Vegan Cinnamon Chocolate Snickerdoodles

A mountain of COOOOKIES!!

  I saw a beautiful post of Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle.  I didn't know what snickerdoodles were but the name was too cute and the cookies look wonderful! This recipe I've posted is an adaption of IraChandra's snickerdoodle recipe (Here) because I didn't have cayenne peppers, I just used cinnamon and chocolate and it turned out DELICIOUS.  This post is slightly picture heavy because I just love the way they look!

 

 

Yield:

24-30 Cookies- this depends how large you want you cookies.

Equipment:

Baking sheet
Parchment paper

Ingredients:
Cookies dough:

• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 3 tbls soy milk (or non- dairy milk of your choice)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 2/3cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

Sugar Topping:

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbls sugar

Directions:


1. 
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In plate or a bowl, combine the Sugar Topping mix.
 2.
In a bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, maple syrup, soy milk, and vanilla extract.
3. 
In the same bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and  cocoa powder and mix until the dough is combined.
4. 
Roll the cookie dough into a ball about the size  of a golf ball and flatten it to a small hockey puck shape.  Dip one side of the cookie dough into the sugar topping mix and place the cookie "sugar side up" on the cookie sheet
5. 
Bake for 10=15 minutes.

Enjoy with an ice cold glass of milk!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcake with Sunflower Butter Frosting!

Quick post on the success of these BEAUTIFUL, MOIST, and AMAZING vegan cupcakes!  I dare anyone to taste these and tell me they taste vegan!  Now that I am a vegan, I couldn't live without my sweets, which is why I needed to experiment with vegan baking!  I have such a sweet tooth...  I absolutely love this easy recipe and will be making it for my boss's birthday this coming Wednesday.  I won't be telling the office crew that the cupcakes are vegan until everyone's have had a bit!

Here is the site where I found this recipe (Click Here).  I've made tiny tiny modification from the original recipe. See below!

Yield: 

12 Cupcakes

Equipment:

Muffin Pan
Muffin Liners (12)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup organic sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 1 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup, rawcocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. 
In a bowl, stir in the soy milk and apple cider vinegar together and set aside for 5 mins. The soy milk should curdle!
2.
In a separate bowl, sift together the whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and  raw coco powder.
3.
In the soy milk and vinegar mixture, combine the sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, vegetable oil and whisk until frothy. 
4.
Combine the sifted dry ingredients with the wet.  Don't over mix, just until the lumps are gone and that the dry ingredients are incorporated.
5. 
Bake for 15-20 minutes in a preheated 350 degrees oven.

Soooooo good! Enjoy with a cup of soy milk in your favourite cup!

Now to whip up a batch of Vegan Butter Cream!

Equipment:

Electric Mixer or Stand Mixer

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup of Sunflower butter.  (Click for image)
• 1 cup vegan powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsp of soya milk

Directions:

1. 
Whisk together the Earth Balance and Sunflower butter. Add powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy! (5-10 mins)
2.
If the mixture is too stiff add 1 tbsp  at a time.
3.
Decorate your cupcake!

Vegan Brownies?!?

Please excuse the poor quality of this photo,,, took it from my iPhone and not my usual DSLR.

I've just recently watched an amazing movie called Earthlings which is a  2005 movie about humanity's use of animals as pets, clothing, entertainment, scientific research, and food.  This movie has opened my eyes particularly towards what I consume in my diet.  I've watched Food Inc. a few years prior, but hadn't effected anywhere as disgusted as this film.  After watching this film, I was so confuse on the direction I wanted my diet to move.  After pondering and sharing to my feeling with co-workers, one of them had made a good point regarding the consumption of meat.  Natives who live in cold climates need to hunt animals to eat in order to survive because vegetation is so scarce.  I then thought about the fact that even in the animal world, they hunt other animals for food for survival.  I came to the conclusion that I do not wish to become a vegetarian, or vegan, but a Flexitarian .   I now do my research to make sure that the meats, eggs, dairy, items I purchase were from animals that had a a live.  Free range, organic, and not from a genetically modified chicken that lays over 20 eggs a day.  You get what I mean.

