Guilt Free Ice Cream and Easy Homemade Milk

This post is a two-for-one: it allows Greg to indulge in his love for ice cream while I can avoid grodiferous milk.

In the fairness of full disclosure, I should mention that I have never liked milk. Granted, there are extremely compelling vegan and health reasons for not drinking dairy, and I agree with those wholeheartedly. Since I try to avoid the preachy on this blog, though, I'll just front with another fact of life. I have always disliked milk, even when I used to eat 5-inch thick steaks. Seriously. My mom used to add chocolate to my milk when I was a kid and simultaneously pay me a dollar or so (which was truly a fortune to a 5 year old!), and I wouldn't do it. I hated the taste; it made me gag. My parents used to order chocolate milk for me to drink at lunch each day, and I just gave it to whatever kid had forgotten his or her lunch that day. I finally confessed after third grade I never drank it, and my parents kindly stopped ordering it for me. I always did - and still do - eat cereal totally dry. You get the picture.

Now in a drastic shift from my sour feelings towards milk is Greg's adoration of ice cream. It's kind of funny, actually, because Greg is by far the healthiest eater I know. We just signed up for a CSA, and although it's no shock I'm all for it, Greg is really excited about it, too, and all of the things we can do with our weekly allotment of fruits and vegetables. Truth be told, we may need to buy a bigger share because Greg will likely polish off today's box in the next two days. So needless to say, it's always a surprise to people how much he adores ice cream. But Greg being healthy Greg, he always feels bad about it. Even though I certainly think he deserves a treat and is in tremendous shape, he feels bad about this particular indulgence of his.

How do we reconcile these things? Raw almond milk! I was reading Ani Phyo's Ani's Raw Food Kitchen when I sort of saw her recipe for Vanilla Mylk but didn't really think about it. (Remember, my relationship with milk is long and torturous.) But then, I noticed her suggestion that her mylk can be run through an ice cream maker and turned into "ice cream." She had my attention.

As my previous posts have indicated, I love using our ice cream maker, but there is a drawback: when making ice cream, the recipes I use have to boil the ingredients on the stove top, and then I have to wait 3 or 4 hours for the mixture to cool before I make ice cream. Since I have no patience for these things when my sweet tooth is calling, I tend not to make it much. With raw ice cream, though, you can go straight from blender to ice cream maker, no waiting. Hooray!

After making mylk for the first time, I also realized that the recipe for vanilla mylk is a perfect base for making other flavors of ice cream. Want mint chocolate chip? Add a small amount of peppermint extract to the blender and dump in chocolate chips during the last 5 minutes of churning in the ice cream maker. Have a ton of seasonal fruit? Blend it directly into the mylk or cut it into chunks and add it towards the end of the churning - or both! Basically, this can't go wrong. And, bonus - the mylk tastes good as milk and can live in the fridge for a few days. Woo hoo! Maybe there is hope for me!

As for Greg, he loves the raw ice cream experiments. First, it's vegan, so no guilt. Second, he's even more impatient than me when it comes to ice cream, so there's only a half hour wait for his treat to go from blender to maker to spoon. Third, this stuff is definitely nutritionally better than what you would get at the store. The only "sugar"? Dates. The only fat? Almonds, and there's protein, too. No cholesterol. And a bonus: cheap to make!

Ani also has a recipe for chocolate mylk, which would probably make another great ice cream base. Once I make that, I'll report back with a recipe update.

Vanilla Mylk, adapted from Ani Phyo/Raw Ice Cream Base
Yields: Pitcher of mylk/3.5-4 quarts of ice cream (my 3.5 quart ice cream maker can hold this recipe)

Ingredients:
1/2 c. almonds
1/2 c. pitted dates
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
4-5 c. water
Other ice cream favorites (fruit, peanut butter, cookie dough, chocolate chips, nuts - be creative!)

1) To make mylk, combine first five ingredients until smooth in a blender. There will be some almond bits floating around at the end; you can either strain them out or leave them in, it doesn't matter.
2) For ice cream: before combining ice cream ingredients, add any fruit or flavored extracts you'd like to try, and then blend. If you like slushier ice cream, add closer to 5 cups of water. If you like a stiffer ice cream, then go closer to 4 cups. Again, for a smoother ice cream, strain out any extra bits, but you can leave them in if you like.
3) Freeze mylk mixture according to ice cream maker instructions. If you are adding mix-ins (nuts, fruit chunks, peanut butter), add them during the last five minutes of the churning process.

