Your Vegan Mom

Chocolate Pecan Cookie Pies

Or pie cookies.  But I think cookie pie is more fun to say.  Try it.  

I am lagging behind on all this holiday business.  Yesterday I ordered my cards.  Today I bought stamps.  And then it all rapidly accelerated in a blur of preschool sing-alongs, Christmas cookies, present making, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Suddenly the Elvis Christmas CD never stops and neither does the Santa talk.  

So the festive season has officially begun at my house, and I am ready for this Virtual Vegan Holiday Dinner hosted by Marly and Allyson.  I signed my name in the pecan pie slot, but at this time of year I prefer a small hand-held treat, something that will work on a cookie tray or wrapped up as a little gift for the neighbors.  I prefer a Chocolate Pecan Cookie Pie.  

It's the delicious goop of the pecan pie and the gooey middle of the chocolate chip cookie smacked together with a shot of bourbon and then contained in a flaky little wrapper so that you can nibble on them daintily at this virtual soiree.

Happy Holidays indeed.

Cookies

I know it's getting late for cookie recipes, but if you're anything like me then you are nowhere near done with your holiday baking and last-minute present making, despite your best intentions and annual vows that next year it will be different.  Good thing you forgot to give the diaper service guy his package this morning.  Those are twelve less cookies you need to make tonight.  I'm sorry diaper guy - they're really good cookies.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

Chewy Chocolate Mint Cookies (I love these, and as an added bonus they're delicious straight out of the freezer.  Learn from my mistakes and quadruple the recipe.)

Swedish Heirloom Cookies

 Snickerdoodles

Crunchy Little Animals with Chocolate Boots (because even if you don't have time to bake, you can always just dip stuff in chocolate)

Merry Christmas and all!  

Cream Cheese Cookies with Strawberry Icing

 

I'm trying to learn to take time to enjoy the process of making stuff with the boy and not stress so much about the perfect end product (Thank you Positive Discipline for Preschoolers).  These cookies, with their visible flex of flax meal and strawberry seeds and their casually spooned on icing perfectly lend themselves to the imprecision of baking with a three year old.  Plus, I found that by sacrificing a small lump of dough to the creation of giant snail monsters that we were able to work in happy unison, me carefully cutting and him industriously squishing dough between his palms.  I have to say, this relaxed experience made the (not quite perfect) end product all the more sweet.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies

• 1 cup non-dairy butter, softened
• 8 ounces non-dairy cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (10.5 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (17.5 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, mix flax meal and water and set aside to thicken.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add sugar and beat again until fluffy and light.  Add the thickened flax mixture and the vanilla - again, beat until light and fluffy.  Stir in the flour and salt until just combined.  Chill until firm, at least 1 1/2 hours or overnight.  

On a lightly floured surface, roll to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut out and bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 10-12 minutes at 375.  Let cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheets before removing to cooling racks.  

Makes about 56 3-inch cookies.  

Strawberry Icing 

• 3 tablespoons strawberry puree
• 3/4 cups powdered sugar (4 ounces)

Sift powdered sugar into strawberry puree and whisk until smooth.  You should have a thick, mostly opaque glaze.  If it seems too thin, add more powdered sugar.  

To assemble:

Once cookies have completely cooled, spoon a small amount of glaze onto each cookie and spread into a v.  Let sit until the glaze has hardened, about 2 hours.  (The glaze won't completely harden, but it will dry out enough for you to wrap up cute and give to your sweetheart.)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I keep thinking that maybe if I have just one more cookie I can get some writing done.  I'm afraid that this is going to soon expand to other parts of my life - you know - just one more cookie and then I can make dinner for my children, and so on.  Please, before this becomes a bigger problem - you take them.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe is pretty directly adapted to my kitchen from the package of Quaker Oats and was originally brought to my attention by Joy the Baker, who writes an adorable blog filled with beautiful photographs, delightful writing, and enticing recipes.

• 2 Earth Balance buttery sticks
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached sugar
• 1 tablespoon black strap molasses
• 2 tablespoons flax meal + 6 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (if you don't have this use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose, do not substitute regular whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350.  In a small bowl, mix together flax meal and water and set aside to thicken.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and molasses until light and fluffy.  Add flax mixture and vanilla and beat again.  Stir in flour mixture until thoroughly incorporated.  Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and nuts.  Drop by rounded tablespoons* onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Cool for one minute on the cookie sheet before transferring to wire racks.  

Makes about 6 dozen 3-inch cookies.

*Do you have a cookie scoop?  It might sounds like a silly kitchen gadget, but if you like cookies, it makes getting them a lot faster.  Please don't tell me that's not a good thing.   

Egg Replacer: the hunt for a vegan easter tradition

If I was feeling a bit ho-hum about Saint Patrick's Day, I have no qualms whatsoever about easter.  A giant rabbit that hides colorful eggs filled with candy in your backyard!?  How fabulously surreal is that? 

Also, it's one of those holidays with a family craft tradition - like baking christmas cookies.  I loved those cups of brightly colored dye and wire egg dippers and little shrink wrappers.  But really, does anybody think that hiding hard-boiled eggs in the hot sun is a good idea?

So I've been gradually trying to figure out what our easter making tradition will be.  This year we started with sugar cookies (from Joy of Vegan Baking) decorated with melted chocolate (crammed in a ziploc bag, corner poked with a tiny skewer hole).  But we have lots more experimenting to do.   

There are candy molds and cakes to be baked and maybe when Desmond is older we'll do something with wooden eggs. 

My yoga-practicing pal made cadbury eggs, and even though I always thought the store-bought ones were gross, I bet hers were rad and I want to eat them.  

I'll get back to you with more experiments in the coming weeks.  

How about you?  What do you put in the easter basket?