Kid-Friendly Plant-Based Desserts For National Peanut Day!

Celebrate National Peanut Day by getting your kids enthusiastic about creating in the kitchen. It’s the perfect opportunity to get them interested in plant-based foods that are full of nutritious value, but are still totally kid-friendly and wonderfully indulgent. 

Starting with desserts will be a fun incentive to get children in the kitchen, where they can start to gain confidence and familiarity whilst making unforgettable memories. They are sure to find their efforts rewarding, which in turn could inspire them to move on from desserts to entire meals, even create their own recipes! The two delicious recipes below are a perfect way to get your children’s culinary journey started.

Why Is The Vegan Option Better For These Recipes?

The answer is simple really; when it comes to peanut butters, and nut butter in general, with vegan options you have a better idea of what exactly you're adding to your recipes, and your bodies. Vegan nut butters, more often than not, are made with two or three ingredients: the nut, oil and perhaps some sort of sweetener. Far fewer things than in non-vegan options, that are usually packed full of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. By choosing a vegan nut butter for your desserts, you will still be getting the desired nutty flavor but you’ll also have more control about what else goes into the tasty treat itself. And if anyone is allergic to peanut butter, don’t worry there are plenty of delicious alternative vegan nut butters to substitute in these recipes; almond or even cashew!

Plant-Based Dessert Recipes for National Peanut Day

Here’s three easy vegan recipes for plant-based desserts that will have your kids super excited about what they themselves can create in the kitchen.

1 Bowl Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Simple, easy and absolutely scrumptious, these vegan peanut butter cookies are the perfect, indulgent treat that’ll make your kids excited about making home-made cookies. This recipe makes 20-24 cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup natural peanut butter (or your preferred nut butter), creamy or crunchy.
• 1 cup coconut sugar or pure cane sugar
• 6 tablespoons room temp of almond milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour, spelt, unbleached all-purpose, almond flour, or 1-1 gluten-free blend
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• generous pinch of salt (only use if nut butter is unsalted)

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. To make the dough, simply add the peanut butter and sugar into a large bowl and mix until creamy. Stir in the almond milk and the vanilla then add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined. (Dough might be a little tough to stir with a spoon, so it’s a perfect opportunity for the kids to have fun using their hands!)
3. Using a 1.5 tablespoon scooper, scoop out the dough and roll into balls, about 1 1/4 inch. Place the balls of dough about 2 1/2 inches apart on a baking sheet then use the back of a fork to flatten in a crisscross pattern. (Here you can add a sprinkle of sugar or coarse salt).
4. Place in the oven and bake for 10-13 minutes (the cookies will be crispier on the outside and tender on the inside after 13 minutes)
5. Let cool for a few minutes, transfer cookies to a wire rack and repeat with remaining dough.
6. Enjoy!

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies

Who doesn’t love a brownie? Sweet, moist and wonderfully ooey, gooey, these stunning brownies have that extra level of deliciousness by adding sliced bananas and peanut butter. 

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp flaxseed meal
• ½ cup of mashed banana
• ¾ cup of chopped pitted dates
• ½ cup of unflavored plant-based milk (eg. Oatly Oat Milk, or Blue Diamond Unsweetened Almond Milk)
• ¼ cup of peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup of cocoa powder
• 1 cup ground rolled oats
• 2 tbsp cane sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar
• 2 bananas for garnish

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line an 8 inch square baking pan with foil. 
2. In a small bowl, combine your flaxseed meal with 6 tablespoons of water and let it stand for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, place your chopped dates and add boiling water until they are fully covered. Drain your dates after 5 minutes.
3. Add your flaxseed mix, chopped dates, mashed banana, plant-based milk, nut butter, and vanilla into a blender or food processor, and blend your ingredients together until smooth. Make sure to keep little hands away from the blades.
4. In a large bowl, combine your rolled oats, cocoa powder, cane sugar, baking powder and sea salt. Then add your blended date mixture then stir together until they are combined and moist. 
5. Spread evenly across your pan then bake your brownies for 25 minutes and allow to thoroughly cool for 30.
6. Dust your brownies with powdered sugar and cut into squares. Slice your bananas and decorate each brownie with 2 or 3 slices.
7. Enjoy your delicious, indulgent, guilt-free and fantastically nutty brownies.

Easy DIY Chocolate Peanut Butter Icecream

Only 5 ingredients and is a vegan AND gluten-free ice-cream! This stunning, creamy ice-cream is full of chocolatey, and peanut butter goodness, with a hint of banana. 

Ingredients

• 4 overripe bananas, frozen, sliced
• ¼ cup of peanut butter, or your preferred nut butter
• ⅓ cup of cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp of vanilla extract
• Just a pinch of salt

Cooking Instructions

1. Combine all of your ingredients in a blender or food processor until completely smooth. If your blender isn’t strong enough to mix your frozen banana either allow them to thaw a bit or add a little bit of your favorite plant-based milk to the mix. 
2. Line a tray with plastic wrap and pour your soft serve liquid inside before placing in the freezer for at least an hour.
3. Use an ice cream scoop to enjoy a sundae or a nice ice cream cone on a hot day.