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Vegan Coconut Cranberry Cookie Bars
Did you know that Mark has another website called Pixel Enemy? He talks about video games, plays video games and makes video game videos on You Tube. Every once in awhile a hoard of males does a podcast at our apartment. Tonight I made them a sweet treat. They started out as cookies in my mind, but the more I worked with the dough, the more they became a bar in my mind. I don’t know why I am so obsessed with baking vegan things as I am not a vegan, but I think it’s the lack of butter and eggs that gets me every time.
These are pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. If you have Coconut Milk use that, it would only improve these crumbly little guys.
Hangry Pants
Vegan Coconut Cranberry Cookie Bars
Ingredients:
- 1.5 C Whole Wheat Pasty Flour
- 1 C Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
- 1.2 C Dried Cranberries
- 3/4 C Organic Sugar
- 1/2 t Baking Soda
- 1/2 t Baking Powder
- 1/3 C Vegetable Oil
- 1 t Vanilla Extract
- 3 T Vanilla Almond Milk
Directions:
Keeping it simple with one bowl here. Combine everything that is dry first and then add the oil and the milk. You might need to add a bit more milk, but avoid making it too much of a liquid batter. You want more of a dough. Bake in a cake pan at 350* for 12 minutes.
Before:
And about 12minutes later.
My Kitchen Is In Chaos Chocolate Protein Cookies
I currently have not one, but two apartments in complete disarray. If you ever move from one floor to another in your house do not do what we did and bring things upstairs in your arms as you see fit. Please pack!
Here is my new kitchen.
I guess the people who lived here before spray painted the backsplash gold for 1/2, but left the mint green behind the sink. No idea why or what to do about that.
I really hate having so much stuff on the counter! I asked Mark to put up some shelves on the wall so I can place things like tea, spices and my pretty measuring cups.
My new kitchen is small, but it presents some challenges.
- No dishwasher
- No microwave (or real move for one)
- We thought there would be no room for our table, but we fixed that by putting it over a radiator.
There are also some positives.
- It’s bright yellow.
- There is a lot of storage for pans and dishes.
Because of the move, Mark’s been working from home and bringing stuff upstairs when he has a spare minute. Pretty much every 20 minutes he asks for a snack, so I decided to make some. Yes, I bake when I am moving and my life is upside down!
My Kitchen is In Chaos Protein Cookies
- 1/2 t vanilla extract
- 1 T chia seeds
- 1 T ground flax
- 3 T water
- 1 T vegetable oil
- 2/3 C whole wheat flour
- 1/4 C Vega Choc-A-Lot Shake & Go Smoothie (HLS swag)
- 1/4 C Raw Turbinado Sugar
- 2/3 C Salted Roasted Peanuts (Oh Nuts! HLS swag)
- 2 T Unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 Baking soda
- In a small bowl combine the chia seeds, flax, water, vanilla and oil.
- In a medium bowl combine remaining ingredients.
- Add the wet to the dry and mix until combined.
- Scoop out on cookie sheet and bake at *350 for 12 minutes.
Good protein cookies, would be improved by chocolate chips.
This weekend at some point I’d like to take a tip to Ikea to figure out some sort of storage system for this area, which we’ll use as a pantry. Because we are on the third floor of a house, every close or storage space is slanted like this one.
So that’s the story of my crazy cookies and my crazy kitchen. Help me organize! Please share your kitchen organization ideas!
Beth T.’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
I am somewhere between New Jersey and Chicago, but before I left I had to try out Beth T.’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. They just looked too good to ignore.
I made them for Mark’s mom for taking me to the airport because doing so saved me oodles of money.
Just because they were for someone else, doesn’t mean I didn’t try them. I mean the perfect chocolate chip cookie? I needed to know!
What I learned:
Browning butter is fun and produces a smell like no other. Combine it with sugar and you will die and feel like you’ve gone to baking heaven.
Out of the oven these cookies really are perfection. The outside is a crusty ring and the center is softer. This is how I love cookies.
The dough was so hot that the chips melted when I added them, producing chocolate swirl cookies.
After yoga and several hour of cooking, the cookies were a little too cripsy for me, but they flavor is delicious – rich and buttery!
So perfect? I can’t commit to that. But if you are looking for the perfect crispy chocolate chip cookie, I can’t imagine something better.
Scones and Free Tea!
Well playing with the clues (1, 2 and 3) was lots of fun, but now it’s time to spill the beans … or tea leaves.
I am participating in the Tazo Tea Cook-Off, which means I will create three recipes using tea and a secret ingredient that arrives at my house each week for three wrrks. In exchange, I get tons of tea and tea related items, a gift card to shop for groceries for the contest and a fun adventure! The winner of the contest will also win a 1,000 gift card to the kitchen supply store of her choice. There is a giveaway for you at the end of this post.
The first secret ingredient was culinary lavender.When I opened the bottle, the scent said “pair me with sweet citrus,” and so I did just that tonight.
I wish you had a scratch and sniff screen.
Hangry Pants
Lavender Oranges Scones
Ingredients
- 1/2 C Low Fat Milk + 1 T Milk
- 1 Wild Sweet Orange Tazo tea bag
- 2 C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 1/4 C Sugar
- 1/4 C Butter (not room temperature)
- 1.5 t Baking Powder
- 1/2t Baking Soda
- Dash of Salt
- 1 t culinary lavender
- 1 C Confectioner’s Sugar, sifted
Directions
- Place the tea bag in a cup of milk. Set aside in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Before removing the bag squeeze out the contents.
