What the heck is Ener-g and how can it make cookies?

I thought by doing this plant-focused Engine 2 Diet plan I would not be faced with any more surprises in recipes.

I thought wrong.

Majorly.

As I put together my shopping list for the week, I found myself going to 3 different locations, JUST TO GET MY WEEKLY GROCERIES.

Unacceptable.

I started out at the Farmer's Market, but instead of enjoying following my senses and picking out the produce that looked fresh and delicious, I had to follow a list. One of the vendors told me I needed to "live a little and lose the list." He has no idea how right he is...

Then I went to the local grocery store. Matt is convinced that we can find everything we could ever need at this grocery store. Sadly that is not true, but we did find MOST of what we needed.

Except things like wheat germ and Ener-G Egg Replacer.

WTF

I had no idea what either of those things looked like, but I knew the wheat germ would be in the bulk section of Whole Foods, so I figured I should start there.

I am pretty sure every employee at my local WF takes a bathroom break when I get there because I ask at least 9 of them to help me find things. This was no exception. I needed to find this freaking Ener-G stuff.

A kind employee led me to this box:

*Image Credit Google Search

Beyond the fact that this box looks like it is from the 1950s, I was a little concerned with the fact that this is in fact a processed food and that is exactly what Rip Esselstyn harps against. But, in the spirit of participating fully, I went ahead and bought this scary looking box that was filled with God knows what that is supposed to be an egg substitute. *shudder*

I needed the mystery box to make cookies. I needed cookies if I was going to survive this whole shebang. Therefore, the box was coming home.

I made these "Chocolate Chunk Cookies" and at first, I was way unimpressed. By first, I mean as I was scooping cookie dough into my mouth, I was not loving it. Also by first, when I burned the roof of my mouth trying one of these basically the second they came out of the oven, I was also unimpressed.

They were all cake-like and squishy and had a weird flavor.

But, by golly, by the next day when they had cooled, they tasted ok. I'd even venture to say that I liked them.

Eureka!

We're almost through this batch and I guess I need to venture out and find more dark chocolate chips (why is WF the only place that carries this?) because these may be my sole nutrition for the next few days. That's alright, isn't it, Rip?

Here's the recipe for Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Engine 2 Diet:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt (I used regular ground...not sure what level of groundness is appropriate here...does it say so on the box?)
2 cups 70 percent cocoa (or greater) chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the applesauce, flaxseed, and sugar together using an electric or hand mixer. Beat in the Ener-G and vanilla. Mix the remaining ingredients (except the chocolate chunks) in a separate bowl.
Gradually combine the dry and wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Place rounded, heaping tablespoons of dough onto a sprayed or parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.

Raspberry Chocolate Cookies

I generally do not like mixing anything remotely healthy with chocolate. The one exception being chocolate covered strawberries (and really, this is only because you can hardly taste the strawberry).

I like chocolate in it's pure perfection. Dark chocolate to be exact. I like it so pure that it's almost bitter.

So Chocolate and Raspberry Cookies did not excite me all that much. But I needed some sort of cookie dessert and I had the ingredients for this recipe.

I needed to get rid of a raspberry preserves jar that had been sitting in my refrigerator for about a year a few months, so this was my opportunity.

I got a little caught up in the excitement of watching my hands turn dark brown as I got all up in that dough, so I'm not exactly sure what happened, but the consistency of the dough was weird to me. As I flattened it out on the cooking sheet, they looked like sad pancakes.

And then they burned. See?

These were ok. Matt really liked them. I was not a huge fan, but as I mentioned earlier, I had my doubts about this flavor combo. If you love Raspberry and Chocolate, give it a go, just make sure the dough isn't too dry.

Here's the recipe for "Chewy Chocolate-Raspberry Cookies" from Veganomicon.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheet.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the raspberry preserves, sugar, canola oil, vanilla, and almond extract.

In a separate mixing bowl, sift together the other ingredients. Add the dry to the wet in three batches, mixing well with a fork after each addition. When you get to the last batch, you may need to use your hands to work the batter into a soft and pliable dough.

