Veganomicon Cookies

More recipes are on their way, I promise!  Just not today.

Because of some particular people I know and would like to bake for, I've been meaning to get into gluten-free baking for quite a while.  Unfortunately, most gluten-free baking ingredients are both more expensive and harder to get hold of than your typical glutentastic all-purpose flour.

Oats are a notable exception to these issues.  Now, I'm well aware that oats aren't exactly gluten-free, depending on both whose oats and whose bellies are concerned.  Still, it was an easy step in that direction (spelt flour, which I've only worked with once, would be another baby step).

So, I made these chocolate chip oatmeal cookies from Veganomicon.  They expanded a ton, and were crispier and more delicate than traditional cookies.  If you're making your own oat flour out of oatmeal, be sure to measure the oats after whizzing them around in the food processor, because they will definitely lose volume in the process.

"Wheat-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies" from Veganomicon

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Speaking of Veganomicon cookies (of the gluten-full kind), I also made these chocolate chocolate chip cookies from the same cookbook after reading about them on eggless cooking.  I used chopped almonds instead of walnuts because a certain chocolate cookie monster doesn't like walnuts.  These were delicate and fudgey, but they got stale rather quickly.

based on "Chocolate-Chocolate Chip-Walnut Cookies" in Veganomicon

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And... a random dinner: vegetable sushi (with carrots, avocado, chives, and cucumber filling), sauteed kale (with garlic, ginger, lemon, sesame oil, and sesame seeds), and Celeste's mushroom leek soup.

Almond Lime Coconut Cookies

Check out these cookies from ecurry made with equal parts flour and almond meal.  I think it's really cool that you can make them on the stove (!), but I found them to be a bit unsatisfying.  I'd have like more butter, or vanilla, or something.  In fact, for a similar cookie, I'd probably turn instead to these amazing almond cookies or the rum walnut cookies.

However, the coolest part of this recipe wasn't even the stovetop thing; it was the lime sugar: after grinding sugar together with lime zest in a clean coffee grinder, I had magical green sugar with an intense lime flavor!  This is a groundbreaking discovery.

Indian Lime Cookies

(from ecurry)

Ingredients

1/4 c fine almond meal (I blanched and ground up raw almonds)

1/4 c all purpose flour

1/4 c powdered sugar

1.5 TB ghee or melted butter

1 TB milk/cream

1 tsp lime or lemon zest

1 tsp fine sugar

coconut flakes to garnish the top (optional)

Instructions

Mix together almond meal, all purpose flour, half the zest, confectioners’ sugar, cream/milk and ghee. Work the dough until it comes together, and no longer crumbly. Pound together the rest of the zest and the superfine sugar. This will be a lime colored sugar.
Divide the dough in to 8-10 portions. Flatten them between the palm of your hands to form discs about an inch in diameter. Carefully place each cookie on a baking sheet, and flatten the cookies with your finger – to 1.5-2 inch diameter. Top with a sprinkle of lime sugar and nuts (if you are using them).
In a pre heated oven at 350 degree F, bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges get light golden. (in my convection oven, the cookies were done in 6-8 minutes).Place the cooked cooking on a cooling rack or plate. The cookies will crisp once they are cool.
To cook the cookies on stove top:
Work in batches; make flatten four balls of dough to 1 inch discs and place them on a cold nonstick frying pan. Using your fingers, flatten them further so they are as thin as possible, about 1.5 -2 inches in diameter. Top with a sprinkle of lime sugar and nuts (if you are using them).
Place the pan over stove and cook over very low heat for 7-8 minutes. Once the base is light golden, flip them over with a spatula and cook this side over very low heat for about 4 minutes. Try not to let this side turn brown or even golden. Place the cooked cooking on a cooling rack or plate. The cookies will crisp once they are cool. Work with the second batch in the same way.

Homemade (Vegan) Thin Mints!

I have created thin mints!  There's a feeling of triumph in replicating a product so trademarked, so anticipated, so singular.  I also realized how much more decadent a chocolate-covered cookie is than a normal cookie (though the uncoated cookies were pretty good on their own).

With this recipe from Chloe Coscarelli, the taste but not exactly the texture of the thin mint was recreated.  I couldn't get the cookie quite crunchy enough, a texture that is really only desirable in relationship to the creaminess of the outer chocolate coating.  Doing something along the lines of this recipe from alien's day out, which uses oil instead of vegan butter, might help on the texture-authenticity front.  Still, no one was complaining about the slight softness of the cookies.

No cookie is safe.  Caramel delites / Samoas will be next.

