Nutty Fruitcake

Nutty Fruitcake

You might just be able to win over even the biggest fruitcake haters with this one, as it contains no fluorescent green or red unidentifiable gelled fruit bits. Rather, it is chock full of dried fruits and nuts and then topped with candied fruits and nuts. This is a sophisticated fruitcake, if you can believe it! This recipe makes 6 mini cakes which makes it perfect for gift giving.

Spreading Holiday Joy...Vegan Style!

Cranberry Orange Holiday Punch and ChocoNog Cupcakes with Nutmeg Cream Cheese Frosting

Last weekend Dan and I hosted a mini holiday party.  A small get together, only six of us.  Just some quality time spent with family, before the craziness takes over.  And even though there were only 6 of us, we decided we still wanted to have a festive menu.  Kind of reminiscent of the family christmas potlucks we went to when we were kids.

So, what did we make?  Well, we went semi-homemade with a finger food menu.  Crudite with vegan ranch, Veggie Piggies in a Blanket, various Chips and Dips, Meatless Balls in Marinara, Phyllo Triangles filled with a mixture of Soyrizo and Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese, Hot Spiced Apple Cider kept hot in the crockpot (filling the house in the best, and the above punch and cupcakes.

Cranberry Orange Holiday Punch
Open up a few bottles, float in some cranberries, and voilla!
1 bottle (750 ml) Cranberry Italian Soda
1 bottle (750 ml) Blood Orange Italian Soda
1 bottle (750 ml) Vodka (optional, of course)
1 quart pineapple juice
1 (15 ounce) can mandarin orange segments, in juice
3 cups cranberries (I used frozen)

Pour it all together in a punch bowl and serve over ice!

ChocoNog Cupcakes with Nutmeg Cream Cheese Frosting
These cupcakes are an adaptation of Kittee's Chocolate Cake from Papa Tofu.

For the cupcakes:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups evaporated cane juice
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups vegan Nog
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons chocolate extract
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

For the Frosting:
1 cup non dairy butter
1 (8 ounce) tub vegan cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
Vegan food coloring, optional

To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 F.  Line cupcake pans with papers.

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the wet.

Add wet to dry and mix until there are no lumps.

Fill papers 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, using an electric mixer, beat together butter and cream cheese.
Mix in vanilla and nutmeg.
Add in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until stiff peaks form.

Yield: 24 frosted cupcakes

Holiday Baking Round One:  Gifts for mailing.  This round included the Sweet Twigs and Berries and Saltine Butter Toffee from Vegan Food Gifts, Rice Crispy Treats and Kittee's Peanut Butter Fudge.

But the fun has only just begun!  Now I start with the vegan gift giving.  Yep, it's my favorite way to proselytize.  Give 'em some tasty vegan treats!  My first round went into the mail yesterday and it included two recipes from Vegan Food Gifts, and two reliable recipes from Christmas' past.

Saltine Butter Toffee (from Vegan Food Gifts)
This is one of those recipes that I think everyone has in his or her stash. But guess what? It makes a great gift, and it is super yummy. This is my version. There is just no way that anyone would ever suspect the vegan-ocity here. They are too buttery and delicious. feel free to experiment and play with different toppings, such as sprinkles, crushed candy canes (like I did for this batch!), or even coarse sea salt.

35 to 40 saltine crackers
1 cup (224 g) nondairy butter
1 cup (200 g) evaporated cane juice or sugar
2 cups (352 g) vegan chocolate chips
1 cup (120 g) chopped nuts (any nut will do!), or any of your favorite toppings

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray lightly with nonstick spray. Lay the crackers on the sheet in a single layer.
In a saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter and evaporated cane juice until completely dissolved. Pour evenly over the crackers.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden.
Carefully remove from the oven. Place on a flat surface, and immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly all over the crackers. Using a spreader or butter knife, spread the chocolate evenly over the crackers as it melts. Sprinkle with the nuts or other desired toppings.
Allow to cool and harden completely before breaking into pieces and packaging for gifts.

