January 30th, 2012

orange cranberry muffins


2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2/3 cup soy yogurt
1/4 cup almond milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten or egg replacer equivalent
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons earth balance margarine
1/3 cup dried cranberries

mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda salt, cinnamon, and orange zest together in a large mixing bowl.

next mix the orange juice, yogurt, almond milk, egg vanilla, margarine, and cranberries together in another bowl.

fold the liquids in with the powders until fully incorporated, don’t over mix.

fill a 12 muffin pan, with liners, and evenly disperse the muffin batter into the liners.

bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.

January 15th, 2012

S’more cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup earth balance margarine
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 large egg(or 3 tablespoons apple sauce)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cocoa marshmallows

Preheat 325f
whip together sugars, egg and margarine, add oats and vanilla flavoring. Add the flour , salt and baking soda.
If you don’t have cocoa covered marshmallows you can add 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips to recipe and then use regular marshmallows
Roll into balls of desired size and layout on silpat or parchment at least 1 inch away from each other and then slightly flatten the dough balls.

Bake for 10 minutes

Then open oven and push in cocoa covered marshmallows and bake for roughly 5 more minutes or until slightly golden on edges

20120115-110323.jpg

December 8th, 2011

Shortbread mincemeat bars

I made these from joyofbaking

If I make these again I’ll for sure get a 9×9 pan, I only have an 8×8 pan and I use it most times when 9×9 is called for with no problems. But the base of the bar is slightly thicker and softer than I’d want it to be.

20111207-221726.jpg

November 21st, 2011

Secret shortbread recipe

Taking a recipe that has been made in my family since I was little, but changed it to dairy free!

8oz earth balance vegan margarine(soft)
4oz berry sugar
4oz rice flour
7-8 oz all purpose flour

With electric mixer, using whisk attachment- Mix the sugar and margarine together until smooth

Add rice flour until smooth

Change to flat beater and mix in the flour, if it’s too soft add a little more flour, if too dry add a little more margarine

I used shortbread molds but you could just roll the dough 1/4 inch thick and cut into shapes.

Sprinkle with white sugar bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

Keep in air tight container, let age for at least a week to enhance flavor!

November 9th, 2011

Olive oil crackers

20111108-220733.jpg

2 cups all purpose flour, and extra for rolling in
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup water
2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
1 teaspoon regular sesame seeds
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cracked pepper
Sea salt for on top
Olive oil for brushing on top

Mix all powders together first, then add oil and water, mixing together in a bowl then knead into a ball. If it is too dry add a little bit of water at a time until a sticky firm ball is formed, if too sticky and wet add a little more flour.

Pinch off about an inch round ball and roll AS FLAT AS YOU CAN on a floured surface, repeat until pan is covered.
Makes 24+ crackers(depending on size, mine were about 5 inches long 2 inches wide)
Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake at 425 for 8-12 minutes or until slightly golden and crisp

November 6th, 2011

Crispy waffles

20111106-080025.jpg

2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 a teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon egg replacer
3 tablespoons egg whites
1 1/4 cups almond milk milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine all dry ingredients ( including powdered egg replacer and cinnamon) in mixing bowl. mix almond milk, vanilla extract, and canola oil.
Mix throughly, scraping the bowl in the middle. If you’re using the kitchenaid scrape the batter
into a separate bowl and clean your mixing bowl.
Place egg whites in mixing bowl. Whip eggs until fluffy but
not dry. Gently fold eggs into the batter.

Spray waffle iron with nonstick spray and pour about 1/3 of a cup of the
batter onto medium heated waffle iron
For roughly 8 minutes(different waffle irons have different heat times)

