Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies

I'm totally on a chocolate and espresso kick. There's some magic shit involved with the combo. Plus, I have a whole jar of espresso powder...what the hell else am I supposed to do with it except bake?

These cookies sort of taste like some killer brownies...but in cookie form. So brownies, but better. I'm thinking you could probably sprinkle some finishing salt on the tops when they finish baking or add some toasted nuts to the batter. I'm pretty sure that no matter what you do, it wouldn't be wrong. These cookies are magic. Think: unicorns majestically soaring over a rainbow.

Where have I been? I had fallen off the food sharing wagon for a while when I got completely burned out. I was always worried about creating recipes and documenting it all for this little food blog, and it felt more like work than fun. So I abandoned my site. I wanted to just enjoy food again, so I had to get back to my roots of cooking for fun and from the heart. I definitely learned a lot about my cooking and myself and I'm ready to share my food with you all again.

Okay, enough sappiness. Let's get to the cookies.

Makes 1 dozen

What you need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 slightly heaped TB of espresso powder.
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup brown (or dark brown) sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
• 1 flax egg (or preferred egg subsitute)
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup (or more) chocolate chips

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with either parchment or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, espresso powder, salt, and baking soda. 
3. Add the sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat until just combined. Then toss in the chocolate chips and beat for 3-5 seconds. Just until they are integrated.
4. I used a cookie dough scoop and schlepped my dough onto the sheet about 1.5 inches apart. If you want thin cookies, press the dough down on the sheet. Otherwise, leave them how they are.
5. Bake 15 minutes, until the edges are firm and the middle is still soft. I left them on the baking sheet for about 8 minutes and then put them on a cooling rack to finish. Fill up a big glass of cold almond milk and dig the fuck in. 

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies - VeganMoFo #3

 

Craving sweets lately? You're not alone. The cooler Autumn weather makes me crave the comforts of my childhood, like mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and yes, COOKIES. Who doesn't love cookies, really? I prefer my chocolate chip cookies kind of simple and with lots of toasted walnuts. Don't like nuts? That's just wrong.

Here's a trick I learned a long time ago to really make your cookies rock: toast your nuts before you add them to the dough. I lay mine out on a cookie sheet and bake them at 375 for about 6 minutes. Then remove them from the oven and set out for a few minutes to cool. Kapow! Your nuts are toasty.

So, depending on the size of your cookie scoops, this makes close to 2 dozen. I used a 2-TB scoop and it yielded 18 cookies.

What I used:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup room temp vegan butter
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 egg substitute (I used Ener-G egg replacer)
• 1 cup plus 3 TB flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 bag chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (optional, but recommended)

What I did:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. I toasted my nuts while I made my cookie dough.
2. Using a stand mixer or a hand beater, cream together the sugars, vanilla, and the butter until well mixed and sort of creamy looking.
3. Add in the egg, flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until combined with no dry spots. 
4. Fold in the chocolate chips and the walnuts, if using. 
5. Scoop out onto a baking sheet covered in parchment or a silicone mat. If lining with foil, you may want to very lightly spritz the foil with cooking spray. I kept mine about 2-3 inches apart because they will spread out some. If you like a flatter cookie, you may want to smoosh the scoops down just a bit before baking.
6. Bake for 7-11 minutes, until golden around the edges and still soft in the middle (soft,but not raw). Then remove from oven and leave on pan to cool about 5-10 minutes. If you like a crispier/crunchier cookie then,by all means, bake them longer. We just prefer a crispy edge with a chewy interior here.

Vegan Orange Cardamom Madeleines

Martha Stewart better watch out! I'm baking my way through her Cookies book and making them vegan. Dudes. These cookies are the bomb...or whatever the kids nowadays say. Anywhoooo, I have a voracious cookie appetite, so when I stumbled upon her book while browsing my favorite Dewey decimals (the 641's) at my library, I had to pick it up. I doubt there is a vegan recipe in the book, but that doesn't matter one bit. I'm on the case.

I have a soft spot for cardamom, and when I saw the recipe for these orange cardamom madeleines, I knew I needed to buy a special pan to make them. I got mine from Amazon for about $14.00. I already know I'm going to be getting lots of use out of it, so it was $14 dollars well spent. Mine makes a dozen cookies. You can buy larger ones and even mini ones. You should totally invest in one.