Vegan Thin Mints
(from chef chloe)

Instructions

 wafer cookies:

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour (I used 3/4 c white, and 1/2 c wheat)

1 c sugar (I used 3/4 c)

1/2 c cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 c vegan margarine

3 TB nondairy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

chocolate coating:

4 c dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate

2 TB vegan margarine

1 tsp peppermint extract

Instructions

Wafer Cookies: 
1. In a bowl mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.  With a fork, cut in butter, then also add milk, vanilla, and mint extract.  Knead with your hands in the bowl for one minute.  Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350* F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Remove dough from refrigerator.  Roll a heaping teaspoon of cookie dough into a ball and place onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches in between each ball. Evenly flatten the dough with your fingertips so that it is about 1/4 inch thick and bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool completely.
Chocolate Coating:
3. Melt chocolate chips and margarine over a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir in the mint extract and mix until smooth. Dip completely cooled cookies into the chocolate and remove with a fork, gently scrapping off excess chocolate using the side of the bowl. Or, spread a thin layer of the chocolate on top of the cookies. 4. Place cookies on a parchment-lined plate or tray and refrigerate until chocolate coating sets. Store in the refrigerator.  Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Mamool (Middle Eastern Butter Cookies)

For those who have been wondering, my brother Colin finally left Egypt this past Wednesday and is now back in the US.  I know he's bummed about having to leave his program, but given the way the last few days have unfolded it seems as though he picked a very good time to go.  It's also amazing how being in the right (wrong? no, I think right) place at the right time has resulted in a network news appearance (on ABC, in D.C.), a letter to the Atlantic, a mention on NPR, and a quote in the Chronicle of Higher Education.  He has also written a new post on his blog (seriously, check it out) about his experiences living five minutes' walk from Tahrir Square, from which he has allowed me to quote:

"while walking through Tahrir on Tuesday, a Muslim Brotherhood guy gave me a cookie. I tried to politely refuse, but when he insisted, I qualified, even though I'm American? He smiled and replied, especially because you're an American. Ad infinitum, this is the anecdote I will tell about the Brotherhood."

I use this anecdote in an admittedly rather tenuous connection to the rest of this blog post, as mamool is apparently more Lebanese than anything.  We can nevertheless celebrate the power of cookies--to welcome people into one's home, to seduce their hearts and souls, and perhaps to further international understanding.  In any case, it's a pretty great story.

I think I found this recipe a while ago when I was looking for new ways to use mazaher (orange blossom water).  And Oh. My. Goodness.  These are good cookies.  Buttery and flaky but not overly sweet, they're like a shortbread cookie with a decadent and aromatic filling.  The flavor of the orange blossom water is strong without being overwhelming, and I added some almond extract to the outside dough as a counterpoint to that flavor.  I wouldn't change anything about the recipe, but I definitely could improve on my method.  For one, a google image search has informed me that mamool are usually way prettier, thanks to the help of an elegant cookie-mold-thing.  Since that was out of the question, I experimented with different methods and shapes (samosa? turnover?) before realizing that the easiest and best looking way to do it was to flatten out small portions of the dough as much as possible (see below), then put a small amount of filling in the middle of the circle, pull up the sides of the circle around the filling, pinch it closed, and then roll it as if there were nothing inside at all.

A little bit fussy, but once I got the hang of it, it was alright.  The dough was too dry, however, and I had to add a few tablespoons more liquid (soymilk and/or water) in order to get a dough that could handle all this manipulation.  I'm guessing that the tradeoff was a slightly tougher cookie, but I'm not complaining.

No eggs were called for, but I did add some cornstarch, not only as a binder, but also because the original recipe called for farina, which appears to be a more processed wheat flour product.  And again, I also added almond extract, which is one of my favorite things in the world (exhibit b: amazing almond cookies).

I also discovered a new method for melting larger amounts of butter: less fussy and more energy-efficient than using a double boiler or the toaster oven, I put the butter in a metal bowl on a cookie sheet into the oven that was preheating anyway (see photo at right)!  I guess if you have a microwave this is less of a revelation, but I don't.

 

Mamool (Middle Eastern Butter Cookies)
(from cooks.com)

Ingredients
dough:

4 c white all-purpose flour

1 c sugar
1 TB orange blossom water (the original recipe suggests using rose water as a variation; I'd like to try this too)
1/2 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 c melted butter (I used Earth Balance)

1 TB soymilk, plus more as needed
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filling:

2 c ground walnuts
1/4 c sugar
1 TB orange blossom water
2 TB butter, melted

Instructions

1. Combine filling ingredients and set aside.
2. To make the dough, combine flour, sugar, and butter; add milk and flavoring. Knead well. Form into small patties, flatten in palm of hand; fill with 1 teaspoon filling and close tightly (see above notes for more information about how I did this).  Poke each one with a fork (is this necessary?  I'm not sure, but I thought better safe than sorry).
3. Bake in 350* oven until lightly browned on the bottom (about 10 min), then broil until tops are lightly browned.  Watch them very closely under the broiler!  I burnt about six of them because I stepped away for a minute.  If desired, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar when cool.  Makes 2-3 dozen.

