Joy the Baker » spring

Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

joythebaker — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 07:28:43 +0000

Two things are unacceptable: I keep forgetting to buy butter, and there’s a spider on my ceiling that my cat can’t reach.

Two solutions have presented themselves: Make vegan cookies, and construct some sort of winged apparatus to send my cat into flight, thus into spider hunting range.

So far, I’ve got the cookies. The cat wings have proven more difficult. This mancat of mine doesn’t seem very aerodynamic. Why don’t cat tails double as some sort of cat helicopter blade? That would solve this stupid spider situation for sure.

Sunflower seeds covered in chocolate and a hard candy shell. The candy shell makes them precious, darling, and edible by the fistful.

Ps. The sunflower seeds are less than vegan. Vegan chocolate chunks are a great replacement for those of you who are down with the vegan thing.

These cookies are adapted from my favorite vegan cookie recipe from Organic and Chic. The original recipe is for spicy ginger cookies. They’re dense, cakey, cookie biscuits. I love them.

Applesauce, oil, and flax seed meal moisten these cookies, giving them a chewy bite and ample body.

Yea… these cookies have body.

Chocolate, espresso powder, and a touch of cinnamon are all packed into this batter. The sunflower seeds make these cookies spring, sprung, flowery, and bright… vegan chocolate chunks would also be wonderful.

Rolled in sugar and slightly under-baked, I think these cookies are a treat. I have a giant bag of them in my freezer. I share… I’ll probably share.

Recipe adapted from Organic and Chic.

Print this Recipe!

Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

24 to 28 cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (vegan)
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup chocolate coated sunflower seeds
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or 1 cup vegan chocolate chips)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, carefully whisk together sugar, flax seed meal, applesauce, oil and vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients, all at once, into the dry ingredients. Add the chocolate chunks (and sunflower seeds, if using) and stir together with a spatula. The dough will be fairly thick. Stir until all of the dry ingredients are just moistened. You can even use your hands if necessary, but try not to knead and overwork the dough. Dump dough out onto a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap.
Form into a disk, wrap, and refrigerate for one hour (or overnight).
Once chilled, scoop dough by the tablespoonful into balls. Roll in granulated sugar, place on prepared cookie sheets, and press them down, just slightly with the heel of your hand. These cookies won't spread much.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. Cookies should still be slightly soft in the middle. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep, in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 5 days.

**For extra deliciousness: add 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients, sift together, and proceed as recipe instructs.

Lemon Meringue Cookies

joythebaker — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:21:30 +0000

If the dream fairies are taking requests, tonight I’d like my dreams to include:

the bright green grass of a perfectly manicured baseball field.

first kisses.

lemonade so cold and tart it almost hurts my teeth.

… maybe a waterfall… that might be nice.

… the sound of my aunt dede humming to herself?…. that could be pretty special.

and perhaps these lemon cookies, cold… from the freezer.

I rarely put in dream requests, but I’m feeling rather particular tonight. K. Thanks.

These cookies: little dreams… I swear to it.

Light meringues are infused with lemon zest and vanilla and baked until crisp and dry. That’s just the beginning.

I used this tip and a piping bag to make little meringue star cookies. It’s a big tip… although I’m not smart enough to know the size.

I piped 50 stars between two sheets. Half of the stars stayed full and pretty, the other half of the stars I smoothed into a flat-ish circle. The flat meringues will be the bottom of the lemon meringue sandwich.

These cookies bake in a low low oven for 2 hours. The result is a crisp, light-as-air, dream cookie. Dreeeeaaaaammmmm cookie.

Citrus curd… Hello!

So easy to make. So bright and happy. So easy to shovel in my face with a spoon at midnight after I’ve already gotten out of bed to make myself a random bowl of grits.

… or whatever.

The hardest part about making curd is straining it through a fine mesh strainer… and we both know that’s no effort at all.

Oh, wait. Another tough part is when you fill the curd jar too full… and you have to spoon a good portion into you mouth to keep it from overflowing. That’s hard.

Lemon bottom. Lemon curd middle. Lemon top.

Sandwiched together, they’re the perfect bite. All you need is a big mouth.