Raw! or Raw?: An Opinion in Progress

I think it's pretty clear that I have a love for sweets. Anyone who writes a blog about baking and who can finally take the leap to veganism because she's gained confidence that tasty desserts will follow is pretty much a dead giveaway. Unfortunately, this also means that I basically can't keep sweets in the house. If there's a cookie within arm's reach (or sadly, climb on a chair reach), that tasty morsel doesn't have a prayer for survival.

I just figured whatever latent sugar addiction I seem to have would doom me to a life of restriction and not keeping yummy treats in my house since I apparently have no self-control. And then, a magical thing happened - a friend suggested I try a raw diet. She said that it helps control appetite and that, even though everything is free of processed sugar, the desserts tend to be sweeter and hit the spot without the sugar addiction.

I was intrigued by this notion, but then she asked me - what do I think about the raw diet? The answer: I don't (or rather, at the time, I didn't). I didn't know anything about it so I felt I couldn't draw an opinion about it, but I wasn't compelled to get information about it, either. Before I launched into raw experimentation, I started to read up on the subject.

Now that I've read two books on raw foodism, my opinion is...well, it's still a work in progress. I think some of the principles of going raw, while others trigger the "common sense" button and reinforce that I'm not the type to go totally raw. For example, the authors have talked about how going raw is very filling because the food stuffs are all full of fiber, which is a great plus for weight loss. I definitely agree with that, and I have made a point of incorporating raw snacks into my day and having some raw sides with my cooked entree. Other stuff just seems off. For example, one author stated that when you go totally raw, you can just follow your body's cravings. That means some days she'll just eat oranges and avocados, and she'll feel ethereal all day. I can't help but wonder if she feels ethereal because she's starving.

Nonetheless, I decided to start experimenting with raw desserts. I decided that, since I don't exactly eat treats for nutritional value, I should try the raw versions of some sweets. Since I just wanted something that tastes good, I truly didn't care about the purported health advantages of eating raw.

Happily, I was thrilled to find out that raw desserts (or at least the ones I've tried so far) are delicious! They are mostly made out of nuts and fruit, so no sugar addiction, and the surplus of fiber in the final product sated my appetite very quickly. And of course, the most important thing - they fill the bill when I need a treat!

One item that has been particularly popular in my house and with guests is raw apple pie, I recipe I tried from Any Phyo's book The Raw Food Kitchen. I've made it a few times now, and it's always a winner. It is both sweet with crunchy apples at the same time, and the crust is to die for. Plus, instead of clearing out half a pie tin (like I am fully capable of doing), one slice is totally satisfying and my craving is curbed.

As I experiment more with the raw food diet, I will post my winners and failures. For now, enjoy this classic apple pie without turning on your oven!

The Best Raw Apple Pie (adapted from Ani Phyo)
Yields: One pie

Crust ingredients:
2 c. almonds
2-4 c. pitted dates
Scant salt

Syrup:
1 orange, peeled
1/2 c. pitted dates
Water

Filling:
3 large apples, thinly sliced (skins on or off is up to you)
1 c. raisins (or a handful, if you're lazy like me)
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1) To make the crust: pulse almonds in food processor until you have small, ground up almond bits. (Be sure to pulse - if you go too fast, you'll make almond butter.) Add salt, and gradually pulse in dates. Start with two cups, and keep adding dates until the crust starts to stick together. This could be a huge number of dates; don't sweat it. When the crust is done, pat down into a pie pan like a regular pie crust.
2) To make the syrup, liquefy orange in a blender. Blend in dates. Gradually add water until you have a syrupy consistency.
3) To make the filling, mix together the syrup with the apples, raisins, and cinnamon. Fill pie crust, and you're done!

Keeps beautifully in the fridge (yes, the apples stay crunchy and don't turn brown!); just cover with plastic.

