A New Year

I just got back from 10 days in Minneapolis and Chicago.  It was unusually snowy, it was unseasonably warm, it was wonderful.

Minnesota on 12/27

Logan Square, Chicago, after a freak warm spell/rainstorm on 12/31

One of the highlights of my trip (besides a ridiculously good NYE dinner at Ras Dashen Ethiopian restaurant) was that my friends Celeste and John, who I was staying with in Chicago, suggested that we host a New Years Day brunch at their place.  I am very doubtful that there is a better way to spend the first day of the best year yet than eating good food with dear friends.

Our brunch had a vaguely southern theme: biscuits, gravy, sausage, fried collards, potatoes, muffins.  It was ridiculously heavy on the carbs, but it seemed to go over well nonetheless.


We adapted the spelt biscuits from a recipe in Veganomicon for a cassoulet with biscuits.. unlike in the recipe, we just dropped them on a greased baking sheet and baked them at 425 for about 10-12 minutes.  They were very tender--apparently that's a characteristic of spelt flour, that it stays very wet and soft; I had to add quite a bit of extra flour to get a workable dough .

But these were great with Celeste's recipe for Mushroom Celery Gravy, originally from Vegan Yum Yum.  I have to say, I'm still partial to this mushroom gravy, which is a bit less starchy, but the celery was a nice addition, and the cooking method for this recipe made it easier to avoid getting clumpy gravy than in the earlier recipe.

Celeste's muffins (sadly, I have no photo) were a variation on the spelt blueberry muffins from the Babycakes cookbook (reason #1094760 that all these Chicago folks should come visit me in LA, btw).  She used cranberries and walnuts, and some wholemeal spelt flour, and sprinkled maple sugar over the top.  They were fantastic.

We also made roasted fingerling potatoes (with olive oil, rosemary, gomasio, garlic, and pepper) and fried collards (with garlic, onion, tamari, lemon, and sesame oil).

And, we made the Oats and Rice Sausage that I've blogged about before.

Here's my plate.  :)

Oh, and here's one of John's unbelievably complicated bloody marys.  Due to the worcestershire sauce, they weren't vegan, and I don't much like bloody marys (or drinking in the morning) anyway.  But word on the street was, these were pretty bomb, as far as bloody marys go.  It is a constant source of puzzlement to me why the only socially acceptable types of morning drank are the bloody mary and the mimosa (please, hold the tomato juice and the sugar and just give me a beer...).   But no matter.

Oh.  And speaking of hair of the dog, our brunch was graced by the most adorable three-legged dog in the universe!

*

The last time I visited Chicago was two years ago, exactly six months after I'd moved away.  That was a rough visit, in part because it was impossible to ignore how quickly things had changed in Chicago without me, how much starting grad school had changed me, and also how impoverished some of my relationships had been even when I was living in Chicago.  This time, two more years later, I was struck instead by how many things are--and will be--the same: the weather, the lived experience of life in Chicago, and the friendships that really matter.  I am so thankful for these people and those places.

Sunrise over downtown, seen from the L station, en route to the airport

Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Cream

This pie was so good!!!  I've never made a vegan pumpkin pie, and I pretty much refuse to resort to putting tofu or tofutti products in baked goods, so I was worried that it wouldn't hold up.  But the texture was really, really lovely.  It felt lighter than the pumpkin pies I remember (with egg? sweetened condensed milk? cream? in them), but there is a cup of coconut milk in it adding both richness and nuttiness.  The cornstarch and egg replacer did the job just fine; I'm not sure you need the egg replacer, but I thought, "better safe than sorry."  I keep meaning to buy arrowroot, but cornstarch is sooo much cheaper and it works just fine (unless you're using it in something clear).

Other than using egg replacer instead of eggs, the changes I made were very minimal.  I didn't need nearly as many hazelnuts as the recipe called for; so much so that I was able to use my extra toasted-and-ground nuts in place of almonds or pine nuts in the Stuffed Mushrooms.  Also, I thought that using a premade spice blend was not helpful or convenient here, so I basically halved the blend recipe and then put it into the pie recipe proper.  How often do you need pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice as opposed to cloves, or cinnamon, or ginger, on their own?