The recipe below is my altered version of the one in the Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook. It makes 1 dozen cookies.

What I used:

• 2 TB melted Earth Balance vegan buttah
• 1/2 TB agave syrup 
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 TB sugar
• 1 egg replacement (I used Ener-G egg replacer this time instead of flax) mixed and left to gel for 3 min.
• Glaze ingredients:
• 1 TB pulp-free orange juice
• 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
• 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)

 What I did:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, vanilla and agave. Let sit while you prepare the rest.
2. In mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg replacement. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt. 
3. Add the flour mixture to the sugar/egg and add in the butter mix. Gently whisk the ingredients all together. It will look like it isn't enough, but it will be. Now, brush a little butter (Or spritz some cooking spray) into the madeleine pan indentations. Spoon the batter/dough into the molds. You want them a smidge less than half full. 
4. Bake about 8 minutes, or until the middles are set and the edges are just golden. Leave in pan 4-5 minutes, then put on a rack to finish cooling. Now, whisk together the glaze ingredients and brush it onto the madeleines. You can eat them right away, but I suggest letting the glaze set for 10-15 minutes so it isn't goopy or sticky. Here's the finished product:

Peanut Butter, Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip Cookies

I went to the library to pick up some books yesterday, which is nothing out of the ordinary. There was a line at the circulation desk, so I went to browse my very favorite Dewey Decimal section: 641--the cookbooks. I can never resist the siren call of the cookbooks. One book that really caught my eye this time was the Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook. I know, I know. Martha is definitely not vegan. Not even close. So, what I decided to do is to veganize some of her recipes just to see what happens. I have veganized one of her other recipes to great success: Cowboy Cookies. So, I'm thinking that this will be a fun (and fattening) little experiment.

Aside from simply veganizing, I had to alter this recipe just a little because I didn't have the roasted peanuts the recipe called for. Instead I used crunchy peanut butter in place of the smooth and cut out the additional peanuts. No worries, though. These babies are killer....especially if you have a peanut allergy. Ha. I crack myself up. But, really, I never thought I would like the peanut-cinnamon combo. Sounds weird, tastes great.

Makes 18 2-1/2 inch cookies.

What You'll Need:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (I used a slightly heaped 1/2 tsp of kosher salt)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup vegan butter, softened, but not melted
• 1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 flax egg (1 TB ground flax plus 2 1/2 TB hot water. Let set to gel for 3-5 minutes)
• 1/2 cup (or more if you want) chocolate chips. I always use Ghirardelli semi-sweet
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

What You Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside for now.
2. Blend your peanut butter and butter until nice and creamy. Add the sugars and vanilla and mix again. Now add the flax egg, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix until just combined and you don't see any dry spots. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will look a little crumbly, and that's fine. 
3. Pop the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool.
4. Now, roll the cookie dough into balls just under 1-inch in diameter. You'll have to squeeze them a litle to get them to stick together. Place them 2 inches apart on your baking sheets and lightly press them down just alittle. 
5. Cook for about 13-14 minutes, until the edges are just set. I rotated the pans halfway through cooking to keep them even. Remove them from the pans and put on a cooling rack for a few minutes. I dare you not to eat at least 2 while they're still hot!!

5-Spice Snickerdoodle Cookies - Vegan MoFo #10

I recently bought some 5-Spice powder from my spice guy simply because it smelled good, but I had no idea what to do with it. I finally did a little searching online and found that it is used in a lot of Asian dishes, especially pork, duck and beef dishes. Well, since I do not eat my animal friends, I kept up the search. I found a recipe for some 5-Spice Cookies, but they weren't vegan. I'm a big fan of veganizing other folks' recipes because it's fun to try and I like to show how easy it can be to be a herbivore.

If you haven't used 5-spice before, it typically contains, uh, five spices... star anise, fennel, cloves, cinnamon and Szechuan pepper. It varies, but sometimes uses ginger, too. It smells incredible. I'm a lot more tempted to try it in other dishes now that finally given it a shot! If you like snickerdoodle cookies, you should definitely try these. They turned out with a perfect combo of spice and sweet, as well as crispiness and chewiness. Mmm.... make them.

