A Whole Lotta Chocolatta!…..Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Holy (not so) cow!  These cookies are to die for!  And this is coming from a girl who does not enjoy sweets often.  So decadent and chocolaty!  Seriously cozy up with a blanket, a good movie, a nice cold, tall glass of almond milk and dunk away!

Sadly enough this was the first time I used my Kitchen Aide mixer….and I have had it for four years…shame on me.  I think that just tells me I have too many toys in the kitchen.  But, it was pretty exciting to use, and I look forward to using it more frequently in the future.

When making these cookies, there is one important thing to note.  Once you are finished making the cookie “batter”, it will seem a bit dry and almost grainy.  This is normal!  Do not add more liquid or oil!  You are going to spoon up each cook and compress it into a ball and then press it down into a cookie shape.  This is not your typical cookie batter!

Also note, in order for this to be vegan, you must buy dark chocolate morsels!

Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients/Directions:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut oil or vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup almond milk
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 

Preheat oven 350.  In one bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In your mixer bowl, add in the coconut or vegetable oil, sugars, vanilla and start your mixer.  Slowly mix in the almond milk and the contents of your other bowl.  Mix until fully combined.  Then, add in the morsels.  

Lightly oil your cookie sheet.  With a spoon or ice cream scooper, scoop out a ball of the cookie mixture, form into a ball, then press onto the cookie sheet to form a cookie shape.  Repeat until dough is gone.  Bake for 12-14 minutes.  The edges should be firm, and the centers soft.  Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from cookie sheet.  Enjoy!  These are irresistible!

 

Who Doesn’t Like Apples and Peanut Butter?….. Vegan Apple & Peanut Butter Cookies

Forget those peanut butter cookies that you have been making for years.  It’s time to try something new!  And, who doesn’t like the combination of apples and peanut butter anyway?  What I especially enjoyed about these cookies were that they were not overly sweet.  And, the use of oats also throws a bit of a twist on peanut butter cookies as well.

I decided to add apples, for one, because I don’t think I have ever had apple pieces in a cookie and thought that it was a funky idea.  But also because we have these huge, delicious Michigan apples that were screaming out at me; eat me! eat me!

Vegan Apple & Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c flour

1/2 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 cup rolled oats

1/2 c evoo

1/2 c natural peanut butter

1/3 c almond milk (unflavored/unsweetened)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large apple diced

Directions:

Preheat oven 350 and lightly grease cookie sheet.  In one bowl, mix all dry ingredients.  In another bowl mix evoo, peanut butter, almond milk, vanilla and apple.  Combine the dry to the wet and mix completely.  

Spoon out about 1-1.5 tbsp of batter and place on cookie sheet, flatten slightly.  Bake for about 12-14 minutes.  Let cool for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy with a glass of milk….almond milk that is, silly!

Vegan Cran-Nut Banana Oat Muffins!

Yes, okay okay….it’s a mouthful to say.  But once you have a mouthful in your mouth, you will understand why I made these muffins.

I’m not a huge baked goods person and tend to lightly pick at muffins and breads.  But, by using whole wheat flour or rice flour and by adding fruits/vegetables, I all of a sudden don’t feel overly guilty about eating a small muffin. 

 Vegan Cran-Nut Banana Oat Muffins

Keep in mind, when you are baking these yourself, you can determine how much additional sugar, oil or vegan butter you add in.  You can also determine the size of your muffins.  I tend to make mine on the smaller size for better portion control.  This is much better than making an impulse purchase at Starbucks while your are ordering your coffee.  Those muffins are packed FULL of empty calories!

Ingredients (yields 12 muffins)
1 1/4 whole wheat flour or rice flour (or your choice of flour)
1 c rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 bananas
1/2 c almond milk
1/4 c evoo
3/4 c dried cranberries
1/4 c chopped raw walnuts
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
vegan butter (to oil muffin tins)

Directions
Preheat oven 375.  In one bowl, mix dry ingredients (the first 4 ingredients).  In another bowl, mash bananas until smooth and then add in the remaining ingredients.  Stir in the dry ingredients until fully mixed.  Lightly butter muffin tins with vegan butter and pur in muffin batter about 1/2-2/3rds full.  Bake for about 16-18 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes and remove from muffin tin.  Enjoy for breakfast or when on the move!

