Ginger Orange Ice-cream Sandwiches

Ginger Orange Ice-cream Sandwiches

(makes about 26 cookies)

3 cups almond flour

1 tbsp flaxseed meal

1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp white pepper

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tbsp coconut flour

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup sunflower oil

zest of 2 Valencia oranges

3/4 cup agave nectar 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 cups dried cherries

Preset the oven to 350 F.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the agave nectar and orange zest and stir, then allow to sit for a few minutes. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. 

Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the agave and orange zest and stir well. When thoroughly mixed, pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl. Stir. Add the cherries. Combine well. 

Scoop onto a parchment covered cookie sheet (about 2 tbsp per scoop). Bake for 17 minutes. 

Remove and allow to cool on a drying rack. 

Now, for the ice-cream portion, I recommend grabbing some So Delicious Brand Coconut Ice-cream and spreading a generous spoonful in between two of the cookies. Enjoy!

Ginger Zaps

In an attempt to give folks a taste of that decadent ginger cookie recipe I made before - but one that's more in line with the sorts of offerings I like to make here. This one is simple, easy to bake, gluten-free, and dairy-free. If you're curious, do a taste test. See the real difference between butter in baking and not. :)

Ginger Zaps

2.5 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp celtic sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup plain applesauce
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
3 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp white pepper
20 g crystallized ginger, minced (optional for a little more kick)

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix well. Fold in crystallized ginger.
Set oven to 350 F.
Drop 1 tbsp dollops of dough onto a parchment-paper covered cookie sheet, leaving about an inch between them.
Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned.
Allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Go on. :) Have a peace!

PB2 and Chocolate Cookies

For Easter, my wonderful parents sent me a basket complete with my favorite vegan chocolate, a pair of adorable socks with bunnies on them, and something I'd never seen before - powdered peanut butter! I know! Crazy!

Now, I was faced with an important decision - what to do with this exciting new discovery? And the answer was an obvious one. Chocolate peanut butter cookies! Of course!

These are soft, delicious, and practically beg you to eat them. They are also gluten-free and vegan, as I made them. If you are not concerned with vegan-ness, you can use normal chocolate chips. :)

PB2 and Chocolate Cookies

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
2/3 cup plain applesauce
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup PB2 (powdered peanut butter)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp arrowroot
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 sliced almonds
1 cup sunspire vegan chocolate chips


Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix well. Fold in almonds and chocolate chips.
Set oven to 350 F.
Scoop out 1 tbsp dollops of dough onto parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Flatten the dough a bit with a fork, as the cookies will not really change shape while baked.
Place cookie sheet on top rack of the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool for about two minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Go on! Have a peace! Enjoy!

Wilde Chocolate Mousse

This delectable dessert was a wonderful treat my dear friend Abby Wilde made that I just had to share. Protein in a dessert? Surely not! Linger with this decadent mousse and a bowl full of strawberries for a sinless extravagance.

Wilde Chocolate Mousse
(makes 4)

1 10oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips (*for a vegan mousse, use vegan chocolate chips)

1 14oz package silken tofu

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract (I only used 1/2 tsp)
strawberries (*technically optional, but you won't have the full taste-tacular experience without them)

1) Let the tofu come to room temperature. It will greatly ease your chocolate incorporation.
2) Using your blending contraption of choice, blend tofu until smooth and set aside.
3) Melt the chocolate. I'm sure you have a nifty method for this. I MacGyvered a double-boiler out of a saucepan and a mason jar. Go me!
4) Add maple syrup and vanilla extract to the melted chocolate and mix well.
5) Combine tofu and chocolate mixture in your blender and blend away. You should have a pourable-pudding texture going on about now.
6) Pour mousse into serving vessels, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge. I don't know exactly how long it needs to firm up -- probably not more than an hour. I prepared mine the night before and let it chill overnight.
7) Eat ravenously.

Go on, have a peace! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Rosemary-Cherry Cindy Flatirons

A while ago, I promised my long-time and wonderfully supportive reader Cindy Cupcake a healthy cookie recipe named after her. I have been experimenting for a while, trying to find something that's as unique and lovely as she is. This is what I've come up with: wide, flat, moist cookies with subtle flavors of rosemary and cardamom offering a rich, flavorful tapestry to your tongue even after the cookie is gone, and cherries that are warm bursts of honeyed sweetness in an otherwise gentle setting. Each of these is a filling, protein-rich, and densely flavorful. One is enough for a serving (but you'll want more). I hope that you all enjoy these as much as I have.

Rosemary-Cherry Cindy Flatirons

6 tbsp vegan margarine
3/4 cup soft dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
3 tbsp water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp cardamom
2 cups whole wheat flour
6 oz rosemary needles, minced fine (bundle the leaves together and snip them into bits with scissors)
8 oz dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream the margarine, sugars, honey, vanilla and almond extracts, salt, and cardamom together until smooth.
Add the vinegar, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, and water. Mix until all are smoothly combined. Add the minced rosemary needles. Mix on low.
Sift the flour in. Continue to mix until consistent.
Fold in the dried cherries.

