The founder of Gatto Gelato shares recipes for dairy-free treats sure to sweeten holiday gatherings.
Styling by Jessica Mycek, PNW Artisan Boards
Ryder Jazwiecki believes dessert should be something we can all share. “What I make is dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan-friendly, but it’s made for everyone,” says the founder of Gatto Gelato. “It’s just as delicious as dairy but more inclusive. It feels so fulfilling when you can share your product with more people.” Jazwiecki has been making gelato since 2012, working in the food industry at various specialty shops before launching his own frozen-dessert business in 2024. Producing from a Portland commissary kitchen, he pops up at markets throughout the year and wholesales to several local businesses. His gelato, which comes in pints and convenient single-serve containers, can also be ordered online at gattogelato.com for delivery throughout the Portland metro area. Handcrafted in small batches, Jazwiecki bakes all the inclusions for his gelato flavors from scratch. Here he shares recipes for dairy-free desserts that are easy to bake at home — no ice cream maker required! — inspired by some of his favorite seasonal flavors.
Fall Flavors:
Snickerdoodle Apple Pie
Ingredients
Snickerdoodle Cookie Crust:
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 T vegan egg replacer
• 8 T unsalted vegan butter
• 1 C organic cane sugar*
• 1/4 C barista-style oat milk
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 2 C 1:1 gluten-free flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
Apple Pie Filling:
• 5 Granny Smith apples
• 2 T unsalted vegan butter
• 1/2 C organic brown sugar
• 1/4 C organic cane sugar
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1 oz lemon juice, from 1 lemon
• 2 T cornstarch
Crumble Topping:
• 2/3 C 1:1 gluten-free flour
• 1/3 C organic brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 4 T unsalted vegan butter, melted
*Organic denotes vegan-friendly
Preparation
Crust: Grease a 9″ pie plate with non-stick spray. Combine egg replacer with 2 T water, mix well, and let sit for 1 minute to thicken. Beat room-temperature butter and sugar together until fluffy, 1½ – 2 minutes. Add thickened egg replacer, oat milk, and vanilla extract to creamed sugar, scraping the sides of the bowl as you mix until combined. Add sifted gluten-free flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, mixing until dough forms. Press dough into and up the sides of the pie plate and place in the freezer for 10 minutes. While the cookie-dough crust is chilling, pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
Filling: Peel and core each apple into four flat pieces, and slice each piece into ¼”-thick slices. Place chilled pie cookie crust into the oven to bake for 12-13 minutes. While it bakes, make the filling. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat, adding sliced apples, brown sugar, cane sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Cook, stirring for 12-15 minutes until apples have softened. In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 C water, then slowly stir cornstarch mixture into the filling in the pan. Once the juices in the pan have thickened, take off heat and allow to rest and cool at room temperature. Check on the pie crust and remove from the oven once it just begins to turn golden brown along the edges, then reduce oven to 350°F. The snickerdoodle cookie pie crust will have puffed up somewhat while baking.
Topping/Assembly: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter and mix with a fork or dough cutter until crumbly pieces form. Assemble pie by mounding apple pie filling on top of snickerdoodle cookie crust (mounding in the middle prevents steam from building up and creating a gap while the pie bakes so the apple cooks down for an evenly packed end result), then pack crumble topping on top of the filling, with any remaining loose pieces sprinkled on top. Gently cover with tinfoil and bake for 40 minutes at 350°F. After 40 minutes, remove foil and continue baking for 35-40 more minutes, until the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and allow the pie to cool at room temperature for 2 hours to set, then slice and serve.
Winter Flavors:
White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies
Ingredients
Cranberry Sauce:
• 4 C fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 C + 2 T organic cane sugar
• 1 t corn syrup or agave nectar
• 1 t vanilla bean paste
White Chocolate Ganache:
• 1 C Pascha white chocolate chips
• 2 T + 1 t barista-style oat milk
• 3/4 t unsalted vegan butter
Blondies:
• 2 T vegan egg replacer
• 1/3 C unsalted vegan butter, softened at room temp
• 2/3 C organic brown sugar
• 1/2 T vanilla bean paste
• 1½ C 1:1 gluten-free flour
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t fine sea salt
• 1/2 C dried cranberries, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 C walnuts, almonds or pecans, chopped (optional)
Preparation
Sauce: Wash and dry cranberries, then mix with sugar and corn syrup or agave nectar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst and give off their juices. When the liquid begins to gently bubble, add vanilla bean paste. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the mixture looks slightly jammy, 10-15 minutes. Pass cranberry puree through a sieve, then mix in 1 teaspoon of water at a time to thin to desired consistency, aiming for a medium-thick sauce rather than a jam. Transfer sauce to a container and let cool in the fridge. Once cool, it can be stored covered for 2 weeks, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Ganache: Place white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Pour oat milk and butter over the chocolate and heat in the microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds, then remove and stir. Continue microwaving at 50% power in 15-second intervals, stirring between each time. Once the chocolate is mostly melted, stir continuously until fully melted. Cover the bowl or transfer to a piping bag, and refrigerate until ready to layer on top of cooled blondies.
Blondies/Assembly: Preheat oven to 350°F, and line an 8×8″ baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper extended over two sides to easily lift out of the pan once finished. Combine egg replacer with 4 T water, mix well, and let sit for 1 minute to thicken. Whisk together butter with brown sugar (it will be clumpy), then add thickened egg replacer and vanilla bean paste, whisking again to combine. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until fully combined. Press about half of the dough into the pan as a thin layer, spoon and spread thinned cranberry sauce on top, then dollop remaining dough on top and gently smooth over the cranberry sauce. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and slightly soft in the center. Place pan on a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to cool fully. Finish by decorating with white chocolate ganache and optional chopped toppings. Return pan to fridge to set and firm ganache topping for 10 more minutes. Remove blondies from the pan by gently and evenly lifting up the parchment paper, then cut into bars and serve.
