Thoughtful Thursdays: Book Review and Giveaway of Whole Grain Vegan Baking

There is simply no denying it.  Summer is officially over, even though it was 85 degrees today!  Pumpkin Spiced Lattes are making there way onto coffee shop menus.  Squash and figs are abundant.  No matter how sunny and warm it is, my mind still wants to turn on the oven and start baking!  Thank goodness I am armed with this amazingly adorable book filled with whole grain vegan goodness.

Whole Grain Vegan Baking by Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes

Seriously, every single page of this book is friggin' adorable.  From the pictures, to the layout, to the graphic design, all the way down to the fonts.  This book is so damn cute!  But she is more than just a pretty cover and sexy pages.  She is full of amazing recipes.

From sweet to savory, simple breakfasts to decadent desserts, this book has something for everyone.  Some of my favorites so far (and I still have many bookmarked pages!) include the Pesto Knots (page 114) the Whole Wheat Lemon Tartlets (page 167) and the Lemon Ginger Rolls (page 45).

The book is well laid out with a easy to use index, and a short but informative intro that lays down the 4-1-1 on whole grain ingredients and baking techniques.  Celine and Tami are very kind an mindful of those with food allergies and note that many of the recipes can easily be made soy free by making simple substitutions.  And let's not forget to mention the unbelievable photographs. How Celine can continue to impress me with each and every book she puts out (both with content and beauty) never ceases to amaze.

I feel that this book is a must have for every baker's cookbook shelf, whether they are vegan or not!  The recipes are dependable, wholesome, and delicious.  The fine folks over at Fair Winds Press have kindly offered up a copy of this beautiful book, and since they sent it directly to me...I have decided to open this one up to anyone in the world!  So, my overseas friends, please do enter the giveaway!  Simply follow the promts in the widget below to enter.

And to whet your whistle until you can get your hands on this tasty book, here is a sample recipe from the book.  Perfect for the fall!

Ginger and Spice Cookies from Whole Grain Vegan Baking by Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes.
Photo by Celine Steen

Ginger and Spice Cookies

Perfectly gingery, with a slight molasses flavor, these cookies will permeate your whole home with a holiday scent that just can’t be beat. Gluten-free brown rice flour benefits from the addition of whole spelt flour here to give the cookies a great structure, as well as texture. Note that it’s important for all the ingredients used here to be at room temperature and not cold, so that the coconut oil does not further solidify as you mix the dough. (Quick reminder: Semisolid coconut oil is of the same consistency as slightly softened vegan butter.)

44 g (2 tablespoons) molasses

96 g (1⁄2 cup) Sucanat

56 g (1⁄4 cup) semisolid coconut oil

8 g (1 tablespoon) cornstarch

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1⁄2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder or pain d’epices spice mix

1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt

88 g (1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) whole spelt flour

100 g (1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) brown rice flour

1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegan milk, more if needed

30 g (2 tablespoons) chopped soft candied ginger

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Combine the molasses, Sucanat, oil, cornstarch, ground ginger, spice powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until well mixed.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the flours and baking soda. Pour the dry ingredients onto the wet, and mix to combine. The mixture will look dry and crumbly. Add the milk, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time, until the dough holds together well when pinched. Add more milk if needed. Mix the chopped ginger into the dough until just combined.

Scoop out 1 tablespoon (24 g) packed dough per cookie, placing 9 of them on each baking sheet. Remove them from the tablespoon and place them flat side (the side that you flattened to pack the dough into the tablespoon) onto the sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes (for slightly chewy cookies) to 15 minutes (for crisper cookies). Leave on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Yield: 18 cookies

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have I already told y'all how much I am in love with Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour? Well I am. I love the soft texture and the slightly sweet and slightly coconut-y flavor. I have been trying to replace most of my all-purpose flour with this in my baking lately. Tonight I tried it out in some cookies, and I think it worked out fantastically.



Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups creamy no-stir peanut butter
1 cup evaporated cane juice (sugar)
1 cup coconut flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup nondairy milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment or a silicone baking sheet.

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix well until everything is well incorporated and you have a crumbly dough.

Grab about 2 tablespoons worth of dough and form into a ball, then flatteninto a cookie sheet.

Place 12 cookies on each sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, or until crackly on top and just beginning to brown.

Allow to cool at least 5 minutes before transferring to a rack ro cool completely.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

The Amazing All Purpose Sugar Cookie!

I love sugar cookies in all of their glory. Naked, as drop cookies. Rolled out and cut out. Iced and purty with sprinkles, or rolled up and sliced. There are so many ways to enjoy the delicious, ambitious sugar cookie.

Every Christmas I make them. This year I got smart and whipped up 6 batches of dough, and put it in the fridge so that I could manipulate it into what ever I wanted...when ever!



Here is my recipe for basic sugar cookie dough:
Sugar Cookies
2 sticks margarine (I use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy yogurt (vanilla, or plain)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

With an electric mixer, cream together margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add yogurt and vanilla extracts. Sift in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until well combined. Divide into 4 equal pieces, wrap with plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate at least one hour. Use as desired.

