Have you ever used one batter to make both cookies and muffins? I once thought it was impossible, but guess what, I did it. I made persimmon vegan cookies and muffins using the same exact batter!
Sounds too good to be true? I’m telling you…it can be done! Using this recipe for both pastries turned out wonderfully!
Vegan baking can seem like a challenge to the uninitiated, but with the right attitude and the best recipes, indulgent vegan desserts are a step away. If you’re looking to start a plant based diet, go dairy-free, or just try out a new treat, this recipe for easy vegan cookies and muffins will satisfy your craving for a delicious dessert.
Try these desserts with some homemade almond milk or maybe some hot apple cider to keep yourself warm in this colder season.
How to start your vegan dessert
If you have a persimmon tree or just inherited a huge bounty of persimmons like I did, I recommend making these vegan cookies and/or muffins. You can find persimmons in your local grocery store or at a farmer’s market. The fruits are in season from October through February, so the colder months are perfect for this vegan muffin recipe. Your family, friends, and coworkers will love you for it.
Last weekend at a socially distanced birthday party, I shared these cookies with guests while discreetly conducting a taste test. The most common reaction was, “this doesn’t taste like a vegan and gluten-free cookie—it’s delicious! Can I have another one?”
It’s this type of response that warms my heart and makes me happy to be doing what I do.
If you love pumpkin spice and everything nice, you sure will be pleased with these. While baking, your house will be filled with the most intoxicating holiday spice aroma. In every bite, you will taste all of the warm and familiar flavors of the season, while getting a nice crunch from the walnuts and a pop of juicy sweetness from the raisins.
Now, how do you make cookies out of this recipe as opposed to a muffin? Simply scoop 2 Tbsp of batter onto a lined cookie sheet and ever so lightly, flatten into a cookie shape. To make muffins, you will scoop double that amount, 4 Tbsp into a lined muffin tin.
I hope you and your loved ones enjoy these as much as my loved ones and I do! To replicate these vegan desserts at home, use the recipe that follows.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of oat flour (gluten-free) or 2 heaping cups of rolled oats (also gluten-free)
- 1/2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of baking soda
- 1/2 cup of coconut oil
- 1 cup of coconut sugar
- 1 Tbsp of chia seeds
- 3 Tbsp of applesauce, unsweetened
- 1 cup of persimmon pulp (from ripe, soft persimmons: peeled, de-stemmed, and de-seeded)
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp of sea salt
- 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp of ground cloves
- 1 cup of raisins
- 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- If you don’t have oat flour but have rolled oats, just place a heaping cup of rolled oats into a high-powered blender. Blend on high until you have a flour-like consistency. Re-measure the flour to ensure you have exactly 2 cups, and then place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the baking powder and baking soda to the oat flour and mix well. Set aside.
- You will need to use the same blender for the wet ingredients. There is no need to wash it. Just remove any remaining oat flour and save to use later. Place the coconut oil, coconut sugar, chia seeds, applesauce, persimmon pulp, vanilla, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into the blender and blend until fully incorporated and pulverized. Stop the blender about 2 times to scrape the sides of the blender, ensuring all of the ingredients are blending together.
- Using a rubber spatula, add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix well. Gently fold in the raisins and walnuts.
- For cookies: On a half sheet pan lined with parchment or a silicone liner, scoop 1 ounce (or 2 Tbsp)-sized cookies. Press down on the cookies with your clean hand to flatten into a cookie shape, or use the side of a rubber spatula to flatten since they are a bit sticky.
- For muffins: Alternatively, add 2 scoops (or 4 Tbsp) of batter to the muffin cups. Make sure to press down on the muffin batter to remove any air pockets and flatten the top of the muffin to get a smooth top.
- Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes. Bake muffins for 25-28 minutes. Repeat until all cookies and muffins are baked. Cool cookies and muffins on a cooling rack. Enjoy!
These are some of the best vegan and gluten-free cookies and muffins that I have had in a while. They’re not the crispy type of cookies or muffins. Rather, they are actually quite soft, chewy, and moist from the addition of the applesauce and persimmon.