Turning Yucky into Yummy

As much as I've been enjoying my vegan transition, there's been one area that's been a little sticky...and that is finding a yogurt substitute. This is something that, in theory, should be super easy to do. I used to eat dairy yogurt at home only, because the big brands (with some exceptions) usually have gelatin in them, a definite vegetarian no-no. Yogurt used to be a way for me to enjoy something sweet and got a little kick of calcium and protein, too. So on my to-do list, I added finding a yogurt substitute.

Let's just say I'm not there yet.

I used to be freakishly afraid of soy yogurt. When I finally got up the nerve to use soy yogurt in my baked goods, my fear diminished. Soy yogurt has truly proven to be a great substitute for sour cream or eggs in a recipe, and I'm happy to include it all the time. But each time I cracked open the container and thought about eating it straight, by itself, I'd turn up my nose and decide against it.

Finally, after all of my soy yogurt baking exploits had been successful, I decided that I was being truly unfair. If soy yogurt could be substituted in baked goods with no change in the overall taste or texture of most of my recipes, then I should like this stuff by itself. Or so you think. One spoonful of the vanilla yogurt later, and I thought this should be headed for the trash.

As you all know, though, I hate wasting food, and I definitely did not want to throw away a perfectly *good* (good as in not expired, not tasty...) container of soy yogurt. I remembered a recipe in Jillian Michaels's book Master Your Metabolism for a dairy smoothie, so I used that recipe for inspiration and threw some ingredients in a blender, put some of it in a travel mug for work, and then froze the rest. The smoothie was good and filling.

What I wasn't expecting was how delicious the frozen concoction would be. I brought that to work the next day, intending to stick it in my fridge in my office so it would thaw and I could have an afternoon smoothie. Wouldn't you know, by 3:30 I was starving and needed protein, and that sucker was just as frozen as it had been at 8 AM. So I grabbed a spoon from the lunchroom and started eating. And it was fabulous! It tasted just like a fruit sorbet, and it provided snacks for me for the next several days.

Perhaps I shouldn't yet give up on my yogurt substitution quest; when my Whole Foods starts to carry rice milk yogurt, maybe I should give that a try. I tried a lime flavored soy yogurt and didn't like that either, but perhaps I will like another flavor. I do know one thing, though; if I eat soy yogurt for the rest of my days as a smoothie or a dessert, I'll be just fine.

Fruit Smoothie or Fruit "Sorbet"
Yields: Depends on amount of fruit you add...probably roughly 4 cups of the mixture

Ingredients:**
1 c. blueberries
2 c. frozen strawberries
1 banana
6 ounces soy vanilla yogurt
1 Tbsp. agave nectar (honey would work too, but many vegans do not eat honey)

1) In a blender, combine all ingredients.
2) Either pour in glasses and drink as smoothie, or freeze in a container for at least 6-8 hours to make the frozen dessert.

**Please note that any combination of fruit would probably work; this is just what I used. It is important, though, to make sure that at least some of your fruit is frozen, otherwise you won't get a smoothie. If you don't have frozen fruit, just add ice, but be aware that could water down your smoothie if it gets too warm.

Ask Veg Baker, J.D.: What's the Deal with Applesauce?

Hello everyone! First off, please accept my apologies for my one week delay in posting, but I'm back and raring to go!

To make up for my absence, I thought I would address a question I get all the time: what's my obsession with putting applesauce in so many of my vegan recipes?

My answer: because applesauce is a wonderful multitasker and can replace both a liquid fat AND eggs! (although not necessarily at once...read more below...)

When I was a young sprout, my mom taught me a great trick I could put right up my sleeve: you can use applesauce to replace the oil in boxed mixes. It's great because if you're in a pinch and you're out of oil (or other liquid fat, including melted butter), applesauce can swoop in and save the day. I often bake with it because it works like a fat with the benefit of having no fat; this means you preserve the flavor of a tasty baked good while cutting out obscene amounts of fat. No complaints here! Applesauce also works great because it adds a dense moisture to foods and adds depth to the final product's flavor profile without altering the taste itself. All in all, these are all great things!

