Category: Vegan Cookies

by betsy

Cashew Butter-Ginger-Miso Cookies with White Chocolate Chips (vegan/plant-based)

“Miso?!” you are probably thinking. I did too, but when a friend recently threw down the gauntlet with his NY Times Peanut Butter and Miso Cookies (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020538-peanut-butter-miso-cookies), I decided to up the ante.

I like peanut butter, but mostly as a breakfast food on an English Muffin. So I chose cashew butter–though almond may be a more readily available sub, depending on where you live–added ginger, a favorite fall spice; maple syrup, another favorite fall flavor and addition of moisture since there is no egg; and stirred in white chocolate chips, though I consider them optional, if delicious.

And just like that, I had a new favorite cookie, the recipe requested by a favorite student. I hope you love them as much as we do!

Cashew Butter, Ginger, and Miso Cookies with (optional) White Chocolate Chips

Yield: approximately 18 cookies

1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
1/3 cup white miso paste (you can use yellow, but it will be a bit stronger; both are available at Asian groceries and some supermarkets)
1/4 cup cashew or pecan butter (available at supermarkets like Kroger, but you can sub almond butter)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons ground ginger (or less if you want a milder cookie)
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
Optional: 1/2 cup or more vegan white chocolate chips (I order from Amazon, but I believe stores like Whole Foods carries)
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. (You may need 2 sheets or to bake in 2 batches, depending on size of sheet.) Place granulated sugar in small, shallow bowl.

On medium-high speed, cream together butter, miso paste, and cashew butter until smooth and fully combined. Beat in brown sugar until fluffy and most sugar crystals are dissolved. Add maple syrup, both gingers, baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla. Beat on medium-low just until combined. Add flour, one-third at a time, and beat on low speed just until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed; avoid over-beating. Stir in white chocolate chips if using.

Scoop up dough with small cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons) or rounded tablespoon, form into balls by gently rolling between your palms, roll in granulated sugar, and place at least 2″ apart on prepared sheet, as they will spread. Bake 7 minutes, open oven door and, with a flat spatula, quickly press cookies into 3/4″ disks, close door and continue baking for about 5 to 6 minutes or until spread to about 1/2-inch thick, crinkly, no longer shiny, and lightly browned. Cool on wire racks and store in airtight container.

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by betsy

Savory Parmesan-Fennel Shortbread (vegan & plant-based)

Savory Parmesan-Fennel Shortbread make every hour happy!

Few things are better than these tasty rounds–buttery, tangy, and crisp-tender–with a glass of wine or non-alcoholic Proxies (pictured is “Pastiche”). Made by Acid League of teas, fruit juices, vinegars, bitters, herbs and other unexpected ingredients to pair with food, these wine alternatives have an “intoxicating” nose.

A Gift from Your Kitchen

An easy and welcome gift, the Shortbreads pack beautifully inside coffee filter-lined tins which I shared this holiday season with my freelance editors/publishers/clients and other professionals who provide service of inestimable value throughout the year.

On December 27, I contributed a dozen shortbread rounds to a happy hour for two (pictured) at the beautiful home of Angela Phillips. We also enjoyed her air fried brussels sprouts and chestnuts warmed with just a hint of olive oil.

Why Proxies?

Angela lives 8 or so miles away from us and, despite splitting the entire bottle of Proxies, I could drive home safely. These bottles really are “free of alcohol, full of complexity,” but are NOT dealcoholized–and are perfect when you want something beautiful, interesting, and exciting to sip on its own or, especially, with food, but prefer not to imbibe.

The pair of us drank the entire bottle of Pastiche, at only 75 to 100 calories total for each of us. Pastiche is a white wine alternative, made of the following: (FRUIT) Lychee, Pineapple, Peach, Gewurztraminer Grapes; (ACIDITY) Rose Vinegar; (SPICE) Pink Peppercorn, Amchur, Galangal, Clove; and (BODY) Bai Jian White Tea, Oolong Tea, Mosaic Hops. Proxies may remind you a bit of Kombucha but without the assertive fermentation and with many more layered and subtle flavor notes.

Proxies Club

Savory Parmesan + Fennel Shortbread

Yield: approximately 4 dozen

(Note: these are also tasty without the parm.)