- While the milk is in the fridge prepare, chop the lavender into smaller pieces.
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Cut up the cold butter into little cubes and use a pastry blender, or two butter knives (like me), to incorporate the butter. It will be a dry crumbly mixture.
- Add 1/2 C of the milk, saving 1 T for the glaze.
- Knead the dough into a ball and form a flattened circle about 6 – 8 inches wide.
- Cut into 8 triangles, but do not cut all the way through yet.
- Place dough on a buttered baking sheet and back at 350* for 25 minutes.
- Prepare the glaze while the scones bake Sift the confectioner’s sugar into a small bowl and add the milk. 1 T should be enough, but if it’s too thick add more milk).
- Let the scones cool and then glaze the tops.
An important note about the tea infused milk – make sure not to keep it in the fridge for much longer than 20 minutes and make sure to make the glaze right away. I made three different batches before I figured this out … curdling will occur.
And there’s something in it for you! I could not have all of this fun and not share some of it with you.
Tazo is giving away a package that looks similar to this …
And will include:
- A teapot for lose tea
- Tea cups
- A Crate and Barrel Iced Tea Pitcher
- 12 varieties of Tazo Tea
The giveaway will run for the duration of the Tazo Tea Cook-Off. All you need to do is comment on this post and tell me something about tea … favorite flavor tea, tea memory, tea recipe – anything tea will do!
Strawberry Shortcake Muffins
After a weekend of ups (our impromptu trip to the beach) and downs (that terrible Baby Sitters Club movie) I was in the mood to bake. Lucky for me I had tons of strawberries on their last leg that I just couldn’t eat. Isn’t it funny how I never get sick of ice cream, but I get sick of strawberries. Kind of wish it was the other way around, but that’s another post.
Anyway, I originally wanted to make Strawberry Biscotti, but I decided fresh strawberries were too most for the hard crunch a biscotti requires. Instead I turned to a muffins where moisture is always appreciated, and the Strawberry Shortcake Muffin was born.
Strawberry Shortcake Muffins
- 1 C Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 t Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 C Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 t Baking Soda
- 1/3 C + 1-2 t sugar
- 1/2 C chopped strawberries
- 1/3 C Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 1/2 C White Chocolate Chips
Directions
- Put the almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a bowl and let sit.
- In a big bowl combine the flour, 1/3 C sugar, baking soda and chocolate chips.
- Lay out the strawberries on a baking sheet or paper towel and coat with sugar.
- Add the apple sauce and strawberries to the bowl with the almond milk.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients mixing until combined.
- Prepare the muffin tin with spray or oil and add the batter.
- Bake at 325* for about 20 minutes.
Yield: 12 muffins
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The white chocolate chips explode! This is delicious because that makes them spread throughout the muffin so they are infused with a buttery quality from just a few chips. Mark did not believe me when I told him there was no butter or oil in these muffins.
Enjoy!
Therapeutic Bread Making
Oh I know what you’re thinking. How could she possibly make bread when she has all that Arnold bread? Or, how could she possible make bread when it’s a bazillion degrees out? To answer (1) it’s not for me! and (2) it’s not that bad at night with the windows open.
Last week Bobbi held a bake sale and Jennifer won a loaf of homemade bread. Last night I set out to make her prize. Along the way I remembered something about bread making – it’s a wonderful experience.
You start with little more than yeast, flour and water and you create something amazing! It requires attention, patience and time. You really have to take care of what you are making to ensure that everything turns out just right. It’s really a therapeutic experience that I recommend to anyone. The recipe I used last night does not even require a mixer. I’ve tried to encourage you before and here I go again … make your own bread!
With bread making, unlike with my other baking projects, I try to weigh the ingredients. I use my Taylor Glass Kitchen Scale, which I got for Christmas and I love!
This recipe is especially fun because you can keep the dough refrigerated for up to 7 days before baking it; the longer it stays, the more sourdoughy it tastes. I still have some left that I will bake with in about a week.
One of my favorite parts of baking bread, aside from the end result of course, is the rising. Here is my bread after the initial rise, but before the 1 hour rest period prior to bake time.
And here it is after, with a measuring cup for comparison.
I love yeast!
I’m telling you baking bread brings such satisfaction and accomplishment.
Some people relax with a glass of wine – I relax with making bread (or cupcakes or cookies)?
Do any kitchen activities relax you?
Step-by-Step Thumbprint Picture Tutorial
When my mom and dad need help with a new piece of technology, they ask for a “tutorial,” as in “Heather, can we have an email tutorial,” or “Heather, can we sit down and have that abacus tutorial?”
Enjoy this picture “tutorial” for making my Macaroon Thumb Prints.
I made this batch to bring to my family Friday. A couple of recipe notes:
- This time I made them with Strawberry Jam + Peanut Butter and they tasted like tiny PB + J sandwiches.
- I didn’t have enough Coconut Milk, so I used Almond. Although they came out just fine, if you really want the coconut flavor to come through I highly suggest using Coconut Milk.
- Last time they rose/spread a whole lots, so this time I just used 1/2 t Baking Soda and that worked just fine.
