The Hamptons Vegan

Living the Vegan Lifestyle

thehamptonsvegan

This Vegan Parmesan is Quick, Easy, and Perfect

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The Perfect Parmesan-Vegan Style!

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vegan parmesan cheese ingredients
Simple ingredients make parmesan cheese magic

Hey, You know what? The Perfect Vegan Parmesan is the perfect condiment for anybody’s style!

And you don’t have to be vegan, of course! If you have a blender or food processor, you can whip this up in under a minute and then store it in the fridge to add to soups, casseroles, tofu scrambles, pasta, pizza and so much more.

Because it’s made with just a few ingredients, it couldn’t be easier. It’s great to have such a big, bold flavor-enhancing product. And it’s so simple!

So, this easy recipe is found all over the web and in vegan cookbooks, blogs, and on Pinterest. And I’ve seen it made with various kinds of nuts and seeds and a host of various herbs and spices. It’s a common, useful recipe, shared by many. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should give it a try. Because it will spice up your dishes.

Perfect Vegan Parmesan For All Our Favorite Italian Recipes

Italian restaurants don’t hold the same draw they once did since going vegan. When you take the cheese from the equation, nothing’s left but mostly just spaghetti IF the sauce wasn’t made with meat.

So what do you do? Two choices: Buy a Parmesan alternative cheese like Go Veggie or make your own vegan versions like our perfect parmesan, that’s what! Now I no longer miss lasagna, stuffed shells, or eggplant parmesan thanks to all the creative ways to simulate ingredients like meat and dairy. We just make our own.

Now one of my favorite recipes that utilizes the Perfect Parmesan-vegan style creation is our Elegant Eggplant entrée. It’s delicious, and light but still filling, with a lot of flavors and great presentation. So if you want a great recipe to start using your Parmesan-like condiment, this is one I’d recommend.

But don’t stop there! I like a great big sprinkle of perfect parmesan on our Goulash. And it tops our Garlic Aioli like a champ. Our Killer Kale Salad would be sad without it, as well. It just compliments so many dishes!

Need no stinkin’ dairy parmesan cheese, now!

Nope. We have our vegan variations that are healthy, tasty, and satisfying.

So you can use this recipe for all your Parmesan needs and you won’t miss the dairy stuff. (The cows say thank you!)

Now, moooove over dairy Parmesan, there’s a new cheesy taste creation in town. Healthier and so quick to make, too!

vegan parmesan
In the garden with vegan parmesan, waiting for the tomatoes to ripen

More, vegan parmesan, please.

Yep, no problem! How about using the Perfect Parmesan-vegan style in our Lovely Luscious Vegan Lasagna?!

vegan lasagna
The Hamptons Vegan lovely luscious lasagna

It also works on our

“Extra Sloppy For Ya’s” Sloppy Joes!

sloppy joe sandwich
“extra sloppy for yas” sloppy joe sandwich

Try it, you’ll like it!

This is the brand of nutritional yeast I usually use- Bragg’s 

 copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.
vegan parmesan cheese ingredients
thehamptonsvegan

Perfect Vegan Parmesan

A vegan parmesan made with simple ingredients that accentuates any dish in need of a little cheesy flavor.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings: 1 cup
Course: condiments
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Method
 

  1. Place all ingredients in blender or food processor.
  2. Blend/pulse for about 30 seconds or more until grated cheese consistency. Don't blend too long to avoid turning to nut butter.

Notes

Do not soak cashews, always use dry ingredients for this recipe.
 

Sunflower Cupcakes Are Beautiful Blooms To Eat!

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 SUMMER SUNFLOWER CUPCAKES

sunflower cupcakes
summer sunflower cupcakes all in a row

There’s nothing like beautiful big summer sunflowers or summer sunflower cupcakes!

Inspiration for baking up a batch of sunflower cupcakes came this way:

I woke up this summer morning to find a bright beautiful bouquet of sunflowers gracing my kitchen table.  My son, Zack (also a Hampton’s vegan) had been out and stopped by a farm stand in East Quogue, NY. When he saw rows of sunflowers for sale he couldn’t resist picking up a bunch to bring home. I love that!

Summer sunflowers are one of the many things that define the season out here. They are just the thing that inspired our summer sunflower cupcakes.

sunflower cupcakes
summer sunflower chocolate cupcakes growing in the garden

Signs of summer in the Hamptons (besides sunflower cupcakes)

Some of the other sure signs of summer around the Hamptons are more traffic, fund-raisers for a variety of good causes, celebrity sightings, sand in the shower, sand in the car, and sand just about everywhere. And a lot more shops and restaurants are open than at any other time of year.  It’s fun to finally go out to eat a little more often.

Hamptons restaurants with a water view. They’d be even better with sunflower cupcakes!

sunflower cupcakes
a bouquet of summer dessert flowers

But I digress.

So anyway, I especially love to eat outside. And even more than that, I love to eat outside by the water. Some fun restaurants to try around the east end of Long Island include Cowfish in Hampton Bays and John Scott’s Surf Shack In Westhampton Beach.

Cowfish

This waterside restaurant has a very yummy hummus with pita bread appetizer but just ask them to hold the cheese they put on top.

Fridays are great to sit outside by the water, have a drink and an app, and watch the boats go by on Shinnecock Bay, while a band plays. Plus, they have a tiki boat that travels back and forth to their sister restaurant, Rumba!

John Scott’s Surf Shack

John Scott’s Surf Shack is a favorite with my son and his friends.  And it’s a great stop after a day at the beach for a come-as-you-are, kick-back kind of place.  It’s on the bay side of Dune Road, across the street from the ocean.

