Deck the halls with vegan goodies, Fa la la la la....

'Tis the season for tempting seasonal delights. I've found quite a few vegan alternatives to the usual holiday fare. I love to whip them up and bring them to parties, then wait until there's sufficient oohing and ahhing before droping the bomb on my friends that they are eating vegan. Such fun. What are some of your favorite recipes?

Here's an insanely delicious one for coconut lovers--and it's raw!

Coconut Macaroons

4 C. finely shredded unsweetened coconut

1 C. coconut flour (You can make this by grinding shredded coconut in a coffee grinder.)

1/2 C. melted coconut oil

1 C. raw agave syrup

1/2 t. vanilla

1/4 t. sea salt

1/8 t. cinnamon (optional)

Just mix together in a food processor or in a large bowl with your hands and then shape into small 1" balls. Put in the freezer until firm. You can serve them by stacking them into a pyramid that looks like a Christmas tree and sprinkling cinnamon or cocoa over the "branches."

Options:

1. Substitute almond flour for the coconut flour and almond extract for the vanilla for a little Almond Joy action.

2. Use rum extract instead of vanilla. Or use 1 T. dark rum and reduce the agave syrup by that much.

3. Dip the macaroons halfway into melted vegan chocolate.

4. Combine 2 and 3. Warning: highly addictive!

Baby Herc

Another good one that's even easier:

Raw Stuffed Dates

Medjool dates

Fresh peppermint leaves

Raw pecan halves

Make a slice down one side of each date and remove the pit. Wrap a peppermint leaf around a pecan half and stuff it into the date. Chew.

Baby Herc

Sounds delicious, thanks for the recipes