GF Flourless Chocolate Coconut Cookies

I've never intentionally made anything Gluten Free because for a long time the thought intimidated me. Luckily I found a really easy recipe for my first attempt and I'm pretty excited about it. I saw the recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cookies over at Oh She Glows I knew I had to make them. Saturday was a pretty lazy day for me due to too much tequila consumption the night before, but when I finally got off my butt to make Carob Muffins for the pups I decided I wanted a treat for myself. After overindulging on my homemade Thin Mints last week I wanted to try something a little healthier and much easier to make. Than I remembered I had printed out this recipe the day it was posted!


These cookies leave you feeling much less guilty after inhaling a few than your standard cookie. There is no flour, margarine, oil or a lot of sugar. The fat in the cookies comes from the almond butter but I will take that over a ton of canola oil any day.

The cookies didn't spread out much like the recipe said they would which was fine with me. They came out perfect. When they were cooked on Saturday night the edges were slightly crispy and the insides were soft and chewy. By Sunday they had lost a little crispness but were still excellent. Because of the changes I made to the recipe they taste very similar to a brownie!


Angela adapted her recipe from Wing It Vegan and I adapted mine from hers.


Flourless Chocolate Coconut Brownie Cookies

1 tbs flax meal
3 tbs water
1 cup dried shredded coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup dark cocoa powder
1/8 cup regular cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup almond butter, smooth or chunky
1/4 cup almond milk. Or coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 and line baking sheets with parchement paper.

In small bowl mix flax with water and set aside so it can gel up.

In a large bowl mix together 1/2 cup of coconut and remaning dry ingredients excluding chocolate chips

In a separate bowl mix together all the wet ingredients, including flax/water.

Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix. Fold in chocolate chips and remaining coconut.

Using a regular teaspoon(the eating kind, not the measuring kind) scoop out spoonfuls on the parchement and bake for 13-15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to cooling rack. Makes approximately 24 cookies.

Homemade Vegan Thin Mint Cookies

Hell. Yes.

I was a Girl Scout when I was younger, but not for very long, I only made it as far as a Brownie. I don't know why I didn't stay in but I do know that I loved the cookies. You don't need to be a Girl Scout to know that Thin Mints are probably the most popular cookie in their lineup. I can say without a doubt that they were my favorite cookie ever, with Mint Milanos being a very close second. I used to love when coworkers would pimp their little girl's troops by getting you and every other person in the office to buy a box or four. Most people would stock up on their favorites, buying a few boxes and keeping them in the freezer to keep the freshness. And coincidentally, Thin Mints just so happen to be better frozen. Even better are the adorable little girls peddling their goods outside of local grocery stores. How can you resist? You can't. Unless you are a vegan because the cookies aren't. At least the good flavors aren't anyways. There are rumors of a few Girl Scout Cookies being vegan but it's never something I looked into much because I already know the only 2 flavors I like aren't, and frankly, that sucks. Well, sucked...

Fear not fellow vegans, gone are the days of drooling over those boxes of chocolate minty goodness that you know contain animal products, as well as a bunch of other crap because there are tried and true recipes you can make at home! Not only are they homemade AND vegan(which makes them awesome already), they are delicious, they remind me EXACTLY of their non-vegan counterparts and you don't have to worry about things like high fructose corn syrup or possible hydrogenated oils (if those are things you worry about). In addition to all of those pretty sweet(heh) things I just pointed out, they are incredibly easy to make. From the time you start making the cookies to the time you actually get to sit down and enjoy one does take awhile, but that is only because of the cooling and chocolate setting time.

For my first time making them I used the recipe over at Chef Chloe's site. This recipe produces perfect replicas of the cookies we used to love. I will make this recipe again, probably multiple times, but I have a few others floating around as well as one I have been writing down ideas for that I have yet to test out. One day there will be an original Vegan Food Rocks Thin Mint Recipe! I know you are excited. I am too.

I have never used a food processor to make cookie dough, or any other type of dough, I usually stick to my trusty stand mixer but I really didn't want to fuck these up so I went with what Chloe said. I was surprised at how easily and quickly the dough came together. Once it was all mixed up I gave it a few kneads with my hands, the dough kind of reminded me of play dough. A play dough you would want to eat.

I used a measuring spoon to scoop out heaping teaspoonfuls and then smooshed them down into little patties. Once I have my own recipe all worked out it will be more of a rollable dough so you can cut out perfect circles or fun little shapes if that is your kind thing. Because this dough was so malleable, keeping a circle shape was pretty easy and they didn't come out too deformed looking.I ended up with almost 4 dozen!