For vegans, their menu is limited. So it’s fries or a salad and not much else.  But they do list a veggie burger and when I called to ask if it is vegan or vegetarian she checked, returning to say it is vegan. Yay for vegan veggie burgers at John Scott’s Surf Shack!

My summer homework

So, I will continue to explore local restaurants in the name of vegan research. Because somebody’s gotta do it. 😉 And I will report back often. I will also request vegan options at all the places I frequent and (fingers crossed) more and more places will see the need and follow suit. I’ve seen many restaurants adding vegan options lately so I’m encouraged, but there’s still a long way to go.

I still do most of my eating at home and that’s ok.  I like to go out for the atmosphere and to experience a night out and, okay, a fancy cocktail too. Then come home to summer sunflower chocolate cupcakes for the perfect ending.

If you want to add a little summer flair to your dessert table, here is a little cupcake recipe that brings it.  I hope you have a great week and I will report back with my restaurant research and a new recipe soon!

If you don’t feel like a chocolate-based summer sunflower cupcake, then try our very vegan vanilla cupcakes, instead!

vanilla cupcakes
very vegan vanilla cupcakes

copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.

sunflower cupcakes
thehamptonsvegan

Summer Sunflower Cupcakes

Chocolate vegan cupcakes decorated with vegan buttercream frosting piped like a sunflower for your summer dessert table. Blooming beauties!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

cupcakes
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar organic
  • 1 cup vegan mayo
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup cold water
Frosting
  • 1/2 cup vegan shortening I use Spectrum or Nutiva
  • 3 – 3 3/4 cups vegan powdered sugar any organic powdered sugar is vegan
  • 1 – 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 – 6 tablespoons soymilk or other non-dairy milk
  • yellow food coloring like Watkins all vegetable food color or use a pinch of turmeric
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (to represent seeds in the center) like enjoy life chocolate chips

Method
 

CUPCAKE DIRECTIONS
  1. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a small bowl mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl beat together sugar, mayo, and vanilla.
  4. Beat the flour mixture into the wet mixture in thirds, alternating with the water until blended.
  5. Divide the batter evenly among cupcake tins.
  6. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 3 minutes in tin on a wire rack. Then remove the cupcakes from the tin and finish cooling them completely on a wire rack.
FROSTING DIRECTIONS
  1. Cream shortening in a large bowl.
  2. Add sugar and beat well.
  3. Add vanilla.
  4. Add milk a little at a time, beating well until desired consistency.
  5. If necessary, add a little more milk if too thick or a little more powdered sugar if too thin.
SUNFLOWER DESIGN DIRECTIONS
  1. To create a sunflower design you will need a piping bag or decorating press with a petal tip. See the image in the notes.
  2. Lightly frost each cupcake with a thin layer of frosting.
  3. In the center of each cupcake score a circle with a toothpick or knife point about the size of a quarter or a little smaller to use as a guide.
  4. Mix in yellow food color to the rest of the frosting to achieve the desired shade.
  5. Spoon frosting into a piping bag or decorator press with a petal tip
  6. Starting at the outside circle, squeeze out a petal all the way to the edge of a cupcake. Continue this all the way around the circle.
  7. Now put another layer of petals on top of the first layer and end just a little shorter from the edge of the cupcake so some of the first layer still shows.
  8. When two layers are completely around the cupcake, fill the middle section with the mini chocolate chips to represent the seeds.

Notes

frosting tips to create sunflowers

tips for frosting sunflower cupcakes

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes- a Very Big Victory!

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vanilla cupcakes
very vegan vanilla cupcakes
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The cupcake challenge: Very Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

So, very vegan vanilla cupcakes have been an elusive and almost impossible dream. They had to pass the test of our family. Everyone tasted samples until we got THE ONE.

We may or may not have woken certain people up from a deep sleep in order to subject them to yet another taste test. ( Sorry, Zookie!)

It was challenging and brutal. (Nah, it was fun). Anyway, we have finally found it!

We all came to the same conclusion and are here to present to you the vegan vanilla cupcake that came out on top. And this recipe is a hands-down winner.

Birthdays, holidays, and special occasion celebrations will need this cupcake for sure. It is the perfect base for any and all icing and topping. These are delicious, don’t sink in the middle, and have a tight/light crumb. Best, these very vegan vanilla cupcakes are dairy-free and vegan/plant-based. So, more people can enjoy them.

This cupcake recipe is our number one winner but we sampled many other recipes on the web. Some of our other favorites included the minimalist baker version here. We also liked it doesn’t taste like chicken‘s vanilla cupcake here. More cupcakes, more happiness!

Now for the surprise…

The ingredients in the very vegan vanilla cupcakes are all common and conventional except for one thing. And if you’ve never heard of adding mayonnaise to a cake recipe, you may wrinkle your nose at first but we urge you to try it.

No one will know the secret ingredient except you. But you won’t believe it either. Because it’s so simple to make this recipe. You can whip this up as quickly as a box! So if you want good vegan vanilla cupcakes these won’t disappoint, we promise!

vegan vanilla cupcakes
very vegan vanilla cupcakes

After fifteen minutes of mixing it up and then 25 minutes in the oven, you will have twelve very vegan vanilla cupcakes for yourself! Or you could share, that’s up to you.

Now make our better buttercream frosting recipe to complete the cupcakes.

2 vegan cupcakes frosted with Better Buttercream Frosting
Cupcakes!