When I decided to go the vegan route and was looking for eggs substitutes, I was shocked to see that applesauce can also be used. I should caution that applesauce cannot be used universally as an egg substitute; as Isa Chandra Moskowitz so eloquently stated in Vegan with a Vengeance, it helps to determine whether eggs are used in a recipe to bind the ingredients together or whether the eggs also leaven. As long as the eggs were used just to bind, applesauce is great. Therefore, I find that applesauce works well in quick breads (like pumpkin bread), cakes, and some "heftier" cookies, like the Oatmeal Banana Cookies and the Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk cookies. The other reason I like to use applesauce as an egg replacer is because I cut down on food waste; whenever I would buy a dozen eggs or egg beaters, they almost always went bad before I could finish using them. I don't have that problem with applesauce, or if I have a bunch, I can freeze the applesauce until I need to bake with it.

This all said, I wouldn't use applesauce to replace both the fat and the eggs in a recipe; I would figure out which role you want it to play and then determine a substitute for the other product. For example, with rare exception, I tend to use applesauce as an egg replacer when the recipe calls for a solid fat. Applesauce can only replace liquid fats, and I can use Earth's Balance as a great dairy replacment. However, if the recipe calls for oil, I almost always replace the oil with applesauce to cut down on fat and then play around with other egg substitutes, like bananas or soy yogurt.

So, appropriately, to further today's celebration of applesauce, I am including a recipe for homemade unsweetened applesauce, with tips for how to sweeten it, if that's your cup of tea. I played around with this recipe over the weekend. My wonderful mom offered to pick up "some" apples for me when she went apple picking - she very generously gave me a bushel! So needless to say, I'm trying to put those apples to good use. Similarly, if you ever find you have a couple of apples in the fridge that are not much longer for this world, you can save them by scaling this recipe down and making some applesauce.

I should also note that unsweetened applesauce - which is literally just water and apples - is dog-safe. You can freeze it and give it to the pups like ice cream. I'm not so sure if unsweetened applesauce is universally liked by dogs, though. I made some applesauce for Sheila and Lucy over the weekend and gave them an unfrozen version, and they were kind of confused. They clearly really wanted to like it, but they had never seen anything with that kind of texture before, so they were a little weirded out by how it looked. No matter; it was tasty to this human. :)

Please note, if you do choose to go beyond this recipe and add other ingredients, please don't feed it to your dog.

Unsweetened Applesauce
Yields: 2-3 cups of applesauce

8 apples
1 cup water
(hints for sweetening for a human-only version are at the end)

1) If you please, remove the skins. Some people like sauce with the skins on, but others think it is weird to have skins floating around their sauce. This is a judgment call on your part.
2) Core the apples and cut into bite size pieces. For reference, I often use an apple corer that also yields 8 individual slices; I cut each of those slices into 3 pieces, and that is enough. Don't feel like you have to do a crazy dice.
3) Put apples in a pot with one cup of water and cover. Bring to a boil.
4) When boiling, give the apples a stir (they should start to be mushy at this point), turn the heat down so the water is simmering, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

That's it! You can easily scale this recipe up or down and freeze what you don't want.
If you like a little sweetness in your sauce, at the end of the 20 minutes simmering, you can add a little white and/or brown sugar and some cinnamon to taste; mix until dissolved, and you're done. Some people also like cloves, but I think cloves are gross, so I wouldn't know about that. :) Just remember, if you add these ingredients, this recipe is no longer dog safe.

A Fruit Crisp Recipe in the Works

This post focuses more on the experimentation aspect of the blog. I debated whether I was being too premature in posting this recipe, since it is still in the works, but I decided to put it up anyway for a few reasons: 1) I do like how this crisp tastes, even if I end up modifying it later; 2) this is the perfect season for buying fresh fruit from the farmers' market; 3) it is easy and great for parties or potlucks; and 4) I'm hoping some of you will be inspired to experiment at home and drop me comments with suggestions!

The base recipe is from Allrecipes.com, called "Apple Crisp IV" by Rhonda. Rhonda, wherever you are, all I can say is that this is one awesome crisp, and your commenters have made great and helpful suggestions.

