January 8, 2012January 8, 2012 by betsy

New Year’s Eve at Restaurant Nora in Washington, D.C.–Home of the Inspiration for Vegan Chocolate Carrot Cake in The Blooming Platter Cookbook

If you live in or near Washington, D.C.–or are lucky enough to visit our nation’s capital and one of my favorite cities (it never seems the same twice!)–put Restaurant Nora on your dining to-do list.

For the last two years, we’ve traveled to D.C. with different couples to ring in the New Year. This year we went with our good pals, Jonell and Scott Walthall, staying at the W Hotel again this year. It is hip and stylish and ideally located between the Washington Mall (NOT a shopping mall!) and the White House.

In trying to choose the perfect spot for a New Year’s Eve dinner, I recommended Nora’s in Dupont Circle, the first restaurant to be certified organic in the U.S. But my connection to the restaurant goes even deeper. I first learned of it years ago when my good friend, Anne Wolcott, shared Nora’s recipe for Chocolate Carrot Cake that had been published in a culinary magazine.

Anne had it made for her wedding cake and shared it with me, requesting it at some point later for her birthday. At the time, chocolate and carrots sounded perfectly odd together–a forced pairing that didn’t seem necessary or even desirable. However, when I was developing recipes for The Blooming Platter Cookbook–whose focus is seasonal–and was in need of a spring dessert, I decided to veganize and adapt the original vegetarian recipe and see what I thought. I adored it! And I hope you will. The recipe follows at the end of this post.

Back to Restaurant Nora…I asked Jonell if she would mind doing a little investigating to see if it would be appealing to the three omnivores in our party, as I didn’t want to speak for them. She discovered it to be an optimum choice, offering a 5 course omnivorous prefix meal AND a 5 course vegan prefix meal. The only difference between the two–besides the obvious–was that the omnis had several choices for all but the first course and I only had one. But one was all I needed. Each course was perfection!

The meal was light, but plenty filling, full of flavor, stunningly presented, and timed impeccably for an ideal rhythm and flow throughout the evening, lasting about two hours and 45 minutes from start to finish. Plus, the restaurant itself is so warm and inviting. The modern-with-traditional-roots appearance of the Amish and Mennonite quilts that hang on the exposed brick dining room walls embody one of my favorite aspects of Nora’s: a fresh take on classics.

Following are photos of each course (I apologize for the poor light quality), ending with my Chocolate Carrot Cake recipe. But first, here is our party in the lobby of the W ready to hail a cab to Nora’s. My stunning orange dress came from Zara’s that day (on sale!), purchased because Jonell and I had both packed long-sleeved black dresses, black tights, and black ankle boots. No way was I going out dressed as the Bobbsie Twins! My necklace and earrings are from Terri Lindelow’s “Cluster” series.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Jonell & Scott Walthall with Betsy & Joe DiJulio

1) The first course for all of us was this diminutive but flavorful triangular slice of winter squash and wild mushroom terrine.

2) My second course was a shaved hearts of palm and mango salad with pomegranate seeds and a citrusy dressing. (Hearts of palm always remind me of my father; he adores them and we usually put a tin of them in his stocking , but the socks he requested took up most of the space this year.) I have never been served hearts of palm shaved and it was a really nice way to enjoy them.

Beet and Fruit Salad — 3rd Course: roasted beet and fruit salad

3) Up next was this shimmering landscape of roasted beets with fresh fruit: juicy and simultaneously earthy and bright. It was almost to beautiful to eat. Almost.

Veggie Risotto — 4th Course: vegetable risotto with truffle shavings

4) The most filling of the dishes was, of course, my entree. Still, it wasn’t too much: a creamy and flavorful vegetable risotto with decadent truffle shavings over the top.

Trio of Sorbet — 5th Course: trio of fresh fruit sorbets

5) For dessert, hot tea plus a trio of fresh fruit sorbets and a cookie called a “Cat’s Tongue.

