Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cookies. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Something Sweet


I LOVE to bake and friends always ask me for recipes, so I thought I would share one that anyone who loves cookies is sure to dig!
I make these ALL the time and I swear, you will NEVER know that they contain ABSOLUTELY NO animal products!!

Courtesy of Dreena Burton, an amazing vegan baker and chef.  
When I first became a vegan, this recipe was introduced to me by my incredible friend, Danette, who helped me in so many ways to transition happily and peacefully with my decision to eat and live compassionately.  I love her and she is such an inspiration in my life.  The first time I baked these, the cookies simply amazed me and assured me that living vegan was merely a matter of being a little more mindful of the ingredients I bought and ate.  Scrumptious, I'm telling you!!

**I always quadruple the recipe; but here is the one batch version**

Homestyle Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (see note)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 cup unrefined sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup
1⁄4 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
1 – 1 1⁄2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1⁄4 cup canola oil
1⁄3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). In a bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the sugar and salt, and stir until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup with the molasses and vanilla, then stir in the oil until well combined. Add the wet mixture to the dry, along with the chocolate chips, and stir through until just well combined (do not over-mix). Place large spoonfuls of the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten a little. Bake for 11 minutes, until just golden (if you bake for much longer, they will dry out). Let cool on the sheet for no more than 1 minute (again, to prevent drying), then transfer to a cooling rack.

Note: Unbleached all-purpose flour or spelt flour produces a more classic cookie taste and texture, but you can use whole-wheat pastry flour and still get a delicious cookie. For a wheat-free version, use spelt flour, but add an extra 2-4 tablespoons of the spelt flour to the dry mix (the amount needed varies with brand of spelt flour and whether you are using a refined spelt flour versus a less processed spelt flour).

Note: If, as you are mixing together your batter it appears quite floury and thick, simply mix together a couple of teaspoons more canola and maple syrup and incorporate it into the batter. Sometimes humidity, type of flour used, and other factors can affect the density of the batter and so a touch more liquid may be needed.

Makes 9-12 large to average sized cookies
ENJOY!!
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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

I've Waited Hours For This


Updates, updates!!


So... I made the fabulous vegan chocolate chip cookies again, with the yummy recipe that I got from Dreena Burton. The whole family loves them and there is not a stitch of a chance you would ever know that it is lacking dairy products! Divine, if I do say so myself =)













The election rollercoaster is reeking havoc on what LITTLE patience I have left with the "intelligence level" of this country. HOW is Sarah Palin considered a viable candidate for one split second, for what, some might say, is the 2nd most powerful position in the world? Are you kidding me? Absolutely INCREDIBLE!! If the McCain-Palin joke-of-a-ticket actually succeeds in blindsiding America into a win this November, it will truly be evident that this country is officially void of any capacity for reasoning; and in a nutshell, absolutely has NO SHAME!! The land of instant gratification will have fallen victim to the pretty, shiny, oh-my-god-she-looks-like-a-"normal"-person-and-she's-a-hockey-mom-AND-I-am-totally-going-to-block-out-the-last-eight-years-of-degeneration-because-she-told-a-funny-joke-and-she-wears-cute-glasses. Yep...that country!














Well, I hope this horror does not become reality... and I also hope that THIS ridiculous Proposition (8, that is) does not pass and take away the long-awaited equality of gay couples; which would make that recently-granted freedom way too short-lived, should it pass. This sign is in the yard of one of our idiotic neighbors who thinks he would actually even KNOW if a gay or lesbian couple was married. The truth is, it wouldn't effect him any more than if I bought a new pair of purple socks. He wouldn't know and it wouldn't be of any consequence to his life one way or the other. I really don't understand why people that think they are protecting the "sanctity of marriage" (as if it's SO sacred in America nowadays) spend SO MUCH time pushing their judgmental noses into other people's business; and more specifically, bedrooms. Geesh!!



















My hair is growing-along nicely. It's pretty funky to have it up on top again; but I like it and I'm anxious for it to grow just a bit longer so I can dye it a vibrant shade of pink.













In musical news:











I learned to play this on my bass today and I am quite stoked about it!


The "Head on the Door" has always been my favorite of The Cure's albums and given that, well, how could one not just totally dig "Close to Me."







Over & Out, J-Boo

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