Then use this recipe to make our Summer Sunflower Cupcakes!

summer sunflower chocolate cupcakes
a bouquet of summer dessert flowers

We hope you enjoy your very own vegan vanilla cupcakes as much as our family does!      xoxo

copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.

vanilla cupcakes
thehamptonsvegan

VEGAN VANILLA CUPCAKES- A VERY BIG VICTORY!

Vegan vanilla cupcakes with a surprise ingredient!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 cup vegan mayo *see note
  • 1 cup icy cold water

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, mayo, and vanilla.
  4. Mix the flour mixture into the wet mixture in thirds alternating with cold water. Blend well. Divide batter evenly among cupcake tins lined with cupcake papers.
  5. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Cool cupcakes in tin on a wire rack for 3 minutes. Then tip them out of the tin onto the wire rack to finish cooling. When the cupcakes are cooled completely, frost them as desired.

Notes

Better Buttercream Frosting Is For Everyone

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better buttercream frosting
cupcakes with Better Buttercream Frosting

 Vegan Better Buttercream Frosting is a big deal.

Vegan buttercream frosting seems like an oxymoron, I know.  Because can anything named “butter” or “cream” or the ultimate, “buttercream” really be a non-dairy, vegan food?

But it seemed unthinkable to try to recreate all the cupcakes, birthday cakes, or “just because” cakes without a buttercream frosting to top them off.

So the search began.

And some of our first sampled recipes involved store-bought vegan butter. But I wasn’t a fan of the aftertaste. (The taste of vegan butter has gotten better though since I started trying out frosting recipes with vegan butter several years ago.)

So then I thought I’d have to ice my cakes with non-dairy whipped cream forever. And whipped cream is good but not always an ideal choice.

Life without frosting is almost unthinkable.

The dreamy, light, fluffy frosting was a part of every reason to celebrate. Birthday cake celebrations, holiday sugar cookies, and school celebration cupcakes. And fundraiser desserts! They all included our topping of choice!

Yes, buttercream frosting is a shameless constant in our family. It’s bonded to our history like Elmer’s glue to paper. Our life wouldn’t be the same without it!

So giving up frosting was non-negotiable! We must find a substitute!

Therefore, finding a better buttercream frosting (aka vegan buttercream) was the only solution.

Finally, the better buttercream frosting favorite.

So, I experimented with many recipes. Then we discovered vegan shortening. And it was the solution we were looking for. Using this helped create better buttercream frosting. Because vegan shortening works perfectly. (Also, try vegan butter combined with shortening.)

However, we only recommend vegan shortenings that are sustainably sourced, because palm oil deforestation is devastating many areas.

Bonus! Because vegan shortening is shelf-stable, too! We always keep it in the pantry whenever the desire (or family demand for sweets) arises.

This is our go-to choice for the buttercream frosting fix our family often craves.

Vegan buttercream frosting rocks for everyone!

buttercream frosting
whipping up the sweet stuff

Another frosting creation we like is bougie brown sugar frosting. You won’t be sorry for spending a bit more time on this one. It is so tasty and worth the extra effort. Plus, if you’re out of powdered sugar, this is your salvation!

Better buttercream frosting for everyone!

So be sure to let us know how you like our Better Buttercream Frosting. Try it on our Summer Sunflower Cupcakes,

summer sunflower chocolate cupcakessummer sunflower chocolate cupcakes
a bouquet of summer dessert flowers

or our

Very Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes.

vanilla vegan cupcake
very vegan vanilla cupcake

Or our happy half-moon cookies.

half-moon cookie (black-and-whites)
Childhood favorite

Then, please, post pictures on Instagram or Facebook! Because we all need more photos of frosting. And sweet dreams are made of these. 😉

copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.

better buttercream frosting
thehamptonsvegan

Better Buttercream Frosting

A creamy, fluffy vegan buttercream-like frosting
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3- 3 1/2 cups vegan powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup sustainably sourced vegan shortening
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1-4 Tablespoons non dairy milk

Method
 

  1. Beat shortening until light and fluffy.
  2. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well.
  3. Add vanilla and check consistency.
  4. If it is too stiff, add 1 tablespoon milk and continue beating and checking consistency, adding more milk gradually as needed until spreadable, light, and fluffy.
  5. *Chocolate Better Buttercream Frosting*
    Add 1/4 -1/3 cup cocoa powder to vanilla frosting and a little bit more milk to reach desired consistency. Probably no more than an extra 1-2 tablespoons milk needed.

Happy Half-Moon Cookies for Some Lunar Love

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The solar eclipse is coming, the solar eclipse is coming!

UPDATE:

Well, the solar eclipse of 2017 has passed but these half-moon cookies will always stay relevant! …

So, let’s celebrate!

half-moon cookies aka black-and-whites

Happy Half-Moon Cookies for the solar eclipse

Half-moon cookies! That’s what they’re called. They’re half-moon cookies and I don’t care what you say. Well, I do care what you say, but I have to agree to disagree on what you call black-and-white cookies and what I call half-moon cookies.

The big cake-like cookie with equal parts white and chocolate frosting was always my favorite.

Happy Half-Moon Cookies Under Glass

Upstate New York Half-Moon Cookie Memories

Full disclosure: I was born in Binghamton, NY. I’m an upstate girl. But I’ve been living the last twenty-plus years, in the Hamptons.

My confectionary dreams as a child consisted of half-moon cookies. I also loved my Aunt Bonnie’s penuche fudge but that was only available on Christmas day when we gathered at my Great Grandma’s house (insert wistful sigh here).