Roasted Chestnut Cookies

And here were are again, chestnuts.  I found you to be unspectacular from the outset, but I thought, perhaps putting you into a cookie would redeem you.  I made this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, but something was missing.  Now, I have recently learned that chestnuts are the least fatty of all nuts, but maybe my particular batch was even less rich than most.  In any case, this cookie needed way more butter.  As they were, these cookies were more like scones-- fit to be dunked in coffee, but not really cookies in their own right.

Actually, come to think of it, these were really bomb scones.  But yeah, kind of lame cookies.

Roasted Chestnut Cookies

(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients

1/2 c roasted chestnuts

1/2 c vegan butter, room temperature (or more--see headnote)

1 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon + additional for coating

pinch nutmeg

1/8 tsp salt

1 c all purpose flour

Instructions

1. Once the peeled chestnuts are fully cool, chop them coarsely on a cutting board. Measure 1/2 cup of chopped chestnuts, and dump them in the bowl of a food processor. Grind them until they are very well chopped, then add the softened butter, and pulse again until combined. Add 1/4 cup of your powdered sugar, vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and flour and pulse until an even dough is formed.

2. Wrap dough in plastic, chilling for one hour or until firm. Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk remaining 1/2 c powdered sugar and a few pinches of cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. Working with one half of the chilled dough at at time, roll it into 2 teaspoon-sized balls in the palm of your hand. Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet but no need to leave more than 1/2 inch between the cookies; they won’t spread.

3. Bake cookies until golden brown on bottom and just pale golden on top, about 14 to 17 minutes.  Cool cookies 5 minutes on baking sheet. Gently toss warm cookies in cinnamon sugar to coat completely. Transfer coated cookies to rack and cool completely. Repeat procedure with remaining half of dough. To touch them up before serving, you can sift some of the leftover cinnamon-sugar mixture over them.  Makes about 2 dozen 1-inch cookies.

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In other news, the sun finally came out for a while when I was making these cookies, though both preceded and followed by thunder and lightning.

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

There was a moment today when I thought, the addition of candy canes probably improves every recipe.  Then I thought about pizza, and sauerkraut, and fried rice... and decided to retract this hypothesis.

Still, adding candy cane pieces to Fat Mints resulted in cookies both pretty and delicious.  I used flax instead of commercial egg replacer, I only used 1/4 c whole wheat flour (the overall amount stayed the same), I added 1/4 c crushed candy canes (3 canes), and accordingly, I reduced the mint extract by half.  This time I also made them a little bit bigger than I usually make the Fat Mints (but not so big that I needed to adjust the cooking time).

The candy canes liquefy and then resolidify in the baking/cooling process, resulting in very pretty chunks that feel even harder than when they started.  It's worth the nervousness about your teeth, though.  These cookies are sort of like brownies on the inside, very chocolatey.

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

(adapted from Fat Mints)

Ingredients
1 TB ground flax + 3 TB warm water
1/2 c vegan butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 1/2 c white flour (or substitute 1/4 c whole wheat)
1/4 c cocoa (unsweetened)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 c chopped candy canes


Instructions

Preheat oven to 350*. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a pyrex, whip together flax and water; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add flax "egg" and extracts.
In another large bowl, combine flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add this to the butter mixture and mix well. Then add chocolate chips and candy cane pieces. Using a fair amount of pressure, press dough into small blobs, then roll into spheres.
Place cookies on parchment paper-lined sheets. Flatten slightly with your hand or a glass.
Bake for 10 minutes. Cookies will still be soft, but they will begin to crack open, and a toothpick inserted will come out clean. Allow cookies to sit and cool on baking sheet before moving them (they are fragile at first!). Makes about 3 dozen small cookies or 2 dozen medium.

Amazing Almond Cookies

Tonight was the annual department holiday party.  My party planning colleagues did a fantastic job delegating tasks, organizing entertainment, and having Lebanese food catered from Sunnin.

I was one of several people who baked what was cumulatively a lot of dessert.   Along with the cardamom chocolate chip cookies and some cupcakes (forthcoming), I tried out a new recipe for an almond cookie from Veganomicon.  They were fantastic!  Out of my three desserts, they were the slowest to go, but they were actually my favorite.  The almond flavor was so intense, they weren't too sweet, and the texture was absolutely perfect--and weirdly, they contained neither butter/earth balance nor an egg replacer!  This is all the more amazing given the fact that the recipe includes brown rice syrup, which (if you ask me) typically effs everything up in baking.

I honestly could have just eaten the dough when I made these; it was like marzipan, especially since I (for once) used no whole wheat flour and since the recipe includes ground up almonds.  Ok, so I did eat a lot of the dough.  But it won't give you salmonella or anything...

The changes I made to the original recipe were minimal: I omitted the toasted sesame oil because I was baking for a crowd and didn't want to push my luck given the cardamom in the other cookies.  Also: I blanched raw almonds and then ground them finely in a spice grinder (it seems to work better than my crappy mini-food-processor), I'd use a bit more salt than in the original recipe, and I needed far more sliced almonds for the final step than the 1/3 c the original recipe called for.  Other than that... this recipe was pure gold.

