Vegan Chocolate-Coconut Cake

This cake got astoundingly positive responses considering that it was totally improvised from what I had on hand, just because I really wanted to make a cake. Though it's got layers and frosting and everything, the amount of ingredients you really need is small, as is the amount of equipment: a pan, a bowl, a whisk and a big spoon should suffice. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples... or really cheap. Well, maybe you don't have coconut rum, but in my humble opinion it would be a very wise investment to buy some as it improves just about everything... like I said, my opinion.

The chocolate layers are moist, chocolatey, soft to the point of being crumbly, but that tenderness is not a bad thing provided you're careful when you cut up the cake. I was a bit skeptical, but I'd definitely recommend the cake to be used wherever you want vegan chocolate cake layers.

The icing inside is made with creamed coconut (sold in small 114 g. boxes in the Caribbean sections of many a Loblaws, or nearby the coconut milk. You can also use the coconut cream sold in cans, or the top thick layer that forms on canned coconut milk. Along with coconut rum, it makes a really nice filling that balances out the not-too-sweet cake. Topped with a bit of chocolate and toasted shredded coconut, the cake becomes a bit more attractive and has some more variety in texture.

Vegan Chocolate Coconut Cake

For the Cake:
1 1/2 C. Cake/pastry flour
1 TBSP Ground flaxseed (optional, but helps the cake rise a bit more in my experience)
3/4 C. Light brown sugar (you can also use 1/2 C. white and 1/4 C. dark brown sugar)
1/4 C. Cocoa powder
2 Tsp. Instant coffee granules (Optional, but adds flavour that complements the chocolate- you can also use weak coffee instead of the water)
1 1/4 C. Water (I used only 1 cup by accident- turned out fine)
1 1/2 Tsp. Baking soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/3 C. + 1 TBSP Oil
1 TBSP Vinegar, white 
2 Tsp. Vanilla extract

Margarine or oil, to grease the pan

Preheat the oven to 180℃. Line a 8''x8''/9''x9'' square baking pan, or a 9''/10'' circular pan, with baking parchment, and grease with margarine or oil.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Separately, beat together the oil, flaxseed and sugar, adding the vanilla, vinegar and milk once the mixture is homogeneous and mix together until just combined.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick poked in comes out clean. Leave the oven on for the moment- you will use it to toast the coconut garnish.

Remove from the pan once cool- let it cool completely, as the cake is very crumbly and fragile to begin with and is even more so when still warm. Chill in the refrigerator for about half an hour, then use a sharp serrated knife to cut through the centre to form 2 layers.

For the Coconut Filling:
1/4 C. Creamed coconut (the solid sort sold in boxes)- you can also use canned coconut cream or the thick top portion of a can of coconut milk, plus a little bit of coconut oil or margarine to adjust the smoothness of the icing as you see fit
1 C. Powder sugar
2-3 TBSP Coconut rum, or nondairy milk plus a little coconut flavouring

Beat together the coconut cream and sugar using an electric beater or a large wooden spoon, adding a bit of sugar at a time so it doesn't blow about everywhere. Add the coconut rum until a smooth, spreadable paste forms.

Spread the icing onto the bottom half of the cake and add the other half on top.

For the Glaze and Topping:
2 Oz. Semisweet or dark vegan chocolate
2 TBSP Creamed coconut, or coconut milk/cream
1/2 C. Unsweetened desiccated coconut

Spread the desiccated coconut on a pan and put into the oven- watch it carefully, as it burns easily! Have a cool plate or tray ready, and once the coconut turns golden brown (this can take anywhere from 1-5 minutes, so pay attention!) remove it and pour immediately onto the cool surface to stop the toasting.

In a microwaveable bowl, or another heatproof bowl set over a pot of boiling water, heat the coconut cream and chocolate until melted and mix well. Pour onto the cake and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut to finish. Refrigerate for at least half an hour before cutting.

Vegan Banana Nut Bread, Take 2

Ahh, nothing like the basics! Yes, I know that the world is overflowing with banana bread recipes as it is, but it's my firm belief that you can never try out too many, lest you miss out on "the one"- the banana bread that has just the right flavour, texture, moisture, sweetness and so on for your tastes. Everyone's is different, and since this recipe didn't require me to go get organic eggs, milk or butter from the natural foods shop (though that's the only way I'll buy them) I think it's definitely worth a shot. 

