!

You can sub in any berries you prefer here and if basil isn’t for you, go ahead and leave it out.

Prefer a lower sugar option? Ditch the glaze!

Pancakes are yummy and donuts are great, but this sweet, crunchy, gooey dutch baby is LIFE CHANGING. This dish is from my first cookbook, Homestyle Vegan, which came out last year. It's packed full of 80 comfort food recipes with inspiration from my favorite real food dishes. Healthier baked beans? Yup! Baked Sea Salted Soft Pretzels? Uh huh! Biscuits with Mushroom Gravy? I've got you covered! You can buy one of the last few signed copies of my cookbook (with a few included surprises!) here. Ready to get to the recipe? Let's get moving! Intended as a dish for sharing, this recipe is perfect for a group brunch or after a morning of heavy drinking. We cut the sugar way down, but it still packs enough sweetness to cure your sweet tooth and impress your friends. This isn't an everyday breakfast; this is a lounge in your pj's 'till noon 'breakfast', a 'celebrating our anniversary' breakfast, a you-scored-your-dream-job-and-it's-time-to-celebrate breakfast - you get what I'm saying, right? This is a treat yo'self, no guilt, love your life breakfast - because I think we could all use a few more of these. You can still drink your green smoothie on the side! But you so deserve this, babe. So let's bake! This turned-up-pancakes party is getting started and you know you want to be there!

IT'S FINALLY HERE! Well, TWO things are finally here! First, I leave for my bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs tomorrow with 14 of my closest friends to spend the weekend poolside - and I'm SO excited! We'll be doing yoga, tie-dyeing, taking selfies on pool floaties, and just generally chilllllling before I have to get back to the stress of wedding planning on Monday. I can't wait! But before I go, I also teased you guys last week on instagram with this recipe, and figured it was only right to share it with you babes before I left on this long weekend adventure. It's a recipe I'm super proud of and super into because it's totally free of ANY sugar (you'll see how!) and all grains, making this the perfect batch of brownies to make for someone with food allergies or who is just crazy strict watching their diet, like I am in prepping for this wedding. (I wanna look badass and feel my best!)

I based the recipe off of the Double Fudge Mint Brownies recipe in my cookbook, Homestyle Vegan, but the original version is full of flour and sugar and all things generally off limits for people with food allergies. Of course, if you need to tweak it to suit your particular preferences please do so, but let us know what changes you make in the comments! It can be helpful for other readers to see what substitutions worked...and which didn't. These are the ultimate fudgy brownies, soft and dense with a chewy outer crust. You can pull them from the oven a few minutes early if you like 'em even fudgier, but either way I think they're best served warm with a glass of almond milk on the side. Anyway, I've got bathing suits and sunscreen to pack, but trust me - you're going to love every second of eating these - and you're going to love how healthy they are even more! 

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup monk fruit sweetener (we use Lakanto Classic)
​2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup monk fruit syrup (we use Lakanto Maple Syrup to keep it sugar-free) OR maple syrup OR agave nectar 
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips or chunks 

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease or line an 8x8 in baking dish.

In a large whisking bowl whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, monk fruit sweetener, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. 

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, monk fruit syrup, unsweetened almond milk and vanilla extract. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredient mixture and use a wooden spoon to combing the mixture completely. The batter may be stiff, so feel free to get in there and use your hands if you like. Once the batter is uniform, pour in the chocolate chips or chunks and stir to evenly distribute them throughout the batter.

Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish, using the back of the wooden spoon to press the mixture down evenly into the dish. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out almost completely clean. If you bake them too long, they will become dryer and much more cake-like than fudge-like in texture. Remove the dish from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. For the ULTIMATE fudge brownies, see the tip below. Once cooled, slice and enjoy! 

NOTES
Make these brownies EXTRA FUDGY by refrigerating them after cooling for at least 1-2 hours before slicing. The fridge helps cool the core before it has set completely, resulting in some of the best damn brownies ever! 

Leftovers can be left on the counter or in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days. After that they'll start drying out.

Until recently, there was another Matcha Scone recipe on this site. It was from my gluten-free days that had mixed results when people made it. To be honest, I never really got the hang of baking with gluten-free flours, and it seemed like everyone that made the recipe got a different result. So, a few years later, I've decided to revisit the recipe and figure out what was going on. Except this time, I've ditched the GF free flours in favor of a more predictable wheat-based flour - I don't have any kind of wheat allergy - and had fantastic results! 
​
I scrapped the old recipe entirely and started working from the proportions for a scone recipe from my Homestyle Vegan Cookbook and guys- they came out SO WELL! These scones are 1000x better than the first one were. They're sweet, fluffy, and moist inside - the PERFECT scone, especially if you like matcha! It's important to use a high-quality matcha powder to get a vibrant green color in your scones, too. The light drizzle of vanilla glaze sweetens them up just enough - they're perfect for breakfast AND dessert! Plus, we're only 2 months from St. Patrick's Day and they'd be PERFECT leprechaun-inspired fare for themed parties or as something to help soak up all the Guinness. 😝 Either way, LET'S EAT! Scroll down for the recipe, friends. 

INGREDIENTS
Matcha Scones
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons matcha powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold vegan butter
3/4 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Vanilla Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
​
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

To make the scones, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, matcha powder, baking powder, ginger and salt. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in the cold vegan butter until small crumbs form. Pour in the mashed banana, almond milk, maple syrup and vanilla and stir together with wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form a 1-inch thick disk. Cut the disk into 8 equal scone wedges, like a pizza. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes, until golden.

Place the scones on a wire rack to cool. While they cool, prepare the maple glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, non-dairy milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Drizzle the glaze over completely cooled scones and enjoy! 

NOTES
Makes 8 scones.

Leftovers save well sealed in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.