Amazing Almond Cookies

(adapted from "Terry's Favorite Almond Cookie" in Veganomicon)

Ingredients

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c ground blanched almonds (or almond meal)

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

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1/2 c canola oil

1/4 c brown rice syrup

1/4 c non dairy milk

1 c sugar

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

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3/4 to 1 c sliced almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine dry and wet ingredients in two separate bowls.  Then, add dry to wet and mix until you have dough.
3. Pour out the sliced almonds onto a plate.  Roll the dough into small balls, then smoosh them down into the almonds on one side.  Place them almond side up on the baking sheet, and smoosh them further with the bottom of a glass or a measuring cup.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges/bottoms begin to brown.  Allow to stand a while before transferring to a cooking rack.  Makes at least 3 dozen smallish cookies.

Orange Blossom Anzac Cookies

I used to joke about proposing a Watson Fellowship project on "Flatbreads of the world."  While that never panned out, it seems I could do a scaled-down project on "Oatmeal cookies of the Commonwealth," given my attempts at flapjacks and now this.

The Anzac biscuit is a cookie from Australian and New Zealand that dates back to World War I.  Apparently, the original Anzac biscuit was not very delicious; it resembled hard tack and was valued for its long shelf life, which enabled it to be sent overseas to soldiers.  In their current, more delicious form, the cookies typically contain oats and coconut (it now occurs to me that anzac cookies are very similar to garam masala cookies).  They're also notable in that they do not use eggs due to wartime shortages.  So, they're vegan by default (especially since the original recipe would use golden syrup rather than honey).

The cookie (excuse me, 'biscuit') is actually protected by law, which means the name can't be affixed to anything but the original basic recipe and cannot be used in conjunction with the word cookie.  That's just in Australia... right?

For indeed, like the garam masala cookies, these ones have yet another spin on them.  I have been itching to use the mazaher, or orange blossom water, I picked up a while ago.  Wouldn't you know, Heidi Swanson came to the rescue.  I thought it was pretty crazy to put mazaher in an anzac cookie, but it was one of the best things I've ever tasted.  And, given that the Anzac corps served in Egypt, I'm sure there's some sort of tenuous connection to be made between the Australian cookie and the Middle Eastern flavoring.

But this cookie is going to go up there in my top five, and that's a serious matter.  It was interesting and buttery and textured and fragrant (just enough orange water and zest) all at once; crispy on the outside and deviously chewy on the inside.  And, for reasons unknown to me (the amount of butter? the orange zest?), the cookies turned the most beautiful yellow-gold color when they baked.

The recipe worked really well.  Adding baking-soda-water to hot melted butter and honey produces a science-experiment-like reaction; I'm not sure why this is done, but it's pretty fun.  The only thing I think I changed was I didn't quite use the zest of a whole medium orange; I wanted the orange blossom water to be the focal flavor.

I'm sure that if you left out the zest and/or the mazaher you would still have a very delicious cookie.

Orange Blossom Anzac Cookies

(from 101cookbooks)

Instructions

1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 c rolled oats

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 c finely shredded non-sweetened coconut

scant 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

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1/2 c vegan butter

2 TB honey, corn syrup, golden syrup (or agave?)

zest of one medium orange (or less, to taste)

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1 TB boiling water

1/2 tsp baking soda

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1 TB orange blossom water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325*F degrees. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl; mix well.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat combine the butter, syrup (or honey), and orange zest. Stir until melted and remove from heat. In a small bowl whisk together the boiling water and baking soda. Stir it into the butter. Now pour the butter mixture over the big bowl of oats and stir. Add the orange blossom water and stir again. Mix with hands if needed.
3. Form into balls, flatten slightly, and bake on parchment-lined baking sheets.  Bake for about 12 minutes or until deeply golden.  Makes 18-30 cookies, depending on size.

P.S.: The new night watchman says hi.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I actually decided to make this recipe because it was complicated.  I thought, with so many great chocolate chip cookie recipes around, is the extra work of this one really worth it?

Yes and no.  First off, this is a really, really great cookie.  It's slightly boozy and salty while still being true to its chocolatey focus.  The texture is amazing: crisp on the outside and fudgy on the inside.  So yeah, it's worth it.  Then again, the recipe calls for some extra steps that were not necessary: sifting the dry ingredients, rolling the dough in sugar and refrigerating it, rolling the cookies themselves in sugar.  I actually think the texture gets to shine more when you're not crunching down on sugar granules on the outside (the photos, however, are of cookies made with sugar on the outside).

Finally, these took longer to cook than the recipe said.  I wasn't using insulated sheets or anything, but I guess you might want to check on these cookies in their final moments in the oven in case yours don't take as long.

