Quinoa Snickerdoodle (gluten-free)

These cookies are a gift.  They are just what I was wanting.  I am so happy with the taste and texture of them that I had to wrap them up in a bow!

Recently, I was visiting a friend in Chicago and we found a terrific vegan restaurant called The Chicago Diner.  We loved everything about this vegan restaurant...the food, the staff and oh....the cookies.  They had a snickerdoodle cookie that was truly addictive.

It was so good, that the very next day we drove 45 minutes out of our way just to share that cookie again.

I haven't stopped thinking about and wishing for it since.  

Now, I have a very delicious snickerdoodle recipe on this blog that I really love, but it is a thin,crispy, chewy snickerdoodle.  And of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  But why stop at one kind of snickerdoodle when there are others to love?

So after tasting the snickerdoodle at The Chicago Diner, I was determined to recreate their version of this cookie.  Their snickerdoodle was what I call chubby.  It was soft and chewy with a really nice thickness to it.  They used a whole wheat flour in their recipe, but I was feeling like quinoa flour would give it that extra special fluffy chub I was going for

.

Yes, Success!  Delicious and addictive!

As an extra special bonus, this chubby guy is gluten free, high in fiber and protein.

The ingredients in these cookies are:

Organic quinoa flour, earth balance vegan buttery spread, organic evaporated cane juice, organic vanilla, unsweetened applesauce, baking soda, organic cinnamon, cream of tartar and kosher salt.

Contact me if you need a fix!  

VeganBakingMama delivers in NYC or ships anywhere in the continental U.S.

Zucchini Raisin Muffin

A while back I had attempted to bake zucchini muffins. They were a disaster. Truly.  Into the garbage, batch after batch those went.  My big, fat, yucky muffins.  I hate when that happens!

Recently, I was sitting with a friend at a farmers market and we were enjoying a vegan zucchini muffin from a local baker.  It was so delicious, but it brought me back to those loathsome feelings I had from my own failed attempts.  Well, that was it for me.
I headed home with a fresh zucchini under my arm and knew this time it was going to be different.  Set your mind to the muffin and well...here it is, the delicious taste of success.

Whew.  To think....I almost got beat by a squash.

Zucchini Raisin Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly coat a muffin tin with non-dairy cooking spray.

Whisk together in a medium bowl:

2 cups of organic pastry flour

1/4 cup golden ground flax seed

1 teaspoon organic cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon organic nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In a measuring cup, combine and allow to sit for 5 minutes:

1 cup organic almond milk (rice or soy is fine too)

1 teaspoon organic apple cider vinegar

Then combine milk mixture with:

1/4 cup organic canola oil

1/3 cup organic sugar

1/3 cup organic brown sugar

In the flour mixture toss in:

1/2 cup raisins

Then pour the dry mixture into the wet and stir gently to combine.

Fold in:

1 cup shredded zucchini

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each one 3/4 of the way full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove from oven and turn the muffins out on a wire rack to cool.  

Enjoy~

Chocolate Crinkle Cookie

My husband thinks that I could create world peace with this cookie.
He thought is was so undeniably good, that there would be no way two people any where in the world could disagree over the sheer deliciousness of this cookie.
Wow.
He was very adamant that this could be true.  I started laughing because actually this cookie is traditionally a Christmas cookie.
In fact, when I originally made them, we loved them, but they tasted so much like Christmas, that I didn't feel right about blogging about them in the summer time.
But, everyone kept asking me to make them over and over again.  I decided why wait for December when something is so delicious today.
Peace. Joy. Love.    Yum!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookie

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.

In a medium bowl whisk together:

1 cup organic pastry flour

1/4 cup ground flax seed

2 tablespoons organic pure cocoa (not the drink mix)

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In another medium bowl mix together:

3/4 cup organic sugar

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1/3 cup organic rice milk

2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

1/2 cup melted vegan chocolate chips

Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully incorporated and a dough has formed.

Cover the dough tightly so it doesn't dry out, and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes.  

While the dough is chilling, prepare your sugars.

For rolling the cookies, place each of these in a bowl or plate:

3/4 cup powdered sugar 

1/4 organic sugar

When dough is chilled, use a tablespoon sized amount of dough and roll into a ball.  Then gently roll the ball first through the granulated sugar and then again through the powdered sugar. 

More is more, so sugar away!

Place balls on the prepared cookie sheet 2 inch apart.  These cookies will spread.  Bake for 10-14 minutes or until they have cracked and puffed a bit.  Remove from the oven and let them rest on the baking sheet 5 minutes.  Move to a wire rack with a spatula to continue to cool.

These cookies taste awesome for days if kept in a covered container BUT due to the powdered sugar, they only look their very merry best on day 1.

Let's give peace a chance.....

Tropical Summer Muffin

We made these muffins this weekend for breakfast and they were perfect.  Moist and not too sweet.  They are filled with toasted coconut, bananas and mangoes. The hot weather of summer definitely helped to make us feel like we were on vacation with these guys!
The mangoes in this particular batch happened to be a little bit tart but it gave the muffin a very fresh taste that everybody loved.

My six year old and I just got back from the market with summer zucchini....we are on a muffin bend.
Check back soon for those!

Tropical Summer Muffin

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly coat a muffin tin with non-dairy spray.

Whisk together in a measuring cup and allow to sit for 5 minutes:

1 cup of almond milk (rice or soy is fine too)

1 teaspoon organic apple cider vinegar

In medium bowl whisk together, including the milk mixture:

1/4 cup organic canola oil

3 teaspoons organic vanilla extract

2/3 cup organic brown sugar

In a medium bowl whisk together:

2 cups of organic whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup golden flax seed meal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Toss into the flour mixture to coat:

1/2 cup toasted coconut (toast the coconut on a baking tray for 4 minutes in the preheated oven)

reserve a little coconut for sprinkling on top 

1 cup diced mango

Combine the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and mix gently.  Then gently fold in:

1 mashed banana

Pour the batter evenly into the muffin tin filling each one 3/4 full.

Sprinkle the top with a pinch of organic sugar (I use turbinado) and a little bit more toasted coconut.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to rest for 5 minutes in the pan before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy them fresh but for an anytime vacation....wrap them individually and freeze for up to a month.  Just let them come to room temperature before serving.

Yum!