Deck the Halls with Compassionate Holiday Sweets

The holidays are upon us, so that means before your New Year’s health resolutions kick in, the time to indulge is right now!

If you’re doing your own holiday baking, there are plenty of handy resources that help convert your favorite non-vegan recipes into delicious delights that everyone can enjoy! Ingredients such as eggs, butter, or milk can be easily replaced. Print out this cheat sheet and our substitutions guide for references.

Or you can make cooking a little bit simpler by just using already-vegan recipes! Here are a few Compassion Over Killing holiday favorites for holiday sweets — ranging from traditional recipes to unique cultural treats. And your guests won’t be able to tell it’s vegan, unless of course, you tell them.

Give these recipes a try to sweeten your holiday and be sure to try out our top pick: chocolate truffles (recipe below)!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lemonilla Cake with Fluffy Lemon Frosting
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Nutty Fudge Balls
Apple Crisp
Rice Pudding

Truffles
Makes about 20 truffles

• 1 12-ounce package non-dairy chocolate chips (about 2 cups)
• 8 ounces non-dairy cream cheese, such as Go Veggie’s Cream Cheese
• 2 cups powered sugar
• 2 tablespoons flavored syrup, such as hazelnut or vanilla (optional)
• chopped nuts (optional topping)
• coconut flakes (optional topping)
• 1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips (optional topping)

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, saucepan, or microwave.

Put the non-dairy cream cheese in a food processor or high-powered blender and slowly add the sugar. Blend until well mixed. Then add the melted chocolate chips to the cream cheese mixture and blend until well mixed. If using flavored syrup, add the syrup to the mixture and blend for 30 seconds. Pour the blended mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Once chilled, roll the mixture with your hands into bite-sized balls and place on a serving tray.

If using optional toppings, pour the nuts and/or coconut flakes into a shallow bowl and roll the chilled balls into them. Place the truffles on a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For truffles with a hard chocolate coating, after the chilled mixture has been rolled into bite-sized balls, melt 1 cup of non-dairy chocolate chips. Dip the balls into the melted chocolate, place on a tray, and refrigerate for 2 additional hours.

For more holiday recipe ideas, visit VegRecipes.org or check out VegNews’ VegWeb.