Chocolate Almond Breakfast Cake

I have been away for quite some time as I prepare to move my home.  Today, as I was getting ready to pack my baking closet, I decided to create something using a few ingredients that were nearly finished (in an effort not to pack them;).  This is great for the morning as it is not too sweet (you can sweeten it with a little powdered sugar before serving).

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Whisk together the above ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.

1/2 cup non-dairy margarine

1/3 brown sugar

1  tsp each vanilla and almond extracts

1/2 cup almond milk

1 tsp xanthan gum

Cream the margarine and brown sugar until fluffy; beat in the almond milk, extracts and xanthan gum until well blended and creamy.  Add the flour mixture and blend on low speed until fully combined.  

6 oz each slivered almonds and vegan chocolate chips

Mix in by hand until fully incorporated.  

Scrape batter into a small paper bundt pan and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes (you can also use a standard loaf pan).  

Let cake cool and slice into wedges.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

This is Mom's recipe (and my Dad's favorite) that I have loved since childhood.  When using margarine they don't come quite as lacy as with butter, but the taste is still the same.  The extra special treat for me is that they have raisins, walnuts and chocolate chips.


Ingredients
1 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs almond milk
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

3 cups quick rolled oats
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups vegan semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl whisk together xanthan gum, flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.

Cream margarine and sugars until fluffy; beat in vanilla and almond milk.   With mixer at low speed, add in flour mixture until combined.  Using a wooden spoon stir oats, raisins, walnuts and chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on parchment line baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake 12-15 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.  The cookies will be set on the edges and soft in the middle - do not over bake!

Allow to cool about 5 minutes before moving with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for about a month.

Yields approximately 6 dozen cookies.

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Coconut Bars

This is a recipe that some of my non-vegan friends have requested - they are always a hit!   What's good about this recipe is that you can modify to whatever your taste is or what you have on hand; add some dried fruit with, or in place of, the chocolate chips.  These puff-up nicely when baking yet still have a dense chewy texture.

¾  cup whole wheat flour (spelt flour works well here, too)

1 ½ cups quick oats

½  tsp baking soda

¼  tsp baking powder

¼  tsp salt

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp canola oil

2/3 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla

1-3 tbsp almond milk 

1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips

½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 375 and line an 8x8 baking dish with aluminum foil, allowing foil to hang over two sides.

In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking soda and powder and salt.  Add applesauce, oil, agave and vanilla; mix until combined.  

Mixture will be thick and may be dry; if so, add almond milk a little at a time until it holds together well.  

Fold in coconut and chips and pour into baking dish.  Push into dish and smooth top.   

Bake for 21-23 minutes.  

Cut into 16 small squares or 12 larger squares and enjoy.

Cakey-Chewy Vegan Brownies

After four sometimes painful tries, I have found the right combination of ingredients to get cakey-chewy brownies.  The key was adding baking powder to the mix to get a bit of a rise and not end up with a dense oily mess.

Ingredients
10 tbs margarine (1 1/4 sticks)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tbs almond milk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecan, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil, allowing the foil to hang over two sides.

Combine margarine, sugar, cocoa and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water.  Stir periodically until mixture is melted and well combined.  Remove from heat and allow to cool a few minutes.

Stir in vanilla, almond milk and xanthan gum.  Add flour and baking powder and stir to combine.  Add nuts if using.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.  Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.  When cool, hold the edges of the foil to remove the brownies from the pan.  Peel off the foil and cut into 16 to 24 squares, depending on your preference.

Vegan Blondies

I tend to make brownies more than blondies and then when I do make blondies, I remember how much I love the caramel flavor that the brown sugar gives them.  A blondie is basically a brownie but with brown sugar in place of the chocolate.  There are a few more differences in the recipes but that's the main one.  I like making the blondies in a slightly smaller pan than brownies for a thicker treat.  I use a 7-inch square brown paper pan that I buy at NY Cake (nycake.com).  The good thing about using paper pans is that you can give the blondies as a gift wrapped in cellophane paper or simply wrap in aluminum foil or plastic wrap for easy transport to your next outing. There are also variations of blondie recipes that include coconut, nuts and chips.  I prefer the straight-up blondie with nothing added.

1 stick margarine
1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose or spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbs vanilla
1 tbs non-dairy milk (preferably almond milk)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides; spray with non-stick cooking spray.  If using a paper pan, lightly coat with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan combine margarine and brown sugar; warm over medium heat, stirring often until melted.  Pour into a large bowl and set a side to cool slightly.   In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum.  Stir vanilla and almond milk into brown sugar mixture until combined.  Gently fold in flour mixture until fully incorporated and smooth.

Scrape into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 minutes.  Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Remove blondies from baking pan and peel off foil; cut blondies into 1-2 inch squares (yields 16-20).  If using paper pan, leave blondies in pan and cut to desired size.

Blondies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days or wrapped well and frozen for up to 3 months.

