This is a great recipe to get that full-on holiday feel going! Who doesn’t love French Toast and syrup! And more importantly, its an easy recipe thats seems like it was way harder!

Spiced Pumpkin Syrup

Yield: 1 1/4 cups

The syrup in this recipe is everything! I literally can’t stop thinking of new things I could use it on, and in! The fact that it comes together so quickly, and the fact that I always have these ingredients on hand makes it even better! I can totally see this as a go-to’ syrup to spice up all kinds of desserts… ice cream, apple pie, chia pudding…I’ll stop now.

But really, besides being sweet and yummy, this syrup is truly a healthier choice to make. It uses apple juice to help sweeten things up and lower the sugar content, and utilizes Kuzu to refine the consistency.

Make it for this recipe and then think of what else you could use it on. I’m thinking drizzled over sliced pears…

Ingredients:

1 cup apple juice

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

2 teaspoons kuzu

*(add more if you want it thicker)

2 teaspoon water

pinch salt

Procedure:

In a small saucepan, bring apple juice and cinnamon stick to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup of liquid, about 15-20 minutes.

Take the cinnamon stick out. Mix kuzu with water to create a slurry. Then add to juice whisking until along with maple syrup, nutmeg, pumpkin puree and salt. Whisk to mix and cook until thickened.

Maple-Glazed Pecans

The great thing about this recipe is its versatility. I love recipes that are more of a ‘concept’ and this is one of those. You can literally mix and match nuts and spices to make something really fantastic!

And they literally take less thank 10 minutes to make!! Now you just have to!!

Yield: 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon whole cane sugar

pinch salt

1/2 cup raw pecans, roughly chopped

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure:

In a small bowl or ramekin, mix the cinnamon, whole cane sugar and salt. Set aside.

In another small vessel, mix the maple syrup and vanilla extract.

Preheat skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and maple syrup mixture and stir continuously, about 3 minutes until well coated and thickened.

Spread out on wax paper and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

*Note: (You don’t have to use all of the cinnamon sugar- just enough to give the pecans a crunch)

Set aside to cool.

Vegan French Toast

I LOVE FRENCH TOAST! I have loved it since I was child! When I became Vegan, this is one of those items that I needed to return back to my world super fast.

The basic recipe is adapted from one by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Even with the spices (which are very mild in the resulting product), this recipe is my family’s regular french-toast recipe. It’s a great basic recipe that you can alter to make dozens of versions!

Yield: 2 cups dipping liquid

Ingredients:

1 loaf whole wheat French or Italian bread

*(or whatever kind of bread you like. just nothing too dense)

2 cups soymilk

1 vanilla bean *optional

*(If you don’t have one just leave it out. It will be fine)

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup chicpea/garbanzo bean flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

coconut oil for oiling pan

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

If using vanilla bean, add soy milk and split bean into a small sauce pot. Bring just to a boil then cover and turn off heat. Allow to steep while proceeding to the next steps. If not-ignore this step.

Slice bread into approximately 1/4 inch thick pieces

Lay the slices in a single layer on baking sheets and put them into the oven for 3-4 minutes, turning over once. You don’t want to toast the bread, just dry it out a bit.

*Note: If you make the slices thick, make sure to let them fully soak up the batter. As you go along you may need to thin it with an extra Tablespoon or two of soy milk.

In a wide dish, whisk the cornstarch, chic pea flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Remove the vanilla bean from the soy milk and scrape seeds from the pod before discarding. Add vanilla extract.

Slowly whisk the soy milk into the dry ingredients, and blend until most of the lumps are gone.

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add coconut oil and using a paper towel, rub the pan to coat the bottom evenly.

Soak the bread slices into the french toast mixture and place in pan.

Allow to cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until golden. Re-coat the pan with oil in between batches.

*Note: Impatience can result in the french toast sticking! If it feels like it is sticking, let the slices cook a bit longer. Lower the heat a little if you are concerned it may burn. Its also helpful to use a metal or very thin spatula.

Serve immediately!

*Note: If you need to cook in batches, remove the finished slices to a plate with a towel draped over it, and keep them in a warm oven (lowest setting then turned off) until you finish cooking them all.

Drench them in syrup and live!