Strawberry Jam Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies

This is a really easy cookie recipe that just happens to be vegan and relatively healthy. The rolling and filling of the cookies is a little time-consuming but well worth the effort. These cookies are filled with oats and whole wheat flour, use oil instead of butter, and are naturally sweetened by molasses and maple syrup. They also contain a hint of spice for flavor, but this can be omitted for a plain cookie. They keep well and freeze well.

Strawberry Jam Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies
4 cups rolled oats
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup maple syrup
strawberry jam (or your favorite flavor)

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, salt, and spices.
Stir in the oil, molasses, and syrup; mix well.
Roll dough into walnut-sized balls, using about 1/2 tablespoon dough for each. Alternately, you may make these cookies as large or as small as you wish.
Place cookies slightly apart on prepared baking sheets.
Using your thumb or the opposite end of a mixing spoon, press a small indent into the center of each cookie. 
Fill each cookie with one teaspoon or so of jam - fill it straight to the top but don't overfill. The jam will reduce slightly when baked and doesn't tend to overflow like in some cookies, so be generous.
Bake for 15 minutes until the bottoms are lightly browned. Let cool on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes to firm up.

Makes approximately small 60 cookies.

Healthy Sweet Nut Crust

I've never been much of one for pie dough. We never had shortening or lard on hand, the traditional fats of choice, and butter or margarine never seemed to work for me. The dough was too crumbly, and when I added more water than called for, this didn't help at all. I've used shortbread, graham crumb, and chocolate crusts for my pies instead. But this is a new crust I tried and I love it. It basically has two ingredients. The procedure here seems long, but that's only because I explained everything at length - really all you need to do is blitz in a food processor! You can use any nut you wish, but I like almonds. It's simple, healthy, vegan, and goes with a variety of pies. I used it for my wild berry tart the other day.

Healthy Sweet Nut Tart
1/2 cup pitted dates
water
1 cup whole, natural almonds
feel free to add a dash of spice, a splash of extract, or something else to add some additional flavor

Put the dates in a small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Turn heat off and allow to cool so the dates will plump up and absorb all the moisture.

Drain all the liquid off. Reserve this liquid - it is amazing. It can be drunken warm as a hot date tea, as sweet as juice but with no added sugar. Or add some cocoa powder and make hot chocolate. It can be used to sweetened a variety of tings - baked goods, savory items, etc. etc. The liquid can be reduced to make date syrup or date honey, used as maple syrup or honey in baking (and cheaper!). 

Put half the dates in a food processor with all the almonds and begin to process until mixture comes together. The almonds will break into small pieces and the dates will bind them together. The almonds do not need to be finely ground, actually, I prefer them in larger pieces. If the mixture is not sticky, add some more dates. 

You may not need all the dates, but now you have dates that are already pre-plumped for another recipe, just store them in the fridge. 

Press mixture into one eight or nine inch round pie or tart pan, two four inch round pie pans, or a bunch (I'd estimate eight to twelve) baby tart pans. Place in the freezer to firm up, then add your desired filling!

Cinnamon Raisin Waffle

The other day my father had the waffle iron out to make waffles for brunch, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and try out a new vegan waffle recipe. I don't have my own waffle maker, so I don't get too make waffles very often. I usually make pancakes - as the batters are very similar. But waffles just have a slightly different texture - one that can't be duplicated - and this waffle doesn't skimp on flavor nor texture. 

Cinnamon Raisin Waffle
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon smooth nut butter of choice
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2-4 Tablespoons raisins

Whisk the first six liquid ingredients together until smooth. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and stir to form a batter. It is fine if it is slightly lumpy and it should be thin enough to pour but thick enough to be scooped up with a spoon. 
Preheat a large (Belgian) waffle iron and grease lightly with oil. Pour the batter in and cook for a few minutes until waffle is done.

I served my waffle with a some leftover peanut butter caramel sauce I had, hot chocolate sauce, more raisins, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Delicious! It makes a very filling breakfast, lunch, or healthier dessert option.

Wild Berry Tarts

A stunning, colorful, individual-sized  wild berry tartlet featuring four juicy berry flavors, lemon, coconut, cream, and almonds!

This is a fruit tart I made as my first creation and my first lunch for the New Year. My boyfriend has been hinting at me for awhile about fruit tarts with lots of berries, and I was excited to finally make one. I will definitely make another version in the summer time when fresh berries are in season, but considering I used frozen berries, this fruit tart turned out pretty darn good. Despite being composed of 0% chocolate and 100% vegan ingredients. It's also chock-full of fruit and nuts, no-bake, gluten-free, and dare I say, healthy?

