Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (86 page)

Read Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Online

Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz,Terry Hope Romero

Tags: #food.cookbooks

 
MAKES 30 COOKIES
COOKING TIME:
30 MINUTES
 
 
Terry loves the chewy texture these cookies deliver from their caramellike brown rice syrup, nutty whole-grain flours, and plenty of raisins. This recipe is as basic as a pair of jeans and, we suppose, could be doctored with a handful of chocolate chips or shredded coconut, but why mess with perfection? These cookies are equally at home packed into lunchboxes or served with cold soy milk or a steaming cup of tea or hot apple cider.
½ cup canola or safflower oil
⅓ cup brown rice syrup
⅓ cup rice or soy milk
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2⅓ cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled or instant oats
1½ ups Thompson raisins
 
PREHEAT THE oven to 350°F and lightly grease two baking sheets.
 
➣
If you have any issues with cookies’ sticking to
the baking sheets, line sheets with either baking parchment or Silpats.
In a large bowl, combine the oil, brown rice syrup, soy milk, brown sugar, and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt, and combine to beat just until a dough begins to form. Fold in the oats and raisins.
Roll the dough into walnut-size balls (about 1 heaping tablespoon) and place about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Press the cookies down lightly with your fingers or the bottoms of a glass dipped in water (to prevent sticking). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies have spread and are lightly browned.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on their baking sheets for about 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool the cookies completely before storing in a tightly covered container.
ALMOND-ANISE BISCOTTI
 
MAKE 18 COOKIES
TIME:
ABOUT AN HOUR
 
 
This is the classic twice-baked Italian cookie—not overly sweet, bursting with toasted almonds or chocolate or spices, with a definite cookie crunch. These biscotti are ideal treats for midafternoon snacks or packing into lunch boxes, especially lunch boxes for grown ups. And of course, these hold up perfectly when dipped into tea or a soy latte. Try some of the variations as well, such as the Orange-Chocolate Chip and Cranberry-Pistachio.
⅓ cup almond or soy milk
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
¾ cup sugar
½ cup canola oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1⅔ cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry
flour
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons aniseeds
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole, raw almonds
 
 
➣
It’s not necessary to flip these biscotti during the baking. However, if you feel confident in your biscotti-making ability and want really crisp, firm cookies, try flipping them once during the middle of the second baking. Our fingers are made of asbestos so we use those, but most normal people just use a small spatula.
PREHEAT THE oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond milk and flaxseeds for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar, oil, and extracts, and mix until smooth. Sift in the flour, arrowroot, baking powder, aniseeds, and salt.
Stir to mix all the ingredients and, just as a firm dough starts to form, knead in almonds. Knead the dough only briefly. Some of the almonds might pop out; just push them back in.
On the baking sheet, form the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide. Bake for 28 minutes until lightly puffed; the top may also be slightly crackled, which is okay.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes, until very firm.
Turn up the oven heat to 375°F. Carefully transfer the baked dough to a cutting board. With a heavy, very sharp knife, slice the dough into ½ -inch-thick slices. The best way to do this is in one motion, pushing down; don’t saw the slices off (or use a serrated knife) or the slices could crumble. Be gentle when handling the biscotti at this time, as they are delicate.
Set the slices on the cookie sheet on their cut sides, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until your desired level of brownness and crispness is achieved.
Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring the slices to a cooling rack. When completely cool, store in an airtight container.
 
Variations:
Orange-Chocolate Chip:
Substitute fresh orange juice for the almond milk. Omit aniseed and almond extract, and increase the vanilla to 1 teaspoon. Omit the almonds and add 2 tablespoons of packed, grated orange zest and ½ cup of vegan chocolate chips.
 
 
Cranberry-Pistachio:
Omit the aniseeds and almonds. Add ½ cup each dried cranberries and shelled green pistachios
 
Hazelnut:
Omit the almonds and use hazelnuts.
CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT BISCOTTI
 
MAKE 18 COOKIES
TIME :
ABOUT AN HOUR
 
 
These are mouth-watering, dark chocolate biscotti chock full of crunchy hazelnuts. Make a double batch of these because they’re sure to disappear fast.
⅓ cup almond or soy milk
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup canola oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
⅓ cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
or regular unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole, raw hazelnuts
 
PREHEAT THE oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, whisk together almond milk and flaxseeds, mixing for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar, oil, and extracts, and stir until smooth. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking powder, and salt. Stir to mix and, just as the dough starts to come together, knead in hazelnuts. Knead very briefly to form a stiff dough; if some of the nuts pop out, just push them back in.
On the baking sheet, form the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide. Bake for 28 minutes, until lightly puffed; the top may also be slightly crackled.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 30 minutes, until very firm.
Turn up the oven heat to 375°F. Carefully transfer the baked dough to a cutting board. With a heavy, very sharp knife (or use a serrated knife), slice ½ -inch-thick slices. The best way to do this is in one pushing-down motion; don’t saw the slices off or the slices could crumble. Be gentle when handling the biscotti at this time, as they are delicate.
Set the slices on the cookie sheet cut side down and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until your desired level of brownness and crispness is achieved.
Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring the slices to a cooling rack. When completely cool, store in an airtight container.
 
Variation:
Chocolate-Hazelnut-Espresso:
Whisk 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder into the liquid ingredients before adding the dry ingredients.
 
APPLE-PEANUT BUTTER-CARAMEL BARS
 
MAKES 12 BARS
TIME :
1 HOUR 15 MINUTES, PLUS COOLING TIME
 
 
These bars were created one autumn night when we were sitting around with our friend Paula, thinking about apples and peanut butter. Everyone loves peanut butter on apples, so why aren’t there any treats dedicated to this combination? Could all the world’s problems be solved if only we would take hold of our innermost desires? To the kitchen we went. The result is this bar; an apple pie filling inside a graham cracker crust, with a crumb topping and ribbons of luscious peanut butter caramel.
 
➣
If you can’t find vegan graham crackers, vegan vanilla cookies make a good substitution.

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