This is a good one to make with limited kitchen equipment on hand- I didn't even have a loaf pan, so I used a large square cake tin, which worked very well and reduced the baking time. In spite of its very basic nature, it was well-received by those who tried it before me - someone at the lab asked for the recipe- that's a good sign!

My verdict is that despite having less oil and sugar than most banana breads, this one is still delicious in it simplicity- no egg replacers, no milk replacers, you don't even need baking soda! It's very tender, soft and fluffy, and adding the sugar sprinkle on top makes it have a nice caramelized crust. Just don't let the bottom burn by putting it too low in the oven and close to the heat element- I made that mistake. Oops. Well, it still tasted good! You can also add chocolate chips or pecan pieces, or use some different spices to make variations. Consider this recipe the next time you're stuck with too many bananas!

Vegan Banana Nut Bread II
Adapted from BBC Good Food

225 g. Cake flour (All purpose is fine; I only had cake or bread flour available as options)
100 g. Brown sugar
75 g. Neutral oil (I used canola)
3 Tsp. Baking powder
1/2 Tsp. Salt
3 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Nutmeg, optional
2 Tsp. Vanilla
3 Large or 4 medium sized bananas, as ripe as possible
50-75 g. Walnut pieces

Some raw cane sugar or granulated sugar to sprinkle on top- optional

Preheat oven to 200℃. Grease a large loaf pan or square pan with a bit of oil and cover the bottom with greased baking parchment. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar and cinnamon

Sift or whisk together the dry ingredients (excluding the walnuts). Separately, mash the bananas finely and add the oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix well, until homogeneous.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ones and mix until just combined, then stir in the walnuts.

Pour into the greased pan and sprinkle with a bit more cinnamon and sugar, if you like. Bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes to an hour, or until a fork poked in comes out clean- cover with aluminium foil if it is browning too quickly.

Let cool before slicing.

Vegan Stollen Rolls (Stollen-Schnecken)

Check out the cute edible gold stars I got. Totally festive, right? Even though it's autumn...

For when Christmas is taking too long to arrive, I like to have something with its characteristic flavours- dried fruit, nuts, marzipan, spices and lots of butter- but enough of a twist that it doesn't make you feel bad that you aren't on winter break yet.

That's why I love these rolls- they really taste like Christmas come early. And, to make the deal sweeter, they're actually vegan! I was skeptical, since butter is one of the predominant flavours in the Stollen that I know and love, but a little butter-vanilla essence (I used Dr. Oetker brand) goes a long way. The copious amount of vegan butter (I used a coconut-oil based brand called Melt that was very nice, but any that's marketed for baking will work)... or just plain baking margarine. After all, my Oma's old DDR cookbooks all call for it in their Stollen, making them inadvertently vegan as well.

These are nontraditional on more fronts than just animal product content, though- they also have a pudding-marzipan filling that tastes creamy and delicious despite being made with soya milk. You can also use almond milk, of course- it might be even better, so long as it's not reduced-calorie/fat.

I have but one warning- even when completely cooked through, the pudding-marzipan filling and marzipan in the dough makes these buns really, really moist- too much for some, I suppose- and you might want to make them a little drier by removing the marzipan in the dough (I went crazy because the blocks I had were getting close to their expiration date, and I didn't want them to go to waste) and not squishing your buns together when baking them like I did. I love it when baked good are really moist, though, so for me it's perfect the way it is.

One more thing- very, very rich. It may be tough to get through even one bun in one sitting. I still think it's worth is, since the taste is glorious. They're not tricky to make, so don't let the long instructions scare you- there's only a few simple components that you need to put together and then assemble. Like flatpack furniture but less aggravating!

Obviously you don't have to make them vegan, especially if the ingredients are hard to find- I had them available and I wanted to play with them and see how good they'd taste in pastry and if anyone would miss the dairy. Nobody did!

