Super Duper Vegan Cookies with Agave, Oats, and Flax

Vegan means no animal products. No eggs, no butter, and no milk is often associated with no taste, especially in baked goods. This misconception is so wrong, and this vegan cookie recipe clearly proves it.

What's special about vegan baking? Vegan sweets are usually more wholesome than non-vegan ones. Another benefit is that the baker can safely taste "raw" batter, since vegan batter will never contain raw eggs. What a concept!

This cookie recipe was adapted from a Agave and Honey Oatmeal M&M Cookie Recipe from RecipeGirl.com (http://www.recipegirl.com/2009/01/20/agave-and-honey-oatmeal-mm-cookies/). The recipe is super versatile and can be changed to yield completely different cookies. Additional spices can be added to the recipe (i.e. nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, all spice, etc.), other liquid sweeteners can be fully or partially substituted for the agave (i.e. molasses, honey, brown rice syrup, etc.), the oats can be ground in a food processor for a "lighter" cookie, and mixtures of whole-grain flours can be used for more whole grain variety (i.e. buckwheat flour, millet flour, or brown rice flour can be mixed with the whole wheat flour).

Just as a side note, I used chocolate chips in my cookies (they're not 100% vegan). Carob chips are usually used as a vegan chocolate substitute, but I have never tried them. Raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, chopped dates, crystallized ginger, and other tasty add-ins could alternatively be used. Another exciting point about this recipe is that it only yields about 8 cookies. This is great for people who live alone and have nobody with which they can share their cookies. The 8 cookie yield can be beneficial towards people who are dieting and do not want too many sweets hanging around the house. For those people who want more cookies to snack on, this recipe can very easily be doubled or tripled.

Have fun and do not be afraid to alter the recipe to your liking!



SUPER DUPER VEGAN COOKIES WITH AGAVE, OATS, AND FLAX

WET INGREDIENTS:
-2 Tablespoons warm water + 1 Tablespoon ground flax
-4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) agave nectar
-2 Tablespoons canola oil
-1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


DRY INGREDIENTS:
-1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
-3/4 cup oats
-1/8 teaspoon baking soda
-1/8 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
-about 1/4 cup chocolate chips,carob chips, raisins, or whatever is available


Preheat oven to 375 F, and line a metal cookie sheet with non-stick parchment paper.

Agressively whisk together flax and water in a small bowl for about 1 minute (this process brings out the healthy fats in the flax seed). Set aside to thicken.

In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Whisk agave, oil, and vanilla into flax mixture. Slowly stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and stir until combined. Drop Tablespoon-sized dollops of batter onto the parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Slightly flatten dollops.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and beautiful! Cool cookies on a wire rack and enjoy.

Blueberry-Lemon Muesli Bread

I received a beautiful bag of Trader Joe's Blueberry Muesli this holiday season (see below). For anyone who is not familiar with muesli, muesli is sort of like an unbaked granola. It isn't as crunchy and overly sweet as some granolas tend to be. Muesli is fresher and more organic/raw-tasting.



I enjoyed my blueberry muesli in soymilk topped with a slice banana. This was a delicious breakfast, but I could not help but wonder, "Would muesli not taste awesome as part of a muffin or breakfast break recipe?". I instantly raced to the computer after breakfast and searched the internet for muesli-containing muffin recipes. I came across a simple muesli muffin recipe from "Something About Penguins" (http://lentilpenguins.blogspot.com/2008/02/muesli-muffins.html). This recipe was adapted from a muesli bread recipe from "Baking Bites" (http://bakingbites.com/2006/02/blueberry-muesli-bread/). My muesli bread recipe combines aspects of both recipes and includes my own little twists.

As I said previously, I used a commercially produced muesli (Trader Joe's Blueberry Muesli). If I had to make this muesli bread again, I would probably throw together a home-made muesli. My dream muesli recipe would consist of oats, sliced almonds, sunflowed/pumpkin seeds, ground flax, raisins, cinnamon, etc. Feel free to mix up your own muesli to use for this recipe.



BLUEBERRY-LEMON MUESLI BRREAD (VEGAN)

DRY INGREDIENTS
-1 1/2 cups muesli
-1 1/2 cups King Arthur's white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
-1/4-1/2 cup raisins
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt

WET INGREDIENTS
-1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I just ground up a small apple in my food processor)
-Zest of 1 lemon
-Juice of 1 lemon plus enough soy milk to measure 1 1/2 cups of liquid (This will make the soymilk thicken/slightly curdle. This is okay!)
-2 Tablespoons canola oil

OPTIONAL TOPPING
-about 2 Tablespoons oats

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a standard-sized metal loaf pan with canola oil.

