Vegan Vanilla Wafers & Banana Pudding? Oh Yes.

First up? How did my youngest get SO big?

Alistaire moved out of his infant car seat last week. His legs were hanging over the end! 12 month clothing is now skin-tight, time to move up to 18 months (and he is 7 months old…). Walker thinks it is great though – now they both have ‘big-boy’ seats in the van. I kept the infant car seat, leaving it attached to the jogger stroller. He is too small for the stroller seat and he stays warmer in the car seat (it blocks the wind). I love listening to them wake up in the morning, in their room. Alistaire cooing, Walker talking to his brother, lots of giggling, especially with Alis now sitting up!

Walker is talking like crazy, adding a new word almost every day now! I received an email this morning that was on early childhood development and had a neat infographic included. Click to expand –

But enough about my kiddos, onto the banana pudding. The last time I made it, it was a swank affair. Loaded with eggs and butter. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted fantastic. The pudding part is easy enough to veganize, the ‘nilla wafers I had to ponder. I took a recipe I had used before and messed with it, since i knew the recipe was solid. Another change is I made bigger cookies. Yum.

Although trying to take photos of the pudding was a challenge. One thing I noticed is the color change. Between almond milk and the vanilla, my pudding wasn’t very ‘bright’ – the egg puddings are a pretty yellow. Still, the taste is fantastic. A few fresh banana chips decorating the top brings in lots of color.

So if anyone says “Ewwww! Why is it gray-ish”…. Just tell ’em “shush till you try it!” –

The cookies taste the same as fresh non-vegan ‘nilla wafers do. You won’t miss the egg! And if you have never made them? Please do. You will never be tempted by a box of those things in the grocery store again. Well…. especially if you read the side of a box of them:

Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate {Vitamin B1}, Riboflavin {Vitamin B2}, Folic Acid), Sugar, Soybean Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Whey (From Milk), Eggs, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Salt, Leavening (Baking Soda And/Or Calcium Phosphate), Emulsifiers (Mono- And Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin).

You can do better. A LOT better. They can be made with whole wheat flour, better fats and no eggs. Nor corn syrup. Now granted this set of recipes isn’t health food. It still has lots of sugar. It is a treat – nothing more, nothing less. Do weigh the flour, these are delicate cookies and whole wheat can weigh down in a measuring cup.

Vegan Vanilla Wafers

Ingredients:

• 7 ounces white whole wheat flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder (I am using Hain’s)
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 stick Earth Balance buttery stick or similar
• ½ cup granulated sugar, preferably organic
• 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp cool water
• 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

Position your oven racks so one is in the top third, the other is in the bottom third, preheat oven to 350°. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Add the flaxseed meal and water to a small bowl, let sit for 15 minutes to hydrate , whisk till thick.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a small bowl.

Beat the EB and sugar for 2 minutes in a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer. Add in the flaxseed, vanilla and almond milk, beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture, beat in on low until mixed.

Refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes.

Make 1 Tablespoon balls with a 1 Tablespoon Disher), place 12 per tray. Flatten gently with a palm. Bake both trays at once for 10 minutes, flipping the bottom pan to the top, then baking for 10 minutes more.

Let cool for 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes about 24 cookies.

 

Yes, this pudding is sweet. Feel free to cut the sugar back to ¾ cup. Although it does work once you layer it with the bananas.

Vegan Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar, organic preferably
• 6 Tbsp corn starch, organic preferably or favorite thickener
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 4 cups unsweetened almond milk (coconut would also work)
• 1 Tbsp Earth Balance buttery stick or similar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Whisk the sugar, corn starch and slat in a heavy medium saucepan, add the milk slowly, whisking till smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking often. Once bubbling, whisk non-stop for a minute.

Take off the heat, whisk in the EB till melted and then the vanilla. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, chill for 30 minutes before assembling.

To Assemble:

Line the bottom of an 8×8″ glass dish with 9 cookies, 3 to a row. Cut a ripe banana into slices, layer over the cookies, then cover with half the pudding, sealing the bananas in. Add another layer of cookies, another banana and the other half of the pudding. Decorate the top with the remaining cookies. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid, chill for a couple of hours.

Decorate with banana chips if desired.

~Sarah