Vegan Double Chocolate Cookies

I always prefer a recipe that makes a single sheet of cookies; instead of an extended kitchen production, you can be completely done and out of the kitchen in less than 20 minutes. It helps with portion control too, just having ten or twelve cookies in the house instead of the 4 or 5 dozen you get with some recipes. Even if I intend to make a large total number of cookies for a particular occasion, I usually find it more fun to do several different kinds of cookies than to spend ages spooning and baking the same huge batch of dough.

If you like your cookies in larger batches, feel free to double or triple the recipe. You can spoon out a second sheet of cookies while the first is in the oven.  And if you’re using parchment paper, you can switch out the cookie sheets even more efficiently.

 

Vegan chocolate cookies

Vegan Double Chocolate Cookies

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup cocoa or carob powder

¼ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp instant coffee or caffeine free coffee substitute

¼ cup oil

3 Tbsp warm water

½ tsp vanilla

¼ tsp almond extract

½ cup turbinado sugar

approx. 2/3 cup (or more) vegan chocolate or carob chips, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Mix together cocoa powder, cinnamon and instant coffee, and dissolve in warm water and oil. Add extracts and sugar.

Melt ¼ cup of the chocolate chips and mix into the cocoa-oil mixture. Add dry ingredients (flour mixture) and stir in until homogenous.  Stir in remaining (unmelted) chips.

Scooped and ready to bake

Scoop cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Shape and flatten the cookies slightly.  Bake for 10 minutes, rotating once halfway through. They should still look a little soft.  Let cool at least 2-3 minutes on baking sheet.

Makes about 12 cookies (one sheet full)

Variations:

Extra soft double chocolate cookies

Melt-in-your-mouth Double Chocolate Cookies: For very soft cookies, omit the ¼ cup of melted chocolate chips from the batter and proceed as usual. This variation is less chewy when eaten immediately but stays soft and fresh longer, so it’s a better choice if the cookies are going to be spending several days in the mail, etc.

Other Mix-ins: Nuts (raw, toasted, spiced, or candied), coconut, raisins and other dried fruit (cherries would be particularly good), various types of candy, including caramels, mints, and marshmallows, and even unusual ingredients such as pretzels, potato chips or crystallized ginger.

Spicy Double Chocolate: Double the cinnamon and add a couple dashes of cayenne pepper. Ginger, allspice, or nutmeg would be good choices too.

With a glass of soymilk for dipping

Mashed Tofu Cutlets

I was quite pleased with how this technique turned out: thoroughly well seasoned tofu with a very firm crispy texture. I’m looking forward to trying the same basic idea with different flavorings and sauces (perhaps a curry version next). I think it would work well as a substitute in many recipes that originally called for pounded or butterflied meat.

This technique is a really effective alternative to pressing and marinating slabs of tofu. You can squeeze out a lot more liquid with a lot less effort from mashed tofu than from whole slabs (which have to be handled with some care to avoid breakage), and therefore achieve a really good firm texture without much time or fuss.  Also, mashing allows you to mix your seasoning throughout the tofu, instead of the millimeter or so at the surface that you get with marinating. And since the flavorings don’t need to soak in via a liquid marinade but are mixed in directly, you’re not sogging up the tofu by adding back the liquid you took such pains to extract.

Which is not to say that I never marinate tofu—it’s a useful technique in some contexts. Bite size pieces of tofu marinated in garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and dried herbs can be quite good on pizza as a protein source/cheese substitute, for example.  I like having this technique as an alternative, though. I’m looking forward to experimenting with it.

Crispy mashed tofu cutlet

Mashed Tofu Cutlets

2 15 oz pkgs extra firm tofu

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp soy sauce

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ salt (more if you want)

½ tsp dill weed

1 ½ tsp Italian herb seasoning

½ tsp lemon pepper seasoning

cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line two cookie sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray.

pressing tofu in colander

Mash tofu thoroughly. Place mashed tofu in a colander over a bowl, and press firmly with a smaller bowl to extrude more liquid. Let set 3-4 minutes then press with bowl again. Transfer tofu to a mixing bowl; discard extruded liquid.

 

Before baking

Stir in seasonings and garlic. Form cutlets: Make 8 piles of the tofu mixture on cookie sheets. Press tops and sides of each pile with the back of a spoon until you have flat 4-inch ovals of about ¾ inch thickness (will shrink in oven). Spritz tops of cutlets with a little more cooking spray.