Drop heaping tablespoons of the batter onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool for about five minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Enjoy warm!

Thank you, Cindy, for reading!

Almond Cherry Cardamom Cookies, or "Mike-Friendlies"

After a day of baking cookies for the theater I work at, I remembered that I was going to see a film with my roommate and her began boyfriend. And so, three batches of cookies made with egg whites down, I took out a fresh bowl and made a whole batch of completely vegan and delicious cookies. Now I've made vegan cookies before - I've even posted them here - but these are completely awesome. I highly encourage you - if you like things that are not too sweet and have the lovely texture of a scone, while being completely delectable - to make these and munch on them yourself.

Almond Cherry Cardamom Cookies, or "Mike-Friendlies"

1/4 tbsp agave nectar

3/4 cup baker's sugar

5 tbsp flaxseed meal

3/4 cup vegan margarine (I like Earth Balance)

6 tbsp water

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 cups bleached whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp cardamom

1.5 cups dried cherries

1 cup sliced raw almonds

Preset oven to 350 F. 

Blend flaxseed meal, water, margarine, vanilla extract, almond extract, sugar, and agave nectar with a hand mixer until all elements are well combined. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, use your hand mixer on a low setting to get it smooth. Next, stir in almonds and cherries with a spoon, getting the additions throughout the dough. 

Scoop spoonfuls (about 3 thumbs by three thumbs) onto parchment-paper covered cookie sheets. Bake for about 17 minutes, until golden brown on top. 

Go on. Have a peace!

Devilish Digits

October is my favorite month of the year. Between the seasonal shift (finally!) into fall and the wicked fun of Halloween, I'm hooked. One of my favorite things about this time of year is experimenting with new recipes to gross out/enchant my friends and family. This is one such. And this time, I share the blame with my grandmother, who had the wisdom and foresight to send me this for my birthday.

Now, me, I'm not really into food coloring. The idea of putting something with the suspiciously vague ingredient "Red 10" in it into my body really weirds me out. Still, I thought these cookies would be really fun if they were all gooey and green. My solution: spirulina.

What the devil is spirulina, you ask? Well, I'll tell you! Spirulina, or Athrospira, is a blue-green algae  made up of 60% proteins (zounds!) as well as a healthy amount of beta-carotene, vitamin E, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, selenium, and gamma linolenic acid (which is one of those nifty essential fatty acids). There have been medical studies that suggest spirulina can boost the immune system, help protect against allergic reactions, and have antiviral and anticancer properties. All this is well and good, but the best thing about spirulina is this: it tastes awesome and it's green. I use this stuff in my steel cut oats, in soups, in baked goods (clearly...), and in pretty much anything else I can think of. It's just plain good.

This cookie dough ends up pretty thick, so I'm fairly certain you can make an equally creepy 'finger-shaped' version of these, even without the mold. If it's not thick enough for you, just add a little more flour until it reaches the texture you desire. Here's what you do.

Devilish Digits
(makes 16)

1/3 cup margarine
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
3 tsp spirulina powder
1/2 cup dried cherries
16 raw almonds

Preheat your oven to 375 F.

In a mixing bowl, cut your margarine into small pads and melt until liquidy (about 50 seconds in the microwave). Add powdered sugar and stir with a fork until they're well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat again with the fork until they're blended together. Add flour, baking soda and powder, whip again with fork until the texture is the same all through. Add spirulina, stir until the color is a uniform witchy green. Add cherries, make sure they're all through the whole mix.

With the mold, I sprayed with a Baker's Joy and then put the almonds down in the 'nail' portion of the mold before pouring in the dough. Without a mold, I would suggest prepping a cookie sheet with parchment paper and laying out your dough first in little gooey worm lines (about 3 inches long and a finger width's thick), then sticking the almond on top at one end.

Bake for ~10 minutes until browned and remove.

Enjoy!! Go on, have a peace!

Scratch Apple Pie

As promised, here is my dad's wonderful apple pie recipe - the how-to guide to a from-scratch pie that is delectable to the last crumb. This is not an easy or a quick recipe, like most of mine. But it is something that everyone can do with the right amount of patience and the end result is entirely worth the time you put into it. A message from my father: "This recipe as all about exceptionally flaky flavorful crust that explodes in your mouth with each bite, and toasted brûlée-like apple filling throughout with a firm, filling texture. You will probably never get this in a restaurant, as it is a little more involved than commercially practical. It does not always look pretty since the dough breaks easily. This is something special you can only get at home."