Christmas Cutouts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough onto a well floured surface and cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake on a nonstick baking sheet (or line with parchment or a silicone baking mat) for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes, transfer to cooling racks to cool completely. Allow to cool before icing.



Chocolate Dippers
Make one recipe of dough above. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll out to 1/8" thick. Use a 3 inch round cookie cutter (or a pint glass) to make round cookies. Bake for about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. In a double boiler, container melt 12oz chocolate chips along with 1/2 bock (2oz) baker's wax (parowax.) Dip one half of the cookie into the chocolate and then set on wax paper to cool and harden. You can sprinkle on broken candy canes for extra Christmassy goodness.



Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels
Vegan or not, we all love to watch the Food Network. I especially love to watch during the holidays. All the specials!!! The other night I was watching Alton Brown making Christmas Cookies for the big guy (Santa) himself. I totally stole this idea from him! GENIUS!


Make one recipe of cookie dough above. Divide dough in half. In one half, knead in 1 cup of crushed candy canes. In the other half, knead in 1/2 cup melted chocolate chips and 2 tsp peppermint extract. On a floured surface roll out the chocolate dough to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Set aside. Repeat with the peppermint dough. Place one on top of the other and roll it up. Wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and put it back in the fridge for at least an hour. When you are ready to bake them, preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Slice the log into 1/4 inch slices. Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Candy Cane Sugar Cookies
Make one recipe of dough above. Divide dough in half. In one half, mix in red food coloring. Roll dough into ropes about 1/2 inch thick and 6 inches long. Twist together one white and one red rope and shape into a candy cane. Bake 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from cookie sheet.

Christmas Baking Begins!

It's raining and cold. I have today off work. Seems like a perfect time to get going on all of that holiday baking!

These are Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints.


Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints
2 cups peanut butter*
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup of your favorite flavored Jam or Jelly
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Additional Jelly or Jam for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a cookie sheet by either lining with parchment or a silicone baking mat. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add in peanut butter and jelly. Mix well. Make sure all ingredients are well incorpaorated. Using 2 tbsp of dough, roll into a ball and then flatten slightly, into a disc shape. Repeat and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and make a depression in each cookie (I like to use my measuring spoon, the tbsp size, because it has a nice round, deep well.) Fill depressions with one teaspoon of additional jelly or jam. Bake an additional 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

*Every type of peanut butter yields a different moisture content. If your peanut butter is very wet, you may need a little extra flour. If it is very dry, less. This recipe was made with store brand creamy peanut butter.

Yield: 30 cookies

STAY TUNED! More to come shortly!

My Mom...The Queen and the Star!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

I sent her cookies for her birthday:



And she sent me an email, assuring me that they arrived in Tehachapi, only one broken:


SEE MOM! FOOD PORN IS ADDICTING! (Her plate even matches the cookies!)

Lemon Sand Tarts
Ingredients
2 sticks margarine (I use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy yogurt (Vanilla, plain or lemon)
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
With an electric mixer, cream together margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add yougurt, vanilla and lemon extracts. Sift in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until well combined. Divide into 4 equal pieces, and refrigerate at least one hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough onto a well floured surface and cut into desired shapes. Bake on a nonstick baking sheet (or line with parchment or a silicone baking mat) for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes, transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

For the Icing
Ingredients
3 cups confectioner's sugar (powdered)
3 tbsp soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
Food coloring (optional)

Directions
Whisk or beat together until smooth. Add in color as desired. Apply to completely cool cookies, and let dry to harden completely before packaging.

The Holiday Baking Has Begun! (Part One)

I am trying out a bunch of new things this year, as well as some old favorites. I have a slew of baskets and tins to fill, and packages to mail out, so I am starting now (Don't worry, I won't let baked goods sit around until Christmas, lots will be given out this Friday, and then I will do a whole new batch.)



The first thing I made was the Almond-Pistacio-Cranberry biscotti from Veganomicon. SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!! They are not too sweet and have the perfect biscotti shape and texture. Plus, by using the pistacio-cranberry variation, they are already perfectly decorated for Christmas.

Next up are these Agave-Ginger Bites that I veganized out of good old Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. So easy and quick. They are perfect for gift bags. Each recipe makes 240 little cookies!!! They are reminiscent of pfeffernusse, without all the pesky eggs.

Here's the modified recipe I used:
Agave-Ginger Bites
Ingredients (makes 240 bite size cookies)
1/3 cup Agave Nectar
1/4 cup margarine (I use Earth Balance)
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 egg substitute (I used ener-g for this recipe because of the beaten egg in the original instructions, but I am sure a flax egg would have worked too)
powdered sugar for rolling

Directions
1. In a small sauce pan, combine agave nectar and margarine. Heat and stir until margarine is completely melted. Remove from heat, pour into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. In a seperate bowl sift together flour, sugar, ginger, baking soda and pepper.
3. Mix egg replacement into the Agave mixture.
4. Gradually stir or knead the flour mixture into the agave mixture. (I found I needed a little more moisture to get my dough to come together into a ball, so I added a few tbsp of soy nog.)
5. Cover and chill for at least an hour. (Or overnight if you want to make it a day ahead.)
6. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
7. Divide dough into 12 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each portion into approximately 10 inch long ropes. Cut each rope into 1/2 inch pieces.
8. Place each piece 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (I use parchment or silicone liners.) and bake for 6-8 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.
9. Cool on paper towels.
10. Roll in powdered sugar.
Store in an airtight container in layers seperated by wax paper at room temperature up to 3 days. Freeze up to 3 months!

