Egg-Free Cinnamon Spice Chocolate Chip Pancakes

A few years ago, reeling from the realization that Roo could not and likely never will be able to consume eggs, I couldn't help wallowing in a warm bath of self-pity. No more leisurely mornings at our favorite pancake house. No Christmas morning french toast casserole. No summer strawberry cream cheese brioche bake. No farmers market donuts. No crepes, waffles, breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros or egg sandwiches. What were we going to do with ourselves on weekend mornings?!

Practicing their Cups

Bean sports weekend morning hair like nobody's business, am I right?

Thankfully I've gained a little perspective over the years. I've learned that Roo seems to do just fine with eggs at the table as long as he doesn't personally ingest them. We still don't risk cross contamination by going out for breakfast if we don't have to, but Christmas morning french toast casserole has retained its rightful place in the holiday line-up (thank gawd!). Don't worry. Roo always gets extra bacon. And usually chocolate.

As for the weekend staples, we've been able to adapt much more painlessly than I ever could have imagined. Egg-free pancakes? No problem!

Egg-Free Cinnamon Spice Chocolate Chip Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 & 1/2 tbsp baking powder (yes, tablespoons)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup chocolate chips
butter, maple syrup, whipped cream, powdered sugar, berries, or extra chocolate chips to serve


Start heating a griddle or heavy frying pan over medium heat. Whisk together first 6 ingredients (flour-salt) in a large bowl. Pour the milk and oil into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. A few lumps are fine.

Use a ladle or measuring cup to spoon about 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle (or use a tablespoon to make super-mini pancakes like Mufasa). Scatter a few chocolate chips on top of the wet better. When the surface is dotted with tiny air bubbles, flip the pancakes and cook the other side until golden brown. Serve with butter, syrup, whipped cream, powdered sugar, berries, extra chocolate chips or my favorite - plain.

Avocado Chocolate Mousse Mini Pies

Say what? Chocolate avocado mousse?

In case you just missed the pinched up face and lolling tongue, Looly detests avocado. But like many red-blooded seven-year-olds, she adores chocolate, which is precisely why Bean, Roo, and I couldn't resist playing a trick on her.

For months (years?) I've seen recipes for vegan chocolate mousse made with an avocado base floating around...so long that I honesty can't remember where I saw it first. Food 52 has a version. I've watched Giada De Laurentiis whip up a batch on an episode of Giada at Home. There's another version here. And here. And here.

Suffice it to say the idea of using creamy avocado as a base for chocolate dessert is decidedly not my own. The evil plot to dupe my own offspring into eating her most despised food, however, is all mine.

Bean and Roo are avocado fiends and any mousse without eggs is bound to be a friend of ours, so it was about time to give this thing a go. We got to work while Looly was busy making dream catchers and rag dolls at art camp. Everything was going along just fine until my avocados started disappearing.  

I think we can safely say who's to blame, but luckily there's nothing like a bowl of melted chocolate to distract a couple of avocado bandits.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse Mini Pies
inspired by Food 52, vegan bakers, Giada De Laurentiis, and the Internet in general


2 ripe Haas avocados
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut milk (Use the thick part that gathers toward the top of the can. Leave behind the liquid)
1 tsp real vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp agave syrup (or less)
pinch of salt
8 mini pie crusts of your choice. We went with store bought graham cracker, but chocolate cookie crust or traditional homemade pie crust would be lovely too!
1/4 cup flaked coconut

Combine the chocolate chips and thick coconut milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 25 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted. Stir well and let cool slightly.

Place the avocados, vanilla, agave, and salt in a food processor and puree until smooth. Poor in the chocolate-coconut milk mixture and pulse until everything is well-incorporated, smooth, creamy, and delicious.

Put the mousse in a piping bag (or zip top plastic bag with a corner cut off) and pipe into the pie shells. Chill until the mousse is firm, about 2 hours.

