Limited vegan options? 5 dessert recipes to try

Veganism is increasingly becoming mainstream across the globe. By avoiding all sorts of animal products, one can lower their carbon footprint and help improve the current and future environmental conditions. 

When you choose to go vegan, it’s not only for animals and environment, but also for your own health benefits. Vegan diet is good for every age and stage of life. A study claims that vegan diet aids in lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some kinds of cancer. 

Even though veganism is gaining popularity and is trending at a high pace, we still lack vegan options at most of the eateries, be it big restaurants or small cafes. Hence, we suggest 5 vegan dessert options that you can try making at home by merely using one main ingredient i.e. Peanut Butter.

Peanut Butter Coconut Oatmeal Bars

• Preheat oven to 375 F degrees and place 1 cup of shredded Coconut on a baker’s mat.
• Stirring often till it turns light golden brown in colour, toast the coconut shredding. It shall take around 8 to 10 minutes. Then set aside.
• Take flour, brown sugar and salt in a bowl and mix them together.
• Cut cold butter into cubes and add to the flour.
• Mix butter into the flour using a fork, till it turns into coarse crumbs, then you add the mixture of toasted coconut. 
• Now add rolled oats & mix till it forms a dough
• Keep three-fourth cup of dough aside and pour the remaining in a pan with parchment paper on the base. Now, press the dough firmly into the pan.
• Pour 1/2 cup of all natural Alpino Peanut Butter over the dough. 
• The next step is to sprinkle the remaining three-fourth cup dough all over the pan. Also, finally sprinkle one-fourth cup un-toasted shredded coconut.
• Bake this prepared pan at 375 F degrees for around 20-25 minutes. Take it out from the oven and let the bars cool completely before you cut them into squares.
• Top it up by drizzling melted chocolate on top (this is optional) and enjoy these peanut butter oatmeal bars with a warm glass of milk!

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Paleo Brownies

• Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees
• Take a bowl and mix together Alpino Almond Butter, coconut oil, eggs, honey and vanilla extract.
• Keep stirring and add baking soda, cocoa powder, baking powder and chocolate chips to the bowl.
• Pour the batter into a greased baking dish. Now, drizzle some additional Alpino Almond Butter and some sea salt.
• Bake this at 350 F degrees for about 30 minutes until the edges begin to brown. To test if it is properly cooked, stick a toothpick or knife in the centre of the batter. If cooked, it should come out clean.

Vegan Yogurt Brownies

• Preheat your oven to 400°F
• Take a large bowl and mix flour, baking powder, brown sugar and cocoa powder. Add rice milk, yogurt and coconut oil and whisk until it is completely combined.
• Take a loaf pan with parchment paper and transfer the batter into it.
• Bake it in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes until the top is crackly.
• Let it cool off and then cut it into pieces and serve to your guests.

Vegan Rose Meringues

• Preheat your oven to 200 F degrees. Line 2 baking sheets on your baking pan with parchment paper.
• Mix aquafaba, lemon juice, rose water and cream of tartar in a huge mixing bowl. Beat for 10 to 30 mins with an electric mixer until it gets fluffy. Increasing the speed to high beating, gradually add confectioners' sugar, until the meringue begins to hold stiff peaks. Scoop the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a round-tip.
• Pipe small mounds of meringue onto prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven, rotating sheets halfway through, until meringues are dry and firm, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Turn off oven; keep meringues inside until cooled.

Watermelon Mint Popsicles

• To the blender/food processor, add the watermelon and lime juice and blend until smooth, about 15 seconds.
• Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl to discard the watermelon seeds. Stir in the mint leaves.
• Pour the mixture into 8 popsicles moulds equally.
• Place the moulds in the freezer and freeze until slightly firm, about 1 to 2 hours depending on your freezer (check after one hour). Insert the popsicle sticks. The mixture should be slightly solid enough to hold the popsicle sticks in place without them sliding over. Squeeze out all the juice and discard the watermelon pulp. Pour the mixture among 8 popsicle moulds. Place the moulds in the freezer and freeze for 1 hour.
• Return to the freezer and freeze until firm, about 4 to 6 hours.
• Remove popsicles when ready and let sit on the counter for about 5 minutes to remove from the moulds. Enjoy!

(Chetan Kanani co-founder 
Alpino Health foods)