Or why Kittee rocks.
Do yourself a favour and order Papa Tofu now if you haven’t done so already, k? Last night I made Kittee’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies after a long day of work and they were nothing short of unbelievably amazing. Chocolate-y cake-y cookies filled with a smooth peanut butter filling, these kicked major ass out of those store bought, cellaphane wrapped cakes.
Just take a look at this inside shot. Hell yeah!
This is the stuff vegan sweets are made of people!
I’m sure that all have you by now have read or have heard about David Liette’s article on the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie by now as many of my fellow food bloggers have posted about their experiences with the directions and guidelines given in the article. It’s no secret that I love cookies, especially the classic Chocolate Chip Cookie, so of course I had to give Liette’s take on perfection a trial.
Instead of using the recipe the NYT provides (although it looks really good) I used the recipe I always use, the one that can be found in Vegan with a Vengeance. This time, I subbed a quarter of the sugar for brown sugar then proceeded to follow the three guidelines in the NYT article:
The results? Some damn good cookies. These were soft, chewy (crispy edges though! just like the article described!) with ooey-gooey chocolate and the sea salt? Amazing! Who would have thought that such a simple addition could take an already delicious cookie to a new height of delicious-ness? I’d love to know what sort of cookies would have been resulted in if I had have tracked down those chocolate disks but the Ghiradelli chips I used were awesome anyway. I’m also interested in trying the NYT recipe, vegan-style of course, instead of the VWAV recipe and see how they compare. I’m also quite proud (and surprised) of myself that I let the cookie dough sit in the fridge for 36 whole hours and not eat any of it. Ah, the things we do for perfection.
One of my favourite past-times is flicking through magazines. My favourites are often in the range of home design and cooking, as I’ll always find inspiration from what colour I should paint the bedroom (we’re in the pre-renovation stages, I’m so excited!) or to what to cook for supper. One of my favourite publications is one that is popular with vegans, Veg News, is always full of recipes that I mean to try (and do try, like that delicious Mac ‘n’ Cheeze I made not too long ago). In the May + June issue there was a column on dessert featuring a recipe for Chunky Monkey Brownies which instantly captured my attention.
These bars, albeit have an almost too-cutesy name, are chock full chocolate, banana chips, cashews (except not mine, I used walnuts instead) and coconut, lots of crunch layered on a thin yet fudgy and satisfying brownie. After taking these babies out of the oven I was a little sceptical as they appeared to have sunken a tiny bit but after waiting for them to cool, I sampled one and was not disappointed. These were everything I could hope for in a dessert bar, rich, chocolatey but with their addition of tropical goodness, they have a lot more depth than your average square. These have to be shared so since this issue’s supply is dwindling on the store shelves, I’m going to post the recipe for all those who were not able to read this article (maybe you don’t have access or maybe you haven’t given Veg News a try yet, why not? I think this recipe would push you do so).
Chunky Monkey Brownies by Beverly Lynn Bennet
Originally published in the May + June 2008 issue of Veg News
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup safflower oil [I used canola]
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
4 tsp arrowroot
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup dried banana chips, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup chocolate chips, coarsely chopped
2 tbs dried coconut, shredded
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch square pan [I used an 8 inch) and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, oil, water and vanilla. Sift in flour, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking powder and salt. Stir well to combine.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Evenly scatter banana chips, chocolate chips, cashews and coconut over top and press gently with hands into the batter.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until set in the centre. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting into nine squares.
1/4 cup cashews, coarsely chopped [I used walnuts]
I know these have been blogged about numerous times. I myself have even blogged about these twice before but it’s all for good reason. These cookies are fantastic. And what harm could talking about them a little more possibly do?
These are Vegan with a Vengeance‘s Chocolate Chip Cookies, a cookie that never lasts too long in this house. I baked these up today with the excuse that I have to break in my new cookie sheet and what better way than to do so with the most popular cookie of the world (probably)? What I’m trying to say here is that you should make these cookies. C’mon, don’t fear the cookie.
Oh cookies, it’s been far too long.
Oddly, I haven’t baked cookies in a while and I’ve been going through serious withdrawals. Inspired by the lovely Celine, today on my (albeit rainy) day off I decided to bake myself some cookies with flair, cookie sandwiches. Using my all-time favourite cookie, the Big Gigantoid Crunchy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies from Vegan with a Vegeance and Celine’s soy yogurt Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse, the ultimate cookie sandwich was born. Oh yeahh.
love like a vegan 