So the pie has just enough spices and not too much sugar, and though it holds together it's rather light and puddingy.  These textures and flavors go great with the basic whole wheat oil pie crust that I often use.  I pre-baked it this time, look (at right):

Finally, I topped the pie with coconut cream, the recipe for which follows.

Spice-Kissed Pumpkin Pie

(adapted from 101cookbooks)

Ingredients

1 c hazelnuts (divided) , toasted

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 TB freshly ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly ground allspice

1/4 tsp freshly ground cloves

3/4 tsp ground ginger (pre-ground)

1 tsp salt

1 TB cornstarch (or arrowroot)

1 1/2 c of roasted pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 ener-g egg replacer "eggs"

1 c coconut milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Puree the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor until they turn into a hazelnut paste, past the 'crumble' stage. To make the pumpkin pie filling, whisk together the brown sugar, spices, salt, and arrowroot/cornstarch. Stir in the pumpkin puree and vanilla. Now stir in the 'eggs' and coconut milk until just combined. Set aside.
3. Before filling the pie crust, crumble the hazelnut paste on top of the pie dough into the pie plate, quickly and gently press it into a thin layer across the bottom creating a layer of hazlenuts that will sit between the dough and the filling. Fill the pie crust with the filling and bake for about 50 minutes - the center of the pie should just barely jiggle when you move the pie - the edges should be set.
4. Let the pie cool a bit; this makes slicing less messy. Serve with whipped coconut cream and a sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts.  Makes one 9 or 10-inch pie.

*

Spice-Kissed Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Cream

What was to be "coconut whipped cream" ended up not so whipped.  This is my fault; I only had "light" coconut milk (for some reason, this is the only kind Trader Joe's sells), and I think the fat content wasn't high enough.  As instructed by ehow.com, I refrigerated a can of coconut milk, and when I opened it, the fat and the coconut water had separated.  I scooped the creamiest part into a bowl with some powdered sugar and beat it with an electric hand mixer.  After a good ten minutes, it was thicker, but definitely not "whipped."  Did I give up too soon?  No matter.  This thick, creamy topping was really delicious.

Chickpea-Eggplant Stew with Kale and Harissa

I love Thanksgiving, but the holiday definitely has the potential to incite controversy and discomfort, perhaps especially among vegans.  As I've written before, for me eating vegan goes hand in hand with trying to be more aware of the relationships between our food choices and the matrices of social and political power from which those choices will never be independent.

So when a friend of mine--whose passionate dedication to Palestinian liberation I really admire--told me she couldn't come to Thanksgiving because she would be boycotting US imperialism and settler colonialism... it made me pause.  And while I respect her decision, I think this is what I've decided for myself: To be sure, the origins of Thanksgiving are pretty icky (though, to further complicate things, it's worth noting that Thanksgiving wasn't institutionalized as a US holiday until much more recently).  But surely a holiday that celebrates our connection to the seasons and to local foods, thus fostering mindfulness about how we eat and whom we eat with, has the power to be one of the greatest forces for good among the holidays we celebrate.

Of course, there are other reasons why Thanksgiving can be problematic.  As with other family-gathering-feast type holidays, eating vegan among omnivores (depending on how those omnivores eat) can be... weird.  I'm not talking about the squeamish having-to-look-at-meat kind of crap--get over it; it's really not a big deal.  But if you're trying to fit your eating practices into what everyone else is eating, it's often easiest to just switch things in and out rather than reconfigure the entire way you (or your family) think about constructing a meal.  Now, I've never had a Tofurkey; I'll bet it tastes okay, despite its coming from a box, but I'm pretty sure that Tofurkeys just make vegans look bad.  That kind of thing plays right into perceptions of a vegan diet as characterized by lack or fakeness... and there is some serious gendering going on here in how our culture talks about meat-eating.  The very possibility that there need not be one main dish in relation to which everything else is backup seems an idea whose radicalism goes far beyond American food culture.  Is it any wonder that William Blake was a vegetarian?

