Thursday, October 4, 2012

ThinMints- the vegan kind...

My daughter was playing around with my cookbooks recently, and lover of mint and chocolate that she is, she discovered and successfully vegan-ized these amazing cookies from the Tassajara CookBook. Just makes it easier to eat them! Who says we need to wait for the girls in green to come by....

 2+1/2cups (375gr) flour (I use spelt/epeautre)
1/2cup (125gr) cocoa powder
1+1/2 tsp (coffee spoon) baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1/2 tsp seasalt

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (de-aromatized is the best)
1 cup maple syrup
1+1/2 tsp mint extract
1+1/2 cups chocolate chips

 Preheat oven to 350degrees F/ 175degrees C.
 Combine all dry ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a large mixing bowl.

In a large tall mixing cup, combine all wet ingredients with a stick mixer to emulsify. Or just whisk them together until smooth.

 Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until all the flour is combined. Then gently mix in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet covered with baking paper, and flatten with the back of the spoon. Bake 12-16 minutes- wait for the chocolate-y smell and then check them! Cool.

In our home, since we no longer have store bought cookies, we make batter, ball it all, bake only 1-2 trays and freeze the rest of the balls for another day's instant warm cookies!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Blueberry Coconut Muffins

Coconut oil is really my chosen oil to bake with. It adds a richness of flavor while being truly the most heart healthy oil there is.

WET
3/4 cups safflower or melted coconut oil
1 cup maple syrup
3 eggs or 6 egg whites or 6 Tbl ground flax seed whisked with 12 Tbl water (set aside)
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2 Tbl vanilla

DRY
4 cups whole wheat flour (or spelt)
1 1/8 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups blueberries- fresh, frozen or defrosted

Pre heat oven to 350F/175C.

Whisk all WET ingredients together.

Mix together flour, coconut and baking powder & soda.
Blend into WET ingredients.
Gently stir in blueberries.

The batter will be thick and delicious.
If you prefer a runnier batter, add some soy milk to get to the texture of batter you are used to.

Spoon batter into greased or papered muffin tins.
Bake at 350F/175C for about 30 minutes but check after 20. Bake until a skewer or knife comes out clean.

Spicy Apple Muffins

Another one from my very first whole foods baking book. Smile :)
Makes 2 dozen muffins that taste like autumn... even in February!

WET
2 cups apple cider
2 cups chopped dried apples
1 cup chopped fresh apple (optional)
1 cup safflower or melted coconut oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 TBL lemon juice
4 beaten egg whites or 2T ground flax seed whisked with 5T water.

DRY
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup dry soy milk powder
2 1/2 TBL baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 Tbl cinnamon
1 Tbl nutmeg
1 Tbl allspice

Pre Heat oven to 350F/175F
Soak dried apples in half of the cider and set aside.
Whisk flax seed into water. Set aside to thicken and get gooey and egg like.
Whisk together remaining WET ingredients.

Sift together DRY ingredients.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and whisk in ALl the WET ingredients including the flax seed mixture if using, and remaining apple cider. Using as few strokes as possible.
Then add in the dried apples and cider.

Pour into greased or papered muffin tins.
Bake at 350F/175C for 30 minutes.
Test with a fork.

Raspberry Muffins

This recipe was my very first venture into whole food baking. Just reading the ingredients brings me back to weekends "studying" by the streams in Sedona, AZ. They must have been pretty good to keep my changing recipes all these years! John, these are for you!

Raspberry Muffins

DRY
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cups dry soy milk powder
1 tsp alum free baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

WET
3/4 cup maple syrup
3/8 cup melted coconut oil (or any other high fat veg oil)
1 1/4 tsp lemon juice (or more to taste)
3/4 tsp lemon peel- grated
1 beaten egg OR 1 Tbl ground flax seeds whisked with 2 Tbl water

1/2 large package frozen rasberries

PreHeat oven 350F/175C
Whisk together all WET ingredients until emulsified.
In a bowl, mix all DRY ingredients.
Pour WET ingredients into DRY and FOLD in gently.
Stir in frozen rasberries.
Bake at 350F for approx 15 minutes.

You can bake this as a loaf if desired.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Ultimate Banana Bread

This recipe is a take on The Ultimate Banana Bread in Cook's Illustrated Magazine (July/August 2010). Always a source of inspiration and science for me. This one is really quite extraordinary. It reduces the JUICE of the bananas to increase the flavour....Plus, only good fat, and no sugar, eggs or dairy. :) The flax(lin) seeds not only replace the eggs as a binder but they add an amazing nutty flavor that you cannot exactly put your finger on....Nature as it can be.

1 3/4 cups (300grams) unbleached flour (I use spelt)
1 teaspoon (coffeespoon) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (coffeespoon) seasalt
6 very large ripe bananas peeled, frozen and defrosted (save the juice!!--it is the KEY!)
or fresh and microwaved (see instructions)
8 tablespoons (125 grams) coconut oil, melted & slightly cooled
3 heaping tablespoons of ground flax seeds (lin)
3/4 cup (175ml) maple syrup or rice syrup or agave syrup
1 tablespoon (soupspoon) vanilla extract
1 cup (250gr) chocolate chips (optional)

1. Prepare ground flax (lin) seeds by whisking them in a small bowl with 7 tablespoons water. Let stand to get a gooey in texture.

2. Pre heat oven to 350F/175C. Oil whatever pan you are using, sprinkle a bit of pure unrefined muscovado sugar (or what you have) on the bottom. Slice a banana and arrange on the bottom of the pan. Ones that work are loaf pans, bundt pans, square pans. Just add on more cooking time for a loaf shape as it is thicker. Set aside.

3. If using defrosted bananas, save the juice!!! Put it in a small pan and heat on low to reduce into a thin syrup. Usually about 5 min but do it just as long as you can.

4. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Flour, baking soda, seasalt.

5. Mash bananas and re-incorporate the reduced juice. Mix in all wet ingredients adding the flax (lin) seed last- melted coconut oil, maple/rice/agave syrup, vanilla extract and flax seed/water mixture. Pour into the dry ingredient mixture.

6. Stir in chocolate chips if using.

7. Pour into pan and shake and bang pan until it is evenly distributed.

8. Bake for about 45 minutes but check it! My oven is hot so time maybe a bit more in yours.
This can also be made as muffins.

9. See if you can keep it on a plate longer than an afternoon....

By the way, for you France enthusiasts... this cake is great to hide a feve in during Galette de Roi saison!!