Vegan Stollen-Rolls
Makes 9-12
Adapted from Veganer Kuchen

For the dough:
500 g. Flour
150 ml Soya or almond milk
200 g. Marzipan, finely chopped or grated (or use 80 g. sugar)
1 Packet vanilla sugar, or 1 TBSP homemade
A few drops butter-vanilla extract (or 1-2 Tsp. if it's not the super-concentrated type in tiny glass tubes)
1/2 Tsp. Almond extract, optional
Zest of 1 orange or lemon
2 TBSP Rum, or 1 Tsp. Rum extract
2 Tsp. Stollen spices (or, mix 1/2 Tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and cardamom)
42 g. Fresh yeast, or 2 1/2 Tsp. Active dry yeast
150 g. Margarine or vegan baking-suitable butter, in cubes

Warm milk and dissolve yeast. Let sit 15 minutes.

Whisk together the flour, spices, zest and vanilla sugar. Add the milk mixture and all the extracts (and rum) being used. Knead until smooth, then add the chunks of marzipan one by one and knead until all are completely mixed into the dough. Repeat with the margarine. 

Let rise in a greased, covered bowl for about 1 hour, or until doubled. After about 45 minutes, begin preheating the oven to 190℃. Then, roll out on a floured surface to form a large rectangle and prepare as in the following filling instructions.

For the Filling:
200 g. Marzipan, finely chopped
2 TBSP Rum, or 1 Tsp. Rum extract
250 ml. Soya or almond milk, plus more as necessary
1 (43 g.)  Packet Dr. Oetker vanilla, almond or cream flavoured pudding powder (or, use corn/potato starch)
1 Packet Vanilla sugar, or 1 TBSP homemade
100 g. Margarine or vegan baking-suitable butter (you can cut this to half or even omit it)

Whisk together pudding powder, soya/almond milk and vanilla sugar. Bring to a boil and let thicken. Stir in the margarine and marzipan and whisk until thoroughly combined. add the rum and more of the milk to thin as necessary to get a pastey, spreadable consistency.

Let cool slightly until just warm, then spread across the dough rectangle, leaving about 1 inch of room on one of the long sides of the rectangle. Finish with the dried fruits, as following.

For the Dried Fruit:
150 g. Raisins, sultanas and/or currants
50 g. Candied orange peel, chopped finely
50 g. Candied citron peel, chopped finely
75 g. Almonds, chopped or slivered
1/4 C. Rum, optional

Cover the fruits with rum, if using, and enough hot water to cover them up in a bowl. Let sit at least 30 minutes, then drain.

Sprinkle evenly across the filling and roll the whole thing up like a jelly roll, finishing so that the long side with the clean edge is rolled up last. Use this clean end to stick the roll together and seal the "seam". 

Using a sharp knife, wire or floss, cut the resulting log into 9-12 pieces. Arrange on a baking tray lined with parchment, or in a greased baking dish.

Bake for about 1 hour, covering with aluminium foil after about 20 minutes to avoid overbrowning. They are finished when they reach 190℉ or 90℃ inside.

To Finish:
50 g. Margarine or vegan baking-suitable butter, melted
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract, or a few drops butter-vanilla extract
Powdered sugar

Mix melted margarine and extract. 

While the rolls are still warm, brush with the margarine mixture. Once cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Vegan Banana Nut Bread (with a lot of bananas...)

The great thing about vegan baked goods is that chances are you already have everything you need in your pantry, with no eggs, butter or milk to worry about. If you don't need anything special like egg replacer, it gets even simpler. This is one such recipe, with the lack of eggs seemingly unimportant thanks to the binding power of the huge amount of mushed bananas. Yes, it's denser and more moist than a regular banana bread, but that's part of what I like about it. It almost treads into banana-blondie territory, and forms thinner slices because it doesn't rise very high, but you can still toast them if you wish and eat them with butter (or butter-substitute spread, if sticking to the vegan theme).

The very best thing about this humble banana bread is that it uses up five whole bananas, making it an excellent addition to the arsenal of recipes for when you need to use up overripe ones really quick. If you want something other than a banana nut bread, chocolate chips or desiccated coconut are also good. I made two small ones and ate most of one right away, freezing the other for later, which is a good way to keep sweets on demand. 