Another Vegan Bread…..Vegan Apple-Beet Loaf

Well, I am at it again….baking time.  My last vegan carrot-orange loaf was such a success, I wanted to do another variation of it. 
Once again, I used the pulp from juicing.  This time I made an apple-beet juice.  The combo was delicious and thought, why not make another bread with the pulp?  I made a few changes to this recipe, but they are very slight.  If is always fun when you have a solid bread recipe to play around with it and use different flavors.  Apple-beet turned out quite delicious!

Vegan Apple-Beet Loaf

What I love about using beets is that they are so versatile.  You can make them into something hearty, like a vegan burger or something light, like a beet salad.  Or you can go the sweet route, like this bread.

What is eye-catching is the beautiful color of the bread.  When you cut a piece, it is a subtle red-pink color, almost that of a med-rare piece of meat.  Hmmm….beet meatloaf in the future???

Ingredients/Direction

Ingredients: (yields 2 small disposible foil tin tray)
1.5 c grated apple and beets
1/2 c maple syrup (NOT the gross pancake syrup made with high fructose corn syrup!)
1/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c unsweetened almond milk
1/3 c evoo
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 c whole wheat
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamin
pinch of salt
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven 350.  Lightly oil your tin baking bread pan.  Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and all wet ingredients in another (do not add carrots/orange yet).  Combine the two and then add the grated carrots and orange rind.  Fold in walnuts.  Bake for about 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool and remove from pan.

Very few alterations to my prior bread loaf, but still another great idea!

There is no waste in this Plantry!……Vegan Carrot-Orange Cake!

This is probably the most creative and resourceful recipe I have done thus far.  I recently got my beloved juicer back and have been juicing like a crazy women.  Every time I juice, the left over shredded  pulp from the fruits and veggies just stare back at me.  Most people just toss them out.  But, stop right there!!!  You can do so many things with it!

For instance, you can add them to a dip or a sauce, or even a part of a salad.  Or, you can bake with it!  There are so many restaurants and stores that use every part of an veggie or really anything.  And, it’s true!  Think twice about the next time you are tossing something in the garbage.  Most likely it has use.  I will touch upon some other creative ideas in the future…..one step at a time here!

Vegan Carrot-Orange Cake

I realize a lot of people don’t have juicers.  If you don’t, no worries!  Simply finely grate carrots and orange rind to make roughly 1.5 cups. 

Also note that this is not overly sweet.  If you desire a sweeter taste, replace agave nectar with brown sugar.

Ingredients: (yields 2 small disposible foil tin tray)
1.5 c grated carrots and orange rind
2 tbsp flax seed or hemp seed (grind in food processor)
1/2 c agave nectar
1/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c almond milk
1/3 c evoo
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 c whole wheat or white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamin
pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp lemon zest

Directions:
Preheat oven 350.  Lightly oil your tin baking bread pan.  Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl and all wet ingredients in another (do not add carrots/orange yet).  Combine the two and then add the grated carrots and orange rind.  Pour into baking pan and sprinkle lemon zest of top.  Bake for about 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool and remove from pan.

Be Creative with your Produce!….Vegan Zucchini Muffins

I went to my local grocer and they had such an amazing deal on zucchini….I bought 7 beautiful zucchinis for only $1.50.  I mean really?  Who would turn that down?  They sat in my fridge for a day, until I thought….Zucchini Muffins!!!

Zucchinis are so mild in taste that they make a perfect component for a muffin.  They also contain a lot of water so they great to replace eggs or even applesauce. 

If mentioned that I am not a huge baker because you need to be so precise with your measurements.  But my vegan muffin creation wasn’t as daunting as it was when baking bread.

