recently, tia’s bakery hooked me up with a lovely lot of samples…and after being bummed out by some gluten-free food in the past, i was pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed their goods. they gave me a box of each of their cookie varieties—peanut butter, almond tea, and oatmeal raisin—all of which were delicious. the almond tea was my favorite, with a very unique and nutty flavor.

tia’s also supplied me with a box of vegan macaroons, which were absolutely awesome. these bite-sized balls are like yummy vegan crack rocks made of coconuts, dates, and agave. once i started, i couldn’t stop eating ‘em.

now keep in mind, tia’s bakery does not make insanely decadent desserts, but scrumptious treats that taste great and light at the same time. these are the kind of healthful snacks i could eat a ton of and be satisfied, but never feel guilty. with a low calorie count, and pure simple ingredients that you can not only pronounce, but have used in a sentence, there is no reason not to make them a regular indulgence. i can’t wait to go get more of tia’s goods…especially the almond cookies and macaroons! oh, and they also make VEGAN CAROB TRUFFLES which i haven’t tried but sound so good.

and for those of you who can’t eat gluten, i can imagine these sweets are a godsend!

tia’s bakery products are available at wholefoods, santa monica co-opportunity, erewhon, rainbow acres, follow your heart, locali, earth bar and pc greens. yum time.

about a year ago, los angeles was buzzing with the news of amazing vegan twinkies that tasted way better than the real thing. these twinkies were so popular, not only did they get rave reviews from the vegan blogs, but also the non-vegan foodie blogs, as well as the LA times! however these fluffy, delicious, cream-filled vegan twinkies disappeared completely earlier this year when the bakery that made them decided to take a break.

well now it’s with much excitement that i announce to you, the original LA vegan twinkies are back! that’s right, starting today no whey vegan bakery will be accepting private orders for a short time through their website. if you never got a chance to try these amazing baked goods, now is the time.

and it’s not just normal twinkies no whey specializes in! the bakery offers a whole slew of vegan desserts ranging from cookies and pies to galettes and specialty twinkies including chocolate, red velvet, corn bread & lemon poppyseed! i’ve had the chance to try the red velvet and chocolate flavors, both of which were decadent and amazing.

being a chocolate lover at heart, the chocolate flavor is by far my favorite. the cake is so moist and filled with the thickest, fudgy-est frosting ever.

my other all-time favorite dessert from no whey are the pinwheel cookies. the baker behind no whey, jennshaggy, adapted an old family recipe to make these delicious bite-sized cookies that are crunchy, sugary, and buttery all at the same time. yumz.

so vegans in los angeles, i can’t urge you enough to get some twinkies (and other stuff too) from no whey bakery while they accepting orders. these goods will only be available for a limited time. if you have never eaten a no whey vegan twinkie, you are missing out on one of the great things in life.

check out the no whey website
their mouthwatering menu
and also jennshaggy’s recipe blog!

now let’s eat some TWINKIES.

I always have trouble finding vegan graham crackers at the store. Nearly every single brand has honey in them. The one version that doesn’t is full of icky ingredients.

When I got my Dandies in the mail, I knew I had to make my own graham crackers once and for all. The recipe turned out really good. I’d like to perfect the texture a little (ideally, I’d actually like them to be more crumbly than they are), but the flavor is nice and mellow, and it really highlights the sweet, nutty taste of whole wheat without being overly sugary. If you like your graham crackers really sweet, add a bit more sugar than I call for.

Graham crackers are traditionally made with graham flour, named after Sylvester Graham, a really interesting (if slightly crazy) health nut from the 19th century. He promoted the vegetarian diet (yay!) to cure, among other things, sexual desires (I did say he was slightly crazy).

Graham flour is whole wheat flour. What makes it different from standard whole wheat is the ratio of endosperm to bran to germ. Sylvester Graham ground these parts of the wheat berry separately to preserve texture and then re-combined them in a specific proportion. You can find graham flour in some stores and online, or you can make your own. Wikipedia says “one cup of graham flour is approximately equivalent to 84 g (~2/3 cup) white flour, 15 g (slightly less than 1/3 cup) wheat bran, and 2.5 g (1.5 teaspoons) wheat germ.”

Or you can do what I did and just use stoneground flour and call it a day.

Actually, you can use whatever flour you like for these. I used stoneground flour because it has little flecks of bran in it, which adds some lovely texture to the crackers. I really recommend using at least some form of whole wheat, because it gives the graham crackers their traditional nutty flavor. Oh yeah, and it’s healthier. And rest assured it won’t mess with your libido. Sorry Sylvester.

Graham crackers are tasty, but they aren’t the sexiest food in the world. S’mores, on the other hand? Sexy. I made these with Chicago Soydairy’s latest vegan treat, Dandies vegan marshmallows. They are awesome! It’s my understanding that they’re being sold online, but sell out FAST. So if you see them available, scoop them up! They taste great, and they’re gelatin free, and they roast up just like the non-vegan version. Perfect for s’mores.

How about a little video before the recipe? Don’t forget all my videos are HD, so you can watch them full-screen!

Making Graham Crackers on Vimeo.

Graham Crackers
Makes at least 24 3×3″ Crackers

2 1/2 Cups Graham Flour or Stoneground Flour or Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Earth Balance Margarine
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Agave Nectar (or a little more sugar mixed with water)
3/4 Cup Water

Mix the all the dry ingredients together. Cream together Earth Balance and sugar. Add vanilla and agave and beat with a whisk until smooth. Add a little of the flour and a little of the water to the earth balance/sugar mixture and combine. Continue adding in flour and water, a little at a time, until all flour and water is added. Work the dough with your hands until everything is evenly combined.

Divide dough in half and cover. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 325º F. Roll out the dough into a rectangle that measures approximately 11″x15″. Trim edges. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into squares or rectangles (I cut mine into 3′x3′ squares). Prick the squares with a fork.

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 325º F or until the crackers are turning golden brown around the edges. You can sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of the crackers during the last 10 minutes of baking if you like.

Remove from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack. See the video above for visual directions.

For S’mores

Place the crackers in multiples of two on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to broil. Add chocolate to one cracker and vegan marshmallows to another until all the crackers are topped. Broil for less than 1 minute, watching constantly, until the marshmallows are golden and melty and the chocolate has softened.

Remove from oven, assemble the s’more, and eat! The graham crackers are also great plain, or topped with cream cheese frosting.