Fresh out of the oven

Bake for about 25 minutes. Pull them out of the oven. Loosen the edges with a spatula and carefully flip each cutlet. Put them back in the oven for 15-20 minutes more, until golden and crispy on both sides. You might want to rotate your cookie sheets partway through baking for even cooking.

 

Serve warm with sauce of your choice. I had it with mushroom gravy and some dressing on the side, but a creamy or tomato-y sauce would have been good too.

Cutlet with mushroom gravy

Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Variation

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Pie

 
The other day I made a nice variation on my Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. I turned it into a Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie. It was quite good.

A layer of bananas

Here's how I did it: Take two medium bananas and slice them thinly. Mix 2 tsp maple syrup with 4 tsp lemon or orange juice (to prevent browning) and toss the banana slices to coat. Arrange the slices in a single layer along the bottom and sides of a pie crust (crumb is fine). Don't pour any remaining maple-lemon sauce on top; just discard. Prepare the peanut butter tofu filling and pour over top. Sprinkle with carob chips as usual.



It tasted quite good. The bananas were soft and sweet in an almost marshmallow-y way.

A slice of peanut butter-banana pie

This technique could be used with any tofu cream pie, by the way.

Thin & Crunchy Tofu Strips

This is a fun recipe that I’ve made a number of times. It goes well in sandwiches (kind of like veggie BLTs). The tofu does shrink down quite a bit, by the way, so don’t be surprised when two whole packages of tofu become a somewhat small pile of strips.

FYI, the seasoning combination of onion salt and smoked paprika makes things taste somewhat like bacon (especially when combined with a crunchy texture). Other seasoning mixes, such as curry, can also be used  in this recipe instead if you prefer.

Thin Strips of Tofu

Thin & Crunchy Tofu Strips

2  12 oz  containers silken tofu

cooking spray or oil

¼ tsp onion salt

1/8 to ¼ tsp smoked paprika (optional)

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Carefully slice tofu into strips that are roughly ¼ inch thick, about 1 inch wide, and as long as the block of tofu is wide. They’ll be floppy and delicate; don’t worry too much if they break up a little.

Line two cookie sheets with foil and spray with cooking spray. Arrange slices evenly on the sheets, placing any small or broken pieces toward the middle. Give the tops another spritz of cooking spray and put them in the oven for 25 minutes.

The first flip

Pull them out and carefully flip them.  They will still be fairly pale and floppy but should be a little browned and bubbly around the bottom edges. Put them back in for 10-15 minutes more.

Second Flip

Take them out and check them for doneness. Pull any that look brown and crispy enough off and set aside. Flip the rest again and put them back in, checking and flipping at intervals of 3-5 minutes. Continue to pull off individual pieces as they become ready.

Tossed with seasonings

 When all of the strips are done, transfer them to a bowl and toss with the seasonings.

Serve 3-4.

Best served warm, these can be eaten straight, served with a dip or made into a sandwich.

Making a sandwich

Mashed Garbanzo and Artichoke Sandwich Spread

There are a number of similar recipes out there; most tend to go by the name of "mock tuna." It's a fair comparison, texture-wise, although I would generally rather go my own direction in terms of flavor rather than try too hard to emulate fishy flavors with seaweed, etc. The artichoke hearts are what really make this version special. I try to get one in each bite when I assemble the sandwich. : )

I like to make up a big batch of this during busy times, so that I can grab quick meals on the go. It's also nice for picnics.

Garbanzo spread

Mashed Garbanzo and Artichoke Sandwich Spread

(big batch--makes 10 or more sandwiches)

3 15-oz cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 14-oz can artichoke hearts

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

½ tsp beau monde seasoning (can sub celery seed + more onion and garlic powder)

½ to 1 tsp dill weed

½ cup vegan mayonnaise (see note* for subs)

salt, pepper, and/or lemon pepper salt free seasoning to taste

Optional add-ins (use 1 or 2): Chopped celery, finely minced red or sweet onion, fresh or roasted bell peppers, cucumbers, fresh or sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs such as chives or parsley, pickles or relish, olives or capers, any spices that sound compatible

 Directions:

Mashing the beans

Mash the garbanzos with a potato masher. Cook the garlic in the oil (microwave or stovetop) for about 1 minute, until softened. Add the mashed beans along with the lemon juice and seasonings. Cook the mixture 30 seconds to a minute, until warm, and then set aside to marinate a few minutes [FYI, beans almost always marinate faster and more thoroughly when warmed first].