Yield: 35 to 40 pieces

Twigs and Berries (from Vegan Food Gifts)
Since vegans only eat twigs and berries, why not show those omnis how tasty they can be? Below are two versions, sweet and spicy, based on the same basic mix. This recipe makes a HUGE amount. I use this one when I am making lots of gifts. Feel free to cut the recipe in half, especially if you don't have an industrial sized mixing bowl.

Base Mix
7 cups (216 g) crunchy rice square cereal, like Rice Chex
3 cups (112 g) pretzel sticks
1 cup (142 g) dried cranberries
1 cup (160 g) raisins
1 cup (84 g) banana chips
1 cup (124 g) raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 cup (112 g) raw almonds
1 cup (112 g) raw pecan halves

In your largest mixing bowl, toss together ingredients, then follow instructions for either the Sweet or Spicy versions below.

Sweet Mix
2 cups (352 g) nondairy semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup (224 g) nondairy butter, like Earth Balance
1/2 cup (128 g) creamy no stir peanut butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 to 6 cups (600 to 720 g) powdered sugar, to coat

In a sauce pot over low heat, melt chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter.
Once completely melted, stir in cinnamon and vanilla.
Pour mixture over base mix and stir to coat evenly.
Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and toss to coat. By the time you add the last cup of sugar, your mix should be powdery white and the pieces should not stick together.
Allow to cool (you can leave it right in the bowl) completely before packaging.

Spicy Mix
2 cups (448 g) nondairy butter
1/2 cup (120 ml) soy sauce or Tamari
2 tablespoons (30 ml) Sri Racha
2 tablespoons (16 g) garlic powder
2 tablespoons (16 g) onion powder
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons red chili flakes, adjust to taste
1 teaspoon ground chipotle powder (or Cayenne pepper), adjust to taste

Preheat oven to 250 F degrees.
Line four baking pans with parchment.
In a sauce pot over low heat, add all ingredients and stir until completely melted.
Pour mixture over base mix and toss until evenly coated.
Spread mix evenly in a single layer on baking sheets.
Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, or until crisp.
Allow to cool completely before packaging.

Package in clear bags, tins, jars, or boxes. Regardless, make sure you add a pretty Hang Tag!

Screen shot from my Google search for free downloadable Christmas Gift Tags.  So many to choose from!

Speaking of Gift Tags...
And one final thought for the holiday baking and gift giving season...Want to print your own personalized gift tags, but don't have the creative know how to put it together? If you don't have your own copy of Vegan Food Gifts which has all sorts of scannable and copyable gift tags in it, you can
just type "Free Downloadable Christmas Gift Tags" into your search engine, and click on the images search.  Scan through to find a style you like and click to go to the website where you can download them.  There are thousands of designs out there!  Super cute!

What? Christmas is Next Weekend?

Whoa.  I better get my rear in gear.  And for me that means many, many treats for neighbors, friends, coworkers, and family.  With not much time left, I am going to have to call upon some ghosts of Christmas past to help me along in the idea department.  I mean there is no reason to reinvent the sleigh wheel right?


Let me begin by admitting, I am not a real big fan of baking.  I know, I know, chastise me if you must, but I really enjoy making other types of treats way more than cookies, pies, and (shutter) cupcakes.  So candies have always been my bag at Christmas time.  Sure, I will break down and whip up a few batches of sugar cookies cut out into stars and trees, decorated with green and pink (still can't get a perfect vegan red icing!) sprinkles.  I may even bake up some of my Espresso Chocolate Chip Cakes that I usually reserve for Valentine's Day.


Back to candies.  The majority of my bags, baskets, boxes and platters will be filled with Kittee's Peanut Butter Fudge, Peppermint Candy Cane Bark, Microwave Peanut Brittle, and Mashed Potato Candy.


