Author: Hannah Kaminsky

Despite meticulous menu planning and marathon days of shopping and preparation, the actual event of Thanksgiving always manages to catch me off-guard. Between the mountains of mashed potatoes, valleys of crispy roasted Brussels sprouts, and oceans of mushroom gravy, something is almost guaranteed to get lost in the shuffle. Heaven forbid that it happens to be dessert! When there’s no oven space left to squeeze in the smallest of baking sheets and no time to make a tender fruit pie, fear not! There is still at least one delicious, easy option within reach… Dairy-Free Apple Ice Cream Pie. No Space…

Even in the cooler months, my friend Hannah Kaminsky doesn’t let go of her ice cream. Instead, the flavors morph into seasonal delights like eggnog, candy cane, gingerbread, and this wonderful dairy-free pumpkin pie ice cream. It’s basically like vegan pumpkin pie filling, churned into a creamy frozen dessert. Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream is a Cool Dessert for All Seasons We originally shared this recipe way back in 2011. Since that time, Hannah has released TWO vegan ice cream cookbooks, Vegan a la Mode and Super Vegan Scoops. And we’ve had the chance to update this recipe with more…

Homemade baked sweet potato chips might sound simple, but this recipe builds on that delicious base with several dairy-free seasoning options and a creamy date caramel dip for serving. And did I mention that everything is plant-based, vegan, school safe, and allergy friendly too? Baked Sweet Potato Chips with 5 Seasoning Options + Date Caramel Dip Several years ago, my friend Hannah created this recipe for a free Snack eCookbook that we put together. Today, I’m updating it with nutrition facts, more options, and some additional tips via the following FAQs. Can I Peel the Sweet Potatoes? You can! Hannah…

Popular vegan cookbook author Hannah Kaminsky, shares her grown-up take on a celebratory dessert for the Jewish New Year, honey cake. Her version of this popular Rosh Hashanah cake is actually vegan and honey-free. Not wanting to mislead, I would call this tender loaf a Rosh Hashanah Cake instead of “honey cake.” But for all any of my family knew, it was the original thing. Amber agave lends a slightly caramel-like sweetness, and that tiny drop of orange blossom water adds that tiny floral hint that honey always seems to carry. By adding a good deal of applesauce into the…

There may be few desserts as “American as apple pie,” but in summer, peach pie ice cream strikes the perfect balance between classic Americana and frosty satisfaction. In my vegan version, pieces of tender, buttery pie crust are woven throughout a creamy dairy-free peach base, with splashes of bright peach jam in every bite. Vegan Peach Pie Ice Cream is Easier than You Think to Churn Out While complex in flavor, the preparation of this peach pie ice cream is anything but complicated. If you can prepare a cooked custard, you can whip up this base in a flash. And…

Part smoothie, part cold soup, this deliciously refreshing blend is a must right now. The base is a delicious blend of garden-fresh cucumber and seasonal honeydew melon. The addition of milk alternative adds a creamy touch, and some nutrition. And the watermelon balls are like sweet, fruity dumplings bobbing in this spoonable, or sippable, snack. Stay Cool with this Delicious Cucumber Melon Soup Believe it or not, this cucumber melon soup was inspired by one of my favorite hand lotions. The beloved scent of cucumber and melon made me wonder how the two would taste together. It turns out, this…

It’s National Root Beer Float Day, which reminds me of a fun recipe that Hannah Kaminsky shared with us many years ago. It’s dairy-free root beer ice cream! Hannah makes reverse floats with it, bobbing a scoop or two in vanilla crème soda. But she also says it’s delicious on its own, or smothered with dairy-free hot fudge sauce. Float Away with this Vegan Root Beer Ice Cream Recipe When temperatures are hot, we love refreshing desserts, like this dairy-free root beer ice cream. It’s a little closer to ice milk in consistency, but still so satisfyingly creamy. That said,…

This isn’t just any chocolate sorbetto recipe. It was created by one of the founders of the popular gelato company, Ciao Bella. Their gelato recipes do contain dairy. But their sorbetto flavors are purely dairy-free, even the ones made with creamy coconut or rich chocolate. And you can make this one at home! Vegan Chocolate Sorbetto that’s Deep, Dark, and Positively Delicious We do have a very basic chocolate sorbet recipe, but this chocolate sorbetto is a level up. It has the richness, and light creaminess of classic Italian gelato, and intense flavor thanks to some clever flavor additions. Dark…

Some of us might be resting after a whirlwind of holiday baking, but the sweet surprises never stop in Hannah Kaminsky’s kitchen. She created this wonderful wintery pear butter recipe in the midst of summer. It’s made with dried fruit, so you don’t need to wait for pear season. Nevertheless, it’s a comforting cool weather spread, and a great way to prevent those dried fruit Christmas gift baskets from going to waste. Dairy-Free Pear Butter made with Dried Fruit This pear butter is delicious on freshly baked dairy-free scones, slathered on a thick slice of toast, or dolloped on pancakes.…

Years ago, my friend Hannah made the vegan gingerbread cupcakes recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World with her own special twist. She swapped the lemon cream cheese frosting for a cinnamon vanilla frosting, and topped each cupcake with a Newman Ginger-O cookie. They no longer make that sandwich cookie flavor, but fortunately, these cupcakes really don’t need a garnish. They are warmly spiced, sweet, and flavorful on their own! Nevertheless, I’ve updated this sample cookbook recipe with Hannah’s frosting option, and a couple of our own little recipe tweaks. Special Diet Notes: Vegan Gingerbread Cupcakes By ingredients, this…

This gelato company has been churning Italian-style frozen dessert in the U.S. for nearly 40 years. And their line up has always included some of the most popular sorbets on the market. Ciao Bella Sorbetto is a completely vegan line of vibrant fruit sorbets, with rich chocolate and creamy coconut options. Ciao Bella Sorbetto Greets Sorbet Fans with 10 Robust Vegan Flavors Their original sorbetto formula, so many years ago, contained corn syrup. But Ciao Bella is currently corn-free, and sweetened solely with sugar and fruit. At last count, they offered 10 varieties. We have some of the most popular…

It isn’t often that you read a product story as sweet as Heavenly Hunks. Ellen sent her nephew Casey, who was at college, a care package of her well-loved cookies shaped in squares. Casey devoured 40 of those “hunks” in less than two days. When he came home to visit, he asked Ellen if they could start a cookie company together, and E&C’s Snacks was born. Heavenly Hunks are Vegan Cookies that Taste as Good as They Look I initially thought Heavenly Hunks were little granola-like snack squares, but Sarah told me they were so much more. Her family loves…

No matter how many different types of granola I try, and no matter how many I fall in love with, I just can’t seem to stop browsing for more. So how could I possibly resist sampling at least a couple boxes of Nature’s Path Granola? It now comes in twelve fourteen dairy-free, kosher pareve varieties, most of which are vegan. As a heads up, Nature’s Path keeps changing their packaging. The images below show the current look, but some varieties are now coming out in bags while older varieties are still in boxes. In other words, look for the brand,…

Vegan blondies are already treats worth celebrating, offering a soft, chewy bite and deep caramel flavor in every sweet morsel. But adding a pinch of salt heightens that crave-worthy experience, while a touch of coffee lends depth to the whole package. But the true secret ingredient? Melted dairy-free ice cream is added directly into the bars themselves to hit all the right notes with ease. And of course, the experience is perfected with a big scoop of that same ice cream on top! In this case, we used perfectlyfree caramel cafe. The perfectlyfree frozen dessert line is a new spin-off…

This vegan cinnamon buns recipe doesn’t mess around. Though it’s free of dairy and eggs, the rolls bake up fluffy and tender with a gooey filling that is as cinnamon-y as you like. Plus, it comes with an indulgent maple icing. The recipe makes enough for a crowd, but you can half or even quarter the ingredients if you are feeding a smaller household. Big Batch Vegan Cinnamon Buns with Maple Icing This heavenly vegan cinnamon buns recipe was created by my good friend, Hannah Kaminsky. Hannah has been blogging beautiful eats at Bittersweet Blog for a decade, and she…

Cake, it’s what’s for breakfast. When you wake up craving something sweet, you no longer need to curb the impulse to eat dessert first. Now you can have these superlative, satisfying vegan cake batter protein bars. This recipe post for cake batter protein bars is sponsored by No Udder Protein, a dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and vegan protein powder that we reviewed & approved without bias here.  These cake batter protein bars boast a vibrant rainbow of tasty sprinkles, nuts, and chocolate. But they also pack in a hefty dose of vital nutrients to help you power through the morning or recover after a…

Go Dairy Free had the opportunity to send Hannah, our resident dairy-free ice cream expert, direct to the Vermont factory for a personal tour and tasting of the new Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy ice cream flavors. And we can always count on her for a very honest review … After decades of craving, years of lobbying, and hundreds of hungry voices calling for action, Ben & Jerry’s has taken the unprecedented initiative to offer a 100% non-dairy frozen dessert. And to say that this brand new line  has sweet teeth celebrating across the country would be an understatement. Ben & Jerry’s has…

Celebrations are in full swing this time of year, and I couldn’t imagine a better way to toast the festivities than this vegan champagne custard. A popular sparkling beverage meets a creamy dairy-free dessert in this recipe, created by my good friend, Hannah Kaminsky. As the author of Vegan Desserts, Vegan a La Mode, and Easy as Vegan Pie, Hannah knows her way around desserts, and is always looking for new and creative ways to whip them up. Though it requires just a bit of advanced thought (2 hours of chilling), this vegan champagne custard is a very simple dessert…

In search of the perfect gift for her father’s summer birthday, Hannah Kaminsky, cookbook author, photographer and blogger extraordinaire at Bittersweet, baked up these creative, seasonal iced tea cupcakes. We featured them way back when, and thought that they deserved a refresh! Mixed into both the cake and the frosting, the instant tea powder brought me right back to my childhood, thinking how grown up it was to be drinking this fancy iced tea concoction. These cupcakes are decided less “grown up,” but way too much fun to pass up. Piled high with mounds of fluffy frosting, I made sure…

Scalding hot coffee loses considerable appeal as temperatures inch back upwards, finally recovering from a long winter’s retreat. The staff of life for early risers and night owls alike, there’s no discussion of going without the daily cup of mud, no matter the heat or humidity Mother Nature is brewing up this season. Thankfully, mercifully, switching over to dairy-free iced coffee makes the morning routine no sweat. Fanciful flavored lattes are all the rage these days, and while some of these coffee concoctions veer a bit too far into dessert territory for the average caffeine-infusion, a lot can be learned from…