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup Follow Your Heart or your favorite plant-based brand shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup plant-based butter (I like Myokos), broken into chunks
1/2 cup olive oil (may need slightly more or less)

Place first 7 ingredients in food processor and pulse a few times to break up fennel seeds. Add parmesan and pulse a couple more times. Add butter and pulse to distribute. With motor running, drizzle in olive oil, stopping occasionally, until dough comes together, but is not sticky. It should be fairly firm, like roll-and-cut cookie dough. Form into 3 to 4 logs, approximately 1 1/4 to 1 1/2″ in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. Slice rolls into 1/3-inch disks, place 1″ apart on baking sheet, and bake 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Package in airtight containers.

#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn #vegansofinstagram #vegansoffacebook #vegansofvirginia #thebloomingplatter #plantbasedfoodgift #veganfoodgift #plantbasedshortbread #veganshortbread #savoryshortbread #Proxies #acidleague

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by betsy

Chewy Cowgirl Cookies (vegan & plant-based)

Yield: 1 dozen (easily multiplies)

The secret to the irresistible texture of these cookies is melting the vegan butter, but not the shortening and forming them using the double scoop method.

1/4 cup vegan butter (I like Miyoko’s), melted

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 tablespoons nondairy milk

1/4 cup each chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. Cream together butter and shortening on high speed of electric mixer. Beat in both sugars until fluffy. On low speed, beat in extracts, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Then beat in flour and non-dairy milk, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Next add chips, coconut, and pecans. With a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, make 10 to 12 mounds of dough, 2 inches apart. Then repeat with a second scoop, only nestle the second ball of dough right on top of first one, pressing down firmly to create a kind of tophat form. Bake 13 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and store in airtight container.

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by betsy

Russian Almond Cookies (with Pistachio and Dried Cherry/ Cranberry Variation) [vegan & plant-based]

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

These buttery cookies are so pure and simple, the perfect hybrid of crisp and tender.

Wherever we were for Christmas as a family of four–our home in Richardson, TX, our maternal grandmother’s in Dallas, or Mam-ma’s and Pap-pa’s in Houston–Mam’ma always made sure these and three other kinds of cookies, perennially the same, were there too, packed in wax paper-lined metal holiday tins.

The crackley paper, the aroma of sweet butter, vanilla, and almond–none of her cookies were spiced–and the shapes: slices, balls, Santas, reindeer, stars, bells, Christmas trees, and more, are the embodiment of Christmas for me.

Though Mam-ma probably creamed the butter by hand, I use my Kitchen Aid mixer, except when including my addition of nuts and dried fruit. Then I use a food processor as it does the chopping for you. But feel free to chop the ingredients and fold them into the dough made by hand or with a mixer.

Russian Almond Cookies (with Pistachio and Dried Cherry/Cranberry Variation) [vegan & plant-based)

1 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour

Optional:
1/4 cup pistachios
1/4 cup dried cherries or cranberries

Place all ingredients, including optional nuts and fried fruit, in a large food processor. Pulse until well combined and dough comes together in a ball. Divide dough in half, roll each into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 20 to 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper. With a thin sharp knife, cut each log diagonally into 1/4″ thick slices, and place about 1-inch apart on prepared sheets, as they won’t spread much at all. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn #Veganchristmascookies #plantbasedchristmascookies

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by betsy

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies aka Kelly’s “Perfect Cookie”

Yield: 1 dozen large cookies

Everyone thinks their chocolate chip cookie recipe is the “perfect” one, and that is because ideas about the ideal chocolate chip cookie vary so widely.

I like a couple of different kinds, including this one which is flatter and chewier. Recipes for non-vegan versions abound, but a vegan one proved to be elusive.

It took me several tries, but when my dear friend Kelly tasted this morning’s experiment and asked if we could just call it “the perfect cookie,” I knew I had achieved my goal, though the rapturous look on her face said it all.

Three of the secrets are melted better, no baking powder, and no egg substitute. Three more are a thorough beating of the butter with both granulated and brown sugars, a hint of molasses and water, and a higher ratio of butter to flour.

The final two are the seemingly odd techniques of 1) forming the cookie by placing one ball of dough on top of and pressed into another, and 2) lifting and dropping the sides of the baking sheet onto the cooling rack several times after baking which causes their slight puff to deflate in stages, creating concentric bakery-style ripples.