But I always just called them moon cookies. I lost the “half” somewhere along the line.

There was no favorite side. I’d go back and forth taking bites of the chocolate side then bites of the vanilla. I loved them both so much. Double the pleasure was a bite right in the middle where the two flavors meet. Whoa, just whoa.

You’re not in Kansas anymore! (er, I mean, upstate New York anymore!)

Then I grew up, married my prince charming, aka the big guy, and moved far, far away to live happily ever after. With a pit stop along the way to Virginia Beach, VA for about 4 years (fond memories), we landed more permanently on the Eastern End of Long Island, NY.

While raising four little Hampton Vegans into adulthood, we lived a busy life. And when treats were in order, the Beach Bakery played a big part if I didn’t have time to make any homemade treats like our Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies or the Perfect and Easy Peanut Butter Cookie.

The black-and-white cookie phase

The Beach Bakery in the center of Main Street, Westhampton Beach was where our family spent many days, picking up fresh-baked bread, amazing jelly-filled croissants with a sugary coating, key lime pie, chocolate mousse cake, and my favorite- those cookies.

Everyone in our family knew, that in a box of Beach Bakery treats, the moon cookies were mine. I never really noticed what they called them at the Beach Bakery but as the years went by and our family would venture into the city (NYC), it began to sink in, after many “moon cookie” purchases at various bakeries and delis, that in this neck of the woods, they’re called black-and-white cookies.

The mysterious half-moon cookies

So much time had passed since I’d eaten a cookie officially called a half-moon cookie, that I started to believe this was a childhood name I gave them. It felt like I was the only one that called those cookies by that name.

Then I decided to google it.

Eureka! There it was. Finally, the answer was right on the World Wide Web! I found my people. The half-moon cookie lived in upstate and New England traditions. Wicked cool. (My Upstate NY/New England people know what I’m talking about).

According to some websites, it was invented at a bakery called Hemstrought’s in Utica, NY back in the early 1900s. Other sites claim the credit goes to Zaro’s in NYC around 1940. Yet another claim they came from Europe with Dutch immigration. I’ve read that in Germany, these cookies are called Amerikaners! American cookies!

It’s all good for half-moon cookies

Whichever source you believe, does it matter where they came from or what you call them as long as you can eat them?! I think not!

So today, in honor of the solar eclipse by the moon (appearing on August 21, 2017), I dedicate these cookies to it.

And to all those, like me, who will indeed be gazing with our eclipse glasses at the solar-lunar-earthly alignment (partial for Long Island) and thinking, Mmmmm moon cookies. Or is that just me?

Shoutout to a displaced Hampton Vegan

Because a member of our crew-a Hamptons Vegan, living in Austin, Texas will be traveling to witness the solar eclipse in a prime spot in Missouri, I want to send my best wishes for a sunny day, a cloudless sky and lots and lots of lunar love to her, her partner, and to all those watching the skies on August 21.

Now make a batch of these Happy half-moon cookies for this stellar occasion!

P.S. You want to know why they’re “Happy” half-moon cookies? Because they’re vegan, of course!

P.P.S.

The original recipe from the Hemstrought bakery in Utica, NY appeared in Sauveur magazine. It featured a chocolate cake bottom. Get that recipe here.

To veganize Hemstrought’s recipe, just change the margarine to vegan margarine, the 2 eggs to 2 Tablespoon ground flax-seed mixed with 6 tablespoons water (let gel for 5 minutes), and the milk to non-dairy milk like soy or almond. Then frost with vanilla and chocolate icing.

Additionally, you could try the original fudge icing from Hemstrought’s. I loved it but just be careful! Because that frosting is hot if your hands get dripped on. So consider yourself warned.

It makes enough for 30 cookies so you’ll need to halve the recipe unless you want a lot of leftover fudge frosting. And there’s nothing wrong with some extra fudge frosting! But to veganize that recipe, switch out the butter for vegan butter.

A Step-by-Step of The Happy Half-Moon Cookies in Photos

First, whip up the vegan butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
Second, add in the flax egg and vanilla.
Now you have the wet mixture.
Then add flour in thirds alternately with the soymilk mixture.
The soymilk and vinegar mix is added in 2 parts alternately with flour
Then we have the final mixed batter.
Now scoop approximately 2 ounces of rounded batter (at least 3 inches apart) onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Voila! Behold the 4-inch cookies after baking for 18 to 20 minutes.
So now we see the moon cookie bottoms, ready to be frosted after cooling.
And finally, the frosted moon cookies drying on a wire rack.
Ahhh, the beloved Happy Half-Moon Cookie.

copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.

thehamptonsvegan

Happy half-moon cookies

Delicious half-moon cookies, also known as black-and-whites, that won't disappoint- whatever you call them!
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
icing time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 16 4 inch cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 340 grams
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder 4.6 grams
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda 4.6 grams
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 grams
  • 3/4 cup shortening or vegan butter 170 grams
  • 1 cup sugar 200 grams
  • 2 tablespoons ground flax seed 22 grams
  • 6 tablespoons water 88.7 ml (or 3 fluid ounces)
  • 3/4 cup soy milk 177 ml
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar 16 ml
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla 14.8 ml
Vanilla icing
  • 2 cups organic powdered sugar sifted. 240 grams
  • 2 tablespoons water add more, a few drops at a time, if too thick
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup make our corn syrup sub recipe or use store-bought
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
chocolate icing
  • 2 cups organic powdered sugar sifted 240 grams
  • 2+ tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup Make our corn syrup recipe or use store-bought
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 6 tablespoons cocoa powder 36 grams

