No Panicking! A Last Minute Treat for the Fourth

Whenever a friend or family member is hosting a shindig, I am only too ecstatically happy to help them out by bringing a treat. Unfortunately, I also can be a bit flaky at times, so if I haven't implemented my super favorite trick of baking and freezing ahead, I tend to realize the night before, or more horrifyingly, the day of, that I forgot to make something. Usually this isn't a horrible crisis; I just end up bringing cookies so fresh, that maybe they're still warm from the oven...

If you've been enjoying the beautiful summer weather and taking a well deserved break, you might now be coming to the violent realization I often do, and remember that you need a hostess gift/present/potluck item for a Fourth of July party. Not to fear - I've got a recipe that is simple yet non-traditional, very tasty, and that uses most everyone's favorite BBQ item - beer! (Although, if you stay away from the stuff, fear not! I'll give you a modification in the recipe below.)

I got hooked on beer bread many years ago, thanks to Tastefully Simple. It's no secret that I almost always stay away from boxed mixes as much as possible, but I have to say, Tastefully Simple tend to be high quality, very yummy, and easy to gussy up and look very fancy. One of those items? Their beer bread. Absolutely delicious. I introduced it to Greg, and he loved it too. And we left it out on the counter once, and Maggie, our faithful dog we had before our three girls, who was always so good about not going near people food, ate an entire loaf off the counter once when we weren't looking. Trust me - if it was irresistible to Maggie, then this must have been good stuff.

That said, we haven't had it in a long time because all of my Tastefully Simple contacts either got out of the business or we lost touch. I have often dreamed of delicious, delicious beer bread, but not really doing anything about it.

Then, I was reading a book written by my new favorite frugal bloggers, Wise Bread, and lo and behold, what was on the list of 21 Things to Do with Beer? Make delicious beer bread. I monkeyed with the ingredients a bit and came up with a foolproof recipe that you can put together in no time with ingredients you probably already have in your house. Bonus: if you are making it at the last minute, it is fantastic hot, so partygoers will be impressed with you (just wrap it in foil, not plastic, when you bring it over.) Beer bread is great because 1) turning beer into bread is kind of novel and people tend to want to talk about it (ice breaker!); 2) it goes well with the BBQ theme; and 3) people will be impressed with you - as well they should.

Beer Bread (adapted from the bloggers at Wise Bread)
Yields: 1 loaf

Ingredients:
3 c. all purpose flour
5 tsp. baking powder
Scant salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder + 3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning (Actually, I have this awesome stuff my sister Alison gave me from Penzeys called Sunny Paris Seasoning that I use - but certainly don't run out and buy it just for this recipe)
1/4 c. brown sugar
A can or bottle of beer (Not into alcohol? Just substitute 12 ounces of something fizzy - juice, pop, whatever tastes good to you)

1) Mix together flour, powder, salt, and spices. When well mixed, incorporate brown sugar.
2) Mix in the beer. Keep mixing (either with a mixer or by hand) just until all ingredients are incorporated and a dough ball is mostly formed.
3) Pat the dough into a greased loaf pan.
4) Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45-50 minutes. You will know it's done when you can knock on it and you get a rocking sound (and nothing feels squishy).
5) Cool on wire rack. (If cutting while hot, use a serrated knife.)

**RECIPE UPDATE: Although I found this version to be delicious, Greg thought the spices were weird and didn't reflect the "tasty" of the Tastefully Simple version. When I made it again and left out Sunny Paris Seasoning (or in this recipe, onion powder and Italian seasoning), he loved it. If you're going for a less savory approach, or if you don't like buying spices, I'd go ahead and leave them out.

Cookies Are Officially Okay For Breakfast

I realize the big theme in my last few posts has been about my love for Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I promise, I have a mental stockpile of recipes from other cookbooks I want to try and from childhood which I'm working on veganizing. My love for this book is fairly rapturous, though, so I appreciate your patience while I'm working through this particular love affair.

As with many relationships, there is initial phase of complete infatuation, and the more you learn about one another, the more different twists and turns emerge that could lead to an even deeper love. This happened to me yesterday with Vegan Cookies. Why? Because there are suggestions for making breakfast cookies. As I have previously written, I feel strongly that there is no discernible difference between eating a donut and eating dessert for breakfast. This doesn't mean that I am ripping on the almighty donut; rather, why aren't we recognizing the potential that dessert has to offer at other meals?