1/2 vegan butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat together butter and both sugars for 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla, molasses, water, and baking soda. With mixer on low speed, mix in flour, 1/3 at a time. Avoid overbeating. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts by hand. Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, place six balls of dough, widely spaced, on each of the two baking sheets. Then place a second scoop on top of each one pressing down very firmly. You should have what roughly looks like a hat, i.e. a dome in the middle of a disk. Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until fairly flat, with a slight puff, and golden brown. Pull out oven rack and, with a hot pot holder, lift up one side of the baking sheet about 4 inches and let it drop. Do this about 3 times, alternating sides. Remove to a cooling rack and repeat a few more times. This will cause the cookies to deflate in stages and create attractive bakery-style concentric ripples on the surface. Enjoy cookies warm, or cool completely and store covered.

#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn #veganchocolatechipcookies #plantbasedchocolatechipcookies

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by betsy

M&M Cookies (vegan and plant-based)

Yield: 3 dozen small or 1.5 dozen large cookies

For some reason, probably all Pinterest’s fault, I was craving M&Ms cookies and bars. Pinterest can ignite an obsession like nothing else.

But I learned the hard way not to order Unreal brand chocolate-covered peanuts, basically a vegan M&M, from Amazon in July and Southeastern Virginia. They arrived like this.

Out of three 5-oz bags, only about 50 of the candies were usable–the rest were a melted, cracked, and clumped mess. The upside is that the candies are a beautiful color and taste delicious, so I would buy them again, just in the fall or perhaps directly from the company.

With enough candies to make a half batch of cookies, that is what I did and it was worth it. Besides, I don’t need a lot of cookies around tempting me, but if you are unable to purchase these candies or the equivalent in the grocery store, you might want to wait until a cooler month unless it happens to be cool where you live. And if the latter, lucky you!

My recipe includes simple directions I learned recently for creating a perfect bakery style shaped cookie every time, provided you make the large variety because it takes two scoops.

However you scoop them, you will love them, if you can prevent yourself from eating all of the dough first!

M&M Cookies (vegan & plant-based)

1/2 cup vegan butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar (I like dark brown)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 to 4 tablespoons non-dairy milk

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup vegan M&M style candy

1/2 cup broken pecans or peanuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. In bowl of electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening, both sugars, vanilla extract, and baking soda. With mixer on medium to low speed, beat in flour in three portions, with 1 or 2 tablespoons milk in between each, scraping down bowl as necessary. Avoid over beating. With mixer on lowest speed or by hand, mix in chocolate chips, candies, and nuts. Using a one tablespoon scoop, make small cookies by placing one scoop about two inches apart in rows. To make bakery style large cookies, after placing one scoop onto baking sheet, put a second scoop in the center and press down very firmly. Big small cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes and large ones for about 12 to 15, or until golden brown.

#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn #veganMandMcookies #plantbasedMandMcookies #vegancookies #plantbasedcookies

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by betsy

Lime, Coconut & White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies with Sour Cream-Lime Frosting (vegan & plant-based)

Yield: 1 dozen

These citrusy cookies–with a hybrid frosting-glaze that lends just the right creamy zing–make me want to gather together all of my women friends and family–okay, men too–for tea.

1/2 cup vegan butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Zest and juice of one small to medium lime

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup grated coconut, processed until very fine (I prefer unsweetened)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup mini vegan white chocolate chips

Sour Cream-Lime Frosting (recipe to follow)

Garnish: grated coconut and/or lime zest

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper. In bowl of electric mixer, cream together butter, both sugars, and both extracts until creamy, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. With mixer on low speed, beat in lime zest and juice followed by flour, processed coconut, and baking powder. Avoid over mixing. Fold in white chocolate chips by hand. Using a one tablespoon scoop or one tablespoon measure, create 12 mounds, 2 inches apart. With a narrow glass, about one and a half inches in diameter, or with the back of a spoon, dipped in flour, press into centers of cookies to create a depression with a slightly raised edge. (Depression will fill-in while baking, but it makes a pretty cookie.) Bake 8 to 9 minutes or just until beginning to turn golden brown around edges.

