Aly Laughlin

I’m still a big fan of these summer key lime pie shakes I made using @nadamoo . 😋 Thinking of remaking them but with a dark chocolate rim...like Kermit’s frozen pie bars in Key West. 🦜 Ingredients: * 1 pint vegan vanilla ice cream (I used NadaMoo Vanilla...Ahhh) * 1 cup non-dairy milk * 1/2 cup ice * 2 tablespoons key lime juice * natural vegan green food coloring or chlorella powder (optional) * vegan white chocolate (or dark chocolate), melted * graham cracker crumbs * vegan whipped cream, optional * key lime zest, optional Directions: * Blend together ice cream, milk, ice, key lime juice and optional coloring until creamy and smooth. I used a couple drops of the yellow and blue dyes from India Tree Natural Decorating Colors to make mine slightly more lime-colored. * Meanwhile, dip the rims of your glasses in melted white chocolate (or dark chocolate) and then roll in graham cracker crumbs until coated. * Fill up the glasses with the shake mixture, and optionally top with vegan whipped cream and key lime zest. Enjoy!

I’m finally getting around to sharing my iced spiced oatmeal cookies! I really love the nostalgic flavors with a hint of autumnal spices. 🥰 These were my grandma’s favorite cookies! Ingredients: * 2 cups oats * 2 cups all purpose flour * 1 teaspoon baking soda * 1 teaspoon salt * 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon * 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg * 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves * 1 cup vegan butter * 1 cup dark brown sugar * 1/2 cup granulated sugar * 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce * 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons water) * 1 tablespoon mild molasses * 2 teaspoons vanilla + 1/4 teaspoon for icing * 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar * 1-2 tablespoons non-dairy milk Directions: * Prep the flax "egg" by mixing together flax meal and water in a small bowl and set aside. * Pulse 1 cup of the oats in a food processor for a finer texture and combine with the other 1 cup oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves. This is the dry mix. * In a standing mixer or separate bowl with hand mixer, combine vegan butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar for about 2 minutes. Add in applesauce, prepared flax egg, molasses and 2 teaspoons vanilla. This is the wet mix. * Slowly add the dry mix into the wet mix until combined. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes, ideally overnight to help the flavors of the sugars and spices fully develop. * Preheat the oven 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. * Using a fancy cookie scoop or regular old tablespoon, scoop cookies onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. I promise your house will small amazing. * Allow cookies to cool completely before icing. * Prepare the icing by combining confectioner's sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1-2 tablespoons of non-dairy milk. It should have a very thick glue-like texture which allows it to stick onto the cookies and highlight the beautiful oatmeal texture. Feel free to add more sugar or milk to adjust the texture until it's just right. * Dip cooled cookies in the icing mixture and enjoy!

Mini pink lemonade cupcakes! 🍋💖😋 Ingredients: * 3 cups flour * 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 1 cup vegan butter (+1 cup for frosting) * 2 cups organic granulated sugar * 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce * 1 teaspoon vanilla * 1 tablespoon lemon zest (+/- 1 teaspoon for frosting) * 1 cup non-dairy milk * 2 tablespoons lemon juice (+/- 2 tablespoon for frosting) * 16 oz powdered sugar * pink natural food coloring (optional) Directions: * Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners (I went for a sunny yellow). * In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. This is the dry mixture. * In another mixing bowl, combine 1 cup vegan butter with granulated sugar, and gradually add in applesauce, vanilla, lemon zest and milk until well incorporated. Slowly add in the dry mixture until you have a divinely smooth, seriously lickable batter. * Spoon slightly less than a tablespoon of batter into each mini muffin cup. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely. * For the frosting, using a standing mixer or hand mixer, whip remaining 1 cup butter, gradually adding in powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. To suit your discerning flavor palette, add approximately 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest (trust your taste buds on this one). Since I can't get enough of millennial pink lately, I added in a drop or two of pink natural food coloring to complete the pink lemonade look. You can also add yellow natural food coloring for a traditional lemonade vibe. * I used a piping bag and large star tip for my signature swirls. You can also simply spread frosting on with a knife. Enjoy!

Just made this recipe again but with sumo mandarin juice…still soooo good! Here’s the original recipe for my homemade Baja Blast! 🤗 Ingredients: * 1/4 cup lime juice (~2 limes) * 1 tablespoon lemon juice * 1/2 cup tropical juice, + 2 tablespoons (I used Ceres Medley of Fruits) * 1/4 cup water * 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar * blue green food coloring (optional) * sparkling water Directions: * Bring 1/4 cup lime juice, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 cup tropical juice, 1/4 cup water and  1 1/2 cups granulated sugar to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling, immediately reduce to a simmer and add the remaining 2 tablespoons tropical juice. Stir and continue to simmer for about 2 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat. * For maximum Baja Blast authenticity, add in blue green food coloring until you have a dark teal color. It will look much lighter when you add it to sparkling water. If you don’t care about the color, skip this step! This is the tropical lime (storm) syrup! * To make a soda, add a little bit of the syrup to sparkling water. For 12 oz of sparkling water, I typically add 3 tablespoons of the syrup. If you like your soda less sweet, add less. If you like your soda on the sweeter side, add more. Store the remaining syrup in an airtight container in the fridge for future use. Enjoy!

