December 2008 Archives

These cookies are a nice variation on the traditional chocolate chip cookie. The coconut makes for a firm texture and subtle taste. And really, you can't go wrong with chocolate chip cookies of any sort.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. ground flaxseed


6 tbsp. water


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour


1/2 tsp. baking powder


1/2 tsp. baking soda


1/4 tsp. salt


1/2 tbp. cinnamon

1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 c. vegan margarine or vegetable oil


1/2 c. sugar


1 tsp. vanilla


3/4 c. vegan chocolate chips

Directions:



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flaxseed and water, set aside.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and coconut in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Mix margarine (or oil), sugar, and vanilla until smooth. (If using margarine, make sure you have let it come up to room temperature before you try to work with it.) Mix in the flaxseed goop. Blend until smooth.

4. Gradually incorporate dry ingredients into the sugar mixture until well blended. Fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Form into balls, lay them on a cookie sheet, and press down gently until they are somewhat flat. (The cookies don't expand much, so if you don't flatten them, they will just be little round balls instead of cookie-like.) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before you remove them. Enjoy!

NOTES:  I always seem to bungle up normal chocolate chip cookies. They always end up too flat and too crispy--which is fine, if you like them like that, but I don't. These cookies, however, do not appear to have the ability to go flat, though they can get crispy. Amazing! Fun note: when typing up this recipe, I choked on some tea. I know, I know, tea? How does one choke on tea? I don't know, but I tell you, it happened.  It went up my nose and out my mouth simultaneously, and it got all over my keyboard. It was gross. But the cookies were delicious, thank god.

-Katie

One year for my birthday, my grandma gave me a variation of this recipe. She had gone to a luncheon one time and a woman brought these cookies, notable because they are made from dark chocolate, a rare thing in the cookie world. My grandma was apparently so taken with them that she tracked down the chef, who told her who had brought them, and then she found the woman and somehow convinced the lady to make a copy of the recipe. And my grandma, being the sweet old lady that she is, gave me the recipe, and it has become a staple ever since. (Of course, the original recipe wasn't vegan, and I've made some other changes, but it was a pretty amazing find nonetheless.)

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. ground flaxseed

9 tbsp. water

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. dark cocoa

1 1/2 c. vanilla

1 3/4 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

powdered sugar (for rolling)

Directions:

1. Combine flaxseeds and water in a small bowl, set aside.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In another bowl, combine sugar and oil, mix well. Mix in the cocoa. Add the flax mixture and vanilla.

4. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix well.

5. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to form into balls (around 6 hours or so).

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape the dough into small balls and roll them in the powdered sugar until they are well coated. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 11 to 13 minutes until the tops are cracked.

NOTES: I usually don't have the patience for the dough to cool for several hours, so I just pop the dough into the freezer until I can't wait anymore... usually about an hour. But the cooler the dough is, the more firm it gets, and the easier it is to handle without getting black sludge all over your hands. Also, the powdered sugar seems to stick better on colder dough (when it's warm, I think the sugar just dissolves into the dough and the final result isn't so stark).

-Katie

Veggie stock is one of those things that I use all the time. For soups, rices, sauces--you name it, I seem to be able to put stock into it. I got this recipe from my dad, and I have a fond memory of making a big pot of stock one fine summer evening at home in Monroe while watching several Harry Potter movies one right after another. Ah, what could be more magical than that?

Ingredients:

3 celery sticks

1 yellow onion, halved

1 fennel bulb, halved

1 whole garlic bulb, halved

2 carrots

3 sprigs fresh parsley

1 large tomato, cored and diced

2 bay leaves

6 whole black peppercorns

1 clove

1/2 c. dry white wine

1 tbsp. salt

6 quarts cold water

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a big pot. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for an hour and a half. Strain the mixture into jars. Cool uncovered in the refrigerator. Cover and freeze.

Notes: Really, you don't need to follow this recipe exactly. Gosh, I didn't even follow it when I stewed some up last week. We had some left-over things in our fridge that were on the verge of going bad, so I put in cauliflower, some cilantro, and A LOT of fennel (I don't know why, exactly, since I'm not really a fan of fennel). Also, you may want to decrease the amount of salt you use; I am pretty sensitive to the stuff and 1 tablespoon seemed a bit much for my palate--but that may have been due to the fact that I don't have a pot that can hold that much liquid...

-Katie