 

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

(from i eat trees)

Ingredients

7 TB light natural cane sugar

1 TB dark brown sugar

1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 c unbleached white flour

2 TB arrowroot or cornstarch

1 TB unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

2 scant TB canola oil

2 TB maple syrup

1 TB soymilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/3 c nondairy chocolate chips, heaping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350* F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine sugars, flours, arrowroot/cornstarch, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Mix well.
In a separate small bowl, combine the oil, maple syrup, soymilk, and vanilla and almond extracts.  Add this mixture to the dry one and mix briefly.  Add chocolate chips and use your hands to work them into the dough.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and flatten slightly.  Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets; they spread a great deal.  Bake the cookies, for 8-11 minutes.  The cookies will look soft but set.

Set the baking sheet on a rack and cool for 3 minutes, until the cookies are firm enough to move.  Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.  Store the cookies in a tightly covered tin or jar at room temperature for one to two days.  Make about 20 cookies.

Applesauce Cookies

I had applesauce; I wanted cookies.  I went off this recipe for Applesauce Cookies from "best-ever-cookie-collection.com"; these were definitely not the best cookies ever.  The photos I took were atrocious, so we're going to skip right to the meat of the matter: as with every pumpkin or applesauce cookie recipe (except maybe these, which consciously correct for the problem), these just ended up tasting too healthy/cakey, especially given how much butter was in them.  Alas.  These cookies were at least a bit crisp on the outside, but the inside was like a muffin.  The taste was pleasant but unspectacular.  My search for a great apple-pie-tasting cookie continues.

Applesauce Cookies

(adapted from best-ever-cookie-collection.com)

Ingredients

1 c all-purpose flour

3/4 c whole wheat flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c vegan butter, softened

1 c packed brown sugar

1 TB ground flaxseed mixed with 3 TB water
1/2 c applesauce

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375*. Line cookies with parchment paper. Alternatively, use ungreased cookie sheets to bake your cookies.
2. In a medium size bowl whisk the flours, spices, baking soda, and salt until well blended and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
4. Beat in the egg and applesauce then stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Drop cookie dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until no indentation remains when touched and light golden brown around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack with a spatula.
7. Ice cookies if desired.  This recipe yields about 4 dozen cookies.

Rosewater Strikes Again

Actually, rosewater doesn't strike often enough--note to self.

I'm skipping town for the weekend, so no posts til Monday, but I wanted to mention that I remade the Pistachio-Cardamom Shortbread Cookies using rosewater instead of waterwater, and they were great!  It was just the right amount of rosewater.

Rum Walnut Cookies

Finding more uses for rum... These cookies were ridiculously good.  The taste, the texture, everything.

I worked from a recipe in Veganomicon, with a few changes: I substituted 1/2 c whole wheat in to improve texture and "healthiness," and I used more rum and more vanilla to ensure intense flavor.  The only problem then was that the dough got too wet.  I just dealt with it, but you could also add a bit more flour to compensate, I think.  Then, as usual, I used walnuts instead of pecans (and, I didn't need as many as were called for).  Finally, these cookies seemed so great as they then were that the frosting from the original recipe seemed like overkill--though, a rum frosting would definitely have accentuated the booziness of the cookie.

No matter.  These cookies were tender, just chewy enough, with a flavor somewhat like oatmeal cookies but headier.  They are seriously one of my new favorite cookies of all time.

Rum Walnut Cookies

(adapted from "Rumnog Pecan Cookies" in Veganomicon)

Ingredients

1/3 c canola oil

1/4 c nondairy milk

generous 1 c sugar

1 TB molasses

2-3 TB rum

2 tsp vanilla

1 c all purpose flour

generous 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/4 c cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 c coarsely chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350* and line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Combine wet ingredients (through vanilla).  Sift in dry ingredients, excepting walnuts.  Mix.
2. Form dough into balls, then roll in walnuts.  Place on baking sheet and slightly flatten.  Keep in mind that these cookies will expand and flatten quite a bit; plan accordingly.  Bake for about 10 minutes.  Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Witches' Fingers Cookies

When I first saw these on Chloe Coscarelli's blog, I thought: ew.  No way would I want to eat something that looks so much like a real finger.  But then I thought... YES.

So they're sort of like an evil version of ladyfinger cookies, no?

I've been amazed at the amount of creativity hitting the vegan blogs recently.  Besides this recipe on Chloe's blog, the Wing-It Vegan declared the entire month of October Halloweegan and has served up one absolutely ridiculous recipe after another, including mummy dogs and mashed potato ghosts, and a coffin cake.  I can only imagine that November--the Vegan Mo[nth of] Fo[od], sort inspired by National Novel Writing Month--will prove even more chock full of silly creativity.

This recipe worked really well, though I had a few challenges along the way.  First, no matter how many times I do it, I always forget how to blanch almonds.  Here is how: pour boiling water over the raw almonds so that they're covered; let stand 60 seconds, then drain.  The skins should now be looser, and you can squeeze the almonds out of them.  If you don't work fast enough, the almonds dry up again and you have to start over.

The dough for this cookie is a little bit like a pie crust: you cut in the shortening, and there's a lot of it.  There's really no other liquid except for the extracts (I added almond as well as vanilla), and if it seems like the dough isn't going to hold together, you might need to drizzle a tiny bit of warm water as you're mixing.

