Instead of Winning Powerball Numbers, I Dream Up an Almond Butter-Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe.

I'm on summer vacation.  I know people think that teachers have it soooooo easy in June, July, and August, but that isn't always the case.  Many of us (myself included) are taking classes, teaching summer school and attempting to entertain our own kiddos 24/7.  Even so, I am lucky enough that I am getting a break from getting up at 5 am and heading out to work in complete darkness.

One of my problems, though, is I have a very difficult time sleeping in.  I want to.  I really really want to.  I just can't do it.  So I have gotten into the habit of doing little solitary projects in the early hours of the morning while my menfolk are still sleeping. 

This morning as I woke up I realized I had been dreaming about a cookie recipe.  Such is my life, I guess.  Anyhow, I've been reading a lot about gluten-free baking and also the whole paleo diet movement.  I think it's interesting how similar the gluten-free and paleo diets are to vegetarian diets (with the obvious exception of meat).  I thought I would try to create a cookie that was gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free and both vegan AND paleo-friendly.  I went to bed last night thinking about it, and woke up with the recipe in my head.

I love how these turned out.  Out of the oven they were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  The chocolate was all warm and melty and I convinced myself that they had no calories.  I have to say, however, that much like an 8th grade girl's promise to keep something a secret, these cookies don't last long.  They are best for the first hour after baking.  After that, they become quite cakey and lose their outer "cookie crunch."  I decided to freeze the leftover cookies, though, and plan to mix them into some almond milk ice cream once I work off the half dozen I ate this morning.

 

 

 

1 ripe banana

1/2 cup crunchy almond butter

1 tablespoon flax meal mixed with 3 tablespoons water (mix and allow to sit until goopy)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups almond meal

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2/3 cup almonds, coarsley chopped

1/2 cup dark chocolate, coarsley chopped

 

 

1.  Cream banana with a mixer until there are no chunks.  Add all the wet ingredients and mix well.

2.  Fold almond meal into liquid.  Fold in chocolate and almond chunks.

3.  Put mixture into the refrigerator for an hour so it firms up a bit.

4.  Preheat oven to 350°.  Use a non-stick cookie sheet or make sure you grease yours or use parchment paper (I used a non-stick sheet AND greased it as well).

5.  Portion dough out using a small scoop.  Pat them out on the tray as big as you'd like; they won't really spread and if you leave them too thick they won't cook well in the middle.

6.  Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they crisp up and the edges begin to darken.  I suggest doing a test cookie first to find your baking time (these ingredients are pretty pricey so you don't want to screw up a batch by under or over cooking).  The bottom of the cookie browns up pretty quickly, so keep an eye on the clock.

7.  Cool slightly on the sheet then move to a wire rack.  Serve while they're still warm.  Makes about 18 cookies.

 

 

 

 

 

Read more »

I Made You No-Bake Cookies because I'm Super Cool like That . . .

Full disclosure:  I. Do. Not. Like. No-Bake. Cookies.  I don't know why that is, but I never have, never will.  I DO like my man, however, so when he asked for these during my Christmas-cookie-baking-frenzy I was happy to make them for him.  This is my grandmother's recipe with a few additions of my own. 

 

 

 

1 stick butter (use Earth Balance to veganize recipe)

2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa

½ cup milk (non-dairy milk to veganize.  I wonder how this would taste using dark chocolate almond milk . . . next time I'm trying it!)

1 cup smooth peanut butter (use chocolate-peanut butter if you can find it!)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon chocolate extract

3 cups oatmeal

Waxed paper

Powdered sugar and extra cocoa for dusting (if desired)

 

 

 

 

1.  Melt butter over medium-low heat in a heavy saucepan.   
2.  Add  sugar, cocoa, and milk, raise temperature to medium, and stir occasionally until the mixture reaches a slow boil.
3.  Let boil for 3 to 4 minutes then remove from heat. 
4.  Add peanut butter, vanilla, chocolate extract and oatmeal.
5.  Let mixture cool for 2 to 3 minutes, then drop on waxed paper. You can shape them into round cookies if you choose. 
6.  Dust with powdered sugar and cocoa if desired.  Allow cookies to cool and harden on paper before moving.

Read more »

Snappy Turtle Cookies (or, Saying "I Love You" with Vegan Cookies Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry for Salmonella Poisoning)

These are my favorite cookies . . . one of Grandma's recipes. I'm not sure what's "snappy" or "turtle-y" about these babies, but they've been called that for over 70 years, so who am I to buck family tradition? I love that these are simple and sweet (but not too sweet). These are more a tea-cake cookie, and are just perfect with a warm cup and good gossip from the gal next door.

The original recipe, from the 1940's, was probably pretty expensive to make during wartime; it called for 3 eggs and butter. As I look through family recipes like this to veganize, I'm always amazed that war brides didn't go ahead and veganize recipes themselves. Grandma had all sorts of ways to replace the dairy during rationing, but usually exchanged eggs with mayonnaise or butter with Oleo (which, by all accounts, sounds disgusting even if it was dairy-free). Too bad most people hadn't thought of flax meal. There were probably some pretty disgusting cookies shipped overseas during WWII!