Of course I had to sample one a few to make sure they were coming out the way I was really hoping. I started getting nervous because the cookies seemed really crispy on the edges and really chewy in the middle. This of course was due to my lack of patience and trying a cookie before letting it cool properly. So I set all the cookies out to cool and headed out to do some shopping with my mom. Fast forward a few hours to when I returned home and got to taste test a few more, my nervousness went away and my excitement really starting growing because they tasted just like the originals!

Now it was time to dip them into the luscious chocolate mint coating. I had no more errands to run so I had to resist temptation to try them before they were ready. I put them in the fridge and walked away. Well, not completely walked away... I didn't sample anymore until they were fully set but I did keep going back to check on them.

While they were chilling out and getting firm in the fridge I started cleaning up. I had a good amount of leftover melted chocolate coating but didn't have anything worthy of its perfection so I was just going to dump it. I know, I know... I was standing over the trash barrel about to scoop it in when a light bulb went off in my head and I realized I could just freeze it and save it for future dipping or to use as shaved or chopped mint chocolate in other baking endeavors! I am so glad I thought of  it before I wasted a single drop. I poured it into a circular cookie cutter on top of parchment paper and held the cutter down with a plate so none of the chocolate could seep out underneath.

Once they were fully set and I finally got to try the finished product I was blown away at how amazing these cookies really are. Everything about them reminds me of days gone by when I would bust open a box and hide them in the freezer from the family my brother or a significant other for fear of them getting inhaled and I would be left with none until next cookie season. Now that I know I can crank out at least 4 dozen in one afternoon I will be more than happy to share my cookies with everyone!

Sometimes I try to avoid giving my brother anything I've made for fear of his snarky vegan comments. No matter how good something is, he often won't admit it, so when I caught him going back repeatedly for more cookies last night he said "These are actually pretty good" which means 'These cookies are delicious and I can't stop stuffing my face.' So half assed compliments from my brother are always more than welcome because I know he won't ever admit he 'loves' something vegan, even if his own sister made it =)

Vegan MoFo - BBQ Seitan and Ice Cream Sandwiches

I've been going nonstop all day it feels good to finally sit down and blog! My day started an hour earlier than I would have liked it to thanks to the Daylight Savings Time stuff. I thought clocks switched tonight but apparently it was last night. I had my alarm clock set for 8 so when it went off and I started getting out of bed I looked at my cell phone and realized it was really only 7. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't. Usually if I wake up earlier than I need to, or just don't feel like getting up, I can stay in bed and Gizmo will stay sleeping. The second I lift my head, sit up or make any noise she is wide awake and in my face ready to go. That's what happened this morning. I'll just go to bed a little earlier than normal tonight to make up for it.

Even though I've been going going going all day, I've been home and in my sweats so that was a plus. And I got to spend a lot of time with my dogs, even bigger plus. I started my day with a few small buckwheat pancakes that my mom made. I was a little hesitant because I always imagined buckwheat as a bland starchy thing but I was wrong. These little pancakes she made were great. Even just plain, which is how I had my first two. My third had a little smear of Earth Balance and a drizzle of agave nectar. I am definitely going to be looking more into using buckwheat now!

After breakfast I decided to make use of the new running gear I got so I leashed up my 12 year old bloodhound and went for an hour long walk/jog/run. It was really cold out, he's old and I'm out of shape so we alternated. Hopefully if I/we keep up with it, it will be more running than walking!

I spent the rest of my day cooking, doing dishes, making Gizmo's food for the next month and stoking the fire for Gizmo and Dain to lay in front of it all afternoon.

While Gimli followed me everywhere I went, ALL day.

Today was the day I decided I was going to face my seitan fears and just make it. I didn't want to do anything too complicated with it since it was my first time so I went with the Simple Seitan recipe in Veganomicon. After I mixed everything together I started getting a little discouraged because it didn't look appetizing, at all, but I was determined to see this through.

After I got it boiled, simmered, strained and cooled I took a cutlet out of the fridge and sliced it up

While I had the seitan simmering, I was also making the Backyard BBQ Sauce from Veganomicon. It has been years since I have made homemade BBQ sauce so I was really excited about this. I did make a few changes though. I used shallots instead of onion, I added wayyyyy more garlic than the original 4 cloves, I used brown sugar instead of white, apple cider vinegar instead of white, no liquid smoke, can of diced tomatoes with zesty jalapenos, and a healthy squirt of ketchup. I let that simmer for the entire hour the seitan was cooking and when it was done I threw it in the Vitamix to smooth it out. This is a really versatile sauce that can be changed however you like, mine came out more of a sweet and spicy version which is just fine with me.

