Macadamia Ginger Crunch Drops

Cookies.  They’re just good.  Who can say no to cookies?  I promise I will get to some savory dishes, but this has been the week of baking and sweets.

These are not overly sweet, a little spicy from the ginger.  Nice crunch.   One of my favorite non-chocolate cookies.  And let it be said that I’m quite fond of the chocolate.

(From Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup nondairy milk
• 1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp coconut extract
• 6 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) unsalted macadamia nuts, chopped
• 4 ounces (generous 1/2 cup) crystallized ginger, finely chopped

- preheat oven to 350′.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

- in a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

- in a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, brown sugar, nondairy milk, flax seeds and extracts.  Once combined, fold in the flour mixture and mix to moisten.  just before the mixture is completely combined, fold in the macadamia nuts and ginger.

- for each cookie, drop 1 generous tablespoon onto the cookie sheet, leaving at least 1.5-2 inches between cookies.  the dough will be sticky and thick.

- bake 14 minutes or until edges start to brown.  let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to complete cooling.  store in a tightly covered container.

french/fronch toast

it’s labor day monday, lazy morning.  and lazy mornings mean more than just a shake for breakfast.  today, it means french toast.

i’ve seen a number of vegan french toast recipes but the one i prefer and base mine on is vegan post punk kitchen’s fronch toast.  i do make a few changes to their recipe.  first, i add cinnamon and nutmeg because that is part and parcel of french toast for me, the french toast of my youth .  second, i add nutritional yeast.  many of the other vegan french toast recipes use nutritional yeast more prominently and i do like the addition – it makes the slurry a bit richer.  and, well, it does add some of those good nutrients.

recipe (for a good 2, maybe 3, servings.  depends on your bread and the size of your serving!)

• 1/4 cup soy creamer (or coconut milk creamer)
• 1/4 cup soy milk (or coconut milk or rice milk)
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons chickpea flour
• 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
• cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

combine ingredients into a smooth slurry.  be forewarned: if it’s not combined well – and particularly if the chickpea flour isn’t well incorporated – you may find some bitter bits to your french toast.  and no one wants that.  there’s no need to kill yourself, but make sure there are no flour/cornstarch lumps.

add some canola oil to your pan and start heating it over medium-high heat.

now, don’t just gingerly dip your bread into the slurry.  let them soak in there a bit.  and while we’re on the subject – use a good bread.  it makes a difference.  some people like thick country breads, i happen to like to use a nut & fruit bread (today: whole foods cranberry walnut).

add your slurry-soaked bread to your heated pan and cook a couple minutes on each side.  it may seem like it’s sticking to your pan a bit at first, but that just means it needs to cook a little more.  but watch it, because burnt french toast is no good either.

today, i made a cherry syrup as well.  i just cut 4-5 cherries (note to self: buy cherry pitter) and covered them with some maple syrup in a pot over medium heat, just to soften the cherries a bit.  once the syrup started bubbling i turned it down and mashed the cherries a bit with a fork  to release some of the juices and flavor.  then i took it off the heat and set it aside.  i started this when i was combining the slurry and it was done and cooled just enough by the time the french toast was finished.

and so labor day breakfast: vegan french toast with cherry syrup.  and a bit of confectioner’s sugar to make it pretty.