Vegan SnickerDoodles

Cookies you can make, without having any "special" ingredients, just ingredients you have in your cabinets. How can this be? Cookies and baked goods always require "special" ingredients, they are goodies after all!

Not True. I proved it. SnickerDoodles, nope, not a single special ingredient, and somehow, they are still fantastic!

• 1 cup vegan margarine ( Earth Balance)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 tablespoons dairyfree milk, whipped with
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch or 3 tbs flour
• 3 cups white flour
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoonscinnamon
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• I threw in some fresh minced ginger about 3 tbs.
• 

Preheat your oven to 300°F. In a large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar together until smooth. Add the vanilla, and the cornstarch/milk mixture, the ginger, and beat until well-mixed. In a smaller bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and tapioca/corn starch. Stir this into the wet ingredients and combine well.

In a very small bowl stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Begin rolling the cookie dough into balls of about 3 tbsp each. Roll each ball in the cinnamon/sugar mixture until completely coated and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Continue until all the dough is used up. Using the bottom of a glass, press down on each ball until they are about an inch thick.

Bake for 12 - 14 minutes, and no more. The cookies should still seem very soft when you remove them from the oven. Let cool on the pans for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire baking rack and let cool completely.

If you eat one... you will die and go to heaven or you will slither into the sweet evil that is the Inferno. If your oven was named Inferno, indeed, mine is.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, I just about have my kitchen remodeled and my baking center is awesome. The only bummer is that my doctor wants me to do a gluten free elimination diet to see if gluten is the cause of all my woes. How unfair to now have to give up [baking] one of my passions. The first week was tough as not only did I go through baking withdrawals, but gluten withdrawals too; and my first attempt at baking pizza from scratch was a disaster. I tried it again last night and had somewhat better results, but still, not very good. I did however, come across a flourless chocolate chip cookie cookie recipe in "The Bon Appetit Cookbook" as I was making regular cookies for my son to take to college. What a surprise to see it! I decided to give them a try and made some this morning. Well, I think these may be the best damn Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER! Flour or no flour. And, they're super easy too.

Recipe:

1 Cup of super-chunky peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of chocolate chips (Ghiradelli bittersweet are my fav)
(I also added 1/2 cup of chopped pecans)

Mix until well combined. Roll a tablespoonful of cookie dough or so in WET hands (to prevent sticking) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until done (ha ha, my favorite saying) about 12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the center is still soft. I am not sure how well they will keep...they won't make it through the day here, I'm sure, so does it matter?? Yummy. Well, "Bon Appetite", Thanks!

Ginger The Ancient Elixer

sick time. now what? I don't want to cook I don't want to bake. I want to lay in bed and watch "Ghost in the Shell" and drink tea and blow my nose a sufficient amount of times before my hankerchief gets too disgusting.



Finally... I have discovered the cure!



mmm Newmans Ginger-O's! and dun-dun-dah-dah!!! GINGER ROOT!



And in case anyone is wondering... The Ginger People ginger candies are far superior to Reeds. These are actually chewy and even more spicy...especially the peanutbutter ones. The orgininal ginger candies might be comparable, maybe. And I haven't had Ginger people Ginger Beer, but the Juice is really good!

Sharon's Cookies: A Vegan Cookie review

Sharon's Kitchen is responsible for outputting bulk amounts of fantastic vegan cookies on a regular basis. On our last visit, she supplied a few of her favorite (and Mine!) for our enjoyment.
YUM!

In the picture... from the Top of the picture to the bottom:

Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies!
Little dense chocolate cookies with raspberry preserves mixed in the batter! This is a recipe from Veganomicon.

Recipe:
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened ccoa powder (sifted if clumpy)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Time: 35 Minutes Makes 2 Dozen Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 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, pliable dough. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and then flatten them with your hands into 2 1/2-inch diameter disks. Place on a cookie sheet (they need to only be 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. Sesame Ginger Peanut Butter Cookies! Such a good cookie! Like everything you could want all together in one cookie. Is like a yummy Thai dessert cookie. Yeah! Cookies! Also found in Veganomicon! My friend Evan made these cookies with BLACK sesame! Check them out! Straight UP Peanut Butter Goober Nut Cookies! These cookies are a crispy and a little bit chewy, also unexpectedly sweet! I love goober nuts! THANKS SHARON!!!!!!

The first pages of my "Cookbook"

I Wrote these on the train one day...
If these are hard to read... I apologize. But its just a sneak peak....