Chocolate Banana Bread with White Chocolate Chips

We love to make different quick breads and muffins on a Sunday morning.  I was feeling adventurous this morning because my friend Lisa, from Lisasprojectvegan.com, had given my vegan white chocolate chips a few weeks ago.  I am not a huge fan of white chocolate, and so they sat on my counter for those few days.  Just waiting.  Cookies seemed obvious, and I wanted to use then in something a little more out of the box.
Since we were having breakfast and my nephews had spent the night, I thought something seemingly decadent was in order.  They didn't need to know that I made the bread with spelt flour, flax meal and a high fiber blend of oat bran, wheat germ and more flax.  Oh and 3 bananas to boot.  We barely waited for it to cool...it was moist and sweet and chocolate-y. The entire loaf was finished in just one sitting!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Use a 9x5 inch loaf pan lined with parchment paper.  Leave an inch on each side of the pan to use as handles to lift the loaf out after it is finished cooking.

In a medium bowl whisk together:
2 1/4 cups spelt flour
1/3 cup pure cocoa
2 tablespoons flax meal
2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill High Fiber cereal (or just more flax meal)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder (you can use 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla instead, but in the liquids)

In another medium bowl whisk together:
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used oat)
1 tsp  apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup organic sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 ripe bananas mashed very well

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
Add 2 tablespoons of warm water.
2/3 cup white chocolate chips (chocolate chips are fine too!)
Fold until just combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then lift it out by the parchment paper handles onto a wire rack.  Eat it or cool it!  Yum either way!

Porridge Breakfast Cookies

My very close friend, Lisa, has a wonderful vegan blog called LisasProjectVegan.com.  She writes recipes with the intent to take simple, healthful ingredients and create delicious meals without spending hours in the kitchen.  She recently posted a recipe for breakfast porridge with oats and apples. The porridge was such a yummy, warm way to start the day...I thought, I need to make a breakfast cookie out of that!  Here you get the same satisfying feeling, but in a hand held, on the go, kind of way.  My kids love to eat one walking to the school bus!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Makes 10-12 large cookies.
Begin by toasting the nuts you will be using at the end of this recipe.  I chose almonds and walnuts.  Use what you love!
To toast the nuts, chop them coarsely and sprinkle them on a parchment lined cooking sheet.  Place them in the 350 degree oven for about 5-8 minutes.  Watch them carefully!  When they are fragrant, they are perfectly done.

Whisk together in a bowl:
1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 tsp. pure vanilla

In another medium bowl use a hand or stand mixer to combine:
1/4 cup Earth Balance non-dairy butter
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons oat milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring to combine completely.
Fold in:
1/2 cup dried apple or fresh, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup your toasted nuts.

Use an ice cream scooper or just a tablespoon and roll the dough into a ball shape.  Place the dough on the cookie sheet, 2 inches apart, gently pressing it down into a large round shape. Bake for about 12 minutes until the cookies are a golden brown.  Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
Grab one warm and get going to where you need to be, breakfast in hand!

Vegan Mallomars

Growing up in New York, one of our very favorite treats was Nabisco Mallomars. The yellow wrapped box...the brown cardboard packaging...it all sings of my childhood.
Mallomars are celebrating their 100th Birthday this year. New Yorkers have had a long love affair with this cookie.  The graham cracker cookie, topped with marshmallow and covered in dark chocolate, are a staple on the shelves of markets here in New York.  Historically, 70 percent of Mallomars purchased were sold to people in right here in The Big Apple.  Sadly, the shelves are only stocked in the cold weather months from Fall to Spring.  These chocolate cookies simply can not stand the heat.  People in the know, stock their freezers with those yellow boxes, quietly covering them with frozen peas so nobody would see them and finish them all.  They are those type of cookies, that delicious....where you might not even want to share....
No need to wait for Fall...no need to be a carnivore...behold...a Mallomar for everyone, anytime!
Just be sure the next time you are in the health food store, to pick up vegan chocolate and vegan marshmallows.  I like Dandies marshmallows.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Make a well in the center and then stir in:
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla
2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
1/4 of water
A ball of dough will form, add a tablespoon or two of water as needed to reach a pliable dough consistency.  Knead a few times to be sure all the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is workable.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it to an 1/8 inch thickness (or so).  You make need to sprinkle a bit of flour on your rolling pin as well.
Using a 1 1/2 inch or 2 inch cookie cutter, cut out circles and place on the parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet while you prepare your other ingredients.
Once cookies seem dry and set,  place a marshmallow to cover the top of the cookie rounds.  Place the cookie sheet back in the oven for a few moments so the marshmallows get melty.  Once that happens, take an offset spatula and smooth the marshmallows into a dome shape.  Do the best you can...this part is tricky and sticky!  Wet fingers will help minimize the stick.  They won't be perfect like store bought mallomars, but let us not forget...these are an amazing homemade creation, not factory made!
I use the microwave in a glass measuring cup to melt:
1 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 tablespoons of Earth Balance shortening
Stir at 30 second intervals until the chocolate is smooth and shiny.
Use two forks and dip each marshmallow covered cookie completely in the chocolate.  Place the covered cookie on a parchment lined baking sheet.  When you have dipped them all put the whole pan in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes.
Have a glass of non-dairy milk near by.  You are going to need it!
Any leftovers, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Grandma's Vegan Linzer Cookie

These cookies are one of my Mother's most requested cookies from all of her grandchildren.  They call them Grandma's Linzer Cookies. There is a truth though, which she happily confesses to....is that this recipe is an Ina Garten recipe.
And the next truth?  Ina Garten happily confesses to her recipe coming from Eli Zabar.
And his truth?  It was his Mother's recipe.
Mother's (and in this case, VeganBakingMamas), make the best cookies!
All I had to do was substitute non-dairy butter and say "How easy was that?"

Preheat oven to 325 degrees-Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Makes 12 double sided cookies (24), but you can double the recipe for a crowd.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together until they are just completely combined:
12 Tablespoons of non-dairy butter (I only use Earth Balance)
1/2 cup organic sugar
Add:
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a medium bowl sift together:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture.
Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour, or a piece of parchment paper and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut 2 3/4-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. With 1/2 of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart or other shaped cutter. This make the little window.
Place all the cookies on an baking sheet lined with parchment paper and chill for 15 minutes.
Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Spread:
Good Raspberry preserves
on the flat side of each solid cookie. (or whatever flavor you like!)
 Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with:
Organic Confectioners' sugar and press the flat sides together, with the raspberry preserves in the middle and the confectioners' sugar on the top.
Store in an airtight container.  You may find that assembling them and then dusting them with the confectioner's sugar just before serving, gives the prettiest results.
Enjoy!
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Chocolate Chip Squares

These are what I call lazy cookies.  

They are super easy to make and feed a crowd.  

Plus they are both, super delicious and a wholesome treat!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 10"x 15" jelly roll pan with parchment paper or spray lightly with non-dairy cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl stir together:

2/3 cup canola oil

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp vanilla

In a separate large bowl, whisk:

3 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup organic sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients mixing until completely incorporated.

Mix in:

1 heaping cup of dairy-free chocolate chips

Spread batter into the prepared jelly roll pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  The top will get golden brown and a toothpick inserted should come out clean.  Allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire cooling rack.  

Cut into bars or squares....Enjoy!