Vegan Banana Nut Bread
Adapted from Edible Garden

4-5 Large bananas, well mashed/puréed
1 1/2 C. All purpose flour
1 1/2 Tsp. Baking soda
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Cinnamon or mixed spice, optional
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract, optional
2/3-3/4 C. Light brown sugar or finely granulated raw cane sugar, or half each white and dark brown sugar
1/2 C. Oil, neutral in flavour (e.g. canola or safflower): alternatively try coconut, walnut, hazelnut or almond
1/2 C. Unsweetened milk substitute, not low fat (as a guideline, should have at least 120 calories per 250 mL; similar to 2% milk)
1 C. Walnut or pecan pieces, chopped

Oil and extra flour/sugar, for the pan

Grease a large loaf pan (or 2 small ones) and sprinkle the inside with flour or sugar to coat. Preheat oven to 180℃.

Sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices (if using). In a separate bowl, mix together the oil and sugar, ensuring there are no sugar lumps left, then add the bananas, vanilla and milk substitute. 

Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined with minimal lumps. Mix in the nuts and pour the batter into the pan(s). Sprinkle with extra sugar, if desired.

Bake for about 1 hour, covering with aluminium foil after about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick poked in comes out clean. Let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Sakura Mochi for a Sakura-less Season, and Salted Cherry Leaves (Sakura-Ha)

Spring is rapidly flying out the window, and much to the chagrin of GTA residents everywhere, it's been a bad year for cherry blossom sightings. The erratic, cold start to the season led to a lack of flowers, instead with the trees skipping straight to leafiness. Nonetheless, I made one of my favourite sweets (and a favourite of my little sister), the beautiful and delicious sakura mochi. They differ from regular daifuku mochi in that they're made with whole rice grains as opposed to pounded, smooth mochi, and that they are garnished with aromatic salted cherry leaves.

The idea of obtaining salted cherry leaves might seem difficult, but if you can find a non-pesticide treated cherry blossom tree with young, small leaves, you can do it in minutes. The mochi themselves are also very simple, with the most crucial step being, in my opinion, letting the mass cool down enough before attempting to shape it into balls.

I also used homemade anko (red bean paste) as the coarser, less refined type (tsubu-an) that I like can be hard to get. All of the ingredients are really inexpensive, and yet this is a very impressive sweet to make- and goes really well with a pot of green tea. You can also preserve the cherry blossoms themselves in salt, but it can be harder to find clean ones as insects like to bury into them and you really don't want ones with pesticides.

Make sure you use the mochigome rice, lest you end up with a mess that's either too sticky or not sticky enough. Also don't overdo the food colouring.... cherry blossoms aren't usually blood red (though that would be very cool).

Sakura Mochi
from Wagashi Maniac

200 g. Mochigome/ mochiko rice, rinsed well
Pinch of salt
300 g. Anko paste (non-fried red bean paste)
65 g. Sugar
160 ml. Water
Red food colouring
10-14 Salted cherry leaves (Sakura-ha) (recipe follows)

Soak rice in water overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, drain and crush the rice with a rolling pin or pestle until the grains are broken up, but not too small (most of the grains should be in halves). Spread in an ever layer on the bottom of a cheesecloth or other cloth-lined steamer or metal colander (anything with lots of holes for steam to get through). Set over a pot of boiling water and cover with a lid. Steam for 30-45 minutes, or until translucent and tender throughout.

Transfer the rice to a cool bowl and mix in the salt. 

In a small saucepan, bring the 160 ml. water and sugar to a boil until sugar dissolves. Pour this syrup onto the rice and mix in well. Add a couple of drops of red food colour and mix in until the desired pinkness is achieved. This is done best with a large spoon or rice mixing paddle.

Wait for the rice to cool down and absorb the syrup completely, mixing periodically and keeping covered. In the mean time, divide the anko paste into as many pieces as you wish to make mochi (10-14, depending on what size you want) and roll into balls. Rinse the salted cherry leaves in cool water to remove excess salt.

When the mixture is completely cool, fill a bowl with water- you'll need this to keep your hands moist when handling the rice so it doesn't stick to you. Divide the rice into as many pieces as you have balls of anko paste and form spheres, then flatten them with the palm of your hand (use the water!). Place the anko in the centre, fold in half and roll back into a ball shape between your hands. Place the finished mochi onto a wet plate.

