Halloween is here, little Halloweenies! Ariana of Cup of Oj and I bring you a spooky pairing to haunt your Halloween and the rest of the Autumn season. Ariana is a Las Vegas-based blogger and Type 1 Diabetic (and my dear friend) who brews up low-carb cocktails (know this season as Oct-tails) in her witches lab.
She has concocted some scary delicious cocktails that go just splendidly with some recipes that I'm sharing with you ghouls and goblins!
1. Brown-Butter Pecan Swedish Oatmeal Pancakes with Pomegranate Syrup
One of my favorite breakfast spots in my hometown makes the most delicious Swedish Oatmeal Pancakes, so I decided to make my own but with an autumn-twist on them!
Dry Ingredients:
-2 cups rolled oats
-1 tsp cinnamon
-Pinch of salt
-1/4 cup of sugar
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 cup almond flour
-1/2 cup crushed pecan pieces
Wet Ingredients:
-2 Flax Eggs (2 tbsp of ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbsp water - let sit for 20 minutes to thicken)
-2 tbs browned butter
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 cups "buttermilk" (I used almond milk and added a squeeze of lemon juice - the acidity thickens the milk a bit to act like buttermilk!)
Directions:
-Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl
-Add in wet ingredients slowly and mix (using a spatula to mix works well!)
-Let the batter stand for 30-45 minutes to thicken
-Ladle onto the oiled grill (I used vegan butter to oil it up)
-Cook until the cake starts to puff up a bit and flip!
-Brown on both sides
-Serve how ya like!
Here are the directions I used to make Brown-Butter - it's a lot easier than it sounds! P.S you can use vegan butter to make brown butter as well!
Have these pancakes for a socially-distanced brunch and pair em with a Maple Pumpkin Pisco Sour from Cup of Oj
2. Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes
My mom makes the best twice-baked potatoes to date, but I had to give them a try of my own but with sweet potato and a lot less bacon grease. These will be great for Thanksgiving dinner and can also be made as a sweet dessert for my sweet-toothed spooky spirits.
Ingredients:
-2 sweet potatoes (keep a note of the shape/size because they need to be cut in half lengthwise, and this could be hard with a longer, thinner tater)
-2 cups kale
-2 tbs greek yogurt
-2 tbs butter
-1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese
-1 shallot
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Chives for garnish
Directions:
-Preheat over to 375 F and put potatoes on pan, making sure to poke them all over with a fork, so they don't explode. Cook until soft all the way through, about 45 minutes.
-Take out and let cool for 15 minutes, then cut in half. Scoop out the yumminess inside and add to a large bowl.
-Chop up the shallot and add to a medium-hot pan with oil
-Add in kale (frozen works!) and sautee altogether
-Add the kale and shallots to the sweet potato and mix
-Add the yogurt, butter, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste!
-Once combined, scoop back into the sweet potato skins and baked at 375 F for an additional 15-20 minutes or until browning
-Add some sour cream and chives and extra cheese, of course!
Make these as an appetizer for your Thanksgiving dining and have a Cinnamon Spiced Vodka Pear Cider from Cup of Oj
3. Persimmon Banana Walnut Muffins with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
These persimmon banana muffins turned out way better than I expected because, as a fruit, persimmon is meh but as a fruit combined with sweets and bready goodness - DELICIOUS! The muffin part is completely vegan, but I did use real butter in the frosting, which can easily be substituted for Miyoko's Vegan Butter.
Muffin:
*makes about 8 muffins
Dry Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup walnut pieces
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 ripe Hachiya persimmon peeled (this will feel like a ripe tomato when it's ready!)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water and let sit for 15-20 min)
Directions:
-Preheat over to 375 F and line muffin pan
-Mash bananas and persimmons together in a bowl
-Using a handheld mixer, add in the sugar, coconut oil, egg, vanilla extract, mixing well after each addition
-Sift the baking powder, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl and add to the wet ingredients until batter starts to form
-Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean once inserted all the way through
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup cream cheese (I used dairy-free cream cheese from KiteHill)
-4 tbsp softened butter (Miyoko's Vegan Butter will work great as well!)
-2 cups powdered sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tbsp cinnamon
Directions:
-Sift powdered sugar and cinnamon together and set aside
-Cream the cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until fluffy
-Add vanilla extract
-Incorporate sugar and cinnamon into the mixture using the hand mixer
-Mix on high for 1 minute and put in the fridge to set for 30 minutes
I then used a Ziploc bag (I know, I know, I'm trying to get rid of this plastic, but it's hard!) and filled it with my cream cheese frosting and cut on a tiny corner, and piped the frosting onto completely cooled muffins. Enjoy!
Pair this sweet treat with a Spooky & Spicy Chocolate Chile Cocktail from Cup of Oj!