All of which is to say... where was the protein in this Thanksgiving feast?  Well, it was everywhere: in the wheat berries in the squash salad, in the squash seeds, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, almonds, and hazelnuts that graced almost every dish, even in the whole wheat flour in the pie crust.  And, of course, in the chickpeas in this stew:

Finally, I've used up my harissa.  Time to start all over.  Or maybe I should try to use all that berbere?

This recipe uses a very interesting combination of flavors: basil and oregano as well as roasted eggplant and harissa.  And fennel might, but doesn't usually, come with either.  The result is a delicious mixture of tastes, with just enough heat.

I changed only a few things in this recipe from urban vegan: I roasted the eggplant over the stove to get that mouthwatering, if carcinogenic, flame taste.  Since the tomatoes I got last minute from the supermarket looked a little waxy, I roasted them too (though in the oven) and peeled off their skins before chopping and proceeding.  Every kitchen appliance I own failed to turn onions and garlic into a paste, so I just chopped them finely by hand and moved on, weeping about my lack of a proper food processor.  Oh, and I used fresh parsley and cooked dried chickpeas, rather than dried and canned (respectively).

Chickpea-Eggplant Stew with Kale and Harissa

(adapted from urban vegan)

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant

1/3 cup olive oil

1 large sweet onion, peeled and finely chopped

6-7 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

large dollop of harissa

3 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped or oven-roasted, skinned, and chopped

1 cup kale, trimmed and chopped finely

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp dried basil

3 TB fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 15-oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork, and place eggplant and tomatoes on cookie sheet in heated oven and roast for about 45 minutes or until they're pooped. Remove from oven, allow to cool. Then scrape out the insides, chop, if needed, and set aside.  Alternatively, roast the eggplant directly over a gas-stove flame (like so).  This makes it more flavorful, but if you're roasting the tomatoes too, it's not the most efficient way to do it.
2. In a large casserole or high-sided pan, heat oil over medium low. Add onion, garlic, and harrissa. Cook about 10 minutes, or until everything is translucent. Be careful not to burn.
3. Add remaining ingredients, including eggplant pulp but excluding the chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to low. Cook for 1-2 hours, adding more oil, water, or veggie stock as needed. This is the most important part of this dish...the longer it simmers, the better it will taste, since the flavors need to meld.
4. Add the chickpeas about 30 minutes before you want to eat. Cover and simmer, adjust the seasonings, as needed, then enjoy.  Serves about 4.

Deep-Fried Stuffing Balls and Cranberry-Ginger Sauce

There's just something about bread that has been breaded and fried...

Deep-Fried Stuffing Balls

I believe Reed used this recipe from the Christian Science Monitor.  He then formed the stuffing into balls, dipped each one in soymilk, then dredged it in breadcrumbs, and dropped it into a vat of canola oil.  Truly amazing.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

(from the Christian Science Monitor)

Ingredients
5 c bread, cubed
1 c onion, chopped
2 TB vegan butter
3/4 c celery, chopped
2 1/2 tsp dried sage
1 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
6 TB melted vegan butter
1 apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces
3/4 c dried cranberries
1/3 c minced parsley
1-2 c vegetable stock

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350* F. Cut your bread into cubes, and put them on baking sheets on a single layer. Bake in the oven for about 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Fry the onions in two tablespoons of butter over medium heat till evenly browned, occasionally stirring. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme, and cook for about two minutes, stirring to blend. Remove from heat.
3. Place the toasted bread cubes in a large mixing bowl, then pour the saute mixture on top of the bread. Pour six tablespoons of melted vegan butter over the mixture, then add the apples, cranberries and parsley. Mix well.
4. Drizzle with about one cup of the broth until thoroughly moist but not soggy. Mix again. Transfer to a baking dish and allow to bake for about 20 minutes.  Serves 4-6.