Enter Vegan Cookies and the authors' dedication to providing some breakfast cookie recipes. Score. Now I should note that they have written a recipe for banana oatmeal breakfast cookies, but that is not the recipe I've adapted below. Rather, they have a recipe for "banana everything" cookies, with a suggestion for making it breakfast friendly. I took it a little further and added dried fruit. I think there are other ways it can be "breakfasted" as well and I might update the recipe in the future, but I think this is pretty darn tasty on its own right now.

RECIPE UPDATE: I made another batch and tried to give them more of a healthy twist so Greg could bring a snack to work, and I think I was met with success! I've updated the recipe below; there are just simple swaps that can be made, so for the "healthier" version, I've put the swap in the ingredient list in parentheses.

Banana Oatmeal Raisin Flaxseed Cookies (adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)
Yields: 2 1/2 -3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 banana, peeled and mashed
1/3 c. canola oil (or applesauce)
2/3 c. sugar (or raw sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla
Just a little shy of one cup of flour (or 1/2 c. whole wheat flour + 1/2 c. soy flour, or 1 c. whole wheat flour if you think soy flour is freaky)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds
2 c. oats
1/2 - 3/4 c. raisins, optional

1) Mix the banana, oil (or applesauce), sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Add flour, soda, cinnamon, and flaxseeds gradually, until just mixed. Mix in oats and, if desired, raisins.
2) Using a cookie scoop or tablespoons, make a small cookie ball and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then cool completely on wire rack.

Toll House Cookies on the Horizon?

Yes, my friends, I am so giddy with excitement, I can barely type. Why is that? First and foremost, because I'm a dork. What has excited my geek meter? I just may be on the threshold of cracking the vegan Toll House chocolate chip cookie code. As frequent readers know, I have a constant ongoing battle trying to make a vegan version of chocolate chip cookies that taste like the Toll House recipe. Let's just say last week, I had a major - and wholly unexpected - breakthrough.

Last week, I wrote about the Sparkled Ginger Cookies from Vegan With a Vengeance, a Greg favorite that continues to have such a strong hold, he helped me make another batch over the weekend. When I was making the ginger cookies, what did I notice across the page...but a recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies. I admit, the sight alone of the recipe didn't really make a blip on my cookie radar. It was when I read the caption underneath the title that I realized I needed to give these cookies shot. Why? Because the wonderful Ms. Moskowitz explained that she made these cookies for a carnivorous co-worker who didn't believe vegan chocolate chip cookies could replace the butter and egg variety - until he tried these.

After reading the recipe, I realized where things had gone awry for me before. Typically, when I veganize a recipe, I try to keep as many ingredients the same as possible and provide vegan swaps for the animal-based ingredients. This recipe is genius, though, because it deconstructs the original Toll House recipe and rebalances them in order to preserve the original flavors.

Specifically, I am talking about the brown sugar. Frankly, I don't think a chocolate chip cookie can be a chocolate chip cookie without brown sugar. Therefore, I always make sure brown sugar makes it into my manifestation of vegan chocolate chip cookies. I was shocked to see that this recipe didn't have brown sugar - but on further review, I saw why. Brown sugar is simply white sugar and molasses mixed together. What this recipe did, though, was use white (or in my version, raw) sugar with the molasses added later. By breaking apart the ingredients like this, the egg becomes unnecessary, because the molasses is so sticky it acts like a binder. But, because white sugar and molasses are mixed together, the brown sugar flavor is preserved. Hooray!

I mixed this batch together and just about flipped out. Why? Because when I tasted the dough, it tasted EXACTLY like Toll House cookie dough. Score! Unfortunately, in my batch, I found that the dough was dry, and I had trouble actually forming cookies. No matter - once the ingredients were combined, I hand mixed everything and made cookie bars. The result? Let's just say if I never figure out how to make vegan Toll House cookies, these are so close, I will be a contented cookie eater for the rest of my days.

RECIPE UPDATE: I took a tip from Ms. Moskowitz and Ms. Romero in Vegan Cookies; they stated that if your dough is very dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of soy milk to correct the problem. I tried that and it worked like a charm! I've updated the recipe accordingly.

Very Nearly Like the Chocolate Chip Cookies You Had Growing Up
(recipe adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance)
Yields: A big ol' pan of cookie bars

Ingredients:
1 c. non-dairy butter substitute, softened (like Earth's Balance)
1 1/4 c. raw or white sugar
1 Tbsp. molasses
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. soy milk
2 c. or 1-12 ounce bag of vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips, like Ghirardelli

1) Cream together butter substitute and sugar; add molasses and vanilla and mix until well incorporate.
2) Slowly add flour and baking soda until just mixed. (There will probably be drier clumps.) Mix in 1 Tbsp. of soy milk, just until the dough comes together - don't over mix!
3) Add chocolate chips and mix into the dough, until dough comes together.
4) Press dough into a well-greased 10x15 inch jelly roll pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Some Veggie Updates

I've been about the blog quite a bit lately. I've really been touched by the response. Everyone - vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike - have been extremely supportive. I'd like to work on expanding the blog and making it better to address the helpful feedback I've gotten from people, so starting today I am going to make two changes to my format.