Roll the dough into walnut-size balls and then flatten them with your hands into 2 1/2-inch diameter disks. Place on a cookie sheet (they need be only 1/2 inch apart because they don't spread out when baking). Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. You can also serve these cookies still warm over a scoop of icecream.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti!

As I've gotten older and much wiser, I've come to appreciate the finer things in life: wine that costs more than $5.00 a bottle (but still costs less than $10.00), reading for pleasure (gossip magazines count, right?), fine music (Steve Winwood, anyone?), and drinking coffee. I adore coffee and drink a ginormous glass a day (my reusable Venti-sized Starbucks cup comes with me to work every morning). For a short period I wondered if maybe I was becoming too reliant on this stimulant in the morning, but after cutting it out of my diet and feeling no signs of withdrawal, I thought it was safe to bring it back.

I used to get fancy shmancy coffee from Starbucks on a regular basis, but now that I have a Keurig coffee machine, I feel guilty and instead opt to brew from home and then add some hazelnut non-dairy creamer. It's probably just as good as what Starbucks can come up with when I order my "Grande soy Hazelnut Latte."

At least that's what I tell myself.

Anyways, I love the EXPERIENCE of drinking coffee in the morning. I love cupping the warm...well, cup and then feeling awake and perky. Anything that can add to this experience...like a snowy sky or a lazy Saturday morning, well, it just makes me really really happy.

SO, when the option to make a sweet treat to enjoy while drinking coffee came around, I was ALL FOR IT.

Enter Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti. I like Chocolate and I like Hazelnut. Let's do this.

This biscotti was delicious and although intended for the mornings, I ended up eating it as a dessert. I only had about half the amount of hazelnuts that the recipe called for, but these were still great.

Here's the log before going into the oven...don't judge how much standing oil is on the pan. My spray can is busted.

Here they are coming out of the oven...yum.

A close up...just because I'm so proud.

I probably could have baked these for a little longer because they were still a little soft when they came out, but after a couple of days they were nice and crunchy.

Here's the recipe for Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti from Veganomicon:

Ingredients

1/3 cup almond or soy milk
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar (I forgot the additional 2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder or regular unsweetened
cocoa powder
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch (I used arrowroot because I
still had some laying around)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole, raw hazelnuts (I used probably 1/2 cup)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F. 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 375F. Carefully transfer the baked dough to a cutting board. With a heavy, very sharp knife (or use a serrated knife), slice 1/2-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, 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 air-tight container.

Chocolate Cookies, because really, chips aren't enough.

I've been trying to bake my weekly desserts rather than purchase something processed (although, that ice cream from a few weeks ago has DEFINITELY been on my mind lately...)

Since I had SUCH HUGE success with Veganomicon's Chocolate Chip Cookies (even though they were haunted), I decided to go back for more, only this time, omit the non-chocolate parts and substitute in more chocolate. Enter "Chocolate Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies" from Veganomicon. Teehee.

Here's what I did wrong (and warning, this was a stressful endeavor for me for some strange reason):
-I didn't sift, again.
-I added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients rather than vice versa as the directions instructed. This caused me to panic and think I had ruined the entire batch of cookies. I may have then decided I needed to eat 1/3 of the dough to make sure it tasted ok. And to make myself feel better about the situation.
-I thought I lost my engagement ring mid hand mixing. Then remembered I had taken it off to avoid chocolatizing it.
-I only had one sheet of parchment paper, so this process took a little longer than necessary as I had to bake one baking sheet at a time.

I needed a nap after these ones.

BUT, these were freaking AWESOME! So chocolatey and delicious. Matt told me these were the best cookies I'd made yet. He's been saying an awful lot of nice things about my cooking lately which makes me think he has alterior motives...hmmm.

So try these out, and buy the Veganomicon book because they have suggestions for a bunch of other variations on this recipe.

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip-Walnut Cookies:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup canola oil
1 ½ cups sugar
4 teaspoons ground flaxseeds
1/2 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoons almond extract
¾ cup vegan chocolate chips
¾ cup walnuts, chopped small

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate large bowl, mix together the oil and sugar. Add the flaxseeds, soy milk, and vanilla, and mix well.

