Oreo Stuffed Cookies

One of the happiest days of being vegan was the day that I learned Oreo's contained no dairy. What does that say about them? Well for one, there is not much natural to them... definitely would not consider these a health food! It also says to me, that once in a while it's a perfect treat for me. I have no control when it comes to Oreo's, and really most cookies. I generally keep them out of my house because if they are here, I eat them until they are gone and never feel good after.

Not long ago, my boyfriend, Tony, sent me a picture... See below. I took it as a challenge and I am pretty sure it was meant to be interpreted that way. Really, how could I not try to make these knowing that they were vegan and knowing that I am a self-proclaimed cookie master! Tony did a little research for me by tasting different cookies with Oreo's and we determined that, yes, chocolate chip is the way to go. Lucky for me, I make a mean chocolate chip cookie... so why not put them on cookie steroids by stuffing another yummy cookie inside!

These cookies are monsters. Basically, consider one cookie, three cookies. Yummy chocolate chip cookie on the outside and warm Oreo in the middle. I can't think of something better to have after a long day...

How did I make these? It's actually pretty easy. You can take any chocolate cookie recipe you have on hand.. just remember that it will really only make half the number of cookies, so double if you want lots, but these cookies are pretty filling. I don't think I would recommend eating more than one in a sitting.

I used my chocolate cookie recipe found here

Now, when you have your dough ready, make each cookie dough into a ball. Press down with your hand or a spoon and then place an Oreo on top. Now take a second cookie and place on top. Make sure the cookies are large enough that they wider than the Oreo. Next, grab the dough and press the edges together to they are sealed.

Make your cookie dough, place an Oreo on the dough..

Place the second cookie dough on top and seal.

Pre-heat your oven to 375 F (Or if using a different recipe, just follow their cooking instructions). Bake the cookies to the recipe, mine took about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them for when the edges go golden brown... That means they're ready. Also, space the cookies out well, they can spread a bit.

Let them cook on a rack for about 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a plate.

there is an Oreo hiding in that cookie!!

Let me just say, oh man are these amazing. I wasn't too sure about the combo at first, but who ever came up with this Picture Tony send, they are genius. I am so glad Tony sent these to me now. He is finally coming up to brave Canadian winter and see me on my birthday... maybe he'll luck out and I'll make these for him so he has a snack for when he gets off the plane. He is the best for coming all this way just to celebrate my big 3-0, I should return the favour. What better way than a double threat cookie!

This recipe got me thinking... what else could you stuff inside a cookie? Fruit, obviously. I did that once with a sugar cookie and strawberries... they were good. What about peanut butter? Jam? Icing? Pumpkin? My brain is going a mile a minute.. mostly because I just test tasted these cookies and I am on an obvious sugar high... I think this will not be the last of stuffing food into cookies.... But what to try next?

Peanut Butter Whiskey Cookies

I did not have the best day today... things at work are not going exactly to plan, my meeting ran long and had to skip the gym and as usual, I forgot about after work commitments which kills almost all of my time for cooking and relaxing after work.

After a long day, I really want to have a decent meal and if that can't be had, at least a good snack. I remembered when I first moved out on my own making peanut butter cookies quite a bit. Mostly because they only required a couple ingredients and took no kitchen appliances or time to make. Today, I decided these were a must... Even though these are good enough to stand on their own, I thought maybe I could do something to make them a little different than the basic recipe... What else goes good after a long day at work? Whiskey!

With very little additional work, I jazzed up this super easy recipe and turned it from an after school snack, to an after work snack. You could swap out the whiskey for other alcohols... spiced rum I think would be very good here. I origianlly  planned to have some chopped pecans on top, but I didn't have any on hand.. I instead used some apple slices. Apple and whiskey go, apple and peanut butter go, so I can only assume that Apple, peanut butter and whiskey all go perfect together.

Here we go with the recipe. The basic recipe is just the peanut butter, sugar and chia egg. From there, you can add things as you like. Just remember to balance the wet and dry ingredients. If the batter is too wet, the cookies will be flat and crunchy. If the batter is too dry, they will get cakey.

Peanut Butter-Apple Whiskey Cookies
*Makes 15 cookies, 20 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used brown, but white works too)
• 1 chia egg (1 tsp ground chia seeds whisked with two Tbsp water)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp whiskey (I admit, I free poured... )
• 1/4 tsp instant espresso (optional.. this is my secret ingredient in most baked goods)
• 2 Tbsp Flour (Again this is an estimate depending on how cakey you want the cookies. Add by the table spoon)
• 1 apple, peeled and sliced thin

Very easy to make. Pre-heat the over to 325 F. In a bowl mix the peanut butter, sugar chia egg, salt whiskey and instant espresso. Once everything in combined, add a Tbsp of flour and mix. Does it look like cookie dough? If it is too thin, add another tablespoon of flour. I would not go beyond 4 tablespoons though.