Altered & veganized from this recipe. Makes 18 cookies.

What you need:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil (room temp, not melted)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 flax egg (1 TB ground flax mixed into 2 1/2 TB warm water)
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 tsp 5-spice powder
• 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/4 tsp 5-spice powder for tops of cookies

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the coconut oil and the 3/4 cup sugar. 
   
3. Add the flax egg and blend again.
   
4. Now add in the flour, baking powder, salt and 5-spice powder and blend until it looks like this:
   
5. On a small plate, mix the 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/4 tsp 5-spice powder.
   
6. Using your hands roll the dough into small 1-inch balls. Ha, balls. One at a time, smoosh the ball down onto the plate of sugar and spice. 
   
7. Then place the somewhat flattened ball on the baking sheet (spiced side up). Space the cookies 2 inches apart.
   
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes, watching carefully because the edges can burn quickly. Remove from oven when the edges are just barely golden. Let set 3-5 minutes on cookie sheet, then use a spatula to remove them to a cooling rack.
   

So, there you have it. The yummy 5-Spice cookie made vegan. Dig it!

Crazy Cowboy Cookies - Vegan MoFo #4

I am a fucking vegan Martha Stewart. I think I made her cookies better than she ever could. You should know my ego is ridiculously large when it comes to my baked goods. And with good reason, there are never, ever leftovers when I take them to non-vegan functions. Folks chow my goodies and beg for more. This is not an exaggeration. And, while I shouldn't take all the credit for this recipe, I am anyway. Martha is fantastically rich, she'll live. Or, maybe, she'll send her goon squad after me. Whatever. I'll die with a tummy full of cookies.

The back story: I looked in my cupboards last night and found that I had coconut, chocolate chips and pecans, but I couldn't decide what to do with them, so I went to the trusted internetz and found Martha's Cowboy Cookies here. They sounded sinful and perfect, so this morning I set about veganizing her recipe. I shall warn you in advance, if you are counting calories, these are not the cookies for you. They use a lot of butter and sugar. And this is exactly what makes them wickedly perfect. They're nice and crispy around the edge and nice and soft/chewy in the center. Basically, they are the perfect cookie.

When I was first reading the recipe, I shuddered at the amount of butter called for. Then I got over it and made them anyway. I made a half batch that resulted in about 20 3-inch diameter cookies. My veganized version below is for the same sized batch.

What you need:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 TB vegan butter, softened but not melted
• 1/3 cup plus 1 TB sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 1 TB brown sugar
• 1 flax egg (1 TB ground flax plus 2 1/2 TB hot water mixed, then let set 3 minutes)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup old-fashion oats (also called rolled oats)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I only use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips. They're accidentally vegan.)
• 1/3 cup plus 1 TB chopped pecans. I forgot to toast them first, but they were lovely anyway.
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

What you do with it:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment (if using parchment, give it a quick spritz of cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars till it looks smooth and such. Then add in the vanilla and flax egg and beat until perfectly combined.
4. Using a hand mixer, blend in the flour in several batches. I used mine on the low setting. If you over-beat the dough, the cookie texture will suck. So, only beat until you see no dry spots.
5. All at once, pour in the coconut, oats, pecan and chocolate chips. Run your hand mixer around about 3-4 times. Then stop. Remember, no overmixing.
   
   
   
6. I used a 1 1/2-inch dough scooper to plop them onto the cookie sheets. Be sure to put the dough balls 2 inches apart because they will spread. You can thank the butter for that. No, really, thank the butter! It makes them delectable.
   
   
   
7. Put the cookies on the 2 racks of your oven. After 6 minutes, switch them around so the bottom goes on top, etc. It helps them cook evenly this way. Cook another 5 minutes, or until the edges are just golden. Remove from the oven and let sit on the pan for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack.

Mwaaahaaahaaaaaaaaaa! I dare you not to start munching them while they're still steaming hot. Enjoy. They go perfectly with an ice-cold glass of almond milk.