Garnish the chilled pies with flaked coconut and fresh raspberries. The decision whether or not to disclose the full ingredient list is yours to make. As for us, we waited until those first few bites were thoroughly savored then...

Guess what, Looly?! Avocado surprise! 

Lucky for me that kid's a pretty good sport. She even went on to finish the mousse and declared that she actually likes avocado sometimes. When it's in other stuff. Like chocolate.

In the words of Bean, "Yeah, Looly. So does everybody".

Eggless Lemon Blueberry Cake with Lemon Cream

I baked a version of this lush blueberry lemon cake with eggs for book club a few weeks ago. It must have looked good because soon after, Mufasa put in a last minute request to bring one to "food day" at work. Wondering what all the hype is about, Roo's been clamoring for an egg-free version for weeks. Without further ado....

Roo's Eggless Lemon Blueberry Cake!

That's three times in three weeks! Given the rate at which it's being requested, I'm most grateful that this sweet tart little beaut is not only quick to whip up, but as I've discovered through rampant experimentation, a most forgiving and versatile recipe.

See how the berries formed a layer at the bottom of the cake in the photo above? The key difference I noted between my egg-free version and the original, is that the blueberries tend to sink more in the eggless version, making it imperative that your pan is well-greased, floured, and lined with parchment. Consider yourself warned. Otherwise, bake on with abandon. But don't get too comfortable. Chances are good you're going to be baking this one on instant repeat.

Eggless Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream
adapted from TheKitchn.com

For the cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
4 tbsp (1/2 a stick) of butter
1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (or vanilla or lemon Greek yogurt)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tbsp turbinado sugar

For the lemon cream

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup lemon flavored Greek yogurt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a round 9" cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment. Grease the parchment. Flour the bottom and sides of the pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.

Put the granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest and use your fingers to massage the zest into the sugar. This is favorite kid job, that is, a job that kids tend to favor,as opposed to a job for your favorite kid. Just make sure your help has clean hands. 

Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer for a few minutes until the mixture is pale yellow, light and fluffy. Don't forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl. Add the vanilla, yogurt, and buttermilk and beat until everything is well combined.

Add half the flour mixture and beat gently until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of your bowl, add the remaining flour mixture and beat again until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Scatter the berries evenly over the top. Sprinkle the top of the cake with turbinado sugar.

Bake 25-30 minutes until nicely browned on top and set in the center. If the top of the cake starts to get too brown before the center is set, cover the cake with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and cool 10-15 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack, carefully remove the parchment paper, and cool completely.

To make the lemon cream, pour the whipping cream into a medium bowl. Whip with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Add the yogurt and beat again until you have a luxuriously thick, creamy topping.

 Slice the cake and serve with a dip fat dollop of lemon cream.

Egg-Free Sunbutter Whirligig Cookies

Whirligig. Say it with me. Whirligig. See, you're having fun already!

I can never seem to bake just a few cookies. A double batch, sure, but who halves a cookie recipe?! Not me.

Inevitably though, after an initial warm out of the oven raid, Mufasa backs way off the cookie consumption. The munchkins, while avid cookie enthusiasts, possess stomachs the size of coin purses and are typically satiated at a one cookie per day rate. That leaves me, gluttonous martyr I am, to do the dirty work. I suffer my way through 3 dozen cookies threatening staleness if I wait too long to put them in my mouth. That, friends, is the hair shirt I wear.

But, oddly, despite strict self-imposed rationing on my end, this batch of whirligigs seems to be disappearing at a steady clip. That can only mean one thing. These suckers are good!

Whirligigs are not the easiest cookies to make. Nor are they the fastest, but don't be put off by the number of steps. Yes, they take a little time and a little nurturing, but stay the course. The reward of soft, chewy, nutty without the nuts, swirly, twirly, whirly cookies is totally worth it.

