CHICO — With Christmas just one week away, it’s that time once more to roll up sleeves and fling flour around the kitchen with wild abandon. ‘Tis the season to enjoy sugary holiday treats as we wrap up 2019 — and there’s more options than ever for vegan sweet lovers to get in on the fun this year.
As some readers may already know, eggs and dairy don’t need to make the world go ‘round, and you don’t need butter to make your Christmas cookies melt in your mouth. Things like Just Egg, Earth Balance “butter,” plant milks and much more can make baking a breeze even if most of the family isn’t vegan. Here are just a few items to pick up before Christmas shows up:
Vegan baking shopping list:
- Just Egg
- Bananas, if you don’t mind the flavor in the pastry and want a thicker egg replacer
- Your choice of plant milk. Personally, I find unsweetened almond milk is great with recipes heavy on flour and “butter.” If you’re making something heavier like a holiday bread or cookies, consider using creamy oat (like Oatly or Califia) or pea milk (Ripple is one of the smoothest), flavored or unsweetened.
- Your choice of fats — avocado can be a real lifesaver to add to a rich, decadent dish. Ever tried avocado brownies?
- Egg replacement powder
- Tub “butter”, non-hydrogenated. Look for oil butter substitutes that don’t rely on unhealthy, heavily saturated partially-hydrogenated oils
- Coconut oil, especially the unrefined variety. Although it should be used very sparingly due to unhealthy saturated fats, it is extremely useful for dense items like brownies. Refined coconut oil is less healthy but won’t be so heavy on the coconut flavor.
- Brown rice syrup. Sticky and sweet, it can help bind together ingredients in flour without eggs and add a pleasant flavor too.
- Flours. Without eggs, a wheat-derived flour is better for its binding properties, especially a good whole wheat flour that is higher in gluten and protein. However, if you have gluten-free friends, consider alternatives like rice flour, keeping in mind that these are harder to work with and may need more added ingredients for binding it together.
Naturally, there might be naysayers who can’t imagine sugar cookies without butter, or a creamy, rich cake without eggs and milk. But there are ways to get them to try it anyway.
Sometimes the best approach is to just not tell people the pastries are vegan. They absolutely won’t notice anyway. But if you can whip up something delicious and get everyone to eat it first, why not tell them afterward? It might get them thinking about new ways to bake cruelty-free in the future.
Hunting vegan sweets in Butte County
If you aren’t much for baking or tend to burn things, it’s slim pickings for ready-made treats around Butte County, but there are some options.
Happily, more and more sweet shops are offering alternatives. Even dropping by one of my favorites, Lovely Layers Cakery, I noticed that it is now offering oat milk, another addition to the list of shops that serve which are recognizing the use of plant milks other than soy and almond for dairy-free folk.
As usual, this bakery is also lively with conversation about vegan options, and the baristas are always very helpful with directing customers to the most recently baked vegan and gluten-free options on the menu.
Near and Dear Bakery is also an option if you contact the Facebook or Instagram page, or find them at a pop-up or the Chico Certified Farmers Market. They always offer vegan and seasonal items for your sweet tooth.
Tin Roof Bakery and Cafe has also gotten better at offering more options over the years, often offering vegan cookies and scones. If you check in and ask periodically, they will often have other items pop up.
Sadly, one of my favorites, Upper Crust Bakery and Cafe, still could use more than the occasional vegan pastry option for dairy-free sweet lovers.
There also isn’t much to be found in Durham at this point, as the bakeries there like Country Morning Bakery and Cafe don’t currently offer any of their usual pastries in vegan options.
In Paradise, there were once several popular bakeries with made-to-order possibilities. Sadly there isn’t much at this time — the Cupcake Crusader does handle customization for some orders, but on a case-by-case basis so ask first. Blue Sugar Bake Shop also does custom orders but currently has no vegan pastry selection.
Hopping over to Oroville, we find Mary’s Edible Creations, which offers a Pumpkin Loaf with a vegan option as well as choices of walnuts or pecans or with dark or semi-sweet chocolate. Sadly, that seems to be the only vegan option offered here so far.
However, if you check out Betty Cakes and Coffee, a specialty made-to-order bakery, I confirmed that they will indeed make items like cupcakes vegan if requested.
Enjoy eating vegan this Christmas, and don’t be afraid to experiment. There are many, many vegan pastry recipes out there for the novice and the expert, and baking without the usual eggs and flour doesn’t have to be a chore. Send successful vegan holiday creations my way if you are proud of your cooking this December and have creative alternatives. Happy holidays!
Natalie Hanson was inspired to write this biweekly column after meeting more vegans in Chico and seeing the need for representation in the north valley. Send vegan-friendly restaurant or business recommendations her way to nhanson@chicoer.com.