*

I thought these amazing little balls of oil and bread went really well with the cranberry-ginger sauce I'd made, which was lucky, because the sauce didn't really go with anything else.  I love how stupidly easy it is to turn real cranberries into sauce--why would you ever buy it canned?  Well, there is the fact that fresh cranberries are only available like one month out of the year.  I stocked up this time: I have so many cans of pumpkin puree and bags of fresh cranberries (to freeze); I should be good during the dry spell of January to October 2011.

Not a complete recipe here, sorry; I just kept adding things to taste and to sight.  All you really need is cranberries, water, and sugar.  And even though I don't like the sauce sweet, I still needed quite a bit of sugar.  Cranberries are intensely sour.  I feel like cranberries, pomegranate molasses, and tamarind need to get together and figure out world peace or something.  They come from such drastically different climates and plants, but they all do the same kind of thing culinarily.

Cranberry-Ginger Sauce

Ingredients

1 bag fresh cranberries

sugar to taste (1/2-1 c?)

water as needed

optional:

1-in piece ginger, peeled and minced

juice of 1/2 lemon

ground cloves (1/2 tsp?)

ground cinnamon (1 tsp?)

vanilla extract (1/2 tsp?)

tiny pinch salt
black pepper

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and cook on low for several hours.  Add water as needed to keep sauce from burning.  If it's too watery, leave the lid off; otherwise, cook covered, stirring occasionally in any case.  When you remove sauce from heat and allow it to cool, it will firm up further.

Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Pine Nuts

Gratuitous pretty picture of expensive nuts

Holy Alice in Wonderland, Batman... This dish included the largest apple and the smallest Brussels sprout I have ever seen.

I think the combination of B-sprouts and apples is a very solid one--In fact, I'm really surprised I haven't blogged about a cabbage-apple recipe.  That said, I was a little disappointed by this recipe.  For one, the sizes/shapes of the ingredients were a little incongruous: next time, I'd cut the apples into 1-in-diced cubes instead of slices.  Then they'd match the fineness of the sprouts better.  This would also keep them from overcooking unevenly.  Secondly, the maple syrup's power was somewhat wasted on the apples.  Next time, I'd add it near the end to both the apples and the sprouts; I think it would have more influence on the dish as opposed to just making the apples sweeter.  Oh, and I undercooked the sprouts.  :(  All this said, though, apples, Brussels sprouts, maple, and nuts are quite delicious together.

Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Pine Nuts

(from 101cookbooks)

Ingredients

1 large, crisp apple, large dice

juice of 1 lemon

a couple pinches of fine-grain sea salt

a couple splashes of olive oil

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

a scant tablespoon of maple syrup

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

12 ounces (3/4 pound) brussels sprouts, washed and cut into 1/8-inch wide ribbons

Instructions

1. Soak the apples in a bowl filled with water and the juice of one lemon.
*see notes for suggested alternate cooking method*
2. Heat oil in skillet.  Stir in the garlic, wait a few seconds, now stir in the maple syrup, and cook another 30 seconds or so. Drain the apples, and add them to the skillet, cooking for another minute. Scrape the apple mixture out onto a plate and set aside while you cook the brussels sprouts.
3. In the same pan (no need to wash), add a touch more oil, another pinch of salt, and dial the heat up to medium-high. When the pan is nice and hot stir in the shredded brussels sprouts. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring a couple times (but not too often) until you get some golden bits, and the rest of the sprouts are bright and delicious.
4. Stir the apple mixture back into the skillet alongside the brussels sprouts 1/2 of the pine nuts - gently stir to combine. Remove from heat and enjoy immediately sprinkled with the remaining pine nuts.  Serves about 3-4.

Roasted Squash Salad with Cilantro-Sunflower Seed Dressing

I am really loving the green sauces as of late.  This simple 'salad' consists only of grains, roasted onions and squash, and a really neat dressing made out of sunflower seeds and cilantro.