Fudgy Vegan Brownies

Yes, I have been tardy in keeping up with baking and posting.  My day job has been hectic and will continue to be so for the next few weeks.  I will do my best to bake and post whenever possible!

Recently I've made a few cake products using a combination of wheat and all-purpose flour.  While I generally like whole wheat breads, muffins, etc., I find the wheat gives a very pronounced taste to the end result of a cake or cupcake (or maybe I'm just overly sensitive to the smell and taste of it).  Lately I've been using spelt flour.  Spelt is more nutritionally sound than white/all-purpose flour, but can be substituted in to most make products with no difference in taste or texture.  I'm using it whenever possible.  I like Bob's Red Mill Spelt Flour which you can find in most grocery stores and health food stores.  You can also order it online direct from Bob's at a discounted price.

I tried another brownie recipe; this is the third one and while good, I'm still searching for the perfect ingredients to make cakey/chewy vegan brownies.  I find using melted chocolate makes a fudgier brownie while cocoa seems to make a cakier version.  Here we go...

1 stick margarine
8 oz. bittersweet non-dairy chocolate, coarsely chopped (chips works well here, too)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 tbs non-dairy milk (preferably unsweetened almond milk)
3/4 cup spelt (or all-purpose) flour
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil leaving a one-inch overhang on two sides; spray foil with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Place margarine and chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.   Let heat for about 5 minutes, then stir until fully melted, about 2-3 minutes more; set aside to cool a bit - about 10 minutes.

Stir sugar into cooled chocolate mixture until combined.  Stir in vanilla and non-dairy milk.  Gently fold in xanthan gum, flour and salt.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top with offset spatula.  Bake until cake tester inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40-45 minutes.  Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cool, lift aluminum with brownies from pan.  Peel off foil and cut brownies into 1-2 inch squares; makes 16-20 brownies, depending on size.

Variation: add 1 cup chopped walnuts or non-dairy chocolate or peanut butter chips with flour.

Vegan Sugar Cookies

In honor of SuperBowl Sunday, I decided to make football shaped sugar cookies.  The cookie is mild tasting and the icing is lemony and a bit sweet, which is a great compliment to one another.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 sticks non-dairy margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbs non-dairy milk
1  tbs vanilla

1 recipe Icing (see below)
Sanding sugar, optional

Whisk together flour, salt and xanthan gum in a small bowl; set aside.

Beat together margarine and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in vanilla and non-dairy milk.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

Form dough into 2 disks and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill until firm, at least 1 hour (dough, wrapped well in plastic wrap and sealed in a freezer bag, can be frozen for up to 3 months; thaw in refrigerator overnight when ready to use).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll out one disk between two pieces of parchment paper to 1/4-inch thickness.  Cut out as many cookies as possible with cookie cutters and transfer to parchment lined cookie sheets, spacing about 1-inch apart.  If you do not plan to frost the cookies, you may sprinkle with sanding sugar before baking.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating pans half-way through, until edges are golden.  Let cool on pan for 5 minutes before using a spatula to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Gather and re-roll scraps; repeat as above, making more cookies with remaining dough and scraps.  If dough becomes too soft, chill for 10-15 minutes until firm.

Store unfrosted cookies in an airtight container for 1 week.  Unfrosted cookies may also be frozen, in an airtight container layered between sheets of wax paper, for up to 1 month.

Makes 3-5 dozen cookies, depending on size of cookie cutter.

Icing:
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs non-dairy milk
6-8 drops food coloring, optional

Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Using a small offset spatula, spread a thin layer of icing over each cookie.  You may decorate with sanding sugar for added color.  Allow to dry on a piece of wax paper for at about one hour.  Store in an airtight container layered between pieces of wax paper for up to 1 week.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

So here is my first recipe.  I went through 5 iterations of this recipe (thank you to my family, friends and co-workers for being my taste testers).  The variations included canola oil for the margarine as well as cornstarch/water and egg-replacer/water combinations in lieu of the xanthan gum.  I was a little apprehensive about using xanthan gum, but it is easy to find and goes a very long way.  Xanthan gum is the binding agent.  This version seemed the most like traditional chocolate chip cookies in terms of the texture of the dough and finished cookie as well as the taste.

Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum

1 cup (2 sticks) non-dairy margarine
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbs non-dairy milk

12oz non-dairy chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a small bowl whisk together first 4 ingredients; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream margarine and both sugars on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add vanilla and non-dairy milk and mix to combine.  Add dry ingredients at low speed and mix until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes until edges are set and golden brown, the middle will still be soft.  Cool on pan 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.  Makes approximately 6 dozen cookies.

Bar cookie variation:  spread dough in 15 x 10 inch aluminum foil lined jelly roll pan and bake 20 minutes until edges are set and golden brown, the middle will still be soft.   Let cool completely in pan.  Using overhang from foil, remove cookies from pan and cut into squares.  Makes approximately 6 dozen 2 inch bars.