This year I am going to add a new member to the family.  For a select, very special few, I will make this very special treat.  I have posted pictures of this delicious candy in the past, but not until now have I posted the recipe.  It comes straight from the pages of The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions and appears on page 162.   It is reminiscent of that old fashioned candy known as Honeycomb Candy.  The texture is crumbly and sticky, and when dipped in bittersweet chocolate, it is just delicious.

Maple Sponge Candy (page 162 in The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions)

Maple Sponge Candy


This candy is a molasses-y twist on old fashioned honeycomb candy. Crispy and sweet (and possibly coated in chocolate.) Not for the novice, it requires patience and an accurate candy thermometer. Don’t let the simple ingredients fool you. This candy is pure science!

2 cups (384 g) Sucanat
1/2 cup (120 ml) pure maple syrup
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1 tablespoon baking soda
Melted chocolate for dipping (optional)

Prepare a 9×13-inch (23 x 33-cm) baking dish by lining it with foil and then sprating the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large soup pot, place the Sucanat, maple syrup, and water.
Heat on low, constantly stirring until Sucanat is completely dissolved.
Raise heat and bring to a boil, watch temperature carefully. Bring the temperature to 250˚ F (121˚ C) and maintain that temperature constantly for ten minutes.
Remove from heat and quickly, but thoroughly, stir in the baking soda.
The mixture will begin to bubble and froth.
Immediately pour the mixture into the prepared foil lined dish.
Allow to cool completely before removing from pan and breaking into pieces.
Dip in melted chocolate if using. Allow to cool completely before storing.
Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Yield: 1 batch, about 30 pieces

Espresso Chocolate Chip Cake

Just in time for Valentine's Day. I plan on passing these out tomorrow to cclients and coworkers. I even wrapped some individual pieces to hand out as mini-gifts. This cake is really moist and gooey and rich. Make sure to have a nice tall glass of soymilk close by while you eat it.

An army of mini cakes:


Inside Shot:


All wrapped up and ready to go (Note, sticker paper does not stick to parchment!)


Individual pieces:


Here's a label you can print out if you want to make your own:


Espresso Chocolate Chip Cake (makes 6 mini loaves)
Wet Ingredients:
6 oz vanilla soy yogurt (or plain)
1 cup canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp chocolate extract (or more vanilla)
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1/2 cup coffee flavored liquour
1 cup soymilk (vanilla or plain)
1/2 cup instant coffee crystals

Dry Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix together all wet ingredients. In a seperate bowl sift together all dry ingredients, except chocolate chips. Add dry to wet, mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill mini loaf tins 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Christmas Bagels!

This will definitely be a new tradition in the Newman hosehold! HOME MADE BAGELS! They came out better than either of us expected! I made everything bagels topped with garlic, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and salt. Dan made his plain, and he even made a few without holes so he could make bagel pizzas. Here is the link to the recipe, along with some photos so that you too may enjoy some bagels of your own!

Everything bagels are my favorite!

We are way too goofy!

The original recipe was found on THIS website.

More Holiday Baking!

Cardamon Sugar Cookies
(veganized from Cooking Pleasures magazine)
Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup margarine
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 egg replacers (Flax or Tofu eggs work well here, or just use Ener-G)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Additional Soymilk or other non-dairy milk to help get the dough to come together (I needed about 1/4 cup)
Spice Mixture:
1/4 cup sugar or sparkling sugar
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
3 dashes salt
Directions:
Whisk Flour, Baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat 2 cups sugar, butter and cardamom in a large bowl at medium speed for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg replacers and vanilla. At low speed, beat in the flour mixture, just until blended. Add additional soy milk if needed to get the dough to come together. Place dough on the counter and knead just until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, overnight or up to 2 days. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment, silicone liners, or spray with non-stick spray. remove dough from refrigerator and let stand at room temerature until able to roll but still firm. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/8" thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes. Place on cookie sheets. Sprinkle, liberally, spice mixture onto the cookies. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until pale golden brown at the edges. Let cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.