First, I am going to add a tag called "Recipe Update." The nature of the blog is that I am posting recipes that I am constantly working on. Sometimes, I will end up with a result that is really different, and I think that merits a separate post (think all of my crazy chocolate chip cookie posts!). Other times, though, I've just figured out minor things, like turning a recipe that had eggs totally vegan. I want to share this change with my readers, but I don't think it is necessarily worth a post. As a result, I will go back to an old recipe, update the tags (for example, if I've made something vegan that previously wasn't, I'll add the "Vegan" tag), add a "Recipe Update" tag, and I'll flag the part of the recipe that changed within the post. I hope this will help people go back and find a recipe they liked when they initially read it but didn't try it because it either had or lacked particular ingredients when the post first went up.

Second, I've realized lately that a number of the questions are not just limited to vegan baking, but to my vegan transition generally. The questions are never judgmental, and I'm always happy to talk about what has led me towards a vegan lifestyle. Probably the number one question I get is what Greg and I eat for dinner. And here's the thing - although I have no problem talking about what we eat, for some reason, I never, ever remember what we have recently eaten. I think I love food so much that once I'm done eating, I sort of forget what we've already eaten. I realize how sad that last sentence sounds. I am convinced that medical science will have a name for this tendency of mine in the next decade or so, but in the mean time, very well meaning people ask me this fair question, and I stare at them like a deer in the headlights.

I've decided, then, that perhaps one of the best ways to combat this problem is to share some meals ideas that Greg and I have tried on the blog. I'm always happy to share recipes, and although I'd still like the focus to be on baking, I think interspersing some meal ideas as posts with my regular baking commentary could also help me with my other goal, which is to document my journey towards veganism. I really and truly have no desire to "convert" people to veganism, so I hope this addition doesn't make people uncomfortable. Rather, people seemed like they wanted to know what else we're eating, and I'd like to give the people what they want!

With this in mind, here is my first update. I'm into Month Three of the Vegan Experiment, and so far, so good. At this point, I am a vegan within the four walls of my house (and my office, if I bring my lunch), and I haven't used animal products in my baked goods for quite some time. I still function as a vegetarian beyond the confines of home. So far that balance is working well for me. (I've made other lifestyle changes, too, in terms of the shoes, clothes, beauty products I use...since this a blog about food, I won't discuss them, but if you're interested, drop me a line!)

One of the most unexpected changes has been how much fun it has been to cook at home. Granted, it's no surprise that I enjoy cooking, but the prospect of vegan cooking has been daunting. I've found myself leaning on some cookbooks to help me along the way, and I'm sure I will be writing about them more as the months go on.

One such cookbook is a longtime favorite - the Moosewood Cookbook series. One of my absolutely dearest friends gave me a Moosewood Cookbook as a housewarming present when I moved to Hyde Park a few years ago, and I've been hooked ever since. If you are interested in any kind of vegetarian or vegan cooking, you've got to get one of these books. The Moosewood Collective runs a great restaurant in Ithaca, New York, and they also write these cookbooks for their fans. What's great is that the recipes are easy, thoughtful, and delicious. They have recipes for all levels of cook - some basic without the "scary" ingredients of tofu, tempeh, or seitan, and then there are other more advanced recipes for those who want to give those proteins a try. They also include some fish recipes for their pescetarian followers.

The recipe below is a vegan adaptation from the fine people at Moosewood, from their Low-Fat Cookbook. Greg and I have made it for years. It is always a hit, and it is great for making ahead of time and reheating or bringing to a potluck. It also is great as leftovers, which can live in the fridge or be easily freezed for lunches. Enjoy!