I love sorbet and it was the ideal ending to this multi-course meal: refreshing and light. But sometimes we vegans want something even more decadent for dessert. If you feel the same, I hope you will enjoy this sneak preview from The Blooming Platter Cookbook:

Ch8-Chocolate-Carrot-Cake-002-ed-300x225 — Vegan Chocolate Carrot Cake from The Blooming Platter Cookbook

Vegan Chocolate Carrot Cake

Yield: 8 servings

When my friend Anne Wolcott raved about the chocolate carrot cake she served at her wedding, “mouth watering” was not the first thought that came to mind. I adore both chocolate and fresh spring carrots, but I didn’t think they could be happily married. However, Nora Pouillon of the eponymous Restaurant Nora in Washington, D.C., knew exactly what she was doing as culinary match-maker. Her cake inspired my vegan version.

Cake:

1 cup soy milk

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons natural sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup walnut oil or canola oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

Ganache:

9 ounces vegan semi-sweet chocolate

chips

1/2 cup vegan sour cream

Garnish:

Halved or chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Cake: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy milk and vinegar. Set aside to curdle, whisking a couple of times. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the soy milk mixture, walnut oil, and vanilla. Stir until all ingredients are well combined and no lumps remain. Stir in the carrots.

3. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the side and then invert onto the rack to cool completely, covered with a kitchen towel. Transfer to a serving platter.

4. Ganache: In a double-boiler, heat the chocolate chips until melted, stirring frequently until smooth. Alternatively, you may heat them in a microwave-safe bowl at 20 to 30 second intervals in the microwave, whisking after each. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly whisk in the sour cream.

5. To assemble: Frost the top of the cake with the ganache, allowing some to cascade over the edges. Garnish with pecans or walnuts.

For 150 additional recipes, treat yourself to The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes.

December 11, 2011March 19, 2015 by betsy

Chocolate-Orange Mousse from The Blooming Platter Cookbook

Following is another gift of the season from The Blooming Platter Cookbook. While I can’t purchase locally-grown oranges, I did notice a sweet shipment from Florida in the grocery store last week, which made me think of this recipe.

It is a luscious marriage of rich chocolate and fresh oranges. Especially if you spike it with a tablespoon or two of orange liqueur, it is a wonderful dessert for a cold winter evening. The mousse sets up almost instantly, so it is ready and waiting as soon as you put your dinner fork down.

Yield: 8 servings

This is a luscious marriage of rich chocolate and fresh oranges. Spiked with orange liqueur, it is a wonderful dessert for a cold winter evening. The mousse sets up almost instantly, so it is ready and waiting as soon as you put your dinner fork down.

2 large oranges

12 ounces extra-firm silken tofu

1/2 cup natural sugar

9 ounces bittersweet vegan chocolate,melted (see note) and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Pinch sea salt

Optional garnishes: vegan whipped topping, orange slices, or candied violets

Arrange 8 (4-ounce) ramekins in a 9 x 13-inch pan and set aside. Zest and juice the oranges and transfer to a food processor along with the orange pulp, discarding the seeds and pith. Add the tofu and sugar to the food processor, and process until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the melted chocolate, vanilla and almond extracts, and a pinch of salt. Process for several minutes until smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins. Cover the top of the pan with foil. This method is faster than covering each individual ramekin and makes them easier to transport. Chill the mousse until set, about 30 minutes. Serve chilled, garnished as desired.

Note: melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl in the microwave for about a minute at 30 second intervals, whisking in between. Alternately, melt on the stove in the top of a double boiler.

For 150+ additional gifts of the season, please consider The Blooming Platter Cookbook for yourself or as a gift for a health- and taste-focused friend or loved one.

November 13, 2011November 21, 2017 by betsy

Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s are Vegan!
but not the gluten-free version

(Please note that the new 2017 gluten-free version of these cookies, in a different color box, contains egg white powder.)

Yesterday afternoon, I had just left the farmer’s market with a bag full of super-healthy produce, and needed to stop by Trader Joe’s for a few remaining items on my list. But, though, my grocery bag was looking very virtuous, I was thinking impure sugar-laden thoughts.