Scratch Apple Pie
(serves 7-10, depending on slice size)

Ingredients:
apples (6-8 large or 14-16 small - should reduce to ~8 cups after baking): Fuji, Granny Smith, Gala, and/or Braeburn - Granny for tartness, Braeburn for sweetness, Gala and Fuji for sugar (most of the 'apple flavor' comes from the Braeburn and Gala)
fruit fresh
white pepper
ground cinnamon
arrowroot
vanilla extract
whole nutmeg
zest of one lime
zest of one orange or tangelo
unsalted butter (frozen) [butter-flavor all-vegetable Crisco shortening can be used instead of butter for vegans and other non-dairy folk, in the same proportions]
shortening
superfine sugar
applejack (chilled in freezer)
brown sugar Splenda mix
pie crust mix (this is the cheatin' way. ask if you'd like the actual how-to on crust making)

Tools you'll need:
wax paper
aluminum foil
rolling pin
pie rim, optional (this is a circle of metal to protect the rim of your pie crust and keep it from burning while baking)
medium sized grater for shredding frozen butter
small-points grater for zesting and grating nutmeg
ceramic pie pan (12")

How to do it:
Preset oven to 440 F.
Cover a baking sheet with foil.
Spread out wax paper on the counter. Sprinkle a light powdering of fruit fresh on the wax paper. Core and peel the apples, slice into 8-10 slices per apple. Lay out the apple slices on the fruit fresh sprinkled wax paper. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon, superfine sugar, and a little more fruit fresh.
Spread shortening on aluminum-covered pan.
Transfer the slices and seasoned apples to the baking pan, laying them out so they all face the same direction and snugly cover the whole tray. Bake apples until browned.
Meanwhile, make the pie crust mix to direction, grate 1 stick of frozen butter, and replace the water with applejack (slowly add this into the mix until you get the right texture, it should be ~1/4 cup). Remember - butter before applejack; this is part of what makes this crust super flakey and delicious.
Knead that together, adding whole wheat pastry flour until you get a nice solid ball. Place the ball in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
In another bowl, 1/4 cup applejack, 1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar, zest of lime, zest of orange or tangelo (makes the pie taste fruity, not citrusy), 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (a little bit of shell and a little bit of the inside), 3 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp arrowroot, and 1/4 tsp white pepper; this makes your slurry for the apple filling. When the apples slices have baked and browned, let them cool for a little while and then add them to the slurry. You want to coat the slices thoroughly and the best way to do this is by hand. It's messy, but it's fun. Cover with a bit of plastic wrap and let the apples soak up the slurry flavors for a bit.
Take the pie crust out of the fridge. Coat a large piece of wax paper with flour. Place 2/3s of the pie crust roll on top of it, sprinkle a little more flour on top, place another sheet of wax paper on top of that and roll out the crust. Now this part, you may have to redo a couple times. The trick is to make the pie crust all the same thickness - not too thin, not too thick. Crust flakiness is enhanced by a) alcohol, b) grated and folded in frozen butter, c) pre-baking the bottom crust part-way, and d) shortening between the folds. Quickly roll out and fold the dough 4 times, smearing just a trace of room temperature shortening between the layers of each fold before rolling again.
Place your pie pan over top the rolled out dough and flip the whole deal. The pie crust should fall to the pie pan. This is going to be a very flakey crust, so it's likely your crust will fall apart as you make the transfer. This is okay. You'll want to patch it together, Frankenstein-style, so there are no gaps and the crust covers the lip of the pie pan.
When the crust is suitably saddled in the pie tin, take your thumbs and press them around the edge to get that nice crimped-edge look. Bake the crust in the oven for about 20 minutes and remove to cool.
Next you layer in the slurry-soaked baked apples, by hand, forming a densely packed coil from the bottom up. Your goal is to make sure there is as little air as possible between the apples in the pie and that they fill the crust all the way up.
Now, take the remaining 1/3 of pie crust dough you set aside, roll it out, and cut it into slices about two thumbs' width wide. Criss-cross these slices of dough over the top of the apples, leaving gaps, and pressing the ends of the slices into the pre-baked crust.
Protect the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil or a pie rim to protect the crust during baking so you can bake the pie to dark-golden brown without burning the edges.

Bake again, for about 40 minutes and hang out during this, checking in on the progress every once in a while and enjoying the amazing smells that are going to emerge from your oven. When it's finished, remove from the oven and let cool for about 20 minutes or longer.

Go on. Have a peace. Tell me this isn't incredible. Enjoy!

Notes:
1. Dark rum can be used as a substitute for the applejack - it's also tasty, but changes the flavor. The goal of using applejack is to add flavor to the crust and get a much more flakey texture than would have been obtained by using water. You avoid the polymer-like gluten goo with the applejack's 40% ethanol and water proportions instead of 100% water. The alcohol is all gone after baking. Using alcohol instead of water makes the dough more difficult to work with, but enhances the flakiness of the crust in an unbelievably tasty way... and the crust retains this airy texture for up to 2-3 days after baking (assuming it survives that long).
2. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to get it cold again after handling. It is best to start with all major dough components having been in the refrigerator long enough to get cold (flour, applejack, sugar). The dough needs to cool after picking up warmth from your hands and the room before rolling. *Even freezing the rolling pin ahead can make rolling this unique, extra-flakey dough go more smoothly.

Options:
*All butter-flavor shortening instead of butter
*Add sharp grated cheese in the filling (extra sharp cheddar or parmesan)
*Glaze by brushing the top crust with a fine grain sugar, beaten egg, and milk mix (1/3 - 1/3 - 1/3)
*Use a full-cover top crust with a pie bird to let steam escape