Its hard... but I've been doing a bunch of research and found some really cool recipes.  I stumbled upon a Vegetarian Brownie from a site called Love Food Eat.(Click on the link to go to her site)  I read the comments and those who made the recipe were very happy with the results and most importantly, the taste.

So here it is, my first attempt on a Vegan Brownies, I've modified her recipe and cut all the ingredients pretty much in half because I wanted to make a small batch to test it out. 

Yield 12

Equipment:

Baking Pan 5x8
Parchment paper

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ cup vegan chocolate chips
• 3 table spoon of olive oil
• 3/4 cups water
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 ripe banana mashed well.

Directions:

1. 
Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.
2.
Mash the banana, and combine all the we ingredients together
3.
combine the wet and dry ingredients.
4.
Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and pour the batter into the pan.  Spread the batter so its all even, and place it into a 350 degree oven for 15-20 mins.    You may want to check earlier if you want a gooey consistency.

Looks like Brownie batter =D

All in all it tasted pretty good!  Not the best I must admit, I think I added too much banana, I should have just used 1/2 because it was a bit gummy.  Practice makes perfect!  My next attempt, Double Chocolate Cookies,  researching right now!

Individual Chocolate Cake

I apologize for the poor picture, it was taken from an iPhone4

Doesn’t this look nice, and doesn't it look like i spent alot lot of time in the kitchen? I didn’t, just a simple chocolate cake mix, and the help of a mini bundt pan was basically all I used.  What I have here is chocolate cake, drizzled with melted chocolate icing (Betty Crocker) and topped with a scoop of Cookie and Creams ice cream. 

I actually bought this mini bundt pan 2 years ago and this pan had been on my baking shelf staring me in the face for a while.  I always wanted to use it, but for some reason, I just never did.  I’m actually moving soon, so when saw this pan in the cabinet, I told myself that I need to use this mini bundt pan before i move out of my house.  Yes, cake mix, I usually have one of these stored at home, just in case I crave for chocolate cake, this way is fast and easy.  

Yield 12 

Equipments:

Mini bundt pan

Ingredients:

Cake mix of your choice

Ice Cream of your choice

Icing of your choice

That's it!

Directions:

1.       Follow instruction of cake mix on the back of the box

2.       Grease the pan with butter.  This lets the cakes slide out easily when cooked

3.       Put icing in microwave and melt icing

4.       Assemble by drizzling melted icing and toping with ice cream

Looks good and taste awesome!

You don't have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen to create such amazing results.  Don't be afraid of cooking, all you need to do is be creative and you will surely impress your friends and family. 

Chocolate Souffle

Souffle? Yes, a dear friend took me to a tiny Thai restaurant on Yonge and Sheppard, and it was there that I had a taste of my first Chocolate AND Vanilla soufflé. We shared, I didn’t eat all of it myself!... Your probably wondering why a Thai restaurant is serving soufflé, I don’t know either but it was GOOD.  Unfortunately this was my first time having soufflé, so I can’t compare it to any other.  I was determined to make it at home, but I have heard several horrible myths on how difficult it is to make them... For example, soufflé can easily deflate when you take it out of the oven, they may not “puff” up in the oven, or even spill over.  I began my research looking through online recipes, compared several methods and watched a few youtube videos.  I was convinced that Chef Gordon Ramsay had the easiest and reliable recipe. 

I created Ramsay’s Passion fruit & Banana soufflé from Youtube.  The problem was that I don’t like bananas and I can’t find Passion fruit this time of the year... so I looked in my pantry, I noticed chocolate chips, done!  Chocolate soufflé was what I made!

I used Gordon Ramsay’s recipe, but I did make a few minor changes with the ingredients. 

 

Yield 6

Equipments:

Ramekins

Pastry brush

Electric mixer 

Ingredients: 

Pastry Cream:

150 ml milk

100 ml cream

3 egg yolks

3 ½ tablespoon sugar

1 ½ tablespoon flour

1 cup chocolate chips

Egg whites:

6 egg whites- Room temperature

3 tablespoon sugar

Garnishes:

Side of icecream

Dusting of powdered sugar

Ramekin preparations:

1.        With room temperature butter, use a pastry brush and cover the entire inside of ramekins with butter

2.       Pour a tablespoon of sugar into the buttered ramekins and roll the sugar around to completely cover the ramekin. 