And finally, for today, I made these Bittersweet Chocolate Slices veganized from Cooking Pleasures magazine, which is published by the Cooking Club of America, of which I am a member.

Here's the modified recipe I used:
Bittersweet Chocolate Slices
Ingredients (makes about 3 dozen)
1 oz unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
9 tbsp margarine, cut up or cubed if you are lucky enough to have sticks (I use Earth Balance)
2 tbsp soy milk (or any non dairy milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
powdered sugar for sprinkling

Directions
I was excited to finally make a cookie dough using my food processor! I had never done that before. Hopefully you have a food processor, otherwise I am sure you could make this work with a mixer?
1. Pulse chocolate and half of the sugar in food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add remaining sugar, flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Pulse to combine. Add margarine. Pulse several times. With processor running, add soy milk and vanilla. Process until dough clumps around the edge of the bowl or blades. Place dough on the counter and knead a few times to blend.
2. Form dough into a 9 inch log 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours, or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking sheets. Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices and place on cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes (mine only took 12.) The cookies will puff up and deflate. They're done about 1 1/2 minutes after they deflate.
4. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.
Store in an airtight container.

45 Sweet Birthday Wishes.

My business partner, and friend, Blair, turns 45 on Friday, so I made him 45 cookies.



I used Orangeluna's Soft Sugar Cookie recipe that she posted on the ppk almost a year ago. I frosted them with Lemon Creem Cheeze frosting and sprinkles.


Soft Sugar Cookies by Orangeluna

3 TBL extra firm silken tofu (morinu) mashed with a fork,
or pureed in processor/blender

1/2 c (one stick) margarine
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 c sugar
1 and 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt


Cream margarine and sugar for about 5 mins until fluffy.
Add mashed tofu and vanilla. Mix well. Sift the flour,
baking powder and salt into the mixture.
You can either roll out the dough and use
cookie cutters or make cookie dough balls
and flatten the dough with your hand onto
an ungreased cookie sheet. You want the dough
to be almost the thickness you want your cookie
because these don't rise much.
Bake for around 10 mins in 350 degree oven.

Other stuff: You might need to adjust the flour
a bit if the dough feels too wet. And these cookies
aren't super sweet. If you like them that way, or
if you aren't frosting them, you might want to add
2 more tablespoons sugar. And these REALLY aren't healthy.

Brownie Cookies & Coconut Creem Cheeze Sandwiches

Do I even need to say anything?

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a tester recipe for a cookbook that I am testing for. They are super yummy!

Joanna's Tester Soft Oatmeal Cookies

ooh. these remind me of breakfast. this is exactly how my oatmeal tastes after i drench it in EB and brown sugar. me likes, me likes. this recipe is so easy, and doesn't make a giant mess in the kitchen. i was craving something, so i just made them. done. (i have baked with tofu before, and was really excited to see it in this recipe because i like the way it holds the dough together without it getting to liquidy.) i'm eating these for breakfast tomorrow.

Stampede Cookies

I made these last night. They are from the "Hot Damn & Hell Yeah" Cook Book. Page 55 to be exact. I made the recipe exactly as written. The dough seemed really dry. After the first batch came out more like scones than cookies, I added some rice milk to the batter and the rest came out more cookie like. These taste really good. They have coconut, oatmeal, chocolate chips and walnuts in them. YUMP!

Scone-like version:


Cookie-like Version:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

For Christmas, my best bud Jennifer, gave me "Soy, Not Oi!" It's a pretty humorous read but also has some great recipes. This is the first one I have actually made from the book.

Mmmmmm Cookies...




This recipe made 76 cookies (It could have been more, but I "sampled" the dough as I was making them.



The recipe:
J@ck's Highly Requested Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1/2 cup vegan margarine, softened (I use Earth Balance)
1 cup sugar (I use evaporated cane juice)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp arrowroot powder
2 tsp water
3 cups flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup soy milk (or rice milk, or almond milk...)
1 12oz package vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mix everything in a bowl, except the soy milk and chocolate chips. Add in the soymilk, a bit at a time until the consistency is not too wet, but not too dry, and in the chips. Drop spoonfuls on cookie sheet (I use silicone sheets, so you might want to spray your sheets with non-stick spray) and bake for 8-12 minutes (mine took 12) Let cool. Enjoy.

Christmas Cookies & Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes with buttercream frosting (with soy nog instead of soy milk) and sprinkles:



Gingerbread Men made with the "lofthouse" style sugar cookies and the above mentioned frosting and sprinkles:

Holiday Baking

I made lots of yummy vegan treats this holiday season with the help of fellow vegans and their yummy recipes over at the PPK. Thanks guys!  With every package of goodies I gave out as gifts, I included the recipe cards below!  Spreading the vegan love, one treat at a time!

www.theppk.com