Two Cookies Fit for Gifts (or Cookie Jars)

The cookie on the left was a remake of a lovely Coconut Biscotti recipe from the Baking and Books blog. Except that I didn't make them into biscotti, I scooped out teaspoon-sized scoops and baked them once. They were fluffy and rich, not to mention light and tasty! However, I will bake them as biscotti soon because I just bought more coconut on sale. Yay!

The changes I made to that recipe were very small -- just agave for sugar, the baking time and style, the addition of 1/2 cup of very finely chopped dried apricots for a nice twang. Next time, I'd add even more apricots or even some great chopped dried pears.

The cookie on the right was a bit of an alteration of Veganomicon's Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies.

Here are my alterations to those delicious and very well-spiced cookies:

1. Agave nectar for the brown rice syrup and brown sugar.
2. Almond milk for the soy milk.
3. Added 1 cup of chopped pecans (so good!).
4. Added 1 cup of unsweetened carob chips.

I underbaked them a bit and would definitely do that again because it gave the cookies almost a chocolate chip cookie chewiness. My step-Dad raved, "It's one of your better efforts." Believe me, that's a rave.

Overall, I prefer the vegan cookies in this pairing, purely for the spiciness (the recipe calls for cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice) and the wonderful oaty-ness. Relatively speaking, it's not a very unhealthy recipe due to the oats, whole-wheat pastry flour and low fat content. Yet another great reason to buy Terry and Isa's book!

The Rim of Deliciousness -- Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake

This is by far my favorite coconut cake ever. It comes from the brand new vegan cookbook Veganomicon, from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (authors of the wonderful Vegan With a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World).

Because I really think you should buy Veganomicon, I'm not going to reprint the recipe here. Instead, I will share with you in photos how I made the recipe and the substitutions I used. It's really a delicious, luscious cake that in no way tastes vegan. In fact, it tastes downright buttery from the coconut milk.

In my cake, I used "lite" coconut milk.



First, I combined all the wet ingredients until well incorporated.



Next, I sifted together the dry ingredients. For my version of this coconut lemon bundt cake, I used 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of coconut flour instead of 3 cups of straight AP flour because there would be so much liquid (1 2/3 cup of agave for the sugar).



In the photo above, you can see the ivory-colored coconut flour. If you've never tried it, you really must. It's great stuff -- low fat, high fiber, great flavor.

After adding the sifted dry ingredients to the wet ones in the bowl, I added in the unsweetened coconut and mixed well.



Then, I poured the batter into my non-stick bundt pan and baked it for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until my tester came out clean.



Isa and Terry recommend sifting some confectioner's sugar over the top of the cake, but I just sliced it and served it plain to the delight of many friends on Monday night. I had a few slices left over that kept well until I ate them with great pleasure. Truly, a tasty cake! Yay Vegans!

Pistachio Gelato Remix

Yes, my friends, it's another winning recipe of David Lebovitz's that I altered to use with agave nectar. Since I only made one alteration to his recipe (agave for cane sugar), I suggest you visit the original recipe for the ingredients and directions.

OK, make that two alterations. I used Heidi's Sweet Pistachio Butter recipe instead of the Bronte pistachio paste David recommended (however, he posted the link to Heidi's recipe as well). In that recipe, I selected salted and roasted pistachio meats (no shelling for me!) as well as dry roasted and unsalted almonds.



I also used agave for the granulated sugar when I used the stick blender to make the paste.



I imagine that the roasted state of the nuts gave the nut butter a different flavor than that of raw nuts. Last week, Trader Joe's had raw pistachios, so I'll have to try it again sometime soon. Robyn, you'll have to come down and try it. :) I know how you feel about pistachio gelato.

It's really thick stuff with a decidedly roasted almond flavor. It's not overly sweet or rich, but it was pretty grainy from the nuts. Perhaps if I use raw cashews with the pistachios, I'd end up with the same richness, but more pistachio flavor. I'd bet that the graininess disappears somewhat when raw nuts are used. What do you think?