Method
 

Cookie Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium size bowl.
  3. Add vinegar to soymilk to sour and set aside.
  4. Mix ground flax seed with water and let set for about 5 minutes to gel.
  5. Cream shortening (or vegan butter) until light
  6. Add sugar to shortening and blend very well until light and fluffy.
  7. Add flax and water mixture, and vanilla to shortening and sugar and mixture.
  8. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture into the wet mixture and stir to incorporate. Then add 1/2 of the soymilk mixture, and stir. Then add 1/2 of the dry mixture, then the rest of the milk mixture, and then the last of the flour mix, stirring to incorporate the mixture together after each addition.
  9. Drop 1/4 cup for each cookie onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Cookies will spread so leave at least 3 inches between each cookie.
  10. Cook for about 18-20 minutes until a light golden brown.
  11. Cool on a wire rack.
  12. When cooled, frost the bottoms (flat side of cookie) with 1/2 vanilla. Let dry for about 30 minutes. Then frost the other half of the cookie with chocolate icing.
  13. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Can freeze.
vanilla icing
  1. Mix all vanilla icing ingredients together until smooth and easy to stir.
chocolate icing
  1. Mix all the chocolate icing ingredients together, adding more water as needed if it's too thick.

Notes

Make our Corn Syrup/Honey Substitute Recipe. (No corn or Bee vomit!) 🙂

Quicky Quality Queso/Quick Equality Queso that everybody will love!

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Quicky Quality Queso A.K.A. Quick Equality Queso!

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quicky quality queso dip
vegan queso sauce

Quicky Quality Queso!

Now say it out loud three times. Yes, it’s both: A quicky, quality queso, and a quick, equality queso. It’s quick. It’s quality. And it’s equality for vegans who can now have their queso too! So for the love of cheese, people, you must make this one!

It’s quicky quality for all!

So how about this:

It’s the perfect dip for your tortilla chips, for sure! Also, it’s great drizzled on your enchiladas, your vegan hotdogs, mixed into rice, a top your baked potato, a dip for your veggies, and on your hot pretzels. And the possibilities are endless! So this is the cheesy-tasting dip you’ve been waiting for!

Take queso to your potlucks and tailgates

This sauce goes to many of our potlucks and meetups and we always have requests for the recipe. This queso is a keeper and I’m happy to share it with you.

 

vegan queso dip
cheesy vegan sauce

Football season and sleepovers for your kids…

This dip will be seeing a lot of action for the upcoming football season snack menu. And it’s perfect for sleepover snacks and after-school treats, too. Because it’s so easy and crowd-pleasing. And we’re just getting started!

Queso any time of day!

Yes, even breakfast. First of all, your breakfast home fries would love a drizzle and your tofu scramble says “Si, por favor!”

Next, lunchtime tomato soup is requesting a dollop and your plain jane pasta feels naked without it!

Then, dinnertime quinoa is a perfect match… quicky quality queso quinoa, anybody? With a side of black beans, please.

Finally, dessert is great …but I’ve got nothing. Sorry. Maybe quicky quality queso isn’t a good fit for dessert. Oh well.

 

queso dip for chips
perfect cheesy dip for vegans and everyone!

Some ideas for that!

Now if you have an idea for a queso dessert, be sure to let us know!

But when you need a dessert that doesn’t involve that, how about our scrumptious strawberry pie?

strawberry pie
the Scrumptious Strawberry Pie

And our summer sunflower chocolate cupcakes are also pretty and delicious

summer sunflower chocolate cupcakessummer sunflower chocolate cupcakes
a bouquet of summer dessert flowers

But our chocolate chip cookies are pretty delicious too!

chocolate chip cookies

copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.

queso dip for chips
thehamptonsvegan

Quicky Quality Queso/Quick Equality Queso that everybody will love!

A spicy vegan cheesy sauce. Delicioso and versatile!
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Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 7 minutes
Servings: 2 cups
Course: appetizers, snacks
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with chilis like Rotel tomatoes
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, small dice or use 1/4 cup jarred pickled jalapenos pepper slices, chopped
  • 1 recipe vegalicious vegan cheese sauce see notes for recipe link

Method
 

  1. Mix vegalicious cheese sauce with the can of tomatoes with chilis and the chopped jalapeno pepper in a saucepan to heat through. Or heat in a glass bowl in the microwave for about 2 minutes untll heated through. Serve warm.

Notes

Vegalicious vegan cheese sauce recipe.

This Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce is a Dream Come True

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Vegan Cheese Sauce is life-changing!

vegan cheese sauce
vegan cheese sauce

Our favorite delicious vegan cheese sauce has enriched our vegan menus and we can’t wait to share it with you!

Cheese is that comfort food in mainstream cooking that is hard to replicate and hard to relinquish. We feel your pain. Starting on a journey that doesn’t include any form of cheese is tough.

Just look at how many foods have cheese in them. It’s mind-boggling! Seriously, we’ve seen cheese listed in the ingredients in the most unnecessary places. Potato chips, guacamole, spaghetti sauce, crackers, soups, and boxed rice mixes all have it. I swear, it feels like almost every frozen dinner has some form of cheese in it too. Sheesh! Cheese has become an invasive species.

Competing in the cheese food group for a vegan was like David going up against Goliath without his trusty slingshot.  Come on!

Until we whipped out our magic weapon! Now we have some ammunition people! Vegalicious vegan cheese sauce to the rescue.