I'd like to take this moment to share my secret to baking with earth balance--this technique does measuring and softening all at once.  I fill a pyrex measuring cup with warm water up to the 1 c mark, then I add scoops of earth balance until the water is at the level such that [measurement] - [1 c] = [desired amount].  I quickly then drain out the water before the earth balance melts, and ta da!  Measured and softened earth balance, ready to use.

Another thing to note about this recipe is that the cookies expand quite a lot, and this is more important when your cookies have a real-life referent they're supposed to resemble, as they do here.  The cookies that started bigger than a pinky ended up ENORMOUS.  Not that witches can't have large hands, I guess...

So you bake the cookies when they look like the above picture, then when they're done and cooled, you actually take the almonds out, put jam in there, and put the almonds back.  Time-consuming work.  What made this most challenging was that the jam I had was really chunky.  I tried to pipe it using a pastry bag/tip combo, but big cherry chunks kept clogging it up, and when they did come out, then there was too much jam in the "nail bed" (ew) to be able to replace the almond.  SO here's what I did: I blended the jam with a little bit of water, which made it smoother and thinner; then it worked beautifully (but you have to be careful not to let it get too runny).

Fingernail Materials

I thought these cookies would be more about looks than flavor, but they actually taste really great, what with the high butter content and especially the almond extract I added.  I think they taste a lot like the spritz cookies my family used to make for the holidays.  They have a nice melt-in-your-mouth texture, too.

Oh, and I had company again.

Update, 10/29/11: I remade these and realized I'd forgotten to add almond extract to the recipe (highly recommended), and that you need nowhere near as many blanched almonds as 1 1/2 c.  Recipe below has been updated.

Trick or treat I can haz cookies?

Happy Halloween!

Witches' Fingers Cookies

(adapted from Chef Chloe)

Ingredients

2 c flour

1 c powdered sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer

1 c softened vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance non-hydrogenated Buttery Spread)

1 TB pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 c blanched whole almonds

1/4 c cherry (or other red) jam (thinned and blended with water, if necessary)

2 TB maple syrup (optional; to brush the almonds)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350* and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.  To be quite honest, the oven's going to ready a long time before you are, so you might want to wait to preheat until you get to the decorating stage.
2. Whisk together flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and egg replacer. Cut in the softened margarine and then add extracts.  Mix until a dough-like consistency has formed.
3. Scoop approximately 2-3 teaspoons of dough into your hand and shape it into a slender finger. Note that the cookies will spread so it is important to shape your cookies to the thickness of a pinkie finger. Use a toothpick to carve knuckle creases and place an almond into the fingertip to act as the nail.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies are very slightly browned on the edges.
5. Once cookies are completely cooled, remove the almond nail and paint the nail bed and cuticle with jam; then replace the almond. Brush the almond with a drop of maple syrup to give it a creepier look.  Makes about 45 cookies.

Pumpkin Cookies

Did you skip over this post?  This is probably the boringest blog post title ever, especially in October.  Pumpkin everything... ho hum... what a great problem to have.

I'd totally forgotten I blogged about another pumpkin cookie last spring, but looking back at that post, I totally set myself up for this:

"The problem with pumpkin cookies seems to be their tendency to edge towards the pumpkin muffin or pumpkin bread.  What if you actually want a cookie? . . . . here, again, I ended up with tasty little bites of pumpkin bread."

Well, um... ta da!  Leave it to the PPK people to solve the mystery by cooking down canned pumpkin to reduce its moisture content.  Do note: 45 minutes is a really long time to wait for your pumpkin to become cookie-worthy.  Plan ahead accordingly.  This recipe was interesting for a few other reasons: it called for "shortening" rather than vegan butter or margarine, so I took this literally and used Earth Balance's shortening sticks, which I think resulted in a more tender texture (but crispy on the outside!).  Finally, the way that this recipe accounts for egg is really interesting.  I think that the pumpkin actually does some of the work, in the same way that people bake (sad) low fat muffins with applesauce instead of eggs and oil.  But the recipe also calls for cornstarch and a little bit of oat flour, both of which I think contributed to the really great texture.

I made a few minor changes: I liked the green-on-orange contrast of the pumpkin seeds, but didn't have any, so I used pistachios instead (still going through the metric ton of nuts leftover from the salad bar party--a pine nut recipe is also on its way).  I swapped out some white flour in favor of whole wheat flour; honestly, this is more of a texture preference than any kind of lip service to "healthiness" (see, for example, the 1/2 c of shortening).  And then, because I got excited about the spiciness of the cookies, I added some ground black pepper just for fun.  Finally, I did use the 2-bowl method; even though the recipe has you combine the wet ingredients and then just sift the dry into that bowl, when I do this I always end up with weird little zones or pockets of flavor--oh, hello, salt; oh hello, black pepper.  Rinsing out the dry bowl is almost no extra work, anyway.