The ingredients... looks kind of gross, but thinking these are going to taste great!

I wanted a crispier cookie, so I only added a little flour.

Now, take a spoonful of dough and roll it into a ball and place it on an un-greased cookie sheet. Press each cook dough ball down with a fork until flat. Top with apple slices and some extra sugar. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Keep a close eye on them, you don't want to over cook!

Roll into a ball and flatten with a fork.
This will make the cookie, look like a cookie

Ready for the oven!

And.. the result? Well, first I wish I hadn't eaten half the apple and put slices on all the cookies. As you can see above, I ran short and figured sugar was enough. It was good, but the apples make it so much better.

The apple looks good and tastes even better!

These cookies are pretty boozey, if you are not into boozey cookies, use vanilla instead of the whiskey. or cut the alcohol in half. Me personally? I can't wait to eat these with a glass of whiskey on the rocks for dunking ;)

Things Momentarily Returning to Normal

Back home. I figured the first thing I would want to do is run out and make a big home made vegan meal. Instead, all I wanted to do is lie on my couch and take a day off. Not wanting to eat junk food for another week... I lucked out and my sister cooked me dinner for World Vegan Day! and yes, I am late posting... the excuse de jour? I left my computer's power cord on my last trip.

Tofu... yum... My favourite way to cut them up. For dinner we had them quartered and it also worked really well

Laura, my sister and vegan flirt decided to make a vegan feast which is generally dinner at her place when I come over. She and her family have really gotten into a lot of the vegan recipes that I have tried over the past couple years. She made an awesome dinner that was so simple and so satisfying, it is something I never seem to get when I am on the road.

First she made ginger marinaded baked tofu from the Kind Diet. When I make something like this I am always trying to find something to give it a kung pow, but she paired it with a nice simple brown rice with roasted sunflower seeds and green onion (I also threw some of the leftover marinade on it. Highly recommend). Then some steamed veggies on the side with a little bit of lemon on them. The recipe isn't posted online, but she has lots of others available: http://www.thekindlife.com/

I was so hungry when I got there, I completely forgot to take a picture of the finished product and then ate two full servings.
One thing that Laura asked me to bring when I came over was dessert. I forgot. Those that know me know that this is pretty much a constant in my life. I forget everything, but dessert? Inexcusable! To make up for the potentially world vegan day disaster I actually went back to a recipe for a cookie I made once a long time ago (Original recipe is here).

I modified this recipe a bit. First thing I did was I did not dry the apple sauce. I just used a scant 1/4 cup instead of a full one. Next? I forgot to put the maple syrup in. Then after the cooked were ready to bakes, I stirred it in. Lastly, I didn't bother with raisins. I was in a hurry and plumping raisins takes five minutes. Chocolate cookies and chopped pecans are instant gratification.

The result of these changes? Amazing! It kind of tasted like oatmeal, but intensely sweet and a hint of salt. Even my mother who brought in pepperoni pizza in case she didn't like tofu liked them. It is so satisfying when I can make something vegan and people who hate 'vegan' food love it. She even admitted the tofu was pretty good and it was just the texture of it that she wasn't into. I consider that a win in itself.

It kind of drives me crazy when people say they don't like vegan food. Mostly because people eat 'vegan food' all the time and the things that they haven't tried yet? Just drip the vegan from the name and people seem to be much better with it. Something about that word gets some non-vegans on edge. I don't know if I will ever understand that.. maybe for another post.

A picture I found of my favourite vegan in training! 

Meet Gizmo. He is one of my pigs and a fellow vegan.
Part of the reason I have not be posting much is that he is  sick, but now happy to report he is on the mend

Happy belated world vegan day. I am getting the energy together to make some tasty meals this weekend and include lots of pictures.

A vegan in her element... blogging and cooking.

Vegan BBQ Survival Kit

I am going to my first BBQ of the summer and it is sure to be filled with Carnivores or what they lovingly call themselves: meatatarians. my vegan BBQ survival kit. Basically, it is a cool I pack for these sorts of occasions. I am not the type of person to put everyone out and cook special meals for me. I enjoy cooking, so it is no trouble for me at all. I have learned though that it is smart to plan for picnics and BBQs so I don't end up chewing on carrots and pouting because I can't eat anything.