Pastry cream

3.       Put ramekins into fridge

Directions:

1.       Warm cream, and milk on stove.  Don’t let boil

2.       In a bowl, add egg yolks and sugar, whisk together

3.       Add flour to eggs and sugar mixture, and whisk together

4.       Pour half the hot mixture into the egg and flour mixture and whisk quickly.  No lumps

Slowly add sugar

5.       Pour the mixture from the bowl back to the pot of hot milk and whisk quickly

6.       Turn on the heat, medium, and continue whisking till the mixture is THICK, turn stove off and put aside to cool 

7.       In the microwave, warm white chocolate chips till all melted.

8.       Pour melted white chocolate to the COOLED pastry cream and mix together

9.       In an electric mixer, whisk 6 egg white

10.   When the egg whites begins to turn white, SLOWLY add sugar

This is what stiff peaks look like!

11.   Whisk till stiff peaks

12.   Add half of the whipped egg whites to the cooled pastry cream and slowly combined

13.   Add the remaining half of the egg whites and fold everything together.  CAREFULLY so that it doesn’t lose volume.  Don’t over mix!

14.   Pour into ramekins, fill it to the top!

15.   Bake for 15 mins

16.   SERVE IMMEDIATELY!

  

Fill to the top

Not too warm, don't want to cook the eggs!

 

Note: Room temperature egg whites will whip up fluffier and higher volume. 

Tip: If you forget to leave your eggs out to room temperature, just put them warm water.  

 

This may seem complicated, but just watch Gordon do it on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c4MewNvc5Y  and you will see that it’s pretty easy and fast to do!  

This was such a success, warm custardy centers and crispy outsides..... Next time I think I will make White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Souffle!

 Stay Tuned!

Mint Chocolate Meringue Cookies

Mint Chocolate Meringue Sandwich Cookies

Christmas is just around the corner.  LITERALLY! And pot-lucks are generally pretty popular for gatherings.  Originally I wanted to make Macaron cookies, the colourful one, the ones that you see floating around the internet lately..                                                                 

How hard could they be! I was wrong…. They aren’t very hard but it requires almonds which I don’t have.  By-the-way, It was 9pm and I wasn’t going to go out in the snowy night to buy almonds.  Yes I could purchase it the next day, but I had the craving to bake THEN and THERE!!!  I originally thought they were Meringues filled with icing then sandwiched together, they are more complicated than that, so I decided to stick to my original thought and do this instead.=)

 

TA-DA!

 Super Easy Mint-Chocolate Meringue Cookies

Yield 24

Utensils:

Piping bag and tip (if you don't want to spend money on this, just use a spoon and spoon it onto the baking pan)

Parchment paper

Baking Pan

Ingredients:

Meringue cookies

3 egg whites

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup of sugar

¼ cup of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon Corn starch

Icing filling:

3 tablespoon store bought icing

½ teaspoon mint extract

Directions:

Meringue

1.       Pre-head oven 250 degrees

2.       With an electric mixer, or you can do it manually with a whisk and a bowl, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar

3.       Whip eggs on high speed

4.       Add vanilla extract

5.       Slowly add sugar while whisking, one table spoon at a time

6.       Stop when egg whites reached stiff peaks

7.       Add corn starch and powder sugar into mixture and fold to combine

8.       Fill piping bad with meringue and pipe onto a baking pan lined parchment paper

**you can pipe the meringue fairly closely together, approximately an inch apart from each other, they don’t expand very much.  Unlike cake.

9.       Bake meringue for 1h-1/2 hours

10.   Cool for 30 min

Frosting Filling

1.       Mix chocolate frosting and mint extract ~ easy!

Assembly

1.       Spread chocolate frosting and sandwich together!

Tip: if you like, you can add food colouring to the meringue.  I added red food colouring but I don’t think I added enough as seen in my picture above.  =(