Egg-Free Sunbutter Whirligig Cookies
adapted from Baked Elements by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

For the cookie dough

2&1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
6 ounces (1&1/2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp canola oil
1 cup creamy Sunbutter
3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer well mixed with 3 tbsp water
2 tsp real vanilla extract
Parchment paper

For the chocolate filling

12 ounces best-quality dark chocolate
1/2 tsp light corn syrup

To make the Sunbutter dough:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter, both sugars, oil, and Sunbutter on medium speed for about 5 minutes until light. Add the prepared egg replacer and vanilla and beat again until everything is well incorporated. Don't forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl in between mixing.

Add half the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat again until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture and beat again. Try not to mix more than necessary at this point.

Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press into a disk shape. Wrap the dough first in parchment paper, then cover the whole thing in a layer of plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.

Now you're ready to roll!

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Line a large work surface with a sheet of parchment paper. Dust the parchment paper lightly with flour. Break the dough disk in half. Use a rolling pin to roll half the dough out into a rectangle approximately 9 inches x 7 inches and 1/2-inch thick. Don't worry if it's not perfect, but don't roll the dough too thin. If your dough is very soft and pliable at this point, place the rolled out rectangle back in the fridge to firm up a bit. My dough was quite firm already so I skipped this step. Repeat the process with the remaining half of dough.

Next, make the chocolate filling. Melt the chocolate and corn syrup together in the microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. Paint, pour, or spread the chocolate over the rolled out dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border free of chocolate along one long edge.

Take a deep breath. Starting at the long, chocolate-covered edge, use the parchment paper to help you lift the edge and start rolling the dough into a log. You should be rolling toward the edge with a chocolate-free border. It's probably obvious, but just in case, make sure the parchment remains on the outside of the cookie dough unless you want paper in your cookies.

Take your time and try not to freak out of things don't do exactly as planned. If the dough cracks, gently press the crack back together with your fingers. If the chocolate starts oozing out the ends, great. You know you used enough chocolate. And if your dough snaps apart mid-roll like this...

pour yourself a cocktail and carry on, rolling the broken dough right into the center of the cookie roll. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough. Eventually, you'll end up with something along these lines.

Have I mentioned that I am not a perfectionist? These are whimsical cookies. Expect a little mess. Wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate again, for at least 3 hours and up to a full day.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a couple of baking sheets with more parchment paper. Unwrap a chilled cookie log and place on a cutting surface. Using a very sharp or serrated knife dipped in hot water, slice the log into 1/2-inch thick rounds. After much trial and error, I found a small, serrated knife dipped in hot water between each and every cut worked best for me. Repeat with the second log and place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake 10-13 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through bake time. They're done when you see the first hint of brown start to form. Remove from oven. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

They'll keep for a few days tightly covered...if they last that long!

Easy Peppermint Bark

In keeping with our new tradition of holiday treats that don't include nuts or eggs from the get go, here's a super simple but sublime addition to our cookie tray this year.

Peppermint Bark
adapted from Food Network Magazine, December 2012

1 10-ounce bag good quality bittersweet chocolate chips
12 ounces good quality white chocolate
2 tsp peppermint extract
3-4 candy canes, crushed

1. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with foil, shiny side facing up. Place the bittersweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 20 second intervals, stirring between each cycle until about 2/3 of the chips have melted. Stir the chocolate gently until completely melted. Stir in 1 tsp peppermint extract. Pour the bittersweet chocolate mixture into the prepared pan and spread to an even thickness. Allow the bittersweet chocolate to cool until it's almost set, about 10-12 minutes.
2. Chop the white chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat as you did the bittersweet chocolate, taking extra care not to scald the white chocolate. (All chocolate can be temperamental but I find white chocolate to be particularly so. Take your time and don't rush the melting process!) Stir the white chocolate until completely melted. Stir in remaining 1 tsp peppermint extract. Pour the white chocolate on top of the almost set bittersweet chocolate and smooth to an even thickness. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes, gently pressing the larger pieces into the chocolate. Allow to cool to room temperature for an hour or more.
3. Once completely set, use the foil to lift the peppermint bark from the pan. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks - or better yet, wrap some up to give as a festive holiday gift.

