Pecan Jam Thumbprint Cookies

These are a real special cookie (read: tedious and time-consuming). They look great on a Christmas cookie platter, next to a cup of tea, or with a glass of milk. Use any type of nut and jam you wish! Pictured here are pecan and strawberry. 

Pecan Jam Thumbprint Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
pinch salt
1 cup chopped pecans
jam of choice

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt. Chill dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350◦F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll dough into one inch balls, dip in egg white, then roll in nuts Place on prepared baking sheets.
Make an indentation in the center and fill with 1/2 teaspoon jam.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookies are set.

Cilantro Walnut Pesto

Sure, pesto is supposed to consist of basil and pine nuts and even contain some garlic and Parmesan cheese. Forget about the rules, I have made pesto with many different herbs. Whatever herb I have left lying around, no longer in its prime state, is what I use to make pesto. Also whatever nut I have on hand. Pine nuts are crazy expensive and not that tasty in flavor. Also whatever oil is nearest; doesn't have to be olive. Basically for me pesto = nut pureed with oil + herb + seasoning, That's it. And it's delicious every time. 

one bunch leftover cilantro
one handful walnuts
a few drizzles of oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Blender, food processor, robo coup, mortar and pestle, really good potato masher - whatever you've got!

Super Rich Cookie Brownies

These brownie cookie bars may be super rich and super sweet, but they are also completely vegan! It just goes to show vegans can eat rich and decadent treats as well.

Brownie Base
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups granulated (white) sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup oil
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Caramel Hazelnut Filling
Maple Cookie Mix
1/3 cup flaked almonds

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Mix all brownie ingredients together and spread in a 9x9 inch pan.
Heat together hazelnut paste and sugar to a boil. Spread over brownie as evenly as possible.
Top with spoonfuls of cookie batter, which will spread out during baking.
Top with almonds.
Bake for 25 minutes until set.

Stir-Fry and Garlic Bread

Vegetable stir-fry with red bell pepper strips, shaved fennel, parsnip batons, kale leaves, onion, and macadamia nuts. The stir fry is starte din a hot pan with a little oil, sauteed for a very short amount of time, and then finished with an orange ginger sauce.
On the side is some toasty homemade garlic spread on homemade bread to make homemade garlic bread.

Cheater Vegan 'Cheese'

Anyone familiar with vegan cooking, particularly substitutes, if familiar with making vegan 'cheeses' from a base of nuts, most often cashews or macadamia nuts. There is also the pecan and nutritional yeast crumble to mimic Parmesan. Nuts are a great base, because once they are soaked, they can be blended into a delicious creamy texture, flavored, and set with a thickener such as cornstarch or agar agar. Well, I wanted a vegan cheesy spread substitute and I was in a hurry so I discovered a cheater version. It isn't the same as many of the vegan cheeses, but something different in itself. I used an already prepared nut butter in place of the nut cream base. I added seasoning, nutritional yeast, and used ground flaxseed as the thickener. Because I had almond butter on hand, this cheese is very dark in color and has a bit of a stronger flavor. But cashew or macadamia nut butter would provide a lighter color and more neutral flavor.

Layered Chocolate Birthday Cake

This is the chocolate birthday cake I made for my brother for his birthday today. He didn't really have any requests, but he loves chocolate, so I stuck with the chocolate theme.
This cake consists of my signature chocolate cake recipe baked in two eight inch round cake pans, each sliced in half horizontally. Each layer is filled with my basic chocolate fudge frosting. The entire cake was frosted with two tones of chocolate fudge frosting - one light and one dark, and then I used a frosting comb to go around the cake to show the two tones of frosting. I then glazed the cake in dark chocolate mocha ganache. I added some caramelized white chocolate crumb around the base of the cake, and made a light cocoa icing to pipe some borders and the message. 

It was extremely hot and humid while making this cake, so the cake was extra moist and dense and I had trouble with the icing sliding, but although it may not look perfect, it was super moist, chocolaty, fudgey, and delicious!!!

Banana Peanut Jam Muffins

Yummy, moist, healthy, delicious, vegan muffins that are a cinch to make!!

Banana Peanut Jam Muffins
1 1⁄3 cups whole wheat flour 
1⁄2 cup turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3⁄4 cup wheat bran
1 cup salty seasoned cocktail peanuts (whatever your favorite kind are)
2 over-ripe mashed bananas
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup non-dairy milk
6 teaspoons strawberry jam
4 teaspoon turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375◦F. Grease or line 12 muffin cups.
In a large bowl, mix together the first nine dry ingredients.
In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the next five wet ingredients.
Blend the wet into the dry.
Spoon half the batter into the muffin cups.
Place 1/2 teaspoon of strawberry jam into the center of each.
Top with remaining batter.
Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake for about 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Chocolate Granola Berry Tart

Step #1: Leftover chocolate granola + chocolate hazelnut spread (from the bottom of the jar) + oil
Combine until it is somewhat sticky and press into a pizza pan lined with plastic wrap. Chill until firm.
Step #2: Frozen mixed berries + bittersweet chocolate
Defrost a bowlful of frozen mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries) until they are soft and have released liquid. Stir in a few chunks of bittersweet chocolate and stir until melted, smooth, and mixture is slightly thickened. Spread over base, leave an edge, is desired.

