The former newbie vegan that I once was, believed that vegan caramel was a myth, sort of like unicorns or gremlins. However, the seasoned vegan that I am presently, who has weathered out the storm of the first vegan foods - which let me tell you, were much different than the cruelty-free delicacies that we enjoy today - continues to be amazed by the fact that anything is vegan-possible. I continue to create recipes that not only shock my non-vegan friends and family, but also even surprise myself sometimes...pleasantly of course.
The other day I made a delicious pumpkin bread that was really screaming "I am more like a blondie!" So, a pumpkin blondie it is. It isn't super sweet, but the ice cream and salted caramel sauce takes care of that brilliantly. When this dessert is devoured as a whole, the warm pumpkin blondie, the scoop of creamy ice cream melting slightly on top, and the caramel sauce, feels like heaven in your mouth. You'll see.
Pumpkin Blondies a la mode with Salted Caramel Sauce
What you'll need:
Pumpkin Blondies:
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegan milk (I used vanilla soymilk)
1/3 cup vegan butter, softened
2 tsp Vegg egg replacer mixed with 1/2 cup water OR vegan equivalent of 2 eggs
Ice Cream:
Scoop of vanilla vegan ice cream of your choice. I used So Delicious creamy vanilla and it was perfection in this recipe.
Salted Caramel Sauce:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp creamy almond butter
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash of fine sea salt (or more to taste)
What to do:
Preheat oven 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, dump all of the blondies ingredients in and mix. Let's not make things difficult on ourselves. Pour the batter into a greased pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean.
While blondies are baking, make your caramel sauce by heating all of the ingredients in a small saucepan on low, stirring constantly, then let cool.
When blondies are done baking, allow them to cool enough to handle, then turn pan over onto a plate, and cut into whatever shape you like. I cut them into circles, just slightly bigger than my ice cream scoop.
Scoop ice cream on top of blondie piece. Drizzle with caramel sauce. Eat and enjoy!
Enjoyed these with the kiddo...and she LOVED them just as much as I did!