Kittee's Peanut Butter Fudge
My mom has been making peanut butter fudge every year for Christmas since I was a wee little girl. It's her specialty. I sent her Kittee's recipe last year, and now she uses this recipe. IT'S SO EASY AND TASTES WONDERFUL! I searched around online to link to it, but couldn't find it. I think I got it off of the PPK last Christmastime. Here is Kittee's Famous Peanut Butter Fudge recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water (or soymilk)
Directions:
Grease a 8x8 or 9x9 pan or caserole. In a large bowl, place peanut butter and vanilla. Put the sugar and water (or soymilk) in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Boil hard for exactly one minute. Dump all at once into the peanut butter mixture and stir quickly to blend. It sets up really fast, so pour into the greased pan quickly, and allow to cool completely before enjoying.

Kittee Kake for Kristmas!

Kittee makes the cakes that make people smile. Her cakes embody all that is important about cake. That it be fun, tasty and home made with love! Inspired by her birthday cake, I set out to make a holiday cake that would make the people happy. I am pretty sure it worked. See for yourself:



Did you smile?

Here's an inside shot:


The top two layers are Kittee's "Non-Chocolate Cake" and the bottom two layers are Kittee's "Chocolate Wacko Cake." Both recipes are available in her awesome 'zine, Papa Tofu. It is frosted with my own Creem Cheeze Frosting (Which is simply equal parts Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese, Earth Balance a teaspoon or 2 of vanilla extract, depending on how much I am making, and enough powdered sugar to get the right consistency.) which I added green food coloring to. I decorated it with Christmas themed candies (which were all vegan, as far as I could tell.) and it became the star of the buffet.

I hope I have made Kittee proud.

(There was more food...I'll post about it later, off to work.)

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.

It's already time to start planning for Christmas!?!

Today I will be out and about. I have to work this morning and this evening and in between I am meeting up with some wonderful vegan folks for lunch for the first time. It's always exciting to meet new people, and this is a group I am excited to meet with. I was introduced to Wanda by telephone about a month and a half ago. She is a wonderful woman (I believe she is now in her 70's) who has been a vegan and passionate animal right's activist since the 70's. Longer than I have been alive, folks! She was given a copy of my cookbook as a gift, and called me to invite me to join her and some other like minded folks for a monthly vegan luncheon. My first one is today. We are going to Mother's Market and Cafe in Huntington Beach. I will report back later on which of the delicious offerings made it into my belly.

Edited to add: So, I went to Mother's, and don't get me wrong, I am thankful that they have a restaurant with vegan offerings, and the market is superb, but every time I eat there I leave feeling a bit underwhelmed. The coffee was good, but I ordered the Thai Peanut Tofu with Udon, broccoli, sugar snap peas, peppers and onions. Sounds awesome, right? Meh. In addition to the coffee and lunch at Mother's other things I put into my belly Sunday included, more coffee in the morning with a touch of soy vanilla creamer, a Scarborough fair burger with 2 slices of whole wheat bread for breakfast, a alte afternoon cup of coffee with chocolate added and a Mushroom Zucchini burger with 2 slices of whole wheat bread for a late dinner. I also had a couple of lemon creme cookies (think Oreos, but lemon.)

But, now, I am asking for your help. It is already November, and time to start planning for holiday gift giving. Each year, my business partner and I put together a basket of goodies for all of our current and past clients (I am a Real Estate Agent by day.) We make everything from scratch and bundle it all up in a cute little basket, or tin or bag and hand deliver them to each doorstep. In addition, I also make a bigger and better basket for all of my friends and family. All in all I usually end up putting together about 65 baskets! 2 full weeks of morning to night baking, packaging and delivering.

What are your favorite "giftable" treats? Last year's baskets included Kittee's peanut butter fudge, Orangeluna's soft sugar cookies, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, Modified VwaV chocolate thumbprints (aka peanut butter fudge bombs), Sarah's Cracker Candy (AKA Skor Bars) and Sneaky's microwave peanut brittle. All of these recipes came from the lovelies over on the ppk forums.

What should I put in this year's baskets?