When all of the mochi are done, place a cherry leaf onto each one. Allow to set for about half an hour in a cool place for better texture.

Salted Cherry Leaves/ Sakura-Ha

12-24 young, small cherry blossom tree leaves, rinsed
about 1/2 C. Salt

Bring a cup of water to a boil and place in a pan or bowl. Next to it, prepare a bowl of ice-cold water. Using a spatula or strainer, quickly dip the leaves into the boiling water for about 10 seconds, then place in the cold water to blanch.

Sprinkle the bottom of an airtight tupperware container with salt. Make a layer of cherry leaves, then top with more salt liberally. Repeat until all the cherry blossom leaves are covered in salt. Top with enough water to cover the leaves, then put something heavy (like a saucer or other non-rusting object) on top of the leaves to keep them submerged. Close the lid and keep refrigerated for up to a year.

Polish Sourdough Rye

This is my favourite basic sourdough loaf that I've tried. It's quick to make, requires few ingredients, and has both a lot of flavour and a soft, porous crumb. It's my ideal rye bread, especially for sandwiches. You can use light rye to make a more subtly flavoured loaf, but I definitely prefer dark rye.

I like it the best with sunflower seeds- you can also mix some into the dough, if you wish. In any case, this is a very impressive bread for minimal effort.

Polish Sourdough Rye
From Kochtopf

For the Sourdough:

70 g. Dark rye flour
70 g. Distilled water
10 g. Sourdough starter

Mix all and leave covered overnight, at room temperature (12-16 hours).

For the Final Dough:

All above sourdough
400 g. Bread flour
100 g. Dark rye flour
11 g. Salt
10 g. Fresh yeast, or 1 Tsp. active dry yeast
350 g. Water

Seeds, e.g. sunflower, to sprinkle if desired

Dissolve yeast in water and leave for 5 minutes. Dissolve the sourdough thoroughly. 

Mix flours and add the yeast mixture, kneading until smooth. Add the salt and continue kneading on a medium-high speed with a stand mixer (or by hand) for about 5 minutes. Increase speed and continue kneading another 5 minutes until elastic.

Let rise, covered and in a greased or floured bowl,  for 30 minutes. Stretch out and fold the dough like a letter. Let rise another 30 minutes, then repeat.

Shape an oval loaf and let rise on a parchment-lined baking pan, covered, until doubled (about 1 hour). Preheat oven to 230℃.

Cut 3 to 4 slits on the top of the loaf of bread. Spray with water and sprinkle on seeds or additional flour, if desired.

Bake for 10 minutes. Spray the oven with steam from a spray bottle of water, then reduce the temperature to 210℃. Bake for another 25-30 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 190℉ inside. Cover with aluminium foil if it is browning too quickly.

Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Übernacht Sonntags-Brötchen - Infinitely Adaptable Overnight Buns

There are few things in the baking world simpler and more versatile than this recipe. It's my go-to for when there's been a glut of sweet things around the house, and I want to make the Sunday breakfast on the savoury and simple side while letting people customize to what they want. And buns are awesome in that they're basically personal breads- the German name pretty much translates to that. Breadlings. Nice.

Real bakeries are already staffed by the wee hours of the morning to ensure that there's bread to sell at opening time, but most of us don't want to (or in my case, simply can't due to sleeping family members) get up at 4 to start making bread for breakfast. Even though many breads are supposed to rest in the fridge overnight, they also often need to warm up to room temperature, get shaped, rise a bit more, and so on- so they really aren't ready in time for a Sunday breakfast. In such a case, one wants something fast, easy to make the night before, and preferably not requiring much morning preparation. These fit that bill very well.

It's also very forgiving. You can use just bread flour or even all-purpose flour, more or less spelt or whole wheat, and skip the malt if you want- it just adds crustiness. The yeast can be fresh or dried, and though I always choose fresh if I can, it works very well with either. You don't even need to do the step of preheating a pan to put the bread on- it's just another way to make them more crispy, as is the water-spraying. I like crusty buns, but you can make them softer by skipping these things.

You can also go nuts with add-ins! I like the plain ones because of the attractive floureyness, but they're also fantastic with sesame or poppy seeds. You could also use caraway, or even cumin. They're also great with grated cheese added as a final touch, not so early for it to burn- just enough so that is forms a crispy delicious crust. I added olives to some on the request of my brother. 