These little clouds are delicate, sweet and bright. They taste exactly like Lemon Meringue Pie. They’re my dream come true. I wish I could tell you that I shared these cookies with people that I know and love, but the truth is… I shoved most of these cookies in my mouth before I told anyone that I even made them.

There are a few tricks you should know when making these cookies:

Humidity will effect the meringues. The more humid, or moist the air, the stickier the meringues will get. It’s just one of those things.

These are not really travel cookies. They should be assembled right before they’re eaten. I like the curd cold cold cold in these cookies. I assembled the cookies, and left them to chill in the freezer for 20 minutes before serving… to myself. They were incredible!

Assemble. Chill for 20 minutes to an hour. Serve. Freak out. …that’s how it should go.

Oh! You may have a bit of extra curd left over. Eat it. Just eat it.

Lemon Meringue Cookies

Makes: about 25 cookies

Print this Recipe!

For the Meringues:

2 large egg whites

pinch of salt

2/3 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place two racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Foil will also work in a pinch. Set the baking pans aside.

Place the egg whites (save the yolks for the curd) in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat egg whites, on medium speed, until foamy. Add the pinch of salt and increase speed to medium-high. Slowly begin to sprinkle in the sugar. Continue to beat eggs until they become thick, glossy and hold stiff peeks. The egg whites will be the consistency of melted marshmallow.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Spoon into a piping bag, fitted with a large star tip. Pipe about a teaspoons worth of meringue onto the baking sheet. Stars can be close together, as they won’t spread or puff during baking. Pipe stars onto the two baking sheets until no meringue remains in the bag. Using the back of a spoon, flatten out half of the meringue stars, making them as flat as possible, but not necessarily a larger circle than the original piped star. The flattened star will become the bottom of the sandwich cookie.

Bake meringues for 2 hours, until no longer sticky , but firm and hardened.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before filling and sandwiching.

For the Lemon Curd:

from: David Lebovitz

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

pinch of salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl and set aside.

In a medium pot, whisk together lemon juice, granulated sugar, eggs, yolks, and pinch of salt. Place the pot over a medium-low flame and add butter. Stir mixture with a whisk, and spatula. The spatula will help you get into the corners of the pan, ensuring that none of the curd over-cooks too much. Cook the curd until the butter is melted, and the mixture is the thickness of warm hot fudge. The whisk will begin to leave a trail of whisk marks and the mixture will have the distinct smell of lemon curd. You don’t really need to boil lemon curd… it’s probably done it if gets to the boiling stage.

Remove from the flame and immediately pour into the fine mesh strainer over the medium bowl. Press through the strainer, leaving any cooked egg bits in the strainer, and not in your beautiful curd.

Place curd in a jar, with a piece of plastic wrap placed directly over the curd. Place in the fridge until completely cold.

To fill the cookies, spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of curd onto a flattened bottom cookie. Top with a star shaped cookie. Place cookies in a single layer on a tray and place in the freezer for 20 minutes to an hour. I love these cookies right out of the freezer. You can also fill them and serve them immediately. These cookies do not last well if willed and left to sit.

Curd should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Curd lasts for about a week. Meringues should be kept in an airtight container, in a dry area, at room temperature. Meringues last for about 5 days… though humidity makes them sticky balls.

Recipe: Lemon Meringue Cookies

Summary: Lemon Meringues with Sweet Lemon Curd

Ingredients

For the Meringues:
2 large egg whites
pinch of salt
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Lemon Curd:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

For the Meringue Cookies:

Place two racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Foil will also work in a pinch. Set the baking pans aside.
Place the egg whites (save the yolks for the curd) in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat egg whites, on medium speed, until foamy. Add the pinch of salt and increase speed to medium-high. Slowly begin to sprinkle in the sugar. Continue to beat eggs until they become thick, glossy and hold stiff peeks. The egg whites will be the consistency of melted marshmallow.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Spoon into a piping bag, fitted with a large star tip. Pipe about a teaspoons worth of meringue onto the baking sheet. Stars can be close together, as they won’t spread or puff during baking. Pipe stars onto the two baking sheets until no meringue remains in the bag. Using the back of a spoon, flatten out half of the meringue stars, making them as flat as possible, but not necessarily a larger circle than the original piped star. The flattened star will become the bottom of the sandwich cookie.
Bake meringues for 2 hours, until no longer sticky , but firm and hardened.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet before filling and sandwiching.
For the Lemon Curd:
Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl and set aside.
In a medium pot, whisk together lemon juice, granulated sugar, eggs, yolks, and pinch of salt. Place the pot over a medium-low flame and add butter. Stir mixture with a whisk, and spatula. The spatula will help you get into the corners of the pan, ensuring that none of the curd over-cooks too much. Cook the curd until the butter is melted, and the mixture is the thickness of warm hot fudge. The whisk will begin to leave a trail of whisk marks and the mixture will have the distinct smell of lemon curd. You don’t really need to boil lemon curd… it’s probably done it if gets to the boiling stage.
Remove from the flame and immediately pour into the fine mesh strainer over the medium bowl. Press through the strainer, leaving any cooked egg bits in the strainer, and not in your beautiful curd.
Place curd in a jar, with a piece of plastic wrap placed directly over the curd. Place in the fridge until completely cold.
To fill the cookies, spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of curd onto a flattened bottom cookie. Top with a star shaped cookie. Place cookies in a single layer on a tray and place in the freezer for 20 minutes to an hour. I love these cookies right out of the freezer. You can also fill them and serve them immediately. These cookies do not last well if willed and left to sit.
Curd should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Curd lasts for about a week. Meringues should be kept in an airtight container, in a dry area, at room temperature. Meringues last for about 5 days… though humidity makes them sticky balls.

Preparation time: 30 minute(s)

Cooking time: 2 hour(s)

Diet type: Vegetarian

Number of servings (yield): 12

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

My rating 4 stars: ????? 1 review(s)

Lucy and Ethel

joythebaker — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 23:53:46 +0000

Hi. Hello. Hey!

I hope your weekend is going swimmingly.

I just wanted to take a moment and introduce you to my tomatoes, Lucy and Ethel.

I’d also like to answer a few questions.

Yes, I’ve named my first two tomatoes after Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz from I Love Lucy.

Yes, I love that show.

Yes, I seem to have become abnormally attached to my tomatoes. No, I don’t feel bad about that.

Also, this is happening. I better start thinking of more names… and quick.

Are you gardening?

One Pot Spring Garden

joythebaker — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:57:56 +0000

There are a few reasons why you should read this post.

1. I’m no gardener, but with a team of friends and experts, I might have just created a successful one pot garden… you can too!

2. While this post may not be filled with butter and sugar, it is still a nice distraction from work, right!?

3. I’m drinking wine and I’ve got a mild degree of writers block. I’m bound to get a little punchy and make you laugh at some point. Yes?

This year’s Spring garden… ok, my first Spring garden ever… was inspired by two things: my undying adoration of summer tomatoes and my utter annoyance at the high price of said tomatoes.

So here we are, talking tomatoes. Not just any tomatoes, but peak of the season summer tomatoes. Besides my gradual fake tanning lotion, they might just be the best thing about the summer months.

The truth is, there’s a reason that this blog isn’t called Joy the Gardener. I kill just about everything I put in dirt. It’s a classic case of over enthusiasm and waaaaay too much water. I over water and kill my plants, a fact that is sad but true.

This Spring I’ve got help. My Mom happens to be an amazing gardener… she also happens to be retired, which leaves her plenty of time for nursery trips to counsel me on which fertilizer is best and why. Then there’s my darling friend Rachael. She’s blonde, beautiful, hilarious, and is oh-so-generous with the crap ton of knowledge she has about growing tomatoes. With these two on my team, my garden can’t fail! Now I just need someone to keep the watering can away from me.

If I can grow a tomato garden on the tiny balcony of my Los Angeles apartment, you can too. Here’s the skinny:

I headed out to the nursery with my Mom. It turns out… there are a TON of plants at a nursery… most of them being green. It might have been hard for me to find what I needed, had it not been for my Mom. It’s not that things are hard to find, it’s just that I’m not tremendously plant literate.