Changing to a vegan lifestyle

It is a decision we finally made permanent in 2013. We thought that being vegetarians was enough. We believed we were distancing ourselves from the suffering and death of animals. We ate no animals or seafood of any kind. We ate “cage-free” eggs, imagining they came from chickens living a peaceful life on farms. Chickens with access to green pastures, fresh air, and room to roam. But it’s not so. We drank cow’s milk labeled organic and hormone-free, believing these cows were treated more humanely. Also, not so. Those foods were easy to let go of, compared to cheese.

If all vegans were surveyed, we’d wager that about 85% would say cheese is the hardest food to give up. It’s like a very addicting drug that has a stranglehold on our stomachs and minds. We must have it on pizza, pasta, tacos, and enchiladas. It is essential on almost every conceivable sandwich, veggies, and bagels. The list goes on and on.

Going “cold turkey” so to speak, is one way to let go of the cheese addiction. But it will make you ch-angry! Cheese-angry: like hangry- but for cheese.

Having a cheese substitute is much easier, though.

Finding a good cheese substitute

There are so many cheese alternatives on the market now. The problem is finding one that tastes good. We tried a lot of faux cheeses on our vegan journey and honestly, not many were keepers. But good news! Vegan cheese has improved.

We recommend Chao cheese, as one good choice. Chao’s American or spicy version is good in a grilled cheese sandwich! Miyokos spreadable cheeses are also a great choice. (Miyoko Schinner has written an excellent cookbook with cheese recipes entitled, The Homemade Vegan Pantry.) Also, try the Follow Your Heart brand (probably our family’s favorite). They make wonderful smoked Gouda cheese and have an extensive line of various other flavors of cheese.  Another brand to try is Treeline. But wait, we can’t leave out Daiya. You can buy the popular Daiya brand at many grocery stores. Their mozzarella is often used in restaurants.

New cheese alternatives enter the market regularly now (yay!). If you haven’t enjoyed any of those yet, keep trying and sampling. They’re just getting better and better all the time! So don’t give up! Making homemade vegan cheese sauce is always a good idea, too.

The magic of making vegan cheese sauce

When looking at the ingredients for this vegan cheese-like sauce, I couldn’t believe it would remotely taste like cheese. If something doesn’t taste how I expect, I prefer to go without it. If it doesn’t taste good I’d rather go without it than eat it.

After suffering through many cheesy imitations, I decided to forget about it. Fuhgeddaboudit for all you Brooklynites.

Then, I tried again despite my stubborn decision to give up before for lack of an acceptable substitute.  That’s when the magic happened. I found this version of our favorite vegan cheese sauce on the PETA website. I want to give them credit for this spectacular recipe.  Everyone loves this cheese sauce.

My advice is to keep sampling. Keep on, keeping on with the quest.  And by all means, try this recipe.

vegan cheese sauce
So good you will be tempted to drink it from the Big Guy mug!
vegan cheese sauce
But you should probably put it on macaroni or something like that instead 😉

 XOXO

P.S. One of my favorite ways to enjoy this delicious vegan cheese yumminess is in my Quicky Quality Queso Sauce. You have to try it when the craving for nachos strikes! It’s our spicier version of cheese sauce.

quicky quality Queso dip
vegan queso sauce

It would make a nice topping on Glorious Grilled Veggie Sandwiches

Grilled eggplant, zucchini, peppers and onions on chabatta bread
Grilled Veggie Sandwich

or “Extra Sloppy For Ya’s” Sloppy Joes, too!

sloppy joe sandwich
“extra sloppy for ya’s” sloppy joe sandwich

copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025 All rights reserved.

vegan cheese sauce
thehamptonsvegan

Vegalicious Vegan Cheese Sauce

Creamy, versatile cheese-like sauce that works perfectly for macaroni and cheese, nachos, on baked potatoes, vegetables, tacos, enchiladas and so much more!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 2 cups
Course: appetizers, dinner, lunch, snacks
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup peeled and diced potato
  • 1/3 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped carrot
  • 2 tablespoons chopped shallot if you don't have a shallot use more onions
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup vegan margarine/butter or vegetable oil like Earth Balance margarine
  • 1/4 cup raw cashews (soaked if not using high speed blender)
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast optional
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard

Method
 

  1. Place chopped vegetables (potato, onion, carrot, and shallot) in a saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes. (Set your timer!)
  2. While vegetables are simmering, place the rest of the ingredients in a high-speed blender (like Vitamix). When the vegetables have cooked, add everything from the saucepan, including the cooking water, into the blender with the rest of the ingredients already in the blender. Blend everything on high speed for a couple of minutes until thoroughly blended. It can be stored in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

You’ll Love Our “Extra Sloppy For Ya’s” Sloppy Joes

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Vegan Sloppy Joes, here!

sloppy joes on a bun
sloppy joe sandwich

Billy Madison would love our sloppy joes.

Without a doubt! And there’s no need to go back to school for sloppy joes from the lunch lady. We got the recipe right here. “Extra sloppy for ya” Sloppy Joes are vegan, too!

About 700 bazillion times

So, that’s about how much my kids watched the Billy Madison movie with their favorite, Adam Sandler. And they quoted every line, all the time! I never even had to watch it, but I knew all the lines, too, because it was always playing.

“Stop looking at me, swan!” was one of their favorite lines. And I didn’t get it, but that wasn’t the point. Because it wasn’t supposed to make sense, it just made you laugh (insert a Mom eye roll and shoulder shrug).