I prefer homemade cookies any day of the week, but I was jonesin’ pretty badly for something sweet on the fly. We had just come from a Friday night stay at the rustic-elegant Sanderling Inn in Duck, North Carolina, which serves tea and homemade cookies in the afternoon. How I would have loved some cookies with my tea after our 4-mile walk on Friday, but alas, they were off-limits. So, I came home with cookies on my mind.

Therefore, at TJ’s, I detoured down the cookie aisle in search of something sweet and vegan. I must have picked up every box on that aisle to read the list of ingredients only to be met with whey, milk powder, eggs, butter, and all the rest of it. Finally, I picked up the least likely looking box and–Eureka!–all vegan. It turns out that Trader Joe’s brand of Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s in their cheery holiday-striped box are vegan approved!

Think Oreo’s, but with a peppermint filling. So, while you probably won’t want to serve these at your next party, you might want to tuck a couple into you or your child’s lunchbox, or serve up a little quasi-guilty pleasure at a party-for-one when nobody’s looking.

October 7, 2011October 7, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Peanut Butter-Chocolate Layer Bars AND Blooming Platter Cookbook Giveaway Reminder

Yea, I know, I’m a seasonal vegan cook, and this recipe hardly fits that description… unless, like me, you consider chocolate to be a perennial food.

This recipe was inspired by a pan of dessert bars I spied in our administrators’ kitchen at school about a week ago. Theirs had a thin chocolate crust topped by a thick peanut butter layer and another thin chocolate ganache layer. They looked so good that I thought I would absolutely perish if I didn’t figure out how to make a vegan version and fast.

However, I couldn’t get started on them as quickly as I’d hoped because, after I went to the store, I came home to put the groceries away and could not find my (honey-free) graham crackers anywhere. Figuring that I must have stuck them somewhere really odd, I looked in places like the freezer…and the washing machine. No luck. So, I went back a couple of days later, bought another box, and made them on Sunday for my students’ National Art Honor Society meeting last Monday. A hit!

After just a little research, I put a couple of recipes together and fell head over heels for the result. They are FAR better than my memory of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. And they are very well-behaved, slicing beautifully. They do need to stay refrigerated, but that’s a small price to pay for creamy perfection!

Yield: 24 bars

Crust:

1 3/4 cup finely crushed vegan graham crackers (Nabisco brand “original” are honey-free), that’s one wrapped package within the box

1/2 cup vegan butter, melted (I like Earth Balance)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Filling:

2 1/2 cups natural creamy peanut butter (crunchy is fine, but the mixture is processed and ends up creamy anyway)

3/4 cup vegan butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

Ganache:

1/4 cup soy creamer

11 ounces vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together all crust ingredients. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13″ pan. I like to use the bottom of a glass to help with this task. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven, and cool completely. Once partially cool, I like to place the pan in the freezer for the crust to finish cooling. (Avoid placing a hot pan in the oven as it might raise the temperature of the compartment to a potentially dangerous level.)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all filling ingredients and process just until smooth. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and process until combined, pulsing if necessary. Add the remaining cup of powdered sugar and do the same. Dollop the mixture over the cooled crust and pat evenly to cover. Cover the pan and refrigerate until the ganache is cool enough to use.

In a 1-quart saucepan, bring soy creamer to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, add chocolate chips, and stir or whisk until mixtures is smooth. Let it cool to room temperature and then spread thinly over the peanut butter layer. It will look like there might not be enough ganache, but there is the perfect amount (if you don’t eat too much of it while frosting the bars!). Cover and refrigerate for 2 more hours. Slice into bars and serve. Store any leftovers–leftovers, yea, right–in the refrigerator.

This recipe was adapted from Midwest Living (Eagle Ridge Inn and Resort).

Just 2 days left in my Blooming Platter Cookbook giveaway! Go here for the details and simple directions on how to enter and win!