Some of my favorite plant based snacks in 2024!

2024 beauty highlights!

The new Cincinnati-style chili jerky from @louveganjerky X @alienworkshop somehow tastes more like Skyline than Skyline tastes like Skyline. I don’t know how that’s possible but it’s crazy. I feel like I can even taste the oyster crackers. 🤩 As a self proclaimed Cincinnati and Skyline expert, I have to give massive props to the flavor wizard @zachary__kerr , plus @dorkystarr , @getphild , and @dad_with_no_kids for the incredible artwork and design! Nostalgic, weird, and magical! 🤗

Daydreaming about cozy fall recipes especially Skyline (Cincinnati-style chili). Here’s an old recipe I shared on my blog nearly 10 years ago that still holds up! Ingredients: * 4-6 russet potatoes * 6 oz tomato paste * 3 cups water * 12 oz veggie protein crumbles (the @impossible_foods Ground Beef is my favorite) * 30 oz red kidney beans (drained and rinsed) * 2 tablespoons onion powder * 2 tablespoons chili powder * 2 tablespoons paprika * 2 teaspoons cinnamon * 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder * 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin * 1 1/2 teaspoons salt * 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder * 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper * 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves * 1/2 tablespoon turbinado sugar * fresh ground black pepper (to taste) * handful of vegan cheddar cheese, finely grated (the @daiyafoods Cheddar Block is my favorite) * handful of oyster crackers (optional) Directions: * First, preheat the oven to 450°F. Scrub the russet potatoes under running water, dry them off, then massage the potato skin with a little bit of olive oil and salt. Pierce each of the potatoes in about four places with a fork. Place them on a cookie sheet or a sheet of foil, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the potatoes. It’s worth the wait! * While the potatoes are roasting to crispy perfection, get out a large pot or crockpot and place it over medium high to high heat. In the pot, brown the veggie ”meat”, then add beans, tomato paste, sugar and all spices (feel free to alter the spices to your taste). Gradually add the water, stirring until incorporated. Reduce to a medium temperature and continue to cook until the beans and veggie meat are nice and tender, and the liquid has thickened into a robust chili. * Once the potatoes are finished baking, take them out of the oven and cut a slit lengthwise in the top of each of them. Pinch the sides to create an opening for the delicious filling. Layer on some chili and top with vegan cheddar cheese. Optionally, top it off with your favorite hot sauce and oyster crackers. * While I love baked potatoes, the chili is also great atop classic spaghetti, mac & cheese, loaded tots, or whatever your heart desires!

The new @louveganjerky X @actualneilhamburger Hamburger Jerky launched today at @bestiesveganparadise and it was an absolute blast! This flavor is truly on another level. With each bite, the flavor develops and reveals another layer of dimension, from the beefy burger patty, to the melty cheese, and even the ridge-sliced pickles. It’s all in there somehow…by magic! And to top it all off it’s a really fun collab with a legendary comedian who’s been vegan since way before it was “cool”. Feeling extremely lucky to have spent the day with Stanley, Gregg, and the phenomenal Besties crew! 🥹 The stuff of dreams!

So happy with these oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies adapted from an incredible recipe by Tessa Arias (@handletheheat )! If you love sweets, her recipes and baking science tips are the absolute best! Her “How to Measure Flour” article is a complete game-changer and I’m 💯% on board with the digital kitchen scale method now. Here’s the recipe! Ingredients: * 1 3/4 cups (222 grams) all-purpose flour * 1 teaspoon baking powder * 1/2 teaspoon baking soda * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon * 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted vegan butter, at cool room temperature (love the @earthbalance “Vegan Buttery Sticks”) * 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) packed dark brown sugar * 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar * 1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons water (“flax egg”) * 4 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract * 3 cups (297 grams) quick oats * 1 1/2 cups (255 grams) vegan chocolate chunks (love the @enjoylifefoods “Semi-Sweet Mega Chunks”) Instructions: * We’re going to refrigerate the cookie dough for a while before baking so no pre-heating just yet! 🤗 * First, prepare the “flax egg” by mixing together flax meal and water in a small bowl and set aside. * Into a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and combine with a whisk or fork. This is the dry mix. Set aside. * In a standing mixer or separate bowl with hand mixer, combine vegan butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar on a medium-high speed for about 2 minutes. Add in applesauce, prepared flax egg, and vanilla. This is the wet mix. * Slowly add the dry mix into the wet mix until combined, being careful not to over-mix. Stir in oats and chocolate chunks until well-incorporated throughout the dreamy cookie dough. * Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes, ideally overnight to help the flavors reach their full potential. * Ready to bake? Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. * Roll evenly-sized balls of cookie dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2-3 inches around each cookie so they don’t overlap in the oven. * Continued in the comments! Ran out of space! 🤣

2023 beauty highlights…vegan & cruelty free products from some of my fave indie brands! 🥰💕

Somebody please make me more of these cannoli cookies I’m tired… 🥹