Orange Cardamom Cookies

I scored some of the most fresh, delicious, organic ground cardamom today at my local farmer's market and, I'll be honest, I had no idea what to do with it. I just knew that is smelled amazing and I had to have it. I'm really lucky to have such a great resource for fresh spices so close to home. I am well and truly spoiled and I can't bring myself to buy spices from the grocery store anymore. Anyway, back to the cardamom. So, I get it home and send distress calls to friends and family asking what the hell to use it for. Almost everyone said to either make chai or some spice cookies. I've  never had a spice cookie, so I thought maybe I'd give it a shot.

Because the cardamom has a citrusy scent, I decided to add some orange to complement it. And, my dears, it was magnificent. So, I have decided to share the magic with you. You may thank me anytime. These cookies are not only vegan, they are amazing! I had to force myself to stop eating them. I suppose you may hate them, and then I am left to assume that you are possibly deranged. Or maybe you can't follow a simple recipe. Whatever.

Because I despise rolling out cookies, I decided to roll these into balls by hand and smoosh them down into sugar, making them circular-ish. Easy and no rolling pin necessary. These won't spread much at all, so you can put them about an inch apart on your baking sheet without too much fear. The finished product is sort of like a sort of puffy, chewy sugar cookie with personality. As for the flour, I used about half whole wheat pastry flour and half unbleached all-purpose and it worked perfectly. You could use just plain ole flour if you want, but I'm thinking next time I'll be using all ww pastry. Enough talk. On to the recipe!

Makes about 20 1-inch cookie balls

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 TB all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 4 TB Earth Balance, room temperature (or use other vegan butter)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 egg replacer (I use Ener-G, which is 1 TB water mixed with 3/4 tsp powder)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• zest of 1 orange
• 2 TB sugar to smoosh the tops of the cookies into

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a cookie sheet (I use silicone baking mat).
2. In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flours, cream of tartar and baking soda.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, cardamom, salt, and brown sugar. Once combined, beat in the egg replacement, vanilla and orange zest.
4. Add the flour to the wet bowl and combine until no dry spots can be seen. With my mixer, it turned into a bunch of pebble sized dough bits. 
5. Put the regular sugar onto a small saucer. Then, roll the dough into 1-inch balls. One by one, you want to gently smoosh the cookie ball down into the sugar. This will coat the top of the cookie in sugar and make them into 1/4 to 1/3-inch high discs. Place the cookies on the sheet at least 1 inch apart.
6. Bake 10-11 minutes. Then remove and let set on cookie sheet for 4-5 minutes. Once they have set, you can then put them on a cooling rack. I dare you to not eat 5 before they cool off.

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies -- Vegan MOFO #22

Hear ye! Hear ye!  Frosted Pumpkin Cookies have arrived.

No talk about this one.  I'm getting straight to the recipe because you need to start cooking them ASAP.  Your family and friends will thank you...and then beg you to make more (trust me...I live this).  I should add that I got the basis for the recipe from VeganYumYum's iphone app, but changed it some to fit my tastes.

This makes about 18-24 cookies depending on the size you make them.

Cookie Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 & 1/4 tsp blackstrap molasses
• 1 tsp plus 3 drops vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup plus 2 TB pumpkin puree (I just buy it canned, but be sure to get plain pumpkin, not the spiced pumpkin)
• 2 & 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 egg replacment (I nearly always use Ener-G)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 1/2 TB vanilla flavored milk of your choice (I used almond, but I think I'll try coconut next time)

Frosting Ingredients:

• 3 TB Earth Balance Margarine, room temperature-
• 2 oz. vegan cream cheese (1/4 of an 8 oz. package)
• 2 to 2 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar, add more if you like it extra thick and firm
• 1 tsp plus 4 drops vanilla extract 

Cookie Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats
2. Cream together shortening and sugar with a regular hand mixer (or stand mixer).
3. Beat in molasses and vanilla until well combined.
4. Blend in the pumpkin puree. The shortening will likely still leave tiny chunks and that is okay.
5. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, then slowly add it to the pumpkin mixture. Beat until well combined and quite stiff, sometimes you will need to add a little more flour.  It seems that pureed pumpkin is sometimes more moist than other times. You just want the dough to be very thick.
6. Check the dough for spices and adjust as necessary.  I always always always do this.  Sometimes, you need a little more of something.
7. Scoop out onto cookie sheets at least an inch or so apart. Wet your fingers with a little water, then press the cookies down to about 1/2 inch thickness. This helps keep them from getting too tall as they do puff up a bit..
8. Bake on middle rack about 12 minutes, but possibly longer. Use a toothpick to check the doneness. As soon as you remove them from the oven, slide the cookies onto a cooling rack to stop them from cooking more or getting crunchy on the bottom.  Do not frost until they are cooled completely.