Black Bean Chilaquile (adapted from the Moosewood Collective)
Yields: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
Vegetable or olive oil or vegetable oil spray
1 medium onion, diced
3 cups cooked black beans (or 2-15 ounce cans), rinsed and drained
2 cups chopped tomatoes or 1-15 ounce can diced (drained) or crushed tomatoes
3 cups (one bag) frozen corn
1/3 c. lime juice
salt and pepper
Bag of tortilla chips, crushed
2 cups salsa, divided (we like peach-pineapple, but any will do)

1) Heat oil or oil spray in pan. Add onion and saute for five minutes over medium heat, until soft and glistening.
2) Add beans, tomatoes, corn, juice, salt, and pepper. Saute until liquid is reduced, which can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes.
3) Spray a 9x13 pan. Put approximately half the bag of crushed chips on the bottom. Cover with bean mixture. Cover mixture with approximately one cup of salsa (until covered, but not soaked). Cover with remaining chips. Cover with remaining one cup of salsa (again, covered, but not soaked).
4) IF BAKING NOW: Put in preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
IF BAKING LATER: Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready, remove wrapping and bake uncovered in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, then crank up oven to 375, leaving the chilaquile in, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Veg Baker, J.D.'s Back To School Week Special

Happy Labor Day, everyone! I am actually a fan of Labor Day because, even though it means summer is over and white shoes and purses must return to the closet, to me it is a nice long relaxing weekend that captures the best of the transition of the seasons. In Chicago, Labor Day also means back to school on Tuesday. In that spirit, I bring you Back to School Week here on the blog. I will post three cookie recipes this week, to honor the ages-old tradition of having an after school snack of cookies with milk (soy milk or rice milk, of course!).

I really wanted to get into the groove of the back to school special, so I tracked down three recipes that I thought would be good candidates for veganizing and would be a good fit for my school theme. I experimented with the ingredients, and I brought the results to my sister Alison's and her fiance Dave's house over the weekend, where they graciously hosted my parents, Greg, and me for dinner on their awesome rooftop deck. I brought the test cookies out, the game faces went on, and the cookie tasting began. By munching's end, there was a clear winner of a recipe that needed no more tinkering, and that would be the recipe below.

I originally got this recipe from my college roommate, Katie R, who has this amazing capacity to be sweet, supportive, and all around incredible, while also being able to tell me what I need to hear when times are good or tough (which means she can call me on my antics, but she does it in her sweet Katie way, so she can get away with it!).

Katie gave me this recipe at my wedding shower. Her oatmeal raisin cookies continue to be well-loved by Greg, and this recipe is a great evolution of that tastiness. It mixes all kinds of good things in one spot that should always be together, including oatmeal, cranberries, and white chocolate - yum!

I decided when I was going to veganize this recipe that the trick would be the eggs (although do see my note below about how to make these cookies totally vegan); I was torn whether I should use applesauce or bananas. In the end, I made two small batches for two big reasons. I had made cookies in the past with bananas and they turned out great, and I thought the banana accent would be great in the cookie. However, I thought the cookies would also benefit from the more subtle sweetness of the applesauce and be a hit with the anti-banana crowd.

I am pleased to report that both versions are tasty! Everyone was pleasantly surprised that the final product was a soft, chewy cookie. Alison, Dave, and my dad were huge fans of the version with bananas and thought the banana backdrop gave the cookies a great zing, whereas my mom, who avoids all thing banana, really enjoyed the applesauce version. The good news is, when making this recipe, you can use the same basic basic and just decide whether you want to go the banana route or the applesauce route, so just follow your tastebuds!

I also want to point out that the reason this recipe is not vegan is because of the white chocolate chunks. Try as I might, I was unable to track down white chocolate chips or chunks that did not have dairy in them. If anyone has a good suggestion for vegan white chocolate, please let me know! Otherwise, these cookies are easy to veganize. Either omit the white chocolate chunks completely or, if you feel like I do and taking chocolate out of anything is a travesty, substitute vegan semisweet chocolate chips like Ghirardelli, and you'll still have utter deliciousness.

RECIPE UPDATE: I've learned that vegan white chocolate does, in fact, exist! Please seek those out so the final product is vegan. Otherwise, you can sub in the Ghirardelli semisweet chips.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
Yields: 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp. non-dairy butter substitute, like Earth's Balance
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 mashed banana OR 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 -1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. oats
3 oz. dried cranberries
1/3 c. vegan white chocolate chips or chunks (or vegan chocolate, if you're going that route)

1) Cream together butter substitute and brown sugar. Add vanilla extract and banana OR applesauce until well mixed.
2) Gradually add flour and baking soda and mixed until just combined.
3) Stir in oats, cranberries, and chocolate.
4) Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
5) Bake in 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, or until edges start to turn golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on wire rack.

Lazy Cookies for a Lazy Weekend

In honor of the Labor Day weekend, it is important to remember the season and do as little as possible, particularly because the first hints of fall are a reminder that full-fledged holiday baking is not that far away (did I really say that? Ack - strike it from your mind, fast!)