Step #3: Leftover brittle
Find some leftover nut brittle (pistachio and candied ginger), crush it, and sprinkle it on top.
Serve now or chill until firm!
Here is how to make a really easy, yet really tasty and chocolaty dessert using only leftovers scrounged up from around the house and only one bowl! No expensive ingredients, and no big kitchen clean-ups required!!

Dough Danish Turnovers

Going along with the same idea as those pie dough scraps from last week, here we have dough 'turnovers' or shortcut Danish pastries. We took the leftover dough from making a tortiere meat pie, and made mini turnovers and one large turnover. We didn't really worry about getting perfect triangles as we were just utilizing scrap dough anyway. 

Some are filled with dark chocolate chips, which melted just enough to form a nice filling but not enough to ooze out of the pastry. Some are filled with spiced almonds, some with crushed maple walnuts, some with cinnamon sugar, and some with a combination of those. They are simply sealed with water, but also could be brushed with egg wash or milk before baking to allow more toppings to adhere. They can be brushed or dipped in melted butter after baking to give them a little more flavor. This is a basic pie dough for a savory pie, so the dough itself is not very sweet, making it the perfect vessel for a maple glaze or a frosting as well.

Chocolate Banana Nut Dessert

Here is a plated dessert featuring more components I was trying out for upcoming competitions. I must use dark and white chocolate, at least one fruit, and at least one nut. The plate must also feature a sauce and a garnish. Here are the components:

• Dark Chocolate Cake Base
• Brown Butter Dark Chocolate Pave
• Raspberry Banana White Chocolate Ganache
• Peanut Tuile Spiral and Cup
• Banana with Nougatine
• Dark Chocolate Peanut Truffle
• Cinnamon Banana White Chocolate Emulsion

Nutty Chick Cookies

Yesterday I found a cute idea online for making little chicks out of macaroon cookies using nuts for the feet and beak and feathers. I happened to be making nutty tuile cookies yesterday, so I decided to try to form some of them into little chicks since Easter is just around the corner.

Well, they don't look as good as the macaroon version, but they have their own kind of charm to them. While the tuile cookies were still hot, I balled them up and allowed them to cool. I also left some of the cookies just flat. I used melted chocolate to attach a cashew halve to the bottom of the chicks for feet, and an almond for a beak, and colored candy coated chocolates for the eyes, and a piece of flat tuile for the top feathers.
The tuile recipe I used is the same one I used for the tuile cups for my pear ginger sorbet the other week, except I used a mixture of nuts instead of just hazelnuts this time.

Nutty Lacy Tuile Cookies

Nutty Lacy Tuile Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup golden corn syrup
1 cup ground hazelnuts or almonds, or nut of choice (nut flour)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour

In a medium saucepan, melt together the butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Stir in nuts and flour.
At this point, the batter may be used right away or stored in the refrigerator for later.
To make tuiles: spoon batter onto silicone-line dbaking sheets. I used about 1/4 teaspoon for each tuile, but you may use more for bigger tuile. Space them far apart, I recommend doing no more than six per baking sheet, as they will harden before you can form them anyway.

Bake at 400°F for 5-10 minutes until the edges are browned and center is golden. They need to set for a minute or two on the cookie sheet after coming out of the oven and will color slightly more, so do not overbake them. They are really easy to overbake, and be sure to use a convection oven so they bake evenly. If they are underbaked, they will fall apart.

To form the tuiles, you can drape the warm cookies, carefully removing them from the cookie sheet with a flat metal spatula, over ladles, a rolling pin, or roll them into a cigar shape, as you desire. I used a two ounce ladle to form cups to hold my sorbet balls from the other day.

Sweet and Spicy Balsamic Roasted Nuts

Sweet and Spicy Balsamic Roasted Nuts
1 cup mixed nut blend (any kinds you like - I recommend three varieties) 
2 Tablespoons espresso balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
pinch chili flakes

Toss all together, spread on a baking sheet, and roast at 350°F until toasted. Let cool, then break into pieces. 

Vanilla Cashew Butter

What could be better than peanut butter, almond butter, and even Nutella? (Ok, maybe not Nutella, it is hard to compete with the combination of chocolate AND hazelnuts on a spoon) How about vanilla cashew butter?