Sour Cream-Lime Frosting

1 tablespoon vegan butter, softened

2 tablespoons vegan sour cream

1 cup powdered sugar (approximately)

Juice and zest of one-half small lime

In small bowl, whisk together butter and sour cream until creamy and well-combined. Whisk in half of powdered sugar and lime juice followed by remaining powdered sugar. Frost cookies, sprinkle with grated coconut and/or lime zest, and store, covered, in refrigerator.

#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn #vegancookies #plantbasedcookies

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by betsy

Chocolate-Orange-Almond Shortbread Cookies with Dried Cherries and White Chocolate Chips and Cherry- Cream Cheese Glaze (vegan & plant-based)

As much as I love to bake cakes and cheesecakes, that is just a lot to deal with and there are only two of us here, one of whom eats a dramatically different diet than I do.

So, my latest passion is to try to take all of the flavors that I would have put in a cake or cheesecake and put them into a cookie with far less calories than a slice of cake, far less mess, and ease of tucking into a friend’s purse or hand as a little love gift.

I wanted to make these super simple by rolling them into logs, chilling, and slicing before baking. I learned the hard way that there are too many delicious chunks in the dough for them to slice without breaking apart, so I don’t advise trying it!

Yield:1 dozen

1/2 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Zest of 1 medium blood orange or regular orange
Juice of 1/2 medium blood orange or regular orange
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds, broken or roughly chopped
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup vegan white chocolate chips
Cherry Glaze (recipe follows)
Garnishes: orange zest, dried cherries, and/or slivered or sliced almonds

Cream together butter and both sugars. Beat in extracts, zest, orange juice, and cocoa powder. With mixer on low, beat in flour about 1/4 cup at a time, scraping down sides as necessary. Stir in nuts, cherries, and white chocolate chips. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, place two inches apart on cookie sheet, and press to about 1/2 in thick with the bottom of a sturdy glass. You may need to use a spatula to remove, but you can coat the bottom of the glass with a little cocoa powder.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. Slice cookies 1/4-inch thick with a sharp knife and place 2-inches apart on lined baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set and just starting to brown. Transfer to wire rack, cool completely, and ice with Cherry-Orange Glaze. Garnish as desired.

Cherry-Orange Glaze

1 1/2 teaspoons vegan butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vegan cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients except powdered sugar until smooth. Then whisk in powdered sugar until no lumps remain. Pop in freezer for 10 minutes or so to stiffen slightly.

#veganshortbread #plantbasedshortbread #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn

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by betsy

Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze (vegan & plant-based)

Yield: 2 dozen

I used to continually irk my late mother by “messing” with what she considered perfection: carefully selected and notated recipes that she made exactly as written.

Perhaps she will forgive me in this case because she was a big fan of anything citrusy and these are just so pretty. They remind me of her.

To arrive here, I altered my paternal grandmother’s Russian Almond Cookie recipe, a perennial Christmas favorite that she mailed to us in wax paper lined tins in a cardboard box if we were with our other grandmother for the holidays.

1 cup vegan butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar or powdered sugar (I like the combination of sugars for texture)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Juice of 1 small lemon (You can zest first and include the zest as well or save to sprinkle on top)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons culinary lavender

Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze (recipe follows)

Garnishes: culinary lavender, tiny lemon balm leaves, lemon zest, slivered or sliced almonds

Cream together better and sugar until fluffy. Beat in extracts and lemon juice. With mixer on low speed, beat in flour about 1/3 to 1/2 cup at a time, including culinary lavender with the last addition; avoid over mixing. There should be soft, but hold together well. Add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, if necessary. Preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll cookies to a scant one quarter inch thick. Cut out with your favorite cookie cutter, rerolling and recutting scraps as necessary. Bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes or just until lightly golden brown. Cool on baking sheet on wire rack. When completely cool ice and garnish.

Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

1 tablespoon vegan butter, softened

1 tablespoon vegan cream cheese, softened

Juice of 1/2 small lemon

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Tiny pinch turmeric, if desired, for yellow color

Whisk together first three ingredients until smooth. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until virtually no lumps remain.

#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfoodshare #veganfoodporn #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedfoodshare #plantbasedfoodporn #veganlemonlavendershortbreadcookies #plantbasedlemonlavendershortbreadcookies

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