This BBQ would have been very unfriendly for vegans without my vegan survivor kit!

My BBQ survival kit varies depending on what I have in stock, but base on the following:

1. Salad and/or salad dressing
2. Veganaise
3. Salsa or Guacamole
4. Veggie burgers or some marinated seitan or tofu
5. Dessert
6. Coconut Bliss Ice cream (Yes, I consider this separate from dessert)
7. Wine

I don't always bring all of these items, but usually most of it is there. My friends are not always so vegan-friendly. I always bring enough to share and I try to pack things that won't scare off the meatatarians.

Because it is Canada Day, I thought I would try to pack some red and white foods to theme it a bit. Unfortunately I did not get to making the salad... I did pack a vinaigrette in case there is salad there. I made some delicious beet burgers that I adapted from Colour me Vegan, packed tomato, mango avocado and lime to make a salsa to go with it. Hazelnut fudge Coconut bliss and Canada Day Surprise Cookies! I adapted my lemon sugar cookies and there were some mistake that I think I recovered from to make a wonderful, light and fresh cookie.

Canada Day Surprise Cookies

• 1/4 margarine
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 chia egg (1tsp ground chia seeds and 2 Tbsp water, whisked)
• 1-2 Tbsp Milk (I didn't measure it)
• Zest of two limes
• 1 1/4 cup white flour
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (could omit, I didn't mean to add this!)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350F. First beat the margarine and sugar together until fluffy. Add the lime juice the egg and the milk and mix again for 2 minutes. Combine the dry ingredients (Flours, zest, baking powder and soda, salt) in a separate bowl. Pour the dry into the wet and mix until it is well combined/

Take about a tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball and place on a baking sheet. using a fork, press down on the balls to form cookies. Top with raw coconut and some sugar (I used a red sugar to get into my theme). Bake for about 10 minutes and then let sit on the cookie sheet for 5 more and then transfer to a plate.

Pretty easy and they are pretty tasty. Originally I was not planning to add the baking powder (I thought it was the baking soda!) and I think it dried out the dough so I added the milk at the end. I think you could omit both of these ingredient and get a nice cookie from it, but the addition of these ingredients didn't wreck anything. In fact, I think it made the cookies a bit more cakey.

Why are these Canada day surprise cookies? Well, I think the finished product looks like a basic sugar cookie with red sugar on top, but when you bite into them, they have a yummy tropical surprise with the lime and the coconut. You cannot go wrong with that!

Try something new and make these into a ice cream sandwich: Get your favourite ice cream (I used coconut bliss, coconut flavour). Take two cookies and put a good sized scoop on top of the first cookie, top it with the second cookie, sugar side down to trap in that coconut and sugar topping. Serve. All I can say is... YUMMM!!

One Long Cookie Night! Part Two: As Healthy as Cookies Get

Part one: Not so Healthy Cookies

So cookie night continues. It is late.. Really late and I just finished my last of the cookie recipes. I was planning on doing three types of cookies. I ended up with four. I have done enough quality checks now that I actually made kale chips when I finished! I needed some veggies to offset all the sweetness. Cookies for dinner seemed like a good idea at the time. It still is, but maybe don't have cookies for a midnight snack after.

Before the cookie hangover fully sets in, let's get on to part two of the cookie night. I labelled these as the healthy cookies. I don't know if I would go so far as to ever call cookies a health food, but in the grand scheme of cookies, these two recipes have a few more nutrient dense ingredients so you are getting more than just sugar and flour. I also used two different egg replacers again to give a comparison.

I have to say of all the egg replacers I have now tried, they all do the job as they said, but I think the chia and flax eggs are the most eggy and they both gave the best consistency for the recipes. That say, use your discretion. What ever you use will change the taste of your food. This means use a replacer that makes sense. If you don't think banana goes with your recipe, don't use banana as the replacer. Easy as that.

Cookie #3: Lemon Sugar Cookies * Chia egg replacer
Adapted from Light-Hearted Everyday Cooking
- 1/4 margarine, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 chia egg (1 tsp ground chai seeds and 2 Tbsp water)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
- grated rind of 2 lemons
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Make your Chia egg, combine the chia seed and water in a small bowl. Whisk then let sit for a couple minutes. Whisk again until it forms an eggy texture.

In a large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar with an electric mixture. Combine the chia egg and lemon juice and beat until fluffy.

Combine the dry ingredients together (flours, lemon rind and baking soda). Pour the dry into the wet and mix until combined. Shape Tbsp sized amounts of dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Using a fork, flatten the balls and then sprinkle the remaining sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes and then let cool for another 5 and transfer to a plate. Makes 30 - 40 cookies.