In a medium bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. In a separate larger bowl, mix together all wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients all at once, gently folding until combined. Pour batter into greased loaf pan, and spread batter into pan with a spatula. Sprinkle with oats, if desired.

Bake bread in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick/knife comes out clean. Place an aluminum foil tent over the bread about 15 minutes before the bread is finished in order to prevent over-browning. Nobody likes burnt bread!

Cool bread in loaf pan on a wire cooling rack. When cooled to room temperature, carefully remove bread from pan. The end product is a yummy breakfast bread with a crusty exterior and a deliciously moist interior. The lemon really adds a fun touch! Orange would be a great substitute, also. Enjoy bread plain, slathered with almond or peanut butter, or topped with jam.

Mini Blackberry-Lemon Cheesecake Tarts

When I bake, I usually follow a recipe. Baking, unlike cooking, is a scientific skill that must be learned and practiced. I was feeling spontaneous this weekend, so I decided to bake something without a recipe. That's right, NO RECIPE! I based my measurements solely off of consistency, texture, sweetness, and color. This is what I came up with:

Mini Blackberry-Lemon Cheesecake Tarts



*Makes roughly 15 tarts*

Crust:
-1 1/2 cups oats, ground
-1/4 cup oats, not ground
-1/4 cup + 2 Tbpns sugar
-2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a tray of mini muffin tins. In a medium sized bowl, beat eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer until creamy. Add oats (ground and unground) to the egg-sugar mixture, beating until incorporated. Use your hands towards the end, if necessary.

Pinch off pieces from the dough, roll them into small balls, and press them into the greased mini muffin tins. Be sure to work the dough up the sides of the muffin tins to create walls for the tart. This part may get messy, so feel free to dust your hands with flour between each tart.

Bake tarts in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until edges become golden in color. Cool and remove tarts from muffin tins. These tarts will be filled later. I stored mine in an airtight container overnight.



No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake Filling:
-2 8oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cooled to room temperature
-The zest and juice of one lemon
-3/4 cup granulated sugar

Place room temperature cream cheese into a medium-sized bowl. In a small sauce pan, mix lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar together. Heat this mixture on medium heat until it JUST bubbles. The sugar should be dissolved at this point. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer and slowly stream in warm lemon simple syrup. Mix until smooth and creamy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight.

Assembly:
-Baked tarts
-Chilled lemon cheesecake filling
-About 1/2 cup black cherry jam

Spoon chilled cheesecake filling into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Heat jam in the microwave or on the stove top until warm and pourable. Place teaspoon-sized dollops of jam into the bottom of each tart. Pipe cheesecake filling on top of jam. Chill tarts for several hours. Dust confectioners sugar over tarts before serving.

Spiced Banana-Oat Vegan Waffles

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I am definitely a "morning person", and I think this is so mainly because I eat well-balanced, nutritious breakfasts that are loaded with fruit, protein, fiber, and whole grains. A good breakfast energizes me so that I can perform to my fullest potential throughout the day. How do I do it? I do all the hard work when I have time (the weekend). Below is a recipe for Banana-Oat Vegan Waffles. The batter can be prepared entirely in a food processor or blender, making clean-up a dream. I added in some fun ingredients to transform my waffles into fancy gingerbread-style waffles. Feel free to add in what you like!

Banana-Oat Vegan Waffles
(originally from http://www.chooseveg.com/display_recipe.asp?recipe=115 )

2 cups oats (I used rolled oats)
2 cups water
1 banana, sliced
(Add in the 5 ingredients below to make my gingerbread-style version)
1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 Teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat your waffle iron. Combine all ingredients in a blender or large food processor. Blend until smooth. Batter may seem thin and watery; this is OKAY. The oats will absorb the water more as they cook in the waffle iron.

Lightly grease the preheated waffle iron, and pour in the batter. Regrease the waffle iron after each batch of waffles is removed. Be sure to mix the batter prior to pouring it in order to redistribute the oats throughout the batter.

Freeze or serve immediately with fresh fruit and blackstrap molasses.