Hold up! Did I just say vegan pumpkin spice rusks? Yup, That’s exactly what I just said. 

Pumpkin spice everywhere

With Halloween upon us and pumpkins and pumpkin everything surrounding me where ever I go, I didn’t want to feel like I was missing out on anything. I’ve come to realize that every holiday and celebration in the USA gets done BIG. Halloween is no exception.

I asked a friend if people actually eat the pumpkins and surprisingly apparently most don’t. Besides pumpkin pie, pumpkin isn’t a common food to be consumed. Unless you’re into healthier home cooked meals and make your own soups and meals of course.

Vegan pumpkin spice rusks

I haven’t made rusks in a while as I’ve been baking for my new business BULK. However, with autumn (fall) upon us and my curiosity to know what the big deal is about pumpkin spice, I decided it’s time to make something using it. The vegan pumpkin spice rusk idea was born as my mom arrives this week and I want her to have something yum to nibble on with a tea or coffee.

What are rusks?

If you’ve never heard of a rusk before, it’s a hard biscuit similar to biscotti. You can read all about them here where I posted my original rusk recipe.

Are rusks easy to make?

The answer is yes. Rusks are super easy to make however they are time-consuming in the sense that they take a while to dry out in the oven. Effort wise, this recipe requires minimal as you don’t need to be checking on them frequently.

DIY Pumpkin spice

In America, it’s easy to find pumpkin spice in the spice section but I know around the world this isn’t the case. It’s really easy to make your own blend. All you need is:

• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

This makes quite a bit so hopefully you have a reusable empty spice jar or glass jar on hand. I never throw away my spice containers. I try to always buy bulk spices and refill my jars.

Vegan rusks without eggs

If you’ve tried my vegan rusks before, you will know that I used egg replacer in them. I was out this time and had no luck finding it at my grocery store…. West Virginia is a total hit or miss. So instead I tried using aquafaba and it worked.

What is aquafaba?

Aquafaba is the liquid that gets drained off canned chickpeas. For years this went down the drain until some genius decided to experiment with it. Now there are so many recipes out there using aquafaba. So keep a few cans of chickpeas handy.

Beating the aquafaba

I use an electric handheld beater to beat the aquafaba until it resembles egg whites. If you don’t have a beater, I’m not sure how well a hand whisk would work. If you’re looking for something even easier, rather stick with egg replacer. One teaspoon mixed with 1 Tbsp water will be enough.

These vegan pumpkin spice are:

• A bite of heaven – according to husband dearest
• Perfect for tea and coffee dipping
• Crunchy
• Flavorful
• Buttery
• 10 ingredients – chia seeds are optional

How to make vegan pumpkin spice rusks

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together. Add the pecans and pumpkin spice. Mix the milk and apple cider vinegar together. Add the milk mix to the flour then add the oil and aquafaba and whisk together all together. Line a baking dish with baking paper. This will make it easier to remove. I forgot this step and it was tough getting my rusks out.

The trick is to bake these for 20 minutes and then cut them. Put them back into a lowered temperate oven for another 20 minutes. Separate them and then leave them for 3-4 hours until they have dried out.

Print Recipe

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Rusks

Crunchy and buttery vegan rusks flavored with pumpkin spices. Perfect for tea and coffee dipping.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time4 hrs

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American, Fusion, South African

Keyword: Pumpkin spice, pumpkin spice rusks, South African Vegan rusk recipe, vegan cookies, vegan pumpkin spice rusks, vegan recipe, Vegan rusks

Servings: 25 rusks

Calories: 202kcal

Author: thehungryherbivore

Cost: $8

Equipment

• Electric hand beater (unless using egg replacer)
• Oven

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour Can use Bob's all purpose GF Flour link in notes
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup coconut sugar or sweetener of choice
• 1 tbsp chia seeds optional
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tsp pumpkin spice
• 60 g pecan nuts

Wet ingredients

• 1 cup almond milk (250ml)
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup melted coconut oil
• 3 Tbsp aquafaba or see above post for egg replacer

Instructions

• Pre heat oven to 350F or 180C
• In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.
• Add the pecans and pumpkn spice.
• Mix the apple cider viengar into the almond milk.
• Add the almond milk mix and coconut oil to the dry ingredients. Then add the aquafaba (or egg replacer) and whisk together.
• Place parchment paper in the bottom of your baking dish and spray the dish with oil.
• Pat the rusk micture evernly into the dish and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and cut into 24 pieces or less if you want bigger rusks.
• Reduce oven heat to 200F or 95C
• Retun to the oven for another 20 minutes.
• Remove and flip onto a baking sheet. Seperating the rusks.
• Return to oven and keep baking for 3-4 hours until dried out. It will take 3 hours if your rusks are smaller and 4 hours if your rusks are bigger.
• Remove from oven and let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
• Will keep for a few weeks provided the container is airtight.

Notes

Calories based on 1 rusk with the recipe making 24. 

 

This is my favorite gluten free flour. I’ve always had really good results using this particular one.

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Let me know if you give these a try by rating them below and sharing on Instagram. Tag me @the_hungry_herbivore

Until next time, happy cooking 🙂

Xoxo Amy