It's not my favorite, unlike the vegan carob ice cream, but it's light enough to top off a heavy meal.

Applesauce-Carob Cake Two Ways

Remember that great pear pie I made recently? Well, I continued to dive into the lovely, yet out-of-print cookbook from Mollie Katzen, Still Life With Menu, and found a great no-fail cake. It's so great that I really pushed the recipe to its limits of alterability, and it tasted even better!

I made the cake twice in two weeks for the same large group (at least 20) of people. The second week, I served the low-fat version, which received louder accolades ("This is f&%$#ing good!")(I know, it's a family show, but that's what the guy said!)

The cake is greatly improved overnight, so make it a day ahead of when you want to serve it. It tastes very fudgy, but if you want it even more carob-y, feel free to add a cup of carob chips. It's not overly sweet, so if you're looking for a very sweet cake, add a cup of chopped Medjool dates.

Below are the two versions in their entirety. The second version is nearly vegan except for the eggs. So, use an egg substitute with the second version to veganize it.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) soft butter
1 1/2 cups agave nectar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup carob powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup finely ground walnuts (be careful they don't become a paste)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a bundt pan.
2. In your mixer bowl, cream together the butter and agave. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.



3. Stir in the vanilla and orange zest.
4. In a separate, large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.



5. In a third bowl, whisk together the applesauce and yogurt until well blended.
6. Add the dry mixture and applesauce mixture alternately to the butter mixture. Do not overmix.



7. Spread the batter into the prepared bundt pan.



Bake for 45 minutes, making sure your oven temp does not go above 325 degrees F. Test the cake to make sure a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just the barest amount of crumbs stuck to it.



Low-fat, Nearly Vegan Version

Ingredients:

1/3 cup white bean puree (I used cannellini beans)
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 cups agave nectar
2 eggs (vegans, use egg substitute here)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup carob powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup finely ground pecans (be careful they don't become a paste)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup soy yogurt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly oil a bundt pan.
2. In your mixer bowl, cream together the pureed beans, oil, and agave. Add eggs/egg substitute one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Stir in the vanilla and orange zest.
4. In a separate, large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
5. In a third bowl, whisk together the applesauce and yogurt until well blended.
6. Add the dry mixture and applesauce mixture alternately to the butter mixture. Do not overmix.



7. Spread the batter into the prepared bundt pan.



Bake for 45 minutes, making sure your oven temp does not go above 325 degrees F. Test the cake to make sure a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just the barest amount of crumbs stuck to it.



Slice and enjoy!

Rich, Cashew Carob Cookies

I've been having so much fun lately visiting the wonderful vegan and gluten-free bloggers. Their blogs have great recipes, and they are warm and friendly people. One one of my favorite vegan blogs, Have Cake, Will Travel! had a tasty recipe for carob peanut butter cookies that looked like it would be a good candidate for my kind of tinkering. It was a good guess because the resulting cookies were rich and fudgy.

Next time I make them, I'd probably substitute coconut flour for the barley flour, adding a bit more oil to compensate for the dryness of the coconut flour. Other than that, I can't think of another change.

Here are the alterations I made when I used the recipe:
1. Agave nectar for maple syrup (and I cut it by 1 tablespoon)
2. Cut the oil by 1 tablespoon
3. Used cashew butter for peanut butter
4. Used unsweetened carob chips
5. Baked at 325 degrees F at the same timing in the original.

If you make these, be careful to take the cookies out before you think they're done. That way, they stay fudgy and slightly chewy. My cookies did not spread. In fact, when I used a cookie scoop and didn't push down the top of the cookie, they stayed in the scooped shape.



The scooped cookies crumbled a bit, but the tamped-down version (shown in the top photo) didn't. I was really pleased with these cookies and definitely intend to make them again (with continued, minor alterations). I also thought the addition of chopped, dried apricots might be really interesting.

Here's a shot of the innards:



The cashew butter is so lovely, but I wonder how these would be with tahini? What do you think?