½ cup Earth Balance
½ cup Florida Crystals brown sugar, packed
2 eggs' worth prepared flax meal (2 tablespoons of flax meal mixed with 6 tablespoons of water. Allow to sit for a few minutes so the mixture thickens)
1½ cups unbleached white flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon flax seeds (optional)
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon maple extract
2 cups chopped pecans (more or less as needed)
½ cup maple syrup (more or less as needed)
3½ ounces dark chocolate (72% cacao), melted



1. Preheat oven to 350º. Cream together Earth Balance and brown sugar. Add prepared flax meal, vanilla and maple flavoring, mixing well.
2. In another bowl, mix flour, soda, salt and flax seeds (if using), then slowly add to Earth Balance mixture until well blended.
3. Portion dough out with a tablespoon and roll into balls. Dip each ball into the maple syrup, then coat ball with pecans. Flatten each ball gently as pictured. Bake for 12 minutes, or until they start to firm up a little and begin to get darker (I bake mine exactly 12 minutes and they are heavenly). After they are cooled completely, drizzle with melted chocolate if desired. Makes about 1½ dozen cookies (or 1 serving for me!).

Read more »

Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Box Cookies

Soooooooooooo, school's back in session. I'm a teacher by trade, and this time of year is still filled with school supplies and new shoes. It's also when my kids and I start dreaming of goodies for our lunch boxes. For my boys, their thoughts turn to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (their fave for lunch).

In honor of the new school year and the reemergence of lunchtime treats, I thought I'd veganize my grandmother's recipe for her Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Box Cookies. Fair warning: I am not a baker. I lack skill and patience to make cookies pretty. The pictures reflect this. However, they were moist and lived up to their name. I brought them to school and left them in the teacher's lounge and they only made it to lunch. That's a good sign, considering there are some very discerning palates in the math department at my school.



Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Box Cookies

¾ cup Earth Balance
1 cup Florida Crystals Sugar
¼ cup Florida Crystals brown sugar
1 cup natural peanut butter
2 eggs' equivalent of prepared golden flax meal (3 tablespons flax meal with 6 tablespoons water. Stir to mix and let stand about 5 minutes until thickened)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups unbleached white flour
½ cup spelt flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda (or 1½ teaspoons baking powder if, like me, you are out out out of baking soda but still want cookies!)
1 jar of jelly or preserves (your favorite kind)
Fresh nutmeg and chopped peanuts to garnish







1. Cream together shortening and sugars. Add peanut butter, flax mixture and salt. When well mixed, add flour and baking soda (or powder), blending well.
2. Form mixture into two logs (about the diameter of a paper towel roll) and wrap in wax paper. Put in “ice box” for a few hours or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350º. Remove wax paper. Cut rolls into ¼” slices and place cookies on a non-stick cookie sheet. Make an indentation in each cookie. Top each with a teaspoon or so of the jelly. Alternately, roll each slice into a ball and bake in mini-muffin tins. Make indentations with your finger and top with jelly (as pictured). Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (if using muffin tins, bake 10-13 minutes). When they are still hot from the oven, sprinkle with crushed peanuts. Makes about 2 dozen.

Read more »

I’ve Got a Pantry Full of Healthy Junk, and I Want Cookies!

Tahini Cookies.


This recipe literally came from two jars sitting side-by-side in my pantry: tahini and Nutella. Before I made these cookies, I’d never used either one. The tahini was purchased as part of my initial “pantry-stocking” when I became a vegetarian. The Nutella? I had a coupon and it was free. To the left of these jars, on the same shelf, was a bag of muesli. Voilà! A cookie was born!

This cookie doesn’t necessarily require strict adherence to the following recipe. Adding and subtracting a little will change the density of the cookies—a little more tahini and Nutella and the cookies flatten quite a bit; more oats and these puppies stay put. Whatever happens (as long as you don’t burn them) they are too good to share. I’ve made these twice for one of my best girlfriends and she hides them from her family as if she’s Gollum with Precious. She also has a name for these cookies, which I can’t quite post here in its entirety. Suffice it to say these cookies have a nice fiber-y effect.

I double the following recipe. When the cookies are cooled put them in an air-tight container. They’re better the next day.



6 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons Nutella (vegan recipe for Nutella available here)
½ cup honey (or agave to veganize)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1½ cups quick cooking oats or muesli (increase to 2¼ cups for denser cookies)
¾ cup trail mix of your choice. (I used Whole Foods’ deluxe trail mix from their bulk bins. It has mixed nuts, seeds, dried fruit, oats and chocolate chips)



1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper (in my step-by-step picture I only greased the cookie sheets, but the bottoms of that batch burned quickly).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together all the ingredients. Decide how big you want your cookies. You can drop by tablespoon or by a ¼ cup measure. Either way, they should be 2” apart.
3. Bake for no more than 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are slightly brown. You might want to do a test cookie to determine how long you want to bake them for; the bottoms can burn quickly.
4. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Read more »