So, when the lunch lady gives Billy his scoop of sloppy joe, she says,

“Here ya go! Have some more sloppy joes. I made ’em extra sloppy for ya’s. I know how you’s kids like ’em sloppy.”

Heard this line a lot! And, most definitely, when I made sloppy joes for dinner!

The truth is, I think I like these sandwiches even better than my kids! So when I heard that, it made me want to make sloppy joes. We ate a lot of sloppy joes in the ’90s!

Sloppy Joes made extra sloppy for ya’s (and extra better for ya’s), too!

Now, my kids are not kids anymore, but I’m sure they still love that movie. My menus have changed since then, too, but I still make sloppy joes. I don’t buy the little envelopes in the grocery store to dump into vegetarian hamburgers anymore though. Because my sloppy joes have grown up, as well!

It’s so easy to make your own spice combination and add some veggies and healthy stuff.

( Yeah, I said stuff. I blame Billy Madison for the dumbing down of this post.)

But the taste remains the same, if not better. Definitely, better! So the next time you hear that famous quote and you, too, get a craving for the sloppy joe, hit up our recipe. We make ’em extra sloppy for ya’s! And you have to say that every time you serve these bad boys. Because it’s just part of the package now! Ask my family. 

vegan sloppy joes
Extra sloppy for ya’s

P.S. For another terrific sandwich from thehamptonsvegan, try this: glorious grilled veggie sandwich

grilled eggplant, zucchini squash, peppers and onion on a ciabatta
Grilled veggie sandwich

Or pair it with a bowl of Champion Corn Chowder for the win!

corn chowder
Champion corn chowder

copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025. All rights reserved.

sloppy joe sandwich
thehamptonsvegan

Extra sloppy for ya’s, sloppy joes

A vegan sloppy joe even Billy Madison would love!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: dinner
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups TVP textured vegetable protein or use a vegan ground beef alternative like a package of 12 – 16 ounces of Beyond or Impossible Burger
  • 1 cup water or vegetable broth OMIT water or veggie broth if not using TVP
  • 1 can – (8 ounces) tomato sauce
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon worcheshire sauce like Annie's (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 hamburger buns or rolls

Method
 

  1. Heat a skillet and add a bit of cooking oil.
  2. When hot, add onions and green pepper.
  3. Cook until peppers are soft and onions are translucent.
  4. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
  5. (If using Beyond Meat or Gardein beef crumbles instead of TVP, add them now to lightly brown.)
  6. Add the TVP (if using) and the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid, and cook for 20 minutes. (Reduce cooking time to about 10 minutes if using meat alternatives instead of TVP and water).
  7. Remove the lid and cook and stir for a couple minutes.
  8. Serve on toasted buns.

Notes

The Impossible and Beyond Burgers are great alternatives for ground meat or in place of the TVP in this recipe.

Strawberry Pie is a Beautiful Thing

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Strawberry Pie
Scrumptious Strawberry Pie
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Ahhh, Strawberry Pie

Strawberry pie is one of my favorites. But my strawberry love goes deep. I love them in a shortcake, on pancakes, on cereal, in a muffin, as jam, and on vegan ice cream. Oh, and dipped in chocolate, too!

However, this scrumptious strawberry pie takes strawberries to the next level and then some. Look at that mouth-watering beauty of a berry!

A picture paints a thousand words

There aren’t enough words to do this sweet berry pie justice, that a simple photo does in an instant. A strawberry pie photograph is all you need to know you will love it.

It’s not complicated, and there’s no secret to it. It’s strawberries and a pie crust with glaze. That’s what makes it beautiful. It’s perfect with no fancy flourishes or extra, needless ingredients.

You can add whipped topping, but it isn’t necessary. It’s simple perfection at its finest. Glorious strawberries. I may be their number-one fan. At least in the top ten!

So, while you’re en route to the east end of Long Island, why not stop and pick up a few baskets of these beauties at any of the farmers’ markets listed on the Long Island Pulse website?

Strawberry Pie- It’s simply delicious and simple to make

This recipe is based on one I found sometime back in the ’80s in a book just for making pies. You can buy a tried and true (vegan) crust or make your own. Either way, it’s mostly about the filling of this pie.

Now, for complete simplicity, I will use a store-bought crust to assemble this pie in no time. And you can too! But it’s a pie that didn’t even need a vegan substitute. And it’s always been a recipe for vegans before vegan was cool. A progressive pie for the ages. Yes, it’s a pie that begs to be photographed.

Show-stopping strawberry pie

So, to sum it up, this pie is not only simple and scrumptious, but it’s so pretty it needs to be seen. Therefore, this pie needs an audience!

So, take this pie to a special celebration or picnic. Gift it to impress someone. And at the very least, please take a photo of this beauty because it would make nice kitchen art! No?

strawberry pie

the scrumptious strawberry pie

This pie makes me want to sing to the tune of Sweet Caroline. You know how it goes, come on:

“SWEET strawberry pie! bom, bom, bom…good pie never tasted so good, SO GOOD, SO GOOD, SO GOOD!!

strawberry pie
So good, so good, so good!

Or make another one of our yummy pies, the Pumped Pumpkin Pie!

Pumped pumpkin pie
You can almost smell the pumpkin pie spice aroma…

More pie, please!

So, my favorite treat would have to be pie. All sorts of pie! And here’s a savory one: Peaceful Pot Pie.