November 4th, 2011

Poppy seed kolache

20111103-223210.jpg

INGREDIENTS
4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon ground mace or ground nutmeg
1 cup milk(almond milk)
1/2 cup butter(earth balance margarine)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Canned poppy seed filling (or make your own*)
Raisins (optional)
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk( almond milk)
*Poppyseed filling (if you want to make your own filling, otherwise, you can use canned)
1 cup poppy seed
1/2 cup milk(almond milk)
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup chopped nuts
Dash of cinnamon
METHOD
1 In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, the yeast, and nutmeg or mace; set aside.
2 In a medium saucepan heat and stir the 1 cup milk, the 1/2 cup butter, the granulated sugar, and salt just until warm (120 degree F to 130 degree F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with the two eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping side of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in lemon zest and as much of the remaining flour as you can.
3 Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease the surface. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (for 1 to 1-1/2 hours).
4 If you are making the poppy seed filling from scratch, combine the filling ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until it thickens, stirring often. Set filling aside to cool.
5 Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Grease 2 baking sheets.
6 Roll each dough half into a 16×8 inch rectangle, about an 1/8 inch thick. Cut each rectangle into 8 4×4 squares. Place a large, heaping tablespoon of poppy seed filling onto the center of each square. If you want, add a few raisins to the top of the filling. Brush the four corners of each square with water. Draw the corners up and gently press together. Secure with a toothpick. Place on well greased baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Cover; let rise in a warm place until nearly double (about 35 minutes).
7 Brush with an egg wash made with one egg beaten with a tablespoon of milk. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely. Remove toothpicks.

From http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/poppy_seed_kolache/

20111103-223229.jpg

October 27th, 2011

Spooky ghost cupcakes

Made using this recipe

http://bakingwithsneakers.com/blogs/intheoven/2010/09/18/chocolate-cupcakes-with-chocolate-enrobed-marshmallow-topping/

They kind of look like snowman poops but close enough to ghosts!

20111027-072643.jpg

20111027-202851.jpg

October 23rd, 2011

Jelly filled baked doughnuts

Altered this recipe to be dairy free!

For the doughnuts
2/3 cup warm milk{almond milk}, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoons butter{earth balance vegan margarine}
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten{egg replacer}
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1/8 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Topping:
1/2 cup milk{almond milk}
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and let sit for five minutes until the yeast gets foamy. Meanwhile, stir the butter into the remaining warm milk to melt it. Add the remaining milk, butter, sugar, egg, flour, nutmeg, and salt to the yeast and mix together with the paddle attachment, then switch to the dough hook and continue mixing until dough is smooth and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, adding more flour if dough is sticky or more milk if too dry.

Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead a few times (dough should be barely sticky), shape into a ball and place in an oiled boil, turning to coat the dough with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.

Punch dough down and roll it out onto a lightly-floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out 3-inch circles and transfer them to parchment-lined cookie sheets. Then cut out 1 1/2-inch circles from the centers.{I didn’t cut out the insides}Loosely cover the donuts with plastic wrap.

At this point, you may either let the donuts rise for 45 minutes and proceed to bake them, or refrigerate them overnight. After refrigeration, let donuts rise 1 hour in a warm place. Bake at 375 degrees just until donuts take on a golden tinge, about 8-10 minutes.

While donuts are baking, pour the 1/2 cup milk into one bowl and mix the sugar and cinnamon in another.

As soon as the donuts are done, dip the tops of the donuts in the milk and then press into the cinnamon sugar. Work quickly to finish this while the donuts are still hot (the heat will melt the sugar slightly, helping it to stick and form a divine crunchy layer). Serve donuts warm from the oven

{I added one more step!, fill a squeeze bottle with warm jam, poke a hole into the side of the doughnuts , not piercing completely through!, with the butt end of a butter knife, next stick your squeeze bottle in the hole and squeeze with jam until it’s full

Recipe and how to from- http://www.apricosa.com/2010/04/baked-donuts.html?m=1

October 20th, 2011

Baked doughnuts

20111019-212826.jpg

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup room temperature almond milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons soft earth balance margarine

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2teaspoon cinnamon

Mix egg, margarine, and almond milk together.
add yeast until frothy
add salt and sugar

Slowly mix in with the flour, cocoa powder and cinnamon.

Mix until a smooth ball. Put ball into an oiled bowl and cover for an hour

Roll out dough on a slightly floured surface, about 1/3 inch thick
Cut into shapes

Place on parchment or silpat covered pan
Cover with tea towel and let sit for 45 minutes.

Bake at 350f for 12 minutes

Chocolate glaze

2 ounces vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup almond milk

1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Sprinkles, optional