July 28, 2011July 28, 2011 by betsy

San Francisco’s Spectacular Vegan “Millennium Restaurant” was Location of Blooming Platter Cookbook Book Signing Dinner

The Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco was the first vegan restaurant in which I ever dined. It was many years ago while at an art conference with my good friend, Anne Wolcott, who had heard about it. (If you live in San Fran or ever visit the area, do yourself a favor, and put this restaurant on the top of your list!)

I thought my initial experience was spectacular and I would hazard a guess that many, if not most, of this gourmet restaurant’s patrons are not necessarily vegetarian or vegan, just lovers of delicious, beautiful and creative food. I was so enchanted by it that I purchased one of their cookbooks and it has remains a source of inpiration.

So, when my dear San Francisco friend, Yvette Hetrick, suggested a private West Coast book-signing dinner for The Blooming Platter Cookbook in combination with a trip to the West Coast to celebrate one of my “milestone” birthdays, the Millennium leaped immediately to mind. Planning the party for 30 in the restaurant’s private “Millennium Wine Room” with the help of general manager, Alison Bagby, was a delight.

Now in a new location on Geary Street, but still connected to a hotel, the food and atmosphere are as appealing as ever. For a very affordable price of $50 per person, not including wine (more on this soon!), the chef offered three appetizers (including corn flour-dusted fried oyster mushrooms to die for–reminiscent of fried calamari–and everyone’s favorite); a delightfully fresh salad with a lemony dressing; 3 different entrees with beautiful sides and sauces (an Asian crusted tofu, a tamale, and a beet-and-barely cake); and either sorbet or my choice: Chocolate Almond Midnight, the restaurant’s signature dessert.

One of the guests, who were almost entirely meat-eaters (but very generous in their embrace of The Blooming Platter), said after tasting the Chocolate Almond Midnight, “I would become vegan for the desserts alone!”

July 10, 2011July 10, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Whoopie Pies with a Secret Ingredient

Yield: 12 Whoopie Pies

I’m a southern gal and we didn’t grow up knowing what Whoopie Pies were. But now I know I missed out! These New England comfort snacks are all the rage and it’s easy to see why: what’s not to like about a fluffy white filling sandwiched between two cake layers that look more like cookies?

So, seduced into trying my hand by the appealing-looking version that Starbucks sells, I set about yesterday to create vegan Red Velvet Whoppie Pies but without all of that red dye. My plan was to use a can of beets that has been in our pantry for I don’t know how long. Why this seasonal cook had canned beets in her possession can only be explained by something like hurricane preparedness!

It turns out that the color is just not intense enough to turn the batter red. The puree and juice look ruby red, but they become much more subdued in the batter, which is okay, as it just makes these chocolately Whoopie Pies a warmer brown color. I think beet powder would do the trick, so I plan to experiment.

The trouble with canned beets as a food item is that they are virtually devoid of nutrition except a tiny bit of protein. I suppose they contain micro-nutrients, but those aren’t listed on the label. However, they do contain carbohydrate, a wonderful texture, sweet flavor, and the previously mentioned bit of protein, so they seemed perfect for adding body to my Whoppie Pies, red color or not…and they were! Hope you agree!

Pies:

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 cup unsweetened or plain soymilk

1-15 ounce can beets, drained, 2 tablespoons of juice reserved (if you want to use fresh beets, trim about 2-3 of them, place them in a 1-quart saucepan covered with water, cover, bring to a simmer over medium-high, and cook until fork-tender, about 20-30 minutes; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of liquid, and peel)

1 1/2 cups canola oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups white whole wheat flour (or unbleached all purpose)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper. Make soy “buttermilk” by whisking apple cider vinegar into soymilk and setting it aside to curdle. Whisk again before using. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree beets until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Remove 1/2 cup puree; if there are any leftovers, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Place puree, 2 tablespoons of juice, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat about 1-2 minutes or until completely combined and sugar starts to dissolve. Then add flour, in three parts, alternating with “buttermilk,” beating only enough after each addition to incorporate ingredients.