I first stumbled across this recipe when I needed to bring something to a friend's house for a dinner party. She is a wonderful friend from law school and she throws great shindigs, so I wanted to bring something up to the task. Unfortunately, about an hour and a half before her party started, I realized I hadn't been to the store and that I hadn't started to make anything - yikes! Thank you Rhonda et al for bailing me out.

I think this recipe would work well for any kind of fruit. I've made it with apples twice now, but I think blueberries or mixed berries would be a winner, too. I've also got a bag of locally grown peaches at home, courtesy of my neighborhood Whole Foods (seriously, peaches for 99 cents a pound? How could I resist!), and I think they might be making their way into a crisp soon enough.

I like this recipe because it has the traditional crumbly, cinnamon-y taste, but the nutmeg in it gives it a special, unexpected tang. I think I might have to work out ways to add a little more texture...I'm thinking of mixing in the oatmeal separately, after I've combined the other ingredients in the food processor. Ideally I will post an update later with modifications, so keep your fingers crossed!

Fruit Crisp

Yields: Easily feeds 6-8 people

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour
2 c. rolled oats
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. non-dairy butter (Earth's Balance Vegan Buttery Spread is my fave)
Fruit of choice (Just eyeball it - you can either be fruit heavy, or go heavy on the crust...I usually do the latter. For example, I find four apples to be enough, but Rhonda's gang has used as many as 2 quarts)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, except butter and fruit. Cut in butter. -OR-

If you are inept like me with cutting in butter, combine flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and butter in food processor, until well mixed. You may need to pulse it a few times and mix in the butter occasionally until well combined.
3) Prepare your fruit of choice. For berries, I'd wash them and make sure they are dry. For apples and peaches, I'd remove the skin and core or pit, and then cut them into thin slices.
4) Pat half of the crust into a nongreased 9x13 pan. Layer the fruit on top of the crust, filling in all available gaps. Take the remainder of crust and crumble it on top.
5) Put in the oven; I think the bake time will depend on the fruit you are using. For apples, I usually need around 53-55 minutes, but I would imagine berries could be ready in closer to 40-50 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and wait until the fruit is soft.
6) Scoop and serve! I prefer it hot, but it also works at room temperature and is great straight out of the fridge as a leftover.

Using Baked Goods to Feed a Greg on the Go

My husband Greg has found a way to combine one of his passions with a career; he is a pilot who teaches people how to fly warbirds, and he also gives aerobatic instruction. (Shameless plug alert: visit the Gauntlet Warbirds link under "Friends on the Web" to get a taste of what he does!)

One of the things I love about Greg is how incredibly hard he works. Unfortunately, this almost always means he will work a 12+ hour day without stopping to eat. You can probably imagine how I feel about this habit of his. Through the power of baking, though, Greg and I have been able to work out a compromise where he eats little snacks throughout the day, and I can stop panicking that he eats like a camel.

This recipe is adapted from Naturally Thin, by Bethenny Frankel. I was making the original recipe one day, when Greg tasted a cookie and asked if there was a way to beef up the protein and turn it into a "mini meal" for him. We had a lot of fun experimenting with different ingredients until we got the combination to a point where we always have a batch of these living in the freezer, so Greg can stock up before a work day. And, as a fun plus, Greg and I got to bake together, which is something I just love to do.

I will admit that these cookies are a bit on the dense side, but they are tasty and very filling (and vegan, too!). If you've never cooked with soy flour before, I highly recommend it. It's a great source of protein and mixes well with other flours; be sure to store it in the fridge so it stays fresh. Raw soy flour has the slight aroma of banana, so it works really well in this recipe. If, however, soy flour isn't your thing, you can use a different kind of flour. Speaking of banana, this recipe is a great way to get rid of bananas that have been lurking around your house a bit longer than they were welcome to stay.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Yields: 18-24 cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. soy flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. raw sugar (if you only have granulated sugar, that will work as well)
1 Tbsp. natural applesauce
1/3 c. soy milk
1 1/2-2 medium ripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 - 2/3 c. chocolate chips (optional) (you can use vegan or your favorite brand)**

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. While mixing, add the applesauce, milk, and vanilla.
3) Add the bananas last. For a smoother consistency, mash the bananas before you add them. If you like banana chunks, just throw the bananas in whole.
4) Once the dough is well combined, stir in chocolate chips, if you desire.
5) Scoop little cookie dough balls (about one tablespoon) onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. I recommend using a cookie scoop or tiny ice cream scoop, but regular spoons work just fine.
6) Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, or until the bottoms and/or edges start to turn a light brown. The cookies won't rise or spread while baking, but don't fret - that's normal! Also make sure to rotate the pans halfway through.
7) Rest the cookie pans on a cooling rack for about 2-3 minutes, and then remove the cookies and cool all the way on a cooling rack. The cookies may be a little sticky when you take them off the pan, but that's normal. Parchment paper is a wonder for minimizing sticking to the pan.