With Labor Day also comes the return of school, which means that I am biologically preprogrammed to want to eat more peanut butter. I love peanut butter, but for some reason as a kid I never ate the stuff during summer. It was only when school started again that peanut butter would make its triumphant daily return to my lunch, and I absolutely could not be happier.

Mix this all in with weather that swings 25 degrees in a few hours (and my absolute refusal to turn on the air conditioning because of it), and the result is an old favorite: a no-bake cookie recipe that includes the world's best flavor combination, peanut butter and chocolate, and I've changed the recipe so it is vegan. As much as I love the other no-bake recipe I posted, this one is also delicious, with a slightly different flavor profile (think sweet and salty!), and it has the added bonus of having ingredients you probably already have in the house.

The recipe was adapted from a close friend of my mom's, Kate Collins, who is the author of the Flower Shop Mystery series. I'd definitely recommend whipping up a batch of these cookies and then curling up with one of her books - a well-deserved plug, I assure you! Her link is to the right under friends; I hope you'll check it out!

***Apologies that this recipe was inadvertently tagged as gluten free! You probably thought I was a weirdo since I said gluten free when there is clearly flour in the recipe, so I wanted to cop to my mistake.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
Yields: 3-4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 c. non-dairy butter substitute (like Earth's Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. soy milk
1/2 c. cocoa
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. natural peanut butter (recipe update: natural peanut butter works, smooth or chunky!)
2 1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. flour

1) Melt butter substitute, sugar, soy milk, and cocoa on the stove; bring to a boil, and boil for one minute.
2) Remove from heat and mix in remaining ingredients.
3) Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and cool in the fridge. Store covered in fridge.

Taking the Sour Cream Out of Coffeecake

Before I got married, my sister had a wonderful idea. She made recipe cards and collected recipes from family and friends and then put them in a recipe box for me. That recipe box, with all of the recipes inside, has become one of my most cherished keepsakes. Not only do I have fabulous recipes that I have literally turned to time and time again, but I feel connected to all the different women in my life who supported me and played different roles in helping me become me.

One of these special recipes is from a childhood friend, who shared a recipe with me that she said has been passed down through multiple generations on her mother's side, and I feel touched that she shared the recipe with me. And - it's delicious, too! It is sour cream coffeecake, with a cinnamon sugar ribbon. It is truly amazing! It is great to bring as a hostess gift. It freezes incredibly well, so I can make it ahead of time and have a special breakfast treat for overnight guests. It also makes a great gift around the holidays as well.

When I started gravitating towards veganism, one of the recipes I thought about experimenting with first was the coffeecake. Not surprisingly, Earth's Balance, with a little extra kick of vanilla, worked well. Even the eggs didn't cause a huge ruckus; after some research, I learned that unsweetened applesauce actually works well in quick breads, and in this recipe, applesauce creates a moist, tasty result.

As you can imagine from the name, though, there is an additional ingredient apart from the butter and eggs that created a vegan hurdle: sour cream. I wasn't entirely sure if I could just substitute vegan sour cream. First, I've never eaten it before, so I wasn't sure if tasted good. Second, even if good, I have no idea if vegan sour cream can go in the oven. Then, thanks to the internet, I learned that, when baking, soy yogurt can replace sour cream. Who knew? To be perfectly frank, the concept of soy yogurt kind of weirds me out to eat by itself, for no good reason. But then I decided that, since the soy yogurt is actually going into something and I don't have to see it directly that maybe I could be brave and try it.

I am pleased to report that using soy yogurt is one of the best vegan baking tips I've picked up. The final result of the coffeecake was just as delicious as the original - and maybe now I'll start eating soy yogurt by itself? Well, one step at a time, people.

Cinnamon-Sugar Coffeecake
Yields: One coffeecake, which easily feeds 6-8 people

1/2 c. non-dairy butter substitute (I vote for Earth's Balance)
1 c. granulated white sugar (I recommend vegan, if you can find it)
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
6 oz. plain (not vanilla!) soy yogurt (RECIPE UPDATE: I tested vanilla, and it's great - I use that now! So either plain or vanilla is fine.)
Cinnamon sugar (2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 c. white sugar, and optional 1/2 c. chopped nuts)

1) Cream butter substitute and sugar; add applesauce and vanilla. Beat until light.
2) Alternate dry ingredients (flour, soda, and powder) and soy yogurt (start and end with dry ingredients) until just mixed; don't overmix!
3) Pour half the batter into a well-greased springform or bundt pan. Sprinkle with 1/2-2/3 cinnamon sugar on top. Pour other half of batter on top and sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar on top.
4) Put cake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
5) If using bundt pan, immediately remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack.