How do you indulge while being dairy free?

[adoremybabe]

Just last week I went dairy free due to a suspected sensitivity in 4 mo DS. I am really missing the holiday fare of wonderful treats. What delicious treats do you make without having to get out of the ordinary ingredients?

[kjbrown92]

I was just contemplating making maple walnut fudge.... I also make chocolate fudge, but that is more labor intensive. You can use shortening instead of butter in things, and coconut milk is a good substitute for cow dairy. I have to sub a lot of other things, so a lot of my recipes have odd ingredients. Enjoy Life chocolate chips are dairy/soy free. If you have a regular big grocery store with a "natural" section, there are options there. Koala Crisp cereal is like cocoa krispies and you can make rice krispie squares out of those. We make hot cocoa with coconut milk, vanilla, sugar, and cocoa. What kind of thing do you want?

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I spent the day baking w/ my mom yesterday, and almost all of the cookies we made are dairy free. There are numerous options for dairy free margarine (earth balance, smart balance light, fleischmanns unsalted sticks). Ghiradelli and Trader Joes chocolate chips are dairy free. Coconut milk is a great substitute for milk or cream in many recipes.

Is there something specific you are craving that you need help finding a substitute for? I'd be happy to help if I can.

[somegirl99]

Earth Balance in place of butter.

There's quite a choice of non-dairy milks.

If you're looking for specific recipes, come visit us in the Veg*n forum.

[texaspeach]

oreos are dairy free not really so great w/o milk but sometimes they hit the spot.

I've made cookies using butter subs (even shortening). lots of pies can be made dairy free. I've been meaning to make a pumpkin pie w/ coconut milk instead of condensed milk.

I do miss mashed potatoes made with cream. using chicken stock and eb is ok but not the real deal.

[AlishaB]

I have a dairy allergy, and so I have been "dairy free" for a while.
You can make almost anything dairy free. Vegan cookbooks are a god-send. Moosewood as well.
After-Eights are dairy free. And So Delicious Coconut Flavoured Coconut Milk Ice Cream. It's like Ben&Jerry's but for non-dairy people!!!

[texaspeach]

I think the coconut milk ice cream is better than the stuff made with dairy

[adoremybabe]

What kinds of things have I wanted to eat? Cookies and chocolate Christmas treats have been on my mind.

I am really opposed to using margarine but if Earth Balance is okay to consume, then I'll give it a whirl.

The coconut icecream sounds delicious.

Chocolate covered peanut butter balls are something that I usually treat myself with this time of year.... Perhaps I can make them with earth balance and a dairy free chocolate.

Thanks for the ideas!

[doubledutch]

i make a dairy-free christmas treat (just bought the ingredients this morning!) which everyone loves and it's healthy and fabulous. kind of expensive. i get the ingredients in the bulk aisle of the health food store, so maybe you can do it for less at the regular grocery store. it's equal parts of these four things:
cashews
dark chocolate chips
dried sour cherries
tamari-roasted pumpkin seeds

so it's salty, sweet, sour and spicy. it's sooooooo good. (also great on top of pancakes!)

[greeny]

Apple pie is my fave non-dairy treat. Just make the crust with shortening instead of butter.

[somegirl99]

Originally Posted by adoremybabe

I am really opposed to using margarine but if Earth Balance is okay to consume, then I'll give it a whirl.

It's not hydrogenated, there are no trans fats.

I can often just use canola oil instead, but it depends on the specific recipe.

[Rosehip]

Fruit pies!
I think a lot of the Cherrybrook mixes are dairy-free.

[Koalamom]

We are dairy free since my 5 month old is very sensitive. We cant have most "alternative" milks either so I just use water in place of milk in recipes and they come out fine.

Not sure if you have tried this, even though we have cut out dairy, we can still have ghee in place of butter and it is so nice.

[Koalamom]

Originally Posted by texaspeach

oreos are dairy free not really so great w/o milk but sometimes they hit the spot.

Thats not real whipped cream in those things?

[hteb83]

I went egg and dairy free for a few months for health issues avoiding them didn't help but I often got frustrated with all the things I couldn't eat, so I wrote a list of tasty alternatives! It helped to have something to look at and remind me of all the yummy things I could still eat

Unfortunately I've lost it but I remember that mango sorbet was at the top! And high quality chocolate with lots of cocoa solids. Yum.

I had a few savoury "treats" on there too - expensive (very tasty) olives from the deli, air-popped popcorn, hummus with things to dip in it...

Doubledutch - that mix sounds amazing!

[JamieCatheryn]

My snickerdoodles are dairy free, some healthy ingredients, and yummy

dough:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
a little vanilla
3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/8 cup whole wheat flour
scant 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch cream of tartar
dash of salt

coating:
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar

Make the dough (cream oil and sugar, add egg and vanilla, add dry ingredients) then mix the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl, roll dough into balls and coat in the cinnamon and sugar, flatten them on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.


I made Norwegian yulekake too, can be made without butter, let me copy and paste that.

Christmas Bread
1 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 ½ cups flour
1 cup dried fruit

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, egg, butter, salt, cardamom and 2 cup flour; mix well. Stir in raisins, citron and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to greased top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down; divide in half. Shape each portion into a flattened ball. Place in two greased 9-in. round baking pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.

[Sayward]

Earthbalance is not your Mother's margarine. It has come a LONG way, is all non-gmo, comes in organic varieties, soy-free varieties, and is totally delicious.

You can have anything you miss, you may just have to make it yourself. Just decide what you want and then google "vegan _____ recipe". Vegan desserts are actually the easiest to omni component to replicate. They can be rich, creamy, and down right divine. Good luck!