Of course, it's nice how simple these are because they can accommodate just about any desired filling, spread or topping. Any extras can be used for sandwiches, with soup, as toast, or wherever some fresh morning-baked bread might be appreciated.

Overnight Buns
Adapted from Chefkoch
420 g. Bread flour
80 g. Spelt flour, whole wheat flour, or a mix (can substitute more regular bread flour- or use more of another flour in place of the bread flour, though more whole grains will make it denser)
1 1/2 Tsp. Diastatic malt powder, or 1 TBSP malt syrup (optional- honey also works)
2 Tsp. Active dry yeast, or 25 g. Fresh yeast (fresh if you can!)
350-400 ml. Lukewarm water, preferably filtered
1 TBSP Salt
Toppings: Extra flour, any seeds or grains desired, or about 100g. grated cheese such as edam or gouda. Get creative!

Blend flours, malt (if powdered) and yeast (if dry). If using fresh yeast, crumble into the water and mix to dissolve. Dissolve the malt in the water as well, if it is a syrup.

Pour water onto flour and mix with a dough hook on medium-low until incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Alternatively, work the dough by hand on a lightly oiled surface until it forms a cohesive, relatively nonsticky mass. The dough is quite moist, so it will never be completely unsticky, but it should cling to itself well. On drier days, you may need the larger amount of water.

Add the salt and mix on medium-high for 5-7 minutes, until the dough forms strings when you stretch a small piece apart with your fingers. This can be done by about 15-20 minutes of working by hand.

Cover in a floured or lightly oiled bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 220℃. Heat up a baking tray, pizza stone, or Dutch oven. 

Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces and let rest 20 minutes covered. Using extra flour to prevent sticking, shape into desired form and slash the tops with a bread lamé or very sharp knife. Add any desired seeds or grains on top by first dusting off the flour, then spraying with water from a spritzer and sprinkling on top. 

Place the buns onto the hot pan, stone, or Dutch oven bottom. Spray the inside of the oven with water. If using the Dutch oven, cover them. Bake for 20-25 minutes, uncovering after 15 if using the dutch oven, and spray with more water after 5 and 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese 5 minutes before you plan to take them out if desired.

Let cool about 20 minutes, or 30 if using the whole grain flour.

Soft Sugar Cookies with Icing

 Happy halloween, everyone! To those who a) are young enough to go trick-or-treating or b) don't have midterms to study for, have a blast. I'll be here facing the spookiest thing of all, which is my GPA. I even made this cookie dough in advance since I had so little spare time today- but hey, my siblings will probably share the candies they glean tonight with me. I love those miniature adorable chocolate bars.

A cookie-decorating station!

 My little sister is having a halloween party, and I wanted to make a homemade version of the classic soft sugar cookie one finds pre-iced in myriad colours at the grocery store, perhaps a little suspicious in their extended lifespan but still delicious and sweet. I've made some modifications to half the dough to try making it vegan, with the consequence of it being denser and chewier, but still tasty. I think it's the shortening that really makes them feel like the supermarket ones.

To the left are the non-vegan ones- they're more soft and pillowy. The vegan ones (right) are chewy and almost fudge-like in the chocolate version.

Cocoa variant, non-vegan

I added sprinkles to some of the vegan batters to give it a cool effect (and so I wouldn't forget which was which) and I like it! The dough wasn't really cuttable, except for the vegan chocolate cookie dough, which was firmer than the rest. I also made some icing to complete the experience, and got some candies with which to give a halloweeney decorating job.

I used licorice allsorts to make eyes, candy corns, jelly beans, jujubes and sprinkles- but any cool looking candies will do. The idea's that my sister and her guests can do some cookie decorating as an activity, which always makes them taste better. As for the flavour of the cookies, they're pillowy, sugar and soft- pretty much exactly what I wanted, the appeal of the nostalgic soft supermarket sugar cookie but without additives or an indefinite shelf life. They can be made for just about any holiday you want and customized, too. The icing also works really well- it's spreadable and sticky enough to hold on all the large toppings.

