Cabin Fever Cookies (aka Vegan Snickerdoodles)

The ice has mostly melted, and we were finally able to get out of the house this weekend- joy!  But not before I had a chance do do some baking (what else are you supposed to do when your work day ends at 4 and you're at loose ends?).  First, I made some classic, yummy chocolate chip cookies, courtesy of Chloe Coscarelli's Chloe's Vegan Desserts.  I followed the recipe exactly, except that I halved the amount of chocolate chips (we don't like too many chips in my house), and it turned out amazing.  Inevitably, we started to run low, so I thought I'd bring back an old, slightly less caloric, favorite, Snickerdoodles.  I've tweaked this recipe from several other vegan and non-vegan recipes to arrive at something that's low in fat and calories, but still tastes delicious.  This recipe makes 36 cookies, so you'll have plenty to last you for a few snow days!

Ingredients

For Cookie Dough:

• 1 3/4 cup 100% whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup Cornstarch
• 1 tsp Baking Powder 
• Pinch salt
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread (or other vegan butter) 
• 1/4 cup sugar free applesauce
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup, almond milk(or other non-dairy milk)
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

For Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in bowl. 
3. In a separate bowl, or in a stand mixer, beat vegan butter, applesauce, and sugar until light and fluffy. 
4. Beat in almond milk and vanilla until smooth. 
5. Add flour mixture, and beat 30 seconds or until smooth.
6. To make Cinnamon Sugar: Combine sugar and cinnamon on in a small bowl.
7. Shape dough into 1-inch balls (I use a melon baller and then roll in my hands to shape). Roll each ball in Cinnamon Sugar, and place on prepared baking sheet. 
8. Bake about 12 minutes, or until cookies look dry on tops and are lightly browned on bottoms. 

Yield: 36 cookies

Nutrition (per 1 cookie)

Calories 80
Total Fat 1 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 84 mg
Potassium 27 mg
Total Carbohydrate 17 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 11 g
Protein 1 g

 

Yummy Comfort Food Alert: Cashew Macaroni

Since many of us on the east coast are snowed in right now, I thought some comfort food might be in order. A couple of weeks ago, I had some really tasty mac n cashew "cheese" at Cashew in Chattanooga, and was inspired to search for some recipes to make my own.  The recipe below is adapted from this one on the Whole Foods website.  You guys, it was fantastic.  Macaroni and cheese is my (non-vegan) husband's favorite food, and he thought it was the bomb. The addition of Almond Milk and eliminating the added oil made it a creamy and not too indulgent addition to the dinner table.

Food photo fail: forgot to take a picture of it before we ate half of it!

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons white miso
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or other non dairy milk of your choice)
• 1 pound whole-grain elbow macaroni
• Sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese (if desired) 

Yield: 8 servings

Instructions 

1. Soak raw cashews with for at least 4 hours. Drain and discard water.
2. Place cashews in a food processor with oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, miso, garlic, salt, paprika and pepper. Pulse until cashews are finely chopped. With the motor running, add 3/4 cup non dairy milk and process until smooth.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly coat a 9x13-inch shallow baking dish with cooking spray. 
4. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot. 
5. Add cashew mixture to pasta and stir to combine.  
6. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake 20-25 minutes, or until heated through and golden on top. 

 Nutrition

Amount Per Serving
Calories 254
Total Fat 5 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 286 mg
Potassium 68 mg
Total Carbohydrate 46 g
Dietary Fiber 7 g
Sugars 3 g
Protein 9 g

 

Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Pancakes

Yesterday morning, my Facebook feed was filled with gorgeous photos of heart shaped pancakes that my friends were making for their significant others and I thought, "Hey, I haven't made pancakes in the longest time!  What a great idea!"  And then...I remembered why I never make them. Pancakes are like my white whale of breakfast foods.  I can never get them quite right- they always end up burned on the outside and not quite done on the inside. And pretty, occasion-appropriate shapes?  In my dreams!  But, it was Valentine's Day, I just bought a $9 jar of chocolate hazelnut butter, and I was determined to make a nice breakfast for hubs.

I read that whole wheat flour tends to make pancakes on the heavier side, so decided to try using mostly all purpose flour.  And I usually use apple butter or applesauce in lieu of butter/oil, but that also weighs things down, so I sacrificed the extra fat for a lighter, fluffier pancake. And it worked!  Mostly. They're still misshapen, and the outsides are ever so slightly browner than they should be, but they were delish. Just the right amount of chocolatey, hazelnutty flavor without being overwhelming. So, here they are: Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Pancakes!

Ingredients
-1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed +3 tbsp water)
-1 tbsp vegan butter, melted
-1 tbsp agave nectar
-1 tbsp vegan chocolate hazelnut butter (I used Justin's)
-1tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/8 tsp salt
-1 tsp pure vanilla extract
-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other non-dairy milk of your choice)
-1/2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
-1/4 cup 100% whole wheat flour

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, mix up your flax egg by whisking flaxseed and water. Allow to sit about 5 minutes to gel
2. Add butter, agave, hazelnut butter, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla, and whisk to combine
3. Add almond milk and whisk until fully combined
4. Add flours, and stir until just combined (do not overmix)
5. Let batter rest for 5 minutes
6. Meanwhile, lightly grease a skillet with cooking spray, and heat to medium heat (careful not to let it get too hot)
7. Pour the batter onto your skillet in about 1/4 cup measures
8. Flip pancakes when the edges start to appear dry and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side
9. Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or powdered sugar

Yield: about 6 pancakes


Nutrition (per 1 pancake):
Total fat: 3.7g (saturated- .5g, polyunsaturated- .5g, monounsaturated- .8g, trans- 0g)
Calories: 94
Sodium:339mg
Carbs: 13.3g
Dietary fiber: .9 g
Sugar: 3.2g
Protein: 1.7g

Food photography tip: put the less burned ones on the top

First post!

"Don't worry, it still tastes good," are words I constantly find myself saying to my poor husband at meal time.  And usually (with a few horrific exceptions) it's true!  The general consensus among family and friends is that I'm a pretty decent cook, but for the love of all that's good and holy, I am terrible at presentation. Since going vegan in 2010, I've wanted to do a recipe blog, since I love messing around trying to veganize old favorites, making them healthier and animal-product free, but no matter how hard I try, I just can't make my food look pretty.  But maybe, if you're like me and care a little bit more about your food tasting good than looking good, this could be kind of fun.  Also, I suck at food photography, so don't expect any mouth watering pictures. Are you excited yet?  I am!  Now, let's eat some yummy, messy food!