Countdown to Cookies

Oh, killing me softly

and I’m still falling

still the one I need,

I will always be with yooou

This is what I was singing the whole time I baked this weekend. Is anyone else as addicted as I am? The video is also super adorable.

I have another thing for you to get addicted to- more cookies. This has been kind of a stressful week for me. I’ve been trying to register for classes for next semester plus I’m in a dance show that just opened last night! Thank goodness for chocolate.

Not only have I been on a quest for the perfect vegan pancake, but I’ve been searching for the perfect vegan chocolate chip cookie as well. I think I got it. They are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and the molasses adds an amazing richness to the flavor. These cookies are killing me softly. Just like Beyonce.

The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe slightly adapted from here)

makes about 20 cookies

2 cups flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup dark chocolate chips/chunks (make sure they’re vegan!)

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup soy milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp dark molasses

1. Preheat oven to 350° and lightly grease two cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and chocolate chips.

3. In a medium bowl mix the oil, soy milk, vanilla and molasses.

4. Combine wet and dry ingredients. It works best if you use your hands!

5. Roll dough into balls and flatten onto the cookie sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Munch.

Oatmeal Choco-Banana Cookies

My friend’s class was having a potluck the other night and since I will take any excuse to bake for a bunch of people, I decided to make cookies for her to bring. I didn’t have much time or supplies, so I scrounged together the random ingredients I had and actually came up with something pretty delicious! She said everyone loved them. The only problem is they dry out a little the next day if you don’t seal them up really well- they’re best eaten the day you make them.

Oatmeal Choco-Banana Cookies (adapted from Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookies Jar)

Makes about 2 dozen

1 ripe banana

1/3 cup oil

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 cup quick oats

optional if on hand: chocolate chips or walnuts

1. Preheat your oven to 350° and grease two cookies sheets.

2. Mash up the banana really well in a large bowl, then mix in the oil, sugar and vanilla.

3. Add in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cocoa. Stir until combined, then add the oats. Add a little water if the dough is too crumbly.

4. Roll dough into balls and flatten them onto your cookies sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes- do not over bake or they will dry out!

Mmm these ingredients make such a great cookie combination!

Thank You Cake

Sometimes words just are not enough. Sometimes you have to find other ways of expressing gratitude to someone. The solution to this problem is always chocolate cake. Trust me.

I took a train back to school from New York and it was delayed 3 hours and my poor friend was stuck waiting for me at the station, freezing in her car while I called her every five minutes saying “Okay, they said we should be there in 20 minutes. Oh wait, make that an hour. Oh wait, two hours….” The least I could do was bake her a cake.

This cake is fairly basic, so I decided to boost the chocolatey goodness by drizzling homemade chocolate sauce all over it. Mmmm it came out light and fluffy and was so easy to make! It’s the perfect recipe to whip out when you need another way to say “thank you” or “sorry” or “you’re the best.”

Basic Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sauce (from The Joy of Vegan Baking)

Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 heaping cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

1 cup cold water

1. Preheat oven to 350° and oil a bundt pan or 9″ round cake pan.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined and pour the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 15 minutes and flip onto a plate.

Chocolate Sauce:

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbsp flour

1/8 tsp salt

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup vanilla soy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine dry ingredients in a sauce pan and then add the milk and vanilla.

2. Stir over medium heat and let it boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, it will thicken as it cools.

Of course, my kitchen lacks a real sauce pan, so I came up with the genius idea of using a tea kettle instead. It was actually perfect for easy pouring! …Oh college life.

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Cookies

Well my class schedule is now official and I couldn’t be more excited about what I’m taking. Lots of literature, dance and art- what could be better? It will be incredibly busy… but I’ll figure out a way to handle it. In fact, you know what the best way to handle stress is? Bake cookies. Especially chocolate cookies. Take my word for it, it’s incredibly therapeutic.

My friend and I were just going to make plain chocolate chip cookies, but when we found cocoa powder in the pantry, we decided the more chocolate the better. They ended up delicious and had a great, crumbly-on-the-outside and chewy-on-the-inside texture.

Double Chocolate Cookies (adapted from here):

makes about 2 dozen

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

big handful of vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. In a medium bowl, combine sugar and oil. Then add the vanilla and water.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined (you may need to add a little extra water if dough is too dry).

5. Roll dough into tablespoon-sized balls and place them on an un-greased cookie sheet. Flatten them down a little- they don’t spread much.

6. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Take them out when they’re still a little soft, as they will harden as they cool.

The weather here has been gross and rainy, but these cookies make the perfect rainy day snack.

Also, while I eat cookies and start studying and everything, I have been revisiting this song and the whole album it’s on. It’s one of my favorites! My friend and I listened to it as we baked these 🙂

Oh and just so my readers know… I’m still not super happy with the theme of my blog. So if stuff keeps changing I apologize and promise I will be content soon!

Chocolate Raspberry Buns with Chocolate Ganache

Yesterday I got back from a second (and final) vacation to the cabin this summer. This time the whole family came along and it ended up being the perfect weekend of walks along the beaches, a 5 mile hike through gorgeous northern woods, knife throwing (did I mention I have a 15 year old brother?), sailing adventures, and, of course, good food.

In our cabin’s backyard, we had an abundance of raspberries and lots of cocoa powder in the cupboard…. what was I to do? Well I decided to experiment a little and came up with my first almost original recipe! I’d say they turned out beautifully… although the recipe could maybe use a little tweaking.

Dough:

• 1 cup plain soymilk heated over the stove until warm- not hot!
• 2 1/4 tsp (or 1 0.25 oz packet) active dry yeast, at room temperature
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (plus up to 1/4 cup for kneading and rolling)
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar (or 1/4 cup for a sweeter dough)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

•  1 cup smashed raspberries
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 T melted earth balance
• 1 tsp cornstarch (I didn’t actually add this, but the filling came out pretty watery and spilled out the sides when I rolled the dough up, so next time this is what I would try!)

Ganache (adapted from  Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World):

• 1/3 cup soy milk
• 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup

1. Coat an 8×8 inch square baking pan, or 9-inch round cake pan, with canola oil baking spray. Set aside.
2. Scatter yeast over warmed milk and allow to activate for about 10 minutes, or until foamy.
3. Meanwhile, stir together both kinds of flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
4. When yeast and milk mixture is bubbly, stir in the applesauce and oil. Add wet ingredients into the dry and mix. Transfer dough onto a clean lightly floured surface and knead for about 2 minutes. You may have to add extra flour to make it less sticky. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
5. Lightly flour work surface again and roll dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness, about a 12-inch x 9-inch rectangle.
6. Mix together the smashed raspberries, sugar, earth balance and cornstarch. Spread the filling onto your chocolate dough, leaving a 1-inch space around the edges.
7. Roll up the dough starting from the 9-inch edge- beware of oozing raspberries!!
8. Pinch the edges of your dough and cut the log into 8 even pieces, then place them in your prepared pan. Cover buns with a cloth and let rise for 1 hour.
9. Preheat your oven to 35o° F and once the buns are done rising, bake them for 30 minutes.
10. While they bake, prepare the ganache by heating up the soy milk until boiling. Add the chocolate chips and maple syrup and stir over heat for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and continue to stir until it is smooth and chocolatey.
11. Let the buns cool for about 10 minutes, then drizzle them with the chocolate ganache and serve warm.

They got the family stamp of approval.