I had a very specific One Pot Garden list. If you want to play along, here’s what you’ll need

1 tomato plant (Mine is a black cherry tomato plant.. thanks Rachael!)

1 basil plant

1 marjoram plant

1 parsley plant

1 nasturtium plant

1 giant bag of Dr. Earth Organic Potting Soil

1 small bag of organic vegetable fertilizer of some sort. I used GroBetter All-Purpose Organic Fertilizer.

I stake to tie your tomato plant to as it grows

1 giant pot and saucer. Mine is about 15-inches tall and with a 15-inch diameter. I used a plastic pot because it’s much lighter and it helps keep the moisture in the soil.

Here’s what I did:

Fill the pot about two thirds full with the potting soil. Sprinkle with organic fertilizer as directed on the bag. Water just to moisten the soil. Fertilizer isn’t one of those things that you want to touch with your hands. It’s just not a good idea. Grab some gloves or use a scooper.

Arrange the plants in the pot, still in their plastic containers, just so you can see where everything will go.

Remove the plants from their tiny plastic containers and gently loosen the bottom of the soil, loosening their roots. Set in place on top of the potting soil and fertilizer. Using a large cup for scooping, place more potting soil around the plants. Sprinkling with just a bit more fertilizer as you go. Firmly press the potting soil and plants into the pot and add more potting soil. You won’t fill the pot to the brim with potting soil. Fill the pot with soil until you’re about three inches from the brim. Water generously and set in a sunny spot.

Set the stake to the side and use it when the tomato plant starts to get too talk to grow up on its own.

Fun facts:

Tomatoes like loads of sunlight. Don’t be afraid to put your new garden in a spot that gets at least seven hours of direct sunlight. Your plants will love it.

Check to see if your pot needs watering by sticking your finger into the soil. The soil should be moist and cool. If it feels a little dry, water away… otherwise, just leave it be.

Why put all those plants in one pot!? It turns out that all those plants work together like a team. Whether its keeping pests away, or replenishing the soil with nutrients, all the plants in that one pot are extremely happy. And! Nastrutium flowers are edible. They’re a a great, peppery addition to a salad!

Having a little garden is unbelievably satisfying. I sit on my otherwise uninviting balcony sometimes just to watch my plants grow. Now my balcony is like a bonus room. I also run my fingers through the leaves of my growing tomato plant to get that fresh tomato smell on my hands. Yes, dorky but true.

Even if you live in a tiny apartment, as long as you have a space with loads of sunlight, you can have a coy little one pot garden! It’s true! It makes life better! Let’s do this together!

More tomato posts and garden updates to come.

Spring Easter Meringues

joythebaker — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 05:12:25 +0000

Dear Spring,

You’re a great season. In fact, you’re my favorite season of all. Something about the orange blossoms dotting my neighborhood, and the barely warm evening sun just makes me want to squeeze you with gratitude.

Great job with all the tulips. Excellent work with all the sweet peas. Don’t even get me started on the asparagus…. wow!

There’s just a few things I thought you might consider… just in the interest of being the best season ever, and kicking every other season right in the backside.

First, your color palette. Have you ever considered switching it up? All the pastels remind me of bad baby shower party games. Plus, you’re edgier than that Spring. Show those other seasons what’s what. Have you considered a fresh neon palate? It might work wonders for your image.

Second, can you please work on making purple the new grey this season?

Lastly, every year when you come to town, I end up in the candy aisle at the grocery store buying giant bags of chocolate egg-shaped candies. After I’ve mistakenly make these chocolate goodies a meal, I’m forced the throw the remainder in the trash and pour dish soap on them, keeping myself from sleep-eating them in the middle of the night. While this may seem like more of a personal issue, your attention to this matter would still be much appreciated.

Also Spring, I made you meringues.

Stay Sweet,

Joy the Baker

Meringues are a super easy way to show Spring that you’re glad it’s come to town… or you could write Spring a letter like I did.

With only three egg whites, a bit of granulated sugar and some flavoring, you’ll be able to make a sheet full of three different types of tiny meringues: chocolate, vanilla and raspberry. All you’ll need now is some small, clear gift bags, some pretty ribbon and you’ll have precious Easter gifts on lock-down. Sweet, right!?