Soft Sugar Cookies with Icing
From Allrecipes.com

For the Cookies:
3 C. AP flour
1 Tsp. Baking soda
1 Tsp. Salt
1 C. Shortening
1 C. Sugar
2 Tsp. Vanilla (or vanillin, for that store-bought taste)
2 Eggs, or equivalent replacer (see notes)
1/4 C. Milk (or milk replacer- not a low-calorie, watery one!)

(Note: To make cocoa variation, I used 1/3 C.+ 1 TBSP  dark cocoa powder in the place of an equal volume of the flour, and half the vanilla. For a more exciting or seasonal look, you can also add sprinkles or food colouring to the dough. The recipe is easy to make successfully vegan, because there's no butter in the recipe to be missed, and the eggs are only really for structure- I tried batches of chocolate and vanilla both vegan and not. Just make sure that the sugar, et cetera, is also vegan in that case!)

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt (and cocoa, if using). Set aside.

Cream the shortening and sugar. Add the vanilla and eggs, one by one. Beat in the dry ingredients one third at a time, adding the milk in between additions in two halves. 

Refrigerate 30 minutes. Towards the end of that time, preheat the oven to 180℃.

Shape the dough into uniform balls and press down with your palm or a glass to make circles. You can try cutting the dough with cookie cutters, but this can be tricky as it's very soft.

Bake for about 10 minutes, and allow to set on the sheets. Let cool before frosting.

For the Icing:
3 C. Powder sugar
1/4 C. Butter, or shortening (grocery store cookies would use the latter, and make the recipe easier to veganize)
1 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla, or vanillin
Approx. 2 TBSP Milk, or milk replacer
Food colouring, if desired

Beat the ingredients together, adding just enough milk to give a spreadable consistency, until fluffy. Spread only only cool cookies.

Neo-Classic (Vegan) Crepes with Pear-Walnut Filling

My experiments with vegan cooking and baking continue! This is a recipe I've tried in both sweet and savoury styles and it goes really well either way. Besan/gram flour/chickpea flour is an excellent egg replacer in a lot of things, and also helps give an eggy flavour/colour as well. It's also nutritious, so. 

I'm a legume lover in any context (and chickpeas are one of my faves) so this recipe was a natural choice. While it doesn't taste anything like chickpeas (probably for the best here) it's absolutely fantastic. 

I modulated the recipe to suit a sweet filling with some vanilla soy milk on top of the water, vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of sugar. I added a spoon of flaxseed meal just because I love it so, and also because it tends to help along the binding of egg-free baked goods et cetera. The potato starch is mostly responsible for that here, however- so you can skip it if you aren't as enthusiastic about flax as me.

Try substituting half the wheat flour for buckwheat for something different. I made them that way in the savoury manner with some vegan cheese and herb-roasted cherry tomatoes and it was delicious. Really, anything you'd put in a standard crepe goes. Here I tried a filling of diced pears, spices and walnuts that's worth a shot since they're in season, and tastes a bit like an autumn pie filling. Nice.

Now for the caveats- it took me a good two practically-inedible misfolds of crepes to get the heat and oil level just right, so don't give up. Try thinning the batter, or lowering/increasing the heat, until you get them to not stick and also cook nice and evenly. Take your time- they go really fast once you get it right, even faster than regular crepes. I made mine a bit on the small side, too, so that they'd be less likely to tear- but I made a couple of big ones and they were just fine. 

I plan to try further variations, maybe with a pseudo-cheese filling using vegan cream cheese, apricots, and so on. I made some with a sour cherry-apricot jam mix and it went well, but a little cheesy action never hurt anyone. 

Neo-Classic Crepes
Adapted from the Bean by Bean: a Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon

1 TBSP Flaxseed meal (optional)
2 TBSP Potato starch
1 TBSP Oil, either neutral or with a nice flavour (like olive or nut oil)
about 2 2/3-3 C. water (I used 2 2/3 C. water and 1/3 C. soy milk)
1/2 C. Chickpea flour/besan
2 C. AP flour (I used 1 1/2 C. of AP white flour and 1/2 C. graham flour)

2 Tsp. Vanilla extract and 1 TBSP sugar, if making sweet
1/2 Tsp. Salt (increase to 1 Tsp. if making savoury)

Oil and/or melted vegan butter, to fry

Pulse potato starch, flaxseed meal, oil and salt with 2/3 C. of water in a blender or food processor.
Add the flours, sugar and vanilla (if using), and an additional 2 C. water and blend until completely smooth. Keep adding water (I used vanilla soy milk here) until the consistency is of thin/table cream.

Use right away or refrigerate for up to a week. (I refrigerated it overnight, which I think helps relax the gluten.) When ready to cook, use a cast iron or nonstick pan. Heat to medium high and once hot, add a small amount of oil. Pour some batter onto the oiled pan and tilt to spread around. Cook until the surface no longer looks "wet", then flip. After another 15-30 seconds, take off the pan and place onto a plate to be filled.

Pear-Walnut Filling
Note: this is enough for about half of the above batch of crepes. Make more as you see fit.

5 Small pears, peeled, cored and diced
2 TBSP Sugar
1 Tsp. Vegan butter (optional)
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
Generous pinch of cloves
Small handful of walnuts, crumbled to bits

Heat the sugar, spices and vegan butter (if using) on medium-high. Add the pears and mix well. Stir to coat evenly in sugar-spice mixture and cook on medium-high until the juices released are thickened. Add walnut pieces and vanilla and take off heat, covering with a lid, and leave for 5-10 minute to soften while you work on the crepes.

Vegan/Gluten-Free Black Bean Brownies

I normally avoid "healthy" adaptions of baked goods like the plague, on the grounds that they're usually only marginally better for you in reality, or not worth eating after the sheer amount of change to the original recipe making them a veritable Frankenstein of the trendy superfoods-du-jour. Or both. I especially abhor "skinny" versions of recipes for many reasons, mostly coming down to my hatred for the prevalent thinness-obsessed culture. But I digress! Healthy recipes are certainly a good thing, provided that a) they're supposed to be that way and not merely butcherings of classic recipes with less fat/sugar/more kale n' quinoa and b) actually taste good!

I was very suspicious of the idea of a healthy brownie from the start, but the thing about these is, I trust the presence of black beans to be a good idea. After all, I love all kinds of bean-filled sweets. Anko paste in mochi, red bean fritters and mooncakes, mung beans and black-eyed peas as well. I've even read some european recipes using white beans as a peasant-friendly, economical filler ingredient, and I hope to try that one day as well. A brownie with black beans didn't seem like such a bad idea, especially if it was promised to be moist and fudgey (my preferred state of brownie).

These are far from one-trick ponies. They don't only have the protein kick of black beans (and the fibre!) but also are both vegan and gluten-free. You can easily make them without nuts, too. The cocoa powder completely replacing flour makes them very chocolatey despite the absence of actual chocolate. The flaxseed binding them in the place of egg adds omega-3s to the mix. They're very accommodating to unrefined sugar, too. You can really use any oil you like to bake with- but a nut oil is the best in my opinion. I used almond. Along with the walnuts, they ensure that these brownies are moistened with only the healthiest of lipids.

And they really are nice and moist! While not really much like a typical brownie, they've got a nice chocolatey taste and go down great with a cup of tea. I won't be stopping my search for the perfect (butter-containing) brownie anytime soon, but these are going to the permanent collection of recipes-to-return-to. Even if you're skeptical, try them out- they're definitely tastier than a protein bar and far cheaper to make. It's good for you and tasty. Fantastic.

Black Bean Brownies
Adapted from Minimalist Baker

1 3/4 C. Cooked black beans, drained and rinsed if from a can
3/4 C. Cocoa powder
2 TBSP Ground flaxseed
5 TBSP Water
3 TBSP Coconut oil, or other favoured vegetable/nut oil (e.g. walnut, almond)
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1/2 C. Fine raw cane sugar 
1 TBSP Agave syrup
1 1/2 Tsp. Baking powder
1/3 C. Walnut pieces, or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180℃.

Line a muffin tray with paper cups, or grease with oil. Combine water and flaxseed in food processor and let sit about 10 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients (except for the toppings) and blend well. Make sure there's no bean pieces left whole. You might want to add a tablespoon or two of water if it is too sticky.

Distribute between muffin cups with a spoon. Push any nuts or chips into the top with a spoon. Bake for about 25 minutes.

Let cool in pan for half an hour before removing.