Using heaping tablespoons (I like to use the traditional fairly shallow measuring spoon, as the shape is perfect) make 24 “patty” shapes, 12 per baking sheet. Avoid crowding them and bake in two batches if necessary, though they won’t spread much. Bake about 12 minutes until the “cookies” are firm, but not crisp. They should be about the consistency of a cupcake top. Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheets and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely, covered with a dish towel.

Filling:

6 ounces vegan cream cheese

4 1/2 tablespoons vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter at medium to medium-high speed, until smooth and fluffy. Beat in extracts followed by powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, starting the speed on low and gradually increasing. Keep beating until the mixture is very smooth and somewhat fluffy.

Turn half of pies upside down and, using a tablespoon, dollop frosting evenly among them. You can coax the frosting to the edge with a spoon or spatula or, do as I do, and just gently press the top half of the pie down to squeeze the frosting to the edges. I like to wrap them individually in plastic wrap, store them in the refrigerator, but let them come to room temperature before serving.

Note 1: If you want to dress them up a bit, as in the photo, just melt some vegan chocolate chips in the microwave (about 1 minute at 20 second intervals) and, using a small spoon, just drizzle the melted chocolate over the tops and allow to harden before wrapping/storing.

Note 2: These stack nicely in a wine sack for gift-giving.

July 9, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Plum Delicious Double Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

A small number of almost over-ripe plums gave rise to this unusual and unusually good cookie. The plums provide mostly moisture in addition to subtle flavor and color, not to mention added nutrition–as do the walnuts– to an otherwise decadent treat.

To create this recipe, I started with my go-to brownie batter, omitting the water/coffee and adding plum puree plus a tiny bit of baking soda. The results are plum delicious! Note: I only had a few plums, so I made one-fourth of this recipe. It quarters or halves very nicely.

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or unbleached white flour)

2 cups natural sugar

1 cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/4 cups canola oil (this sounds like a lot, but you’ll need it)

2 cups very ripe pitted plums, pureed in food processor until fairly smooth

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups vegan chocolate chips (I like Trader Joe’s–what a great value!)

2 cups chopped walnuts plus 36 extra halves or large pieces for garnish, one per cookie, if desired

Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper and set aside. (Line two if you have them, or bake the cookies in two batches.) In a large mixing bowl, stir together all ingredients, except chocolate chips and nuts just until well combined. The dough should be just slightly stiffer than brownie batter. Stir in chips and nuts. Spoon tablespoon-size mounds of dough onto prepared sheet, about 2 inches apart. (I use a very traditionally-shaped shallow tablespoon measure, as I like the ration of height to width.) Bake 12 minutes. Check after 8 and after 10. They should be set, but shiny in some spots, as they will continue to cook after they are removed from the oven. Allow the cookies to cool slightly until they are easy to handle and then use a metal spatula to remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

July 3, 2011July 3, 2011 by betsy

Vegan TFLC Cookies (Tea-Infused Five-Spice Lime-Scented Chocolate Cookies)

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

This is the second iteration of what has become an incredibly adaptable “chewy chocolate cookie.” Actually, it’s the third version because the first was a “veganization” of a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated.

This one was inspired by a group I chaired during the 2010-2011 school year: The Teacher Forum Leadership Council (TFLC). I had wanted to create “TFLC Cookies” as favors for our end-of-year dinner, but simply didn’t have time. So this recipe is a posthumous tribute to a group of teachers–and even a few administrators–who selflessly volunteer their time to further the mission of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, especially through the presentation of a National Speakers Series and follow-up workshops. I was so impressed all year by how these men and women never expected someone else to do the work; they always stepped up to shoulder their share of the responsibility with good humor and good will.

It was a little tricky coming up with ingredients whose names began with each letter in the organization’s name and tasted good together. But my friend Sheila Giolitti, quite a foodie herself, tasted one recently and proclaimed that TFLC Cookies should definitely be in Volume II of The Blooming Platter Cookbook. I hope you agree.