Cookie #4: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies * Apple sauce egg replacer

From Cookie Madness via James Frederick (Thanks James!!)

- 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (3.25 oz)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 scant teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar (3 ½ oz)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup applesauce, drained on a paper towel
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup raisins, plumped and patted dry
- Walnuts chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. Mix both sugars, maple syrup, apple sauce, oil and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the oats, followed by raisins. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool for about 5-8 minutes on cookie sheets then carefully scoop up onto a wire rack. Makes 2 dozen.

So, what did I learn from all this? First, I love cookies and they make a great Sunday dinner. Second, there is a very simple formula to making a decent cookie. Cream fat with sugar, add bonding agent and wet ingredients, then mix the dry ingredients into the wet and bake. Presto - Cookies. I also learned the egg replacers are easy and only seem weird because I hadn't tried them before. You would have thought I learned my lesson about this already... I think this time I have!

What's your favourite cookie recipe?

One Long Cookie Night! Part one: The not so healthy

It seems like it has been forever since I made a recipe for the angry-vegan. I have been craving cookies for a while. I have also been promising an awesome post on cookies for a while... So... Here it is! Welcome to what was once cookie day, but now it is cookie night! I dedicate this to all the night owls out there... looking for something to do while the rest of the world sleeps.

One of my favourite things to do at night is cook. Weird? Maybe, but I find that as soon as I start something that requires me to stay awake, I start to want to sleep. It is a weird little mind-game that I play.

Tonight is no different. I planned to take this day for myself. Stay home and get a few things done while baking a few dozen cookies. Somehow day turned to night and here I am, nowhere near ready to sleep and needing something to do.

Part of my cookie challenge was to find a different egg replacer for each recipe. Egg replacers are very new to me. I have been avoiding them because I don't understand them. After a bit of research I learned not only do I use egg replacers all the time, but they are insanely easy to work with. Here are some egg replacers I have discovered:

• Apple sauce
• Banana
• Flax egg
• Chia egg
• potato water
• mashed potato
• commercial egg replacer
• soy milk and vinegar
• Silken tofu

With all these choices out there, why even bother buying eggs?? If you know anyone trying to cut down on cholesterol, then urge them to try one of these. An easy way to cut back. Lucky for me, vegan diets are essentially cholesterol free. I used to think eggs were a magic food. You can do so much with them and nothing can replace them. I will admit for the first time... I was so wrong!

OK. Let's get down to business here... the cookies.

Cookie # 1: Rum-Nog Cookies *Cornstarch egg substitute
Recipe from Vegonomicon
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup soy or rice milk
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 2 Tbsp dark rum**
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 corn starch
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 chopped pecan

Frosting:
- 2 Tbsp vegan margarine, soften
- 2 Tbsp soy milk
- 2 dark rum
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease two cookie sheets

In a big bowl, combine the oil, soy milk, sugar, molasses,rum, and vanilla. Beat until slightly foamy. Mix the dry ingredients together then put dry into the wet and mix until a dough forms.

Roll the dough into balls (about a Tbsp of dough), then roll the balls in the chopped pecans and place on the baking sheets. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cook on the sheet for 5 min then place on a rack.


Frosting: Use electric mixer and cream the margarine. Add the confectioners sugar and stir with a fork until it is crumbly. Beat in the milk, rum** and vanilla. It should look like a butter cream frosting.

**Note: I made these in two styles. One alcoholic and one non. For the the non-alcoholic version, in the cookies I substituted apple juice for the rum and in the frosting, I just took it out.

If you like rum, you will like these cookies. If you don't substitute because they are still seriously good.

Old School Chocolate Chip Cookies * Flax Egg Substitute
Adapted from Crisco's recipe
- 3/4 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 flax egg (1 tsp ground flax and 2 Tbsp water)
- 2 tbsp soy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup of chocolate chips
- 1/2 pecans

Easy recipe. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a small bowl, whisk the flax and water together and let sit for 2 minutes. whisk again until it has an eggy texture.

Mix together the shortening and brown sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the milk, flax egg, and vanilla and mix again for 1-2 minutes.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Pour the dry into the wet (I do this in three batches) and mix until absorbed. Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans (optional).

Spoon Tbsp size dough balls on to the cookies sheets and bake for 8 - 10 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to plate.

If you want to make these a bit more adult, add in 1-2 tsp of instant espresso. Adds a lovely addictive quality. =)

Alright I think this is enough for one post. Coming next will be more cookies, but a little more healthy. Oatmeal raisin and Lemon sugar.