Lamb and Lentil Mini-Meatballs with Cumin Yogurt Dip

Meatballs are usually a hit with the Kid Cultivation crew, but since Roo is allergic to eggs, my go-to substitution is silken tofu. It works beautifully in these Asian-Style Pork Mini-Meatballs, but given Beans love for beans and Looly's hatred of them, I thought I'd try something new.

I was hoping lentils would bind the meatballs and keep them from drying out. Mission accomplished. What I hadn't anticipated was the nice little bite the lentils would give the lamb, such a pleasant snap with each mouthful. They're a little unexpected and boast great flavor with or without the tangy yogurt dip. Cocktail parties, Christmas, New Year's Eve, I'm keeping this one in my back pocket for the holiday party potluck scene.

So, like I said, Looly abhors beans. She possesses a particular vehemence for lentils. She loves a plump sauce-covered meatball, however, especially if it came from Noodles & Company, but I digress. Even at home, she'll eat a meatball with sauce on it most of the time. I was fully prepared to drizzle marinara over these bad boys in anticipation that she would complain about yogurt sauce but I never got a chance. All three kids took down the meatballs before I got any sauce on the table - cumin yogurt or marinara. That never happens!

Now aside from Mufasa's praises, there were no rave reviews, choruses of delight or requests for second helpings from the six and under set. But the important thing is that the meatballs disappeared - no prodding, arguments, threats or negotiations. Of course Looly has no idea she ingested lentils, but I'm already eying a can of chickpeas.

Lamb and Lentil Meatballs

1 cup cooked lentils
1 pound ground lamb
3/4 cup Panko or other bread crumbs
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 small onion, grated or finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put the lentils in a large bowl. Using your hands, mash the lentils a few times until about half of them are mashed into a paste and half are intact.
3. Add the lamb and all other ingredients to the bowl with the lentils. Mix well with your hands until everything is nicely combined.
4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the meat mixture into small balls, about 1 & 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on baking sheet and cook approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with Cumin Yogurt Dip (recipe below)

 Cumin Yogurt Dip

1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tbsp chopped, fresh mint
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Serve with Lamb and Lentil Meatballs.

Chocolate Truffles and New Traditions

I don't spend much time thinking about Roo's food allergies anymore. At the risk of sounding blasé, I kind of run on autopilot these days. We eat at home most of the time. I know what pastas have egg in them, where to get a safe pizza, which ice cream parlors will open a fresh carton and change gloves, and if all else fails, there's always a stash of Dum Dums in my bag. Restaurants and potlucks still present some challenges but for the most part we just come prepared with a lunchbox full of safe foods and an EpiPen Jr. pack and enjoy the party.

But it never fails. At this time of year I start to grow a little rock garden in my gut. The first pebbles appear at Halloween when Roo hands over his peanut butter cups, Snickers, Butterfinger, and M&M's in exchange for half a bag of Dum Dums. Fortunately he doesn't recognize the injustice in this yet but it's coming.

Thanksgiving brings a few larger stones as Roo munches an egg-free chocolate chip cookie while the rest of us choose between an array of cookies, egg-y pumpkin pie, cheesecake, or downright scandalous pecan pie. Plunk, plunk, plunk.

Then Christmas rolls around - the holiday at our house in which baking traditions are stronger than ever and the boulders start bearing down. Buckeyes become SunButter Buckeyes. Seven Layer Bars become Five Layer Bars. I'm still trying to devise a way to make a decent egg-free lemon square. Fortunately my pal, Stephie, over at Eat Your Heart Out has offered the brilliant suggestion of adding gelatin. We'll be putting that one to the test soon. Thanks, Stephie.