Because I had no wild rice, I used wheat berries instead.  I think the important thing there is to use a grain that has tons of texture to contrast with the soft squash.  I also topped the salad with the squash seeds I'd reserved and toasted.  Ok, I forgot this at dinner, but at least I remembered for the photo shoot the next morning...

The only other thing I'd note about this recipe is that it makes a TON of dressing.  I'm going to have to keep finding things to put it on... which reminds me: that Georgian Cilantro Sauce from last week was amazing on pasta, too.

Roasted Squash Salad with Cilantro-Sunflower Seed Dressing

(from 101cookbooks)

Ingredients

3 cups of pumpkin (or other winter squash), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes, seeds reserved

3 medium red onions peeled and quartered

extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt

 2 c cooked wheat berries

1/3 c sunflower seeds

1/3 c olive oil (I skimped on this a bit)

2 TB lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1 TB honey

2 TB warm water

1/2 c cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.  Toss the pumpkin in a generous splash of olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt, and turn out onto a baking sheet. At the same time, toss the onions with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and turn out onto a separate baking sheet. Roast both for about 45 minutes, or until squash is brown and caramelized. The same goes for the onions, they should be deeply colored, caramelized, and soft throughout by the time they are done roasting. Flip about every 15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, make the dressing. With a hand blender or food processor puree the sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and honey until creamy. You may need to add a few tablespoons of warm water to thin the dressing a bit. Stir in the cilantro, saving just a bit to garnish the final plate later. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste.
3. Clean the squash seeds and pat dry.  Roast in the oven, on the stovetop, or in toaster oven until slightly brown and crispy.  Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, toss the wheat berries with a large dollop of the dressing. Add the onions; gently toss once or twice. Turn the rice and onions out onto a platter and top with the roasted squash. Finish with another drizzle of dressing, the toasted squash seeds, and any remaining chopped cilantro.  Serves 4.

Thanksgiving Recap Begins

Every time she gave a party she had this feeling of being something not herself, and that every one was unreal in one way; much more real in another.  It was, she thought, partly their clothes, partly being taken out of their ordinary ways, partly the background, it was possible to say things you couldn't say anyhow else, things that needed an effort; possible to go much deeper.

Mrs. Dalloway 

*

Now all the candles were lit up, and the faces on both sides of the table were brought nearer by the candlelight, and composed, as they had not been in the twilight, into a party round a table, for the night was now shut off by panes of glass, which, far from giving any accurate view of the outside world, rippled it so strangely that here, inside the room, seemed to be order and dry land; there, outside, a reflection in which things wavered and vanished, waterily.

 To the Lighthouse

Sometimes the best way to stop feeling like Miss LaTrobe is to pretend you're Mrs. Ramsay or Mrs. Dalloway.

In any case, there's always party games.

(it's like telephone, get it?)

Thanksgiving has once again come and gone.  (Reed, I took no photos with you in them!?)  Cashew cheese, which has heretofore resulted in a goat-cheese-like unit, turned out to be really soft this time, but it was equally good this way, too.  Maybe that sums up this Thanksgiving.  Mishaps, lack of planning, and totally delightful company and food.  Christine brought some lovely pasta salads, Devon saved the day by grabbing the very last loaf of bread at Trader Joe's, Leigh-Michil and Ryan made a really bomb carrot cake with coconut and pineapple in it (recipe here), and Reed blew us away with deep-fried stuffing balls.


On the menu below, I'll add links as I finish posts about each dish.

Thanksgiving 2010

Cashew cheese and crackers, mixed nuts
Beer, wine

Roasted squash salad with cilantro-sunflower seed dressing
Maple-glazed brussels sprouts with apples
Stuffed shrooms
Pasta salads
Deep-fried stuffing balls
Cranberry-ginger sauce
Sourdough bread 
Chickpea-eggplant stew with kale

Spice-kissed pumpkin pie with coconut cream 
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

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.