I think the ruling was pretty unanimous: these cookies were really, really good, eliciting comments such as, "yum what the fuck."  :)  :)  :)

Sell Your Soul Pumpkin Cookies

(adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)

Ingredients

1 c canned pumpkin

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 c white flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/4 c oat flour (made by grinding oatmeal in a clean spice/coffee grinder)

2 TB cornstach

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

pistachios or pumpkin seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. Reduce the pumpkin by cooking in a saucepan over very low heat for 45 minutes or more.  The pumpkin should steam but not bubble; stir often.  Cook until the pumpkin is only 1/2 c (this takes a long time).  Then, set aside and let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350*.  Line two (or three) baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugars, then mix in cooled pumpkin and vanilla.
4. In a second bowl, combine remaining ingredients (excepting nuts or seeds).  Then add dry to wet, and mix to combine.  Form dough into little balls with your hands, then smush lightly as you put them on the baking sheets.  Top with pistachios or pumpkin seeds as desired.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly brown.  Allow to cool a few minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a cooling rack.  Makes 2 dozen or more.

Sesame Cookies with Maple-Tahini Icing

Starring the sesame seed!  If you don't like sesame seeds, do not make this cookie.  Check out the ratio of sesame seeds to dough (at right)!

And, who knew you could make frosting out of nothing but maple syrup and tahini? 

Regarding icing, you do need to time things right: if you make the icing too far in advance, it might harden (though mine never really did); if you start making it too soon, you'll have to wait til your cookies have cooled enough.

These weren't my favorite cookies ever, but they were still pretty nice.  The sesame seeds give a really neat texture to the cookie, but I think I'd like it even better if it were less cakey and more shortbready; perhaps I'll use earth balance next time instead of oil.  And, tahini is a pretty strong flavor in the icing--it's almost slightly sour.  Anyway, these cookies were lovely with an afternoon coffee yesterday, when it was wet and gloomy.  Which is still is today.  Which means...there are more cookie posts on their way...

Sesame Cookies with Maple-Tahini Icing

(from Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking)

Sesame Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 c sesame seeds, toasted

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c canola oil

1/4 c nondairy milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c white all-purpose flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325* and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (it can do double duty when you get to frosting later).  Toast the sesame seeds (I used a toaster oven), and set them aside to cool
2. Combine the sugar and oil in a large bowl, then add milk and vanilla.  Mix well
3. In a second bowl, combine the flours, salt, and baking powder.  Mix well.
4. Add the contents of the dry bowl to the other bowl, and mix.  Then, stir in the sesame seeds.
5. Form the dough into small balls and place on the baking sheet.  Flatten them with the bottom of a wet glass  or with your fingertips.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned (mine weren't super-thin, and I used an insulated sheet, so they took almost 30 minutes)
7. After allowing the cookies to rest on the baking sheet a few minutes, transfer to a rack and cool before frosting with Maple-Tahini Icing (recipe follows).  You can slide the used parchment paper under the cooling rack in preparation for the frosting to come.  Makes about 18 cookies.

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Maple-Tahini Icing

Ingredients

1/4 c maple syrup

3 TB tahini

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

Instructions

1. Place the maple syrup in a small saucepan; cook over low heat for about 3 minutes.  Then, turn off heat and mix in the tahini, vanilla, and salt.  Mix vigorously until it's very smooth.
2. Spread some icing on each cooled cookie. Frosts about 18 cookies.

Incoherent Cookie

Not too long ago, I threw a salad-bar potluck.  The variety of things we had to put on our salads was pretty incredible!  And, I didn't have to grocery shop for a week.  I'm still left with about ten kinds of nuts and seeds, and I thought I'd take advantage of the surplus by making these cookies with both cranberries and pistachios (as well as walnuts).  Really pretty, no?

Unfortunately, I wasn't thrilled by the consistency of the cookies.  They remained really soft and fragile even after they were cooled.  I think--to more closely approximate the consistency of the amazing cranberry-pecan-oat cookies at a place I once worked, these ones needed more butter and flour, and less sugar.  But...there were also slightly incoherent in terms of taste as well as structure.  Are they sweet?  Salty?  Crunchy?  Mushy?  This all sounded good to me, but I was left feeling a bit unsure of where to focus my tastebuds.  That said, I would also be curious to try cardamom instead of allspice, which has been pretty excitingly successful in other cookies.

Oatmeal Cranberry Nut Cookies

(adapted from Madhuram's Eggless Cooking)

Ingredients

1 TB ground flaxseed + 3 TB water

3/4 c vegan butter

1/3 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 non dairy milk

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c white flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp salt

3 c quick oats

2/3 c dried cranberries

2/3 c chocolate chips

1/3 c walnuts, roasted and chopped

1/3 c pistachios, shelled, roasted, and chopped

Instructions

1. Combine water and flaxseed and allow to sit 5-10 min.  Preheat oven to 350*F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in the vanilla, milk, and flax mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and spice; mix well.  Add to butter-sugar mixture.
4. Stir in the oats, cranberries and nuts.
5. With your hands, roll dough into ping-pong-ball-sized balls, place on baking sheets, and flatten slightly.  Leave space between!  Bake 12-15 minutes or until done. If you are using 2 sheets at once, shift cookie sheets halfway through baking.
6. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and stand the cookies on the sheet itself for 5-10 minutes before transferring it to the cooling rack and let it cool completely.  Makes about 40 cookies.