So, how about pie for dinner and pie for dessert?

peaceful pot pie for dinner
Peaceful Pot Pie

copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017 – 2025. All rights reserved.

strawberry pie
thehamptonsvegan

Scrumptious Strawberry Pie

The perfect dessert for a Spring or Summer treat! Its beautiful. It tastes amazing and it is so easy to make. Take this to someone you want to impress. It wont disappoint!
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: vegan
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 6-7 cups strawberries
  • 1 cup water
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1 pie shell your own homemade or store bought crust
  • vegan whipped cream for topping optional (I like Sprouts Oatmilk whipped topping)

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Prepare the pie shell in a pie plate and prick the bottom and sides with the tines of a fork.
  3. Bake the pie shell for 12 to 15 minutes. Let it cool on a wire rack.
  4. Mash 1 cup of berries in a saucepan. Add 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes.
  5. Sieve berries to reserve the liquid and discard the berries.
  6. Add the sugar and cornstarch to the empty saucepan and stir together. Add reserved strawberry liquid and stir together well. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until the liquid thickens and appears more clear, not cloudy. Set aside to cool.
  7. Prepare the remaining strawberries by removing the green tops but keeping them whole.
  8. Spread about 1/4 cup of strawberry sauce over the bottom and sides of the cooled pie shell. Arrange 1/2 the hulled berries in the pie crust, top side down, bottoms facing up. Coat the berries with 1/2 of the strawberry sauce, covering each one. Arrange the rest of the berries in the pie shell. Top with remaining strawberry sauce, coating well. Done!
  9. Best to refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving. Serve with whipped topping if using.

Notes

The pie crust I recommend is Wholly Wholesome organic pie shell.

A Grilled Veggie Sandwich is the Tastiest One

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glorious grilled veggie sandwich
Grilled veggie sandwich
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Glorious Grilled Veggie Sandwich

Why a grilled veggie sandwich?

Because veggie burgers are fantastic, veggie hot dogs hit the spot at picnics and barbecues, too. But let’s be honest, here. You can’t live on veggie hamburgers and hot dogs alone! It gets a little ho-hum after a while.

Of course, a grilled Portobello mushroom is yummy on a bun, but I have something a little more tasti-licious for you. It’s got a ton of flavor and is very filling. And everyone with their meat barbecue sandwiches will be jealous of yours. It’s that good.

No grill to make the grilled veggie sandwich, you say?

That’s alright! You can still make this glorious grilled veggie sandwich without the grill. too! Confession: I’m not the “go-to griller” in the family. Don is the GrillMaster. He’s more than happy to grill these beauties because he loves these sandwiches. But there are times when he isn’t home and I want to make these anyway without the grill. So, experimenting with the oven paid off.

If you have an oven-proof rack to lay the veggies on, it’s convenient, but not required. Spray or brush oil on both sides of your veggies, so they don’t stick to the pan if you are not using oven-proof racks.

Then, follow the directions, but cook in a hot oven (about 450 degrees Fahrenheit) on a large baking sheet. Flip the veggies after 7-10 minutes, then cook another 7 minutes. They should be lightly brown. Grilling is my favorite way to cook up these vegetables, but this is a close second.

I recently got a Lodge griddle/grill, and I can’t wait to make this sandwich on it. So you know there will be even more grilled veggie sandwiches in my future!

Make it your own!

There are so many ways to accent this vegan beauty. How about sautéed spinach? Sun-dried tomatoes, anyone? What about hummus or pesto to replace (or in addition to!) the balsamic mayo?

Maybe you could squeeze in a Portobello mushroom or add baby portobellos to the top! Just thought of another good one: artichokes! I’m on a roll (pun intended!) Avocados! Black olives! Roasted cherry tomatoes! The choices for this veggie delight are seemingly endless.

Make some of our other summer food favorites like Champion Corn Chowder,

vegan corn chowder
Champion Corn Chowder

Vegan Party! Potato Salad

vegan potato salad
vegan party! potato salad

or Scrumptious Strawberry Pie!

Strawberry Pie
Scrumptious Strawberry Pie

copyright © thehamptonsvegan 2017- 2025. All rights reserved.

grilled eggplant, zucchini squash, peppers and onion on a ciabatta
thehamptonsvegan

Glorious Grilled Veggie Sandwich

OMG…Eggplant, zucchini, red peppers and red onion grilled and placed on garlic ciabatta bread with balsamic mayo. That is some SERIOUS yum!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course, summer barbecues
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium eggplant
  • 2 medium green or yellow zucchini squash
  • 1 large red onion can use Vidalia or yellow onion
  • 2 red peppers can use green or use jarred peppers
  • 1/2 cup vegan mayo
  • 2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 loaf garlic ciabatta bread can use other rustic/ artisan bread of choice
  • 2-3 tablespoons oil

Method
 

  1. Slice the eggplant into 1/2-inch rounds. Slice the zucchini squash lengthwise into 1/4-inch long slices. Slice onion into 1/4 inch rings. Slice peppers into quarters (removing seeds and stem). *If using jarred peppers, slice and set aside to use during sandwich assembly.
    Brush lightly with oil on each side of the veggies.
    Mix mayo and vinegar and set aside.
    Slice the bread open to make one big sandwich. *(After stuffing with veggies, slice into individual pieces)
    Cook veggies on the grill until grill marks appear, but don't let them turn black.
    Lie the bread on the grill, open side down.
    To assemble: Spread the mayo mix on both sides of the opened bread loaf.
    Layer veggies in any order to your liking. * I like eggplant, peppers, zucchini squash, then onions.
    Fold over bread and slice into four glorious grilled veggie sandwiches* or slice smaller to have more to share.