So, I've discovered and devised all kinds of ways to make holiday treats that don't include eggs or nuts, but the truth is no matter how good they are, our egg-free, nut-free versions are not the ones I grew up with. Roo will never get to experience them the way I did. I'm certain that the gravity of this situation weighs much more heavily on my stomach than his, but still.

So that got me thinking, maybe it's time for some new traditions. Not egg-free, nut-free versions of old favorites, but bona fide, tried and true, yummy treats that never included the dreaded contraband to begin with. Enter decadent chocolate truffles.

Chocolate Truffles
adapted from Barefoot Contessa

1 pound awesome, bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp. strong coffee (prepared, not grounds)
1/2 tsp. real vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder, for dusting

1. Pour the chocolate chips into a heat-resistant mixing bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a small saucepan. Bring it just to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the cream sit for 20-30 seconds. Pour the cream through a mesh strainer over the chocolate chips. Stir the mixture slowly until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in the coffee and vanilla.
3. Refrigerate the chocolate mixture until very firm (about 2 hours).
4. Pour cocoa powder into a shallow bowl. Using a melon-baller or your bare hands, roll the cold chocolate into 1-inch balls, then dip and roll in cocoa powder until fully coated.

You can store them in the fridge for a few weeks but let them come to room temperature before serving if you can wait that long. I usually can't. 

Makes about 60 truffles

If you don't mind a few chocolate-coated children and countertops, this is a perfect recipe to have the kiddos assist. Little hands are just right for rolling balls, just watch the errant tongues that can't seem to resist licking fingers here and there.

Roo is a dark chocolate kind of guy and while the cocoa powder proved a little bitter for the girls (we'll roll some in confectioner's sugar next time), he loved these! So did his mother and father. They're so easy and deep and rich and chocolatey that we'll be trying out several more variations in the coming weeks. So, while these were not a part of our Christmases past, they will definitely be part of our Christmases future. Here's to new traditions!

Whole Wheat Blackberry and Meyer Lemon Ricotta Scones

Blackberry. Ricotta. Meyer lemons. Uh-huh.

I've been on the prowl for a superstar egg-free scone recipe for some time. Leave it to Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen food blogger extraordinaire and author of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook to have my back. She has a luscious recipe for whole wheat raspberry ricotta scones (no eggs!) that has been calling my name since I stumbled upon it months ago.

Sadly, winter raspberries in Chicago always look like they've been pre-chewed by the time I get to them. And while still far from the plump farmers market jewels we get in August, November grocery store blackberries seem to hold up better to the wear and tear of stock boys and throngs of Thanksgiving shoppers. And the Meyer lemons? They were winking at me across the aisle, glinting their sunny skins right into my eyes, refusing to be ignored.

Whole Wheat Blackberry and Meyer Lemon Ricotta Scones
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar*
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter
1 cup fresh blackberries, lightly chopped into halves and quarters
1 Meyer lemon (or regular lemon), zest and juice
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream

*The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of sugar, but since I wasn't sprinkling any coarse sugar on top of these babies and I wanted to make sure the kiddos would love them, I upped it ever so slightly. 

1. Preheat the over to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the biggest chunks are no larger than a small pea. This might take a few minutes. Be patient.
2. Add the chopped blackberries and lemon zest to the flour-butter mixture. Stir to combine.

3. Add the juice from the lemon, ricotta, and heavy cream all at once. Stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Knead the dough a few times with your hands. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it into a circular mound.

4. Use a sharp knife and a steady hand to cut eight wedges and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

5. Bake about 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp at the edges. Allow scones to cool on the pan for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. These are best the day they are baked, but can be frozen and reheated in the oven in a pinch.

Ridiculous, right? These are so freakin' good. Looly polished one off before she took her coat off after school. I would have scolded her but the truth is that mine never even made it onto the cooling rack.

 I'm thinking cranberry-blood orange scones for Christmas morning. What do you think?