Frosting Method:

1. Blend all ingredients together until nice and smooth. If it isn't thick enough, add more powdered sugar a few TB at a time until you reach a thick, yet smooth consistency.
2. Wait until the cookies are nice and cooled before frosting otherwise the frosting will melt and drip off the cookies. Let frosted cookies sit uncovered for about 30 minutes to help the frosting set.  Most often, I put them in the refrigerator to firm up the frosting. Then cover with plastic wrap to keep the cookies moist. 

Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies -- VeganMOFO #14

By popular demand, I am sharing my ultra-top secret recipe for my vegan Double Chocolate Pecan cookies.  They taste like brownies, but come in convenient cookie size.  If you add a tiny bit more flour, they stay more brownie-like in consistency, add a bit more butter, and they get a bit thinner and crispier around the edges.  I like them both ways, so this recipe is sort of an in-between of the two.  I always toast my pecans in a skillet over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes stirring often so they don't burn.  It brings the taste of the pecans to an entirely new level.  You can also cut the salt amount in half, but I love a tiny hint of salt taste to accompany the sweet chocolate taste.  But, maybe that's just me.  And, since the batter has no raw eggs, feel free to eat a bunch and only bake a little.  It's really that good.  Everyone who's tried these amazing cookies has begged for more, omni or not.  So, I think it's safe to say that I rule for creating them. HAHA.  I crack me up.  But, really, they are freaking wonderful.

This recipe is for 18-25 cookies, depending on the size you make them.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 TB Earth Balance butter, don't melt, but soften for a bit
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg replacement (I use Ener-G)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 TB unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 bag semisweet vegan chocolate chips
• 1 cup of toasted, chopped pecans

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Depending on the size of the cookie sheet, you may need to use two. 
2. In mixing bowl, cream together butter and both sugars with an electric hand mixer until fluffy.  Add in the egg replacement and vanilla, then beat well.
3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Then,  slowly blend the dry ingredients into the moist using the hand mixer until just combined (no visible dry spots).
4. Gently fold the chocolate chips and the toasted pecans into the mix with a wooden spoon. 
5. Scoop the dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving the scoops at least 1 inch apart.  You'll need more space if you've decided to add more butter, as they will spread out more.  Cook 10-14 minutes, depending on the size.  I use the toothpick test to determine doneness.  The cookies puff while cooking, then flatten somewhat after you remove them from the oven.
6. Let cool about 5 minutes on an cooling rack...if you can.  I dare you to wait the full 5 minutes.

Week 1 Vegan MOFO Treat! (Psst-- they're cookies) #7

After a week of healthy eating, I needed a little treat.  A sweet, slighty not-good-for-you treat.  Dammit, I needed some cookies.  While not good for your body, cookies are definitely good for your soul!  This recipe was adapted slightly from Robin Robertson's Maple-Walnut Oatmeal Cookies (pg 430 of 1000 Vegan Recipes).  These don't have any raisins, but I think they would be pretty tasty.  Actually, you could probably add some dried cherries or cranberries instead of raisins, if you wanted.  Enough talk, on to the cookies!

