Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Treats (16 page)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a mixing bowl, mix together the sugars and oil for about a minute. You want to get the sugars a bit broken down. Add the almond milk and tapioca flour and beat vigorously until there are no clumps of tapioca left. Mix in the vanilla.

3. Add half the flour, the baking soda, and salt and mix well. Mix in the remaining flour. Fold in the chocolate chips.

4. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, or lightly greased. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart and flatten them down a bit with your fingers.

5. Bake 10 minutes for soft, chewy cookies, 12 minutes for crispier ones. When they’re done baking, let the cookies rest on the sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to finish cooling.

½ cup nondairy milk
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
⅓ cup canola oil
⅔ cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup quinoa flour
½ cup brown rice flour
2 tablespoons tapioca flour or arrowroot
powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking quinoa flakes
½ cup finely chopped dried apricots
¼ cup sliced almonds
Additional sliced almonds for
decorating cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the nondairy milk and flax seeds and let sit for 1 minute. Then stir in the sugar and vanilla until smooth. Sift in the quinoa flour, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, cinnamon, cardamom, baking soda, and salt. Mix to form a thick batter, then fold in the quinoa flakes, apricots, and almonds.

3. For each cookie scoop 1 rounded tablespoon of dough onto the baking sheet, keeping the cookies about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the cookie tops with a few sliced almonds and flatten the tops with the back of a measuring cup. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until puffed and just starting to brown on the edges. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer them to wire racks to cool completely and store in a tightly covered container. These cookies are best eaten the day they are made.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, making sure the foil completely covers the sides of the pan, with about 2 inches folded outside over the edges. Spray the bottom and sides of the pan generously with nonstick cooking spray.

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Use a pastry cutter or two knives held together to cut in the margarine until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pour crumbs into the prepared baking pan and press down evenly and very firmly, making sure to press the mixture all the way to the edges of the pan. Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes until firm and very lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven and set it aside.

Caramel Pecan Bars

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and nondairy milk until foamy. Stir in the dark brown sugar, brown rice syrup, melted margarine, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Fold in the pecans and pour the mixture onto the crust, using a spatula to spread the topping evenly.

2. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until the filling is rapidly bubbling. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, then move it to the refrigerator to finish cooling and setting. Chill for at least 2 hours or, even better, overnight.

3. To slice completely cooled bars, grab ahold of the foil and carefully lift the whole thing out of the pan and onto a heavy cutting board. Peel away the foil and cut bars with a heavy, sharp knife.

16 ounces (about 4 cups) fresh or
frozen blueberries
½ cup sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

2. In a medium-size mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, and salt. Add the shortening by the spoonful, cutting it into the flour with a pastry cutter or two knives held together. Once the dough becomes crumbly, add the nondairy milk by the tablespoon. Use your fingers to stir the milk in after each addition until pea-size crumbs form.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, water, and vanilla.

4. Scoop 3 cups of the dough into the prepared baking pan. Firmly press it in to form the base of the bars. Spread the blueberry mixture over the base and then sprinkle the rest of the crumbly dough over the blueberries.

5. Bake for about 45 minutes. When ready, the blueberries should be nice and bubbly. Cool completely before cutting into bars and eating.