Meanwhile, drain the artichokes and chop them into ½ inch pieces. Prepare any of your optional add-ins as well.

Add the artichokes and mayo to the bean mixture and stir. Add any of the optional ingredients at this time. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and/or salt free seasoning to your liking. Adjust amount of vegan mayo to your taste. You can either chill the spread or serve it warm. 

*Can’t get a hold of any vegan mayo? You could try vegan yogurt or sour cream, perhaps mixed with a little extra lemon juice. For an out-of-the-box solution, you could actually use a vinaigrette-style salad dressing in place of the mayo if you have a vegan one in a compatible flavor. I’ve used a lemon-chive flavored dressing in this recipe and it tasted very good. If your dressing is runnier than mayo, you might want use a smaller amount. Just add it by the tablespoon until you reach a nice consistency.

Garbanzo-Artichoke Sandwiches with whole wheat toast

Happy Valentines Day!

Well, it's that time of year when store aisles overflow with chocolate, and those with special diets either slink away empty-handed or head to the kitchen to make their own. For those who tend toward the latter, I thought I'd list some helpful posts from the past, both recent and less so.

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie Pie

Vegan Carmelitas 

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Black Forest Chocolate-Cherry Cobbler with Quick Vegan Chocolate Sauce

Homemade Vegan Chocolates--Techniques and Ideas 

Vegan Rocky Road

Vegan Chocolate Covered Cherries

Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

Vegan Chocolate Covered Caramels, and Chocolate Covered Caramels with Peanut Butter Fudge

Vegan Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Ginger, Nuts, and even Potato Chips 

I hope this is helpful. Happy V-day!

Vegan truffles

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie Pie

Well, after the last post, I am more or less drowning in brownies (Six batches! Good thing they were mostly half recipes). Anyway, here’s a recipe that will use up at least a few of them. It’s a creamy tofu pie with little chunks of brownie floating throughout for texture. It’s best use somewhat crunchy or stale brownies so they do not become soggy.

With its multiple components and layers, this isn’t my easiest chocolate tofu pie (that would be this one) but it is a good one to make when you want to impress someone or have a special night. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie Pie

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownie Pie

Ingredients:

1 Graham cracker or other crumb crust

Hazelnut mousse:

9 oz firm silken tofu (3/4 of a 12 oz pkg—you’ll need 2 packages total)

½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

½ cup sugar or sweetener

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp soy milk

dash of cinnamon

Cocoa layer:

9 oz firm silken tofu (3/4 of a 12 oz pkg)

¼ cup cocoa or carob powder

3 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp oil

½ cup sugar or sweetener

1 ½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp instant coffee or caffeine free coffee substitute

1/8 tsp almond extract

dash cinnamon

Chocolate chip layer:

6 oz firm silken tofu (1/2 of a 12 oz pkg)

½-3/4 cup sugar or sweetener

¾ cup vegan chocolate or carob chips

½ tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

½ tsp instant coffee or caffeine free coffee substitute

4 brownies, cut into bite-size pieces

Garnish:

2 Tbsp toasted hazelnuts

2 Tbsp toasted coconut

Directions:

First (hazelnut) layer plus brownie bites

Pre-bake your crust if you wish (it’s not totally necessary, but may improve sturdiness in some crusts). Let cool.

Place all ingredients for the hazelnut mousse into a blender and puree until completely smooth.  Pour into crust. Sprinkle brownie bites over top.

 

Second (cocoa)  layer

Place all ingredients for the cocoa layer into the blender (no need to rinse) and puree until smooth. Carefully pour in an even layer on the pie, trying not to churn up the lower layer if possible.

Third (chocolate chip) layer

Melt the chocolate. Put it in the blender with the other ingredients for the chocolate chip layer and blend until smooth. Pour evenly on top of pie, carefully spreading to cover the pie without messing up the other layers. Sprinkle the top of the pie with the 2 tbsp hazelnuts and coconut for garnish.

Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight before slicing.

Variations: 

Other nuts, particularly almonds, may be substituted for the hazelnuts. 

1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded coconut may be stirred into the hazelnut mousse after blending for a coconut cream pie effect.

Note: The hazelnut mousse can be made on its own and makes an excellent whipped topping substitute.