This recipe makes 1 dozen cookies.  Just double or triple if you want more.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup old-fashion oats (also called rolled oats)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I toasted mine slightly in a skillet before adding to the cookies-gives lots of extra flavor)
• 1/4 cup plus 1 TB cup Earth Balance or other vegan butter
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 TB sugar (I used 1 TB brown, 1 TB white)
• 1 tsp plus a few extra drops vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flower, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, oats and walnuts.
4. Melt your butter, then stir in the syrup, sugar, vanilla.  Mix well.  I melted my butter in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds.  Then added the other ingredients into that bowl.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring gently until there are no dry spots.  If you wanted to add in some raisins or other dried fruit, now would be a good time to fold them in.
6. Using a small scoop or tablespoon, drop the cookies onto your cookie sheet.  Cook on the middle rack for approximately 12 minutes.  You want to pull them out when the bottom edges are lightly browned.  Let cool 5 minutes on a rack.  Enjoy :)

Spectacular Snickerdoodle Cookies

 

I really LOVE snickerdoodle cookies, but had never made them before today.  It's not like I need an excuse to make some goodies, but I was pretty glad that my friend, Sara, was coming over because she likes them, too.  And, tomorrow is her birthday, so there was just another reason to make these fabulous cookies.  I got the recipe here.  I love these snickerdoodles!  They were really easy to make and taste great, especially once they're cooled completely.  

My hints for this recipe:

• If you like poofy cookies, don't smush them once on the cookie sheet.  I rolled the dough to about 3/4 inch to 1-inch balls.  Once they are rolled in the cinnamon/sugar mix, you can smush the dough somewhat with your thumb and they will spread out more when baking.  This makes a thinner cookie.  I liked them a little poofy, so I didn't smush all of them down.
• I baked some on a silicone baking sheet and the rest on parchment.  The parchment was great too, and didn't even grease the paper.  It was perfectly non-stick.

Here's the Recipe:

Click Here to Print This Recipe
Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar (found in the spice aisle)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons Earth Balance or your preferred butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
• 2 egg replacements (I used Ener-G Egg Replacer)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
2. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. 
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine your butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 
4. Scrape down sides of bowl. 
5. Add egg replacements, and beat to combine. 
6. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.
7. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon.  This is what you're roll the dough balls into.
8. Using your hands, roll dough into small balls about 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch in size.  Roll dough balls in cinnamon sugar (I placed them in the cinnamon/sugar bowl and put the lid on and then shook it to coat them in small batches). 
9. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets (smush them down a bit if you'd like). Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking trays halfway through cooking (transfer bottom sheet to top rack and vice versa).
10. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack.

Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Russian Tea Cakes (aka Mexican Wedding Cookies)

 

Call them what you will: Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cookies, and I think a few more names.Why a cookie has so many different names is beyond me, but I do know that we really love these cookies.  I've never made them before, but these turned out to be absolutely delectable.  Buttery, rich, and they melt on your tongue.  Sometimes when you get them from others, they just don't hit the spot...maybe too floury or hard as rocks.  But, I swear, if you follow this recipe, you will be in cookie heaven.  

This recipe makes 2 dozen 1-inch cookie dough balls.  They poof somewhat when cooking, so put them about 1/2 to 1 inch apart on your baking sheet.

Here's My Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 stick (8 TB)  vegan butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar for dough
• 1/2-3/4 cups powdered sugar for topping
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup pecans, ground fine (I put them in a baggie and pound with a coffee mug until they reach a fine consistency)

Method:

1.  Put crushed pecans in small saucepan and turn heat to medium.  Stir often about 3 minutes or less. Remove from heat when you begin to smell the aroma of the pecans and they are heated through.
2. Using electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy.
3. Add in 1/4 cup powdered sugar and vanilla, beat until well combined.
4. Beat in flour and nuts. The dough that forms will be clumpy and moist-looking.
5. Place dough on plastic wrap and shape into a ball.  Place in fridge about 30 minutes.
6. Heat oven to 350.
7. Spray a cookie sheet.
8. Remove dough from fridge, and lightly flour your palms.
9. Break off bits of dough and roll into 1-inch balls using your hands.
10. Space cookie balls at least 1/2 inch apart on cookie sheet.
11. Bake about 15 minutes, or until bottoms are golden and tops feel firm to the touch, but are not really browned.
12. Once you remove the cookies from oven, add the rest of the powdered sugar to a pie pan or bowl.
13. Roll cookies in powdered sugar until coated on all sides.
14. Sit powdered cookies on a cooling rack with a sheet of foil underneath to catch extra sugar.
15. The sugar will seem to melt into the cookies, so what I did is take the rest of the leftover sugar from the bowl and sifted it lightly over the tops of the cookies on the cooling rack.

Enjoy!