**For those who know me, you are probably shocked that you saw "chocolate chips optional" because I am a huge lover of all things chocolate. However, Greg and I have a philosophical difference on whether chocolate should be added to these cookies. He likes them just the way they are, and I think everything improves when chocolate is added. I would just follow your gut and do what you normally like in a cookie. I've also approximated the measurement, because you should just eyeball how much chocolate you add, until it is to the level chocolatey-ness you prefer.

If you think that you have never baked with vegan chocolate chips before, you may be surprised! I was pleasantly happy to read the back of the Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips to find, as far as I can tell, no animal products. These are now my chocolate chips of choice - and they are delicious.

Celebrating Spaciness with Blueberry Bread

In honor of my first post, I thought I would share a recipe modification that made me happy, but I only stumbled on it after a not-so-fine moment of mine.

On Sunday, at about 6:30 in the morning, I decided to take Lucy and Sheila, the resident wonderpups, outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather. Unfortunately, the moment the locked door shut behind me, I realized I had grabbed a different set of keys...the set that did not have house keys on them. No worries, I thought, I will hop in the car and drive to my sister's, because she lives only a mile away. Then I realized-no car keys on this ring, either (in retrospect, I think this "other" key ring may be worthless). Did I mention that Greg was out of town and not coming home until later that night? No problem, I'll call a locksmith...but wait, I forgot to grab my cell phone, too. **Commence smacking head against the door.**

Fortunately for me, my wonderful neighbor, who I had never met before, answered his door at 6:30 to a frazzled woman in yoga pants and a sweater in 80 degree weather and two crazy barking dogs. He lent me his phone and let me come in to search for a locksmith on Google. Brave man! One hour later, I was in my house.

Cue the blueberry bread! I figured a moment of neighborly heroism should be rewarded with a loaf of bread. I had fresh Michigan blueberries in the house, so I decided-let the baking and home delivery of bread begin!

I adapted the blueberry bread from a blueberry muffin recipe from my mom's wonderful friend, who I love like family. I enjoyed the muffin recipe but couldn't resist playing around with it (including making it dairy free). The bread is great, but the crumb topping makes it special. The final result is below!

Blueberry Bread

Ingredients for Bread:
1 1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. white sugar (I use vegan, if you can find it!)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3-1/2 cup soy milk or soy creamer
1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen-if you use frozen, don't thaw or your batter will turn purple!)

Ingredients for Crumb Topping:
1/2 c. white sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. dairy-free butter substitute (I prefer Earth's Balance Vegan Buttery Spread)
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions (for bread):
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray one loaf pan with non-stick spray.
2) Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder.
3) Put oil in a one-cup measuring cup. Add the egg, and then add enough soy milk or creamer until you reach the one cup line.
4) While mixing the dry ingredients, slowly pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined and creamy.
5) Fold in blueberries.
6) Pour ingredients into loaf pan.

Directions (for crumb topping):
1) By hand (if you are talented, like my mom's talented friend):
Mix together sugar, flour, butter substitute (cubed), and cinnamon with a fork until well combined.
-OR-
With a food processor (if you are incapable of cutting butter into ingredients, like me):
Add sugar flour, butter substitute (no need to cube) and cinnamon; mix until combined. It will probably lump up, but you should be able to break it apart easily.
2) Add the crumbs to the top of the bread batter, covering completely.
3) Bake bread for 20 minutes at 400 degrees; then, turn down the oven to 375 and bake for another 15-20 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).
4) Set pan on cooling rack for 10 minutes; remove loaf from pan and cool completely.