Components
CRUST (almond cookie crust)
FILLING (lemon coconut cream filling)
TOPPING (four berry compote)
GARNISH (berries)
GLAZE (maple syrup)

Procedure
Prepare the crust and press into two four inch tart pans or miniature aluminum pie plates. Freeze to firm up while preparing filling.

Prepare the filling and pour over the crusts. You can now refrigerate this until firm or freeze it so it firms up within hours. I recommend freezing, especially if you just made the crust, because if the crust is not fully set, it will become too soft in the fridge. Freezing for longer does not seem to affect the texture of the coconut milk in the cream filling.

Prepare the berry compote. Ideally cool the compote completely and chill it first, but if you are short on time like me, you can spoon it straight over the partially set cream filling and smooth it out as best as possible. It may make the filling melt a little, but it will be fine once you pop it back in the freezer. Alternately, chill it in the fridge.

Take the pretty whole berries set aside from the compote and arrange them artistically on the tarts. You want to keep the berries frozen until ready to use because they are too soft to work with (without smushing them) when thawed. However, you don't want to serve a tart with frozen berries, so keep in mind this must be done a little before serving time to allow them to thaw. The tarts can also be placed back in the freezer after topping with the berries if they are being held longer.

Heat a little maple syrup in the microwave for thirty seconds or so and brush over the fruit on top to make it shine. The tarts can be frozen again if you want to hold them, held in the refrigerator briefly, or if you plan to serve them very soon, left at room temperature to warm up a bit before eating. If frozen for more than a few hours, gently place in a container or cover with plastic wrap.

Serving
Gently unmold the tarts from the pans and place on plates. I find this is really easy if you line the tart pans with plastic wrap before filling with the crust mixture - then the tarts simply lift straight out! You can add other garnishes such as lemon wedges, toasted coconut, chocolate sauce, or (coconut) whipped cream, but I like to let these fruit tarts shine on their own.

Planning these ahead and serving them can be slightly tricky. The crust can be made as far in advance as you wish, as long as you have your dates soaked - so I recommend doing this at least the day before to ensure a less soggy crust.

The coconut custard firms up much better in the freezer and causes the crust to become a bit soggy if left for too long at lower temperatures.

The berries place don top of the tart should be done as closely to serving as possible, still allowing enough time for them to thaw out, though I did have success with freezing the tart like this as well.

Glaze the berries last minute for optimum shine.

Ideally thaw frozen tarts only 6-14 hours before serving, and allow to come to room temperature to serve. Do not freeze for longer than a few days, and do not leave at room temperature. This will ensure optimum flavors and textures.

Citrus Spice Nut Cookies

This is a cookie recipe I came up with tonight - inspired by a cupboard full on ingredients, holiday spice flavors, and vegan baking. This cookie doesn't necessarily have to be a holiday cookie, but it does contain some nice holiday spice flavors. It is a healthy cookie - not too sweet, but the sweetness comes from maple syrup, oranges, and raisins. It uses whole wheat and nut flours, and a baking soda vinegar mixture in place of the egg, and minimal oil. This retains a soft, moist cookie that is vegan-friendly.

Citrus Spice Nut Cookies
2/3 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 large (navel) oranges
1/2 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup each golden and Thompson raisins
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup each: ground almonds, ground walnuts, ground pistachios
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon each: lemon extract, orange extract, almond extract

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the syrup and oil in a medium saucepan. 
Peel the oranges, cutting the peel into small pieces and reserving. Cut all the white bitter pith from the oranges, and slice into segments. Add to the pot. Sprinkle all the spices over top, then add the raisins. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, cover, and simmer for ten minutes or so until aromatic and the orange segments have completely broken down. Let cool slightly, then transfer to a blender. Blend until no large chunks remain - it doesn't have to be completely smooth and should not be liquidy, just enough to cut the peel into fine zest.

Combine the flour, nuts, and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the blender mixture. Add the vinegar to the baking soda in a tall cup, let it bubble, then add along with the extracts. Mix well. 

Roll the dough into small balls, about 1/2 inch, and place slightly apart on prepared baking sheets. bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms are brown and cookies are no longer doughy. Let cool before transferring from the cookie sheets.

I decorated these with a simple rum icing to suit the occasion.