My partner's mother recently got a fancy new food processor as a gift and has been coming up with all sorts of neat goodies. This machine really cuts down on prep work and time and allows hummus and and pesto and pasta making in a fraction of the time Of course the machine is also great for nut butters. I love nut butters. I have made a few at home myself, but my food processor is not quite as good and it is easier (and pricier) just to buy a jar of nut butter. I had never had cashew butter before, but it is comparable to peanut butter, only milder. The addition of vanilla really makes it a treat! This butter is tasty for sandwiches, oatmeal, even a dip for fruits and vegetables, or my favorite way; on a spoon. It is such a yummy treat and a jar of it certainly doesn't last long in my apartment.

Basil Mozza Bites

Spiced pine nut brittle + basil cashew butter + vegan cheese + balsamic caviar pearls = awesome vegan hors d'oeuvre. 

To make this hors d'oeuvre, I first caramelized some sugar, then added toasted pine nuts and some spices and hot sauce to cut the sweetness. I let this harden into brittle and broke it into small, irregular pieces. I topped it with a 'buttery' spread I made from pulsing cashews into cream and adding fresh basil and seasonings. I spread some vegan mozzarella cheese on top. This was my first time making vegan mozzarella cheese and I must say, I really like it. Some vegan cheeses are good, some not so good, some are good but aren't very 'cheesy'. This one was very close to fresh mozzarella; composed of coconut milk, flavored mozzarella with coconut vinegar, and thickened with tapioca and xanthan gum. I then topped with one of my favorite molecular gastronomy tricks - one I have used before and could eat like candy - balsamic 'caviar' pearls.

Provençal Vegetable Gâteau

This is a vegetarian special I came up with. It's visually appealing and quite tasty. Vegan and very nutritious.

Provençal Vegetable Gâteau
thinly sliced red onion (use a mandolin)
thinly sliced zucchini (use a mandolin)
thinly sliced tomato (use a mandolin)
salt, pepper, and oil, to taste
arugula pesto
oven-roasted cherry tomatoes
candied nuts

To assemble these gâteaux, I laid my three vegetables out in containers in front of me and chose an appropriately-sized round ring mold. I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper, and assembled the gâteaux, one at a time, If you have several identical ring molds, you can be more efficient and assemble a few at a time. 

I did my layers like this: red onion, zucchini, tomato, red onion, zucchini tomato, red onion zucchini. I used around 5-6 sliced of vegetables for each layer, depending on size. You could do more or less layers, depending upon how high you would like your vegetable stacks to be. 

To serve: gently use a flat spatula to transfer to a parchment-lined dish. Season with salt, pepper, and oil. Bake at 400◦F until heated through and vegetables are softened and tender. 
I served with arugula pesto drizzled around, seasoned oven-roasted tomatoes, and candied nuts. 

Apricot Almond Coconut Balls

Apricot Almond Coconut Balls
2 cups dried apricots
1 cup blanched almonds
2 cups toasted coconut
2 Tablespoons julienned fresh basil
pinch cayenne pepper
splash hot sauce
crushed pistachios (peeled)
sea salt
garnish, such as a beet chip, optional

In a small saucepan, cover the apricots with water and bring to a boil. Simmer gently until apricots are softened, drain well, and cool. Add apricots to a food processor with almonds, coconut, basil, cayenne, and hot sauce. Pulse until well combined and no large chunks remain. Roll into small balls (chill first if mixture is too stick). Sprinkle or roll balls with pistachios mixed with the salt, and place garnish on top. Refrigerate until serving. Keeps very well refrigerated or frozen, and does not become too sticky at room temperature.

This is a quick, easy to make, easy to serve hors d'oeuvre recipe I came up with. It makes approximately  dozen small balls. If you want them as a dessert, omit the basil, cayenne, and hot sauce, and add a little cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup. These are very healthy, little vegan energy bites - a great, bright, kind alternative to bacon-wrapped scallops or deviled eggs. If you prefer, the mixture can be pressed into a pan, briefly frozen, and cut into energy bars!

Spiced Nut Cracker App

 The Full Name: Spiced Nut Cracker with Coconut Herb Crema, Pickled Apricots, Beetroot Chip, Toasted Coconut, Crisp Parsley, and Cayenne Dust.

Yeah, that is a lot going on in one little hors d'oeuvre. This is an idea I came up, combining several different flavors, colors, and textures. They compliment and contrast each other for a pleasing bite on the palate. Here is a closer look at the components: 

Spiced Nut Cracker: From yesterday's post, cut out in flower shapes
Coconut Herb Crema: Coconut cream blended with minced herbs
Pickled Apricots: Dried apricots cooking in pickling liquor and halved
Beetroot Chips: Thinly sliced, dried out beets
Toasted Coconut: Oven-toasted coconut
Crisp Parsely: Deep-fried parsley sprigs
Cayenne Dust: Sieved cayenne pepper

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!

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.