Fold in the dry ingredients in batches. When the batter starts to get too stiff to mix with a fork, use hands until a ball of dough forms. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts, and mix with your hands again. A bit messy, but worth it.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten into disks about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Place about an inch apart on cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Haunted Vegan Wheat-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been jonesing. Jonesing for some chocolate. Hard. What form this chocolate came in was not the biggest concern for me, but I did know that I was terrified of the idea of buying "vegan" chocolate.

But that's what the recipe called for.

I received a gift card to Barnes and Noble for Christmas and decided to put it towards the purchase of a new vegan cookbook. Everyone I've spoken with says that Veganomicon is the Bible of vegan cooking, so I went ahead and bought it. It arrived to my office at work last week which was probably the worst thing to happen to my productivity level since the internet was invented (don't worry coworkers/bosses, if you're reading this, the book is now confined to my house). As I perused this book, I came upon a recipe for Wheat-free chocolate chip cookies and decided to go for it. Even though it included things that made me nervous...nervous in terms of taste, but more nervous in terms of costs.

I went to the local Whole Foods and spent probably around 45 minutes in the "bulk" section, trying to find vegan chocolate chips (found them), trying to find flaxseeds (found them), trying to find oat flour (did not find, but didn't look because I ground up some good ol' fashion oats meself), and lastly, trying to find arrowroot. I had no idea what arrowroot was nor why it is important (if you're interested, here' the link to it's wikipedia page).

Now, here's the spooky part. I made these cookies and they were DELICIOUS! Like, better than non-vegan chocolate chip cookies, but when I tried to find the recipe online to pass on to all of you, none of these recipes included arrowroot. Which leads me to a few different conclusions:
1) I dreamt the whole thing about arrowroot, which just goes to show how BORING my dream-life is.
2) I have a different edition of the Veganomicon book that includes arrowroot in this recipe (doubtful).
3) I was possessed by some ghost-like being who felt the need to make me and the ones I love eat arrowroot. Not sure what happens next. You probably don't want to let me around small children for awhile...

It's not like I LIKE arrowroot...heck, I wouldn't even know how to begin to tell you how to cook with it. So, I'm thoroughly confused as to what happened. But these cookies were seriously bomb.com.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups oat flour (or make your own, like I did - ground up around 2 cups oats, yielded about 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 Tablespoon flax meal
1/4 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flax meal and soymilk. Add sugar and stir, add oil and vanilla and whisk vigorously until all ingredients are emulsified (about a minute). (FYI, emulsified means mixing up liquids that are difficult to combine until they combine...had to google that one)

Mix wet ingredients into dry, fold in chocolate chips.

Drop batter by the tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheet, leaving and 1 1/2 inches of space inbetween cookies.

Bake for 10 -12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a bit (5 minutes). Using a spatula, put them on a cooling rack or plate to cool the rest of the way.

I couldn't tell you how much arrowroot I used...

Next time I'm going to try this recipe sans arrowroot. Can only imagine the cookies are like walking on a cloud with puppies jumping all around, because that's about how good they were with my own addition.

Vegan Carbo Loading for Warmth

So, it's now officially the second day of my snowcation and I'm already stir crazy. Not stir crazy enough to want to leave my house and shovel, but I exhausted my kitchen yesterday and basically have half a bottle of Gin and half of a sweet potato leftover (I'm pretty sure they will both be consumed by the end of the day).

I.went.to.town.in.the.kitchen.yesterday.

But this is why:

So, I made a few things to keep warm.

I really really wanted to make some sort of bread but did not have any yeast, which complicated things a bit. But I found this recipe and tried out a yeast-less focaccia bread and left out the cheese.

It was pretty good, a little chewier than I would have liked, but I think that may have been due to the fact that I cooked it the additional 5 minutes that was called for even though I was not melting cheese.

I couldn't stop there...I needed to make something that smelled sweet. I needed to make some COOKIES! Once again, the limitations of my pantry necessitated a pretty intensely specific google search that came up with this recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies. These were UBER simple (so simple in fact, that I felt the need to use a German word to describe their simplicity), fast, and nice and sweet. I don't know why, but they have hardened up a little more than I would like, but that might be because I put them in a tin rather than air tight container.

These cookies were a great "make something out of nothing" treat. And they smelled great upon returning from the artic tundra.