Snickerdoodle Blondies

This recipe is so simple I almost feel silly posting it. Cinnamon sugar tops a soft, vanilla-kissed blondie for a slightly new take on the snickerdoodle experience. They're also fairly low in fat, because when you have the ravenous sweet tooth that I do, some kind of damage control is in order. Curl up with these bars and a cup of tea or some soymilk for ultimate coziness. Or, you know, eat them with a PBR tallboy while playing video games. Whateves.


Topping:
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Blondies:
1/3 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp. canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix the wet ingredients and the sugar. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Spread into a lightly-oiled 8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with topping. Bake for 20 - 22 minutes.

Banana Butterscotch Bars (or something)

So I haven't quite gotten the name worked out, but these fudgy 'nana bars boast just the right amount of sweetness and spice and are topped with a generous sprinkle of butterscotch chips. Perfect with a cup of coffee and not terribly bad for your health, either. Here in Denver I can obtain virtually every vegan baking chip imaginable at East Side Kosher Deli, but if you're not lucky enough to have access to the elusive joy that is vegan butterscotch chips, you can substitute chocolate chips or just omit them altogether.

1 overripe banana, mashed well
1/4 c applesauce
1/4 c non-dairy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp canola oil
1/4 c + 2 tbsp brown sugar
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp vegan butterscotch chips (chocolate or white chocolate will also do, but b-scotch is the best, yo)

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, add the wet ingredients and sugar to the mashed banana, and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and combine. Spread into a lightly-oiled 8x8 inch pan and sprinkle with the chips. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until they pass the toothpick test. Don't over bake lest your bars become dry and cakey rather than moist and fudgy.

For the Love of Pancakes

Man, there's just something about pancakes. I can think of few things more comforting, cozy, and satisfying than a big stack of pancakes and a pot of strong coffee shared with my husband on a lazy weekend day. As has been previously mentioned, we really love brunch around here, and I must say that banana pancakes are my personal favorite. This is my tried and true recipe.

I find that the banana provides ample sweetness, especially considering that I'm just going to smother the pancakes in syrup anyway. If you prefer them sweeter, add a tablespoon or two of sugar. Don't skip the carbonated water here - it makes the pancakes light and fluffy.

Banana pancakes
1 over-ripe banana
1 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 cup carbonated water
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon (opt.)
pinch of salt

Mash the banana with a fork until it's good and mushy. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. (I don't have stress to you the importance of not over mixing your batter, right?)

Preheat griddle or pan to medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Once the pan is hot, ladle the batter onto it in a circular motion. When the edges appear dry and bubbles start forming in the middle, flip the pancakes over and cook for another minute or so.

Transfer cooked pancakes to a covered dish (or to an oven-safe plate and cover with foil) and keep in the oven at 250 degrees F until ready to eat.

While we're on the subject of foods to break one's fast, Shawn's weekday breakfast of choice is bagels. Annoyed with the non-veganness of some cheaper brands and the high cost of some other brands, I recently threw up my hands and said, "Screw it. I'll make my own." I used the recipe from Isa's upcoming brunch book - the aptly-titled Vegan Brunch - subbing half of the flour with whole wheat. The results were delicious (albeit a bit misshapen) bagels on the cheap, son.

Word.

Chocolate + peanut butter = BFF

Who doesn't love chocolate with peanut butter? (No seriously - who? Give me their names and addresses and I will take care of them.) The other night I was craving the classic combination and decided that the old chocolate-chips-dipped-in-peanut-butter routine just wouldn't do. Thus, these thin, chewy morsels were born. Rarely does a recipe made up on the fly turn out damn near perfect the first time, but I kind of think that these are the shit and can't find any room for improvement. Bonus: As cookies go, they're not too terrible for you, since the only added fat is a ¼ cup of natural peanut butter. That is, at least, until you eat them all in one sitting by yourself.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (I'm not going to call them something cutesy like "You got your peanut butter in my chocolate" cookies because I think that's really effing annoying.)

¼ cup natural creamy peanut butter
¼ - 1/3 cup non-dairy milk
1 t vanilla
¾ cup sugar
¾ c whole wheat pastry (or a combination of wwp and all purpose)
¼ c cocoa powder
¾ t baking soda
¼ teaspoon of salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray cookies sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the peanut butter and ¼ cup of the non-dairy milk. Add the vanilla and sugar, mixing until well combined and smooth. Sift in the rest of the ingredients and mix. If your batter looks too dry, add another splash or two of milk.

Drop onto cookie sheets two inches apart. With wet fingers, press down on the cookies to flatten them a bit. Bake for about 10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Make sure not to over bake these - you want them to be a bit underdone so they stay chewy and creamy in the middle. The tops should still be a little soft when you take them out of the oven.

Greenwise can suck it

Brunch is kind of a big deal in my two-person household, and my boyfriend considers no brunch complete without sausage. The semi-recent discontinuation of Publix’s Greenwise vegan sausage was disappointing and, well, pissed us off, mostly because it was our favorite but also because there are few other options for breakfast faux meats in our craptastically small town. Thus, this recipe - adapted from The New Farm Cookbook - was born.

Tempeh sausage

8 oz. tempeh
½ tsp salt
1 tsp sage
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp thyme
1tsp cumin
2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
2 tbsp flour (I use whole wheat pastry, but you could use all-purpose)
¼ tsp liquid smoke
2 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce

Steam the tempeh for 15 minutes and allow to cool. Grate on the coarse side of a grater. Add the seasonings, salt, and flour, and mix well. Stir in the liquid ingredients, mix well. Shape into thin patties. Pan fry in a little oil or cooking spray until browned on each side.