Pistachio-Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

:Last night I made a test batch of the Pistachio-Cardamom Shortbread Cookies I read about on Holy Cow.  They were so good, I am going to make them again this weekend, perhaps twice!  I like how the recipe uses a combination of shortening and oil, splitting the difference between rich/buttery and cheaper/(?)healthier.

I didn't change much, but since I didn't have whole wheat pastry flour (which is more finely ground than regular whole wheat flour), I used a mix of whole wheat and white flours.  I also used more salt.  And, I needed to bake them a bit longer than asked for, even though I used non-insulated baking sheets and small cookies.

Edit 11/2/10: I used rosewater instead of plain water to mix with the cornstarch, and it was just the right amount--this is a yummy variation!

Pistachio-Cardamom Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 c white flour
1 tsp cardamom powder

1/3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

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1/4 c (4 TB) zero-trans-fat vegetable shortening (I used earth balance)
1/2 c (8 TB) canola oil
2/3 c sugar
2 TB of cornstarch mixed well with 2 TB water (or 2 TB rosewater)
1 tsp vanilla extract
*
1 cup pistachio nuts, powdered fine in a food processor or spice grinder, and a few whole ones

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine dry and wet separately.  Then, add dry to wet.  Then, mix in ground pistachios.
3. Form dough into 1-in balls.  Place on baking sheet; flatten slightly, then press a pistachio into each cookie.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cookies begin to brown.  Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before moving from baking sheet.  Makes about 2-3 dozen.

Cookie Invasion Continues, Shows No Sign Of Abating

This is the twentieth cookie recipe I've posted in--oh, hey, exactly one year.  And there are at least a few more I have blogged about without posting the recipes.  Another way to think about it: over ten percent of my posts are about cookies.

I just knew this "Cowboy Cookie" was going to be good.  Every single recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar has turned out nearly perfect, and this one seemed like a killer combination.  With its coconut-oatmeal combo, this time paired with chocolate and nuts, it's actually like a different version of the oatmeal spice (garam masala) cookies I can never get enough of.  Upon looking at the actual recipes, they're even more closely related than I had thought.

So why are they not quite as awesome?  The dough was really hard to handle until I added a lot more liquid; then I had to chill the dough in order to work with it.  The flavor profile, though tasty, was a little flat, and the texture a little tougher--they went from undercooked to almost biscuit-like.

I'm comparing the two recipes, and it appears that, first, the ratio of flour to chunky-other-stuff is slightly less floury in the cowboy recipe.  Strangely, though, there's less liquid in the garam masala recipe, which nevertheless holds together better.  This leads me to one reluctant (though unsurprising) conclusion: sometimes cookies are better when you use solid shortening instead of oil.  What's amazing is that this totally hasn't been true for the other cookies I've tried from this cookbook.

Next time, I'll adjust the recipe to use 1 c earth balance instead of 2/3 canola oil.  I'll probably reduce the soymilk in the process.  For the moment, the recipe I posted below includes cinnamon, more vanilla, and more salt, which really spruced up the flavor.  And, like my instincts told me originally, you can't really go wrong with a cookie that has chocolate chips, nuts (oh yeah, I changed these from pecans to walnuts), and coconut.

I baked these cookies twice this week, and what follows is the revised recipe I tried the second time.  I also tried flattening the cookies, as the recipe calls for, which helped them bake more evenly, I think.  The photos are from the first run.

Cowboy Cookies

(from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)

Ingredients

2 c quick-cooking oats

2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

*

2/3 c canola oil

2/3 c sugar

3/4 c firmly packed brown sugar

1/2-1 c nondairy milk

1 TB ground flax seeds

2 tsp vanilla

*

1 c shredded coconut

1 c chocolate chips or chunks

1 c toasted walnut pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In one bowl, combine dry ingredients through cinnamon.  In another bowl, combine wet ingredients through vanilla.
3. Fold dry ingredients into wet ones.  Then fold in coconut, chocolate, and nuts.  Don't over mix.
4. If dough refuses to occur, add soymilk sparingly as needed until you can squeeze cookie-sized (for me, ping-pong-sized) balls of dough into being.
5. Place dough balls on cookie sheets, with almost 2 inches of space.  Flatten slightly with hands or a cup.  Bake 14-16 minutes until edges and bottoms start to brown.  Then, allow to sit outside oven on baking sheets before doing anything else with them.  Makes about 4-5 dozen small cookies, or 2 dozen large ones.