.
I wasn't really hungry for a meal but I was really anxious to try the seitan so I took my slices and lightly fried them in a skillet. When they were heated through I gave them a coating of the BBQ sauce and cooked for another minute or two. While that was cooking I grated some Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack and warmed a pocketless pita in the microwave. It made the perfect little snack wrap. The seitan was perfectly firm but still tender. And also slightly chewy and meaty. I will definitely make it a few more times exactly as the recipe is to make sure I have the hang of it before I start changing and adding things. All in all my first time seitan was a sucess. I don't what I've been so afraid of!

Prior to eating my snack wrap, while the the BBQ sauce and seitan were still cooling in the fridge I decided to make some ice cream sandwiches. I started out with the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar but added a little dash of cinnamon to the dough. Usually when I make these cookies I am able to roll them into little balls in my hand so I figured these would be perfect because I'd be able to control the size and shape better than a regular drop cookie. For some reason todays batch did not want to be rolled at all. It was a gooey mess when I tried. I quickly gave up and grabbed and ice cream scoop. I did my best to make sure they were all the same size and shape even though I knew they were going to spread alot more than normal due to the wetter than usual dough. They still came out great, albeit a little thinner than usual due to the spreading. After the cookies cooled I pulled a pint of my favorite coconut ice cream out of the freezer and went to work scooping the ice cream and pressing the cookies together. Once they were pressed together I rolled them in flaked coconut, wrapped them up and tossed them in the freezer. I just had one and it was the perfect little dessert. Two cookies and a small serving of ice cream all together in a sandwich? Yes, please.

That, my friends, was the perfect end to a long day in the kitchen.

Baking Success!

So after my big fail from last week(see previous post) I was more motivated than ever to bake something delicious. Especially because I had already offered up baked goodies to a bake sale for today, I had to come through.

I spent the majority of the morning and afternoon in the kitchen yesterday, baking, mixing, washing, testing, tasting and obsessing over cookbooks and cookies.

My first batch of cookies were the basic Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I followed the recipe exactly and it says to roll the cookies in your hand and flatten them. My dough was a little too oily for that. Since I had a seemingly endless amount of time and supplies I decided to just drop them onto the cookie sheet with spoons and see how it came out. If they tasted good, than I didn't care.

 

Well taste good they did. They spread out a little more than I think they should have during cooking but whatever I did, they were the perfect amount of crisp on the outside and an even more perfect amount of soft chewiness on the inside.

The second batch was the exact same recipe except I added a dash, or two, of cinnamon to the batter. It's something one of my best friends, Janine, taught me years ago. She always used to do it in her cookies and it made the cookies 100x better than plain chocolate chip.  This dough seemed more like it was supposed to. I was able to roll it in my hand and flatten it. I made them sort of small to get the most cookies possible out of the batch. They came out much more round and even looking.They too were the perfect amount of crisp on the outside as well as the perfect softness and chewiness on the inside.

My third batch of cookies were the Peanut Butter Crisscrosses, also from VCIYCJ. There really isn't a lot I can say about this recipe. It has very common ingredients, takes minimal time to prepare and bake, is very easy, and tastes delicious. The recipe called for using the dark metal baking sheets for crispiness. I prefer soft and chewy(and I don't have dark metal) so I stuck with the light baking sheets. It isn't a fancy recipe, but definitely a basic worth keeping around and one that I will certainly go back to again and again.

My baking skills magically reappearing weren't the only success of the weekend though. According to Beth(a PPK peep) so far the amount made on bake sale items(all of my stuff sold!!!), raffles, donations and table fees for the craft fair (some of the crafters are donating portions of their sales so those amounts haven't been factored in yet) was $2,500. This all goes to the Milton Animal League. They are having a new shelter built because the one they are in now was originally built as a temporary shelter in the 1970s. This shelter is run entirely by volunteers and because they are a 501 C3 non-profit they receive no funding from the government at all. Every animal that goes through those doors is taken care of until they are adopted into their forever home. No animal is ever put down because it has been there too long, or may need expensive medical treatment. If they need it, they receive it. If you would like to make a donation to help this local shelter meet their goal and achieve their dream of a new, modern building that will allow them to greater serve these animals while they are in the care of the shelter, please visit Milton Animal Rescue. There are several ways to help. Become a volunteer(if you live in the area), send items from their wish list, adopt an animal or make a donation.