So lets get our booties in the kitchen and start baking!

Vegan Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients
3.5 c grated zucchinis (about 3 good sized zucchini grated with cheese grater)
3 c flour or whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamin
2 c brown or white sugar
3/4 c evoo (can use oil of choice but I always use evoo)
1/4 c almond milk
2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease muffin pan with evoo (or vegan butter).  In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients.  In another bowl mix together all the wet ingredients (not including the grated zucchini).  Combine the two and stir until completely mixed.  Take half your zucchini and mix in and then fold in the remaining.  Spoon into muffin tins about 3/4 full.  Bake for about 30 min or a bit more.  To check when done, do the toothpick trick.  When toothpick comes out clean, you are ready to go!  Take out and let cool.

Fresh Pita! Homemade Whole Wheat Pita!

This is so simple, it is ridiculous!  When it comes to anything with bread I always feel intimidated.  But, once I delve into it, I remember that it really isn’t that difficult.

You do need to let the dough rest and rise for about an hour, so make sure you have time!  My trick for letting dough rise a bit quicker is to place a damp cloth over it and place it in an oven (make sure it is turned OFF!)

Homemade Vegan Whole Wheat Pita 

 The pita is great with hummus or roasted red pepper baba ganoush.

Or you can use it as a vessel for your favorite sandwhich or falafel!

Whatever it may be, it is always better fresh and homemade!

Ingredients/Directions
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast (or just one little pack)
2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tbs agave nectar
1 tbsp evoo
1 cup warm water (must be warm to activate the yeast)

Start off by mixing the dry ingredients together, and then add in the rest.  Knead dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.  Place dough in bowl, cover with moist towel and let sit (i place in an off oven) and rise for 1 hr.
Preheat oven 475-500.
Take out from bowl, knead for about 30 seconds and divide in 6-8 equal parts.  Roll into circles, place on baking sheet.  Bake for 5-7 minutes.  The pita will rise into a “puff”- this is normal.  Let cool, slice in half if making pita sammies, or into triangles to enjoy with dips.

There’s nothing wrong with being kneady…..

I wanted a challenge and have always been intimidated when it came to baking.  As you can see from previous posts, I really do not measure anything.  I leave measurements up to the taste buds.  Unfortunately you do not have much leeway with baking.  Surprisingly enough, this recipe ended up being some of the best baked bread I have ever had.   I rarely eat bread and had to stop myself from eating the entire loaf.

The great thing about baking your own bread is that you know what goes into it.  So many people do not realize how many preservatives are added in breads, along with the fact that eggs are in many breads as well.  This recipe is bursting with flavor and light and guilt free.

Ingredients:
for the actual bread:
1 cup warm water
1 packet of yeist
2 1/2 cups of flour (add some extra for dusting)
1 tbsp EVOO

for the added pesto & olive mixture
blend the following EXCEPT kalamata olives
EVOO (the amount is to your desire.  I use less than more)
basil
pine nuts or walnuts
1 clove garlic
salt
tip:  if you do not have basil, replace it with kale, swiss chard, spinach or your favorite leafy green

Instructions:
Place warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and sprinkle yeast over top.

Let sit 10 minutes – if the yeast doesn’t get frothy or swell, toss it and go buy new yeast.

Add the flour, oil, and salt and turn the mixer to low.

Knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic – after about 2 minutes, the dough should completely clean the bottom and sides of the bowl. If it does not, add additional flour, one spoonful at a time until it does.

Form the dough into a smooth ball and transfer to a lightly greased bowl  and let rise until doubled (1 hour on the countertop, quicker in a slightly warmed oven).

Preheat oven to 425.

Lightly flour your work surface and work in sliced kalamata olives to dough

Gently stretch and elongate your dough round.

spread pesto mixture evenly onto dough and roll the dough into one long roll

slice the roll into thirds, then braid and form into a spiral

transfer to baking sheet and let sit for 30 min

bake for 25 minutes