2 limes, zested (set zest aside)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (warm limes for about 10 seconds in the microwave and then gently roll on the counter in order to extract the most juice)
4 tea bags (I like an Earl Gray or an English Breakfast, but experiment!)
1 cup vegan butter, room temperature (I like Earth Balance)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/3 cups natural sugar plus 1 cup for coating
1 cup pure cane syrup or, if you dare, dark corn syrup
1/4 cup molasses
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (or white whole wheat; my favorite white flour substitution)
1 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
1-2 teaspoons Five Spice Powder (or more to taste; I like a pronounced flavor that still makes people wonder exactly what it is)
8-9 ounces vegan semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Line two cookie sheets with Silpats or parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl or cup, place the lime juice and tea bags. Heat them for about 1-2 minutes in the microwave and then set aside to steep for 2 minutes. Squeeze bags firmly without breaking them to extract all of the tea flavor.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place butter, oil, and 1 1/3 cup sugar. Reserve remaining 1 cup sugar. At medium to medium-high speed, cream mixture until well-combined and fluffy. Add cane syrup, molasses and vanilla and beat just a few more seconds to combine, scraping bowl, as needed. Mixture may look slightly curdled, but don’t worry. Add remaining ingredients, except chocolate chips, but including lime zest, and beat on low speed, scraping bowl as needed, just until combined. Taste and mix in more five spice powder, if desired. Add chips and beat on low just a few seconds to distribute.

Cover dough well and chill for half an hour, but no longer. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a small scoop with a release lever, scoop out balls of dough about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Roll in reserved 1 cup of sugar and place a generous 2” apart on baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 4 minutes, open oven door and, using a spatula, quickly flatten each cookie slightly to 1/2-inch thick. Close the oven door and continue baking for 6 more minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cookies should be ever-so-slightly cracked, look a little moist and soft in the center, and be more set around the edges. Leave cookies on baking sheet and set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Then, using a spatula, transfer cookies to the racks and cool to room temperature. Repeat with remaining baking sheet. Store in an airtight container.

May 30, 2011July 3, 2011 by betsy

Vegan Spiced Double Chocolate-Lime Cookies

“Boss’s Week” came and went last week, but other priorities prevented me from acknowledging it in any way, except to have one of my talented students create a “Happy Boss’s Week” poster, by special request, featuring caricatures of each one of our administrators. It was adorable and well-received, but I wanted to give our incredibly supportive principal and assistant principals something homemade.

I decided that a favorite chewy chocolate cookie would be perfect. But I had just come home from the Asian market, so I decided to spice them up with a little lime zest. (I remember, when I was a child, someone in our family was under the weather and a neighbor brought us a delectable chocolate-lime pie, a flavor combination I’ve rarely had since.) When I tasted the dough, though–one of the beauties of eggless cooking!–it cried out for cinnamon and, especially, ginger to complement the sweet-tart lime and the pleasantly, but strongly flavored molasses and cane syrup (I used a combination). Voila! Vegan Spiced Double Chocolate-Lime Cookies were born. Then, my husband suggested I attach the recipe plus three more, one for each season, from my brand new cookbook. What a bloomin’ inspired idea!

Enjoy at your Memorial Day BBQ or any time…perhaps with little lime sorbet?

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

1 cup vegan butter, room temperature (I like Earth Balance)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/3 cups natural sugar plus 1 cup for coating
1 cup light-flavored molasses, pure cane syrup or, if you dare, dark corn syrup
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or to taste)
Zest of 1 fresh lime
8-9 ounces vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line two cookie sheets with Silpats or parchment paper and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, place butter, oil, and 1 1/3 cup natural sugar. Reserve remaining 1 cup sugar. At medium to medium-high speed, cream mixture until well-combined and fluffy. Add cane syrup and vanilla and beat just a few more seconds to combine, scraping bowl, as needed. Mixture may look slightly curdled, but don’t worry. Add remaining ingredients, except chocolate chips, and beat on low speed, scraping bowl as needed, just until combined. Taste and add more cinnamon and ginger, if desired. Add chips and beat on low just a few seconds to distribute.