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!