This recipe makes vanilla meringues with a dash of vanilla extract, chocolate meringues with unsweetened cocoa powder, and raspberry meringues with dehydrated raspberry powder (made from freeze dried and super ground raspberries). Feel free to play around with almond or coffee meringues using extracts too!

Spring Easter Meringues

Print this Recipe!

3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dehydrated raspberry powder

Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; secure corners with masking tape. Fit three pastry bags with a small open-star tip or round tips (such as Ateco #22). If you don’t have three pastry bags you can use just one bag and wash and dry it between flavors. Set aside.
Make meringues: Put egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water, and stir gently until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch, 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
Divide egg whites between three clean bowls. In one bowl mix in vanilla extract. In second bowl, mix in cocoa powder. In third bowl mix in raspberry powder. Stir all until well combined.
Fill each bag with separate meringue flavors. Pipe small (3/4-inch-high) star shapes or round shapes (depending on your tip) onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake cookies until crisp but not brown, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the meringues cool in the oven. Transfer from pans to an airtight container for storage.

Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

joythebaker — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 08:37:36 +0000

I’ll be the first to admit that I have gotten prematurely excited about strawberry season. I’ve already played with strawberry sugar paper, and here I am with strawberry ice cream. It’s not even April! Strawberries aren’t at their peak flavor yet, but I see baskets of them in every market I visit. I just can’t help myself, so I buy and I bake. I should tell you now- it’s going to be a long berry season. Long, glorious and delicious!

This ice cream isn’t as rich and heavy as other well made ice creams. I used whole milk for the base and added a bit of buttermilk. The buttermilk adds a light, yogurt-like tang to the ice cream. And what a compliment to the macerated strawberries! This egg-less ice cream is full of sweet strawberry flavor and highlighted with tangy buttermilk notes. It’s so light an refreshing, I’m already anticipating craving this ice cream on those unbearably hot summer days.

Don’t have an ice cream maker? Well it’s high time you get one!

This is also my one of my submissions for Mike’s Strawberry Seduction Event! What are you waiting for? Go get some berries and make a strawberry something for Mike!

Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

adapted from the New York Times

Print this Recipe!

2 cups cream, half and half or milk

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

heaping 1/2 cup sliced and diced strawberries (optional 1 Tablespoon sugar)

Rinse strawberries under cool water and slice. Create a mixture of sliced and diced strawberry pieces. If you find that the strawberries aren’t very sweet, you can toss the sliced strawberries in 1 Tablespoon of granulated sugar and set aside until ready for the ice cream.

Put 1 1/2 cups of cream or milk into a small sauce pan. Add the sugar and salt and heat the milk over medium low heat. Keep and eye on the milk, stirring often so that the bottom of the pan doesn’t get any burned milk bits.

While the milk is heating, measure out the buttermilk and vanilla extract and set aside.

Also measure out the remaining 1/2 cup of milk or cream. Stir the cornstarch into this 1/2 cup of milk, until smooth and no lumps remain.

The milk on the stove should be hot and steaming. The milk does not need to boil, it just needs to be steaming. With the milk over a medium low flame, stir in the milk and cornstarch mixture. Stir the milk constantly until you begin to feel it thicken.

The milk mixture should look like the above picture after it has been thickened by cornstarch. Once the cornstarch is added to the milk it only takes a minute or two to thicken up.

Once the milk mixture is thick, remove from the heat and add vanilla extract and 1/2 cup of buttermilk. Stir to incorporate.

Strain the warm milk mixture into a mixing bowl, cover in plastic wrap and allow to cool in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Once the mixture is cooled, remove from the refrigerator and stir in the sliced and diced strawberries. Follow the instructions on your ice cream maker and make some delicious ice cream!

Hello, Spring. Hello, Figs!

joythebaker — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:14:58 +0000

Spring has sprung and figs are growing! Their season is still a few months away, but I had to get a picture of these budding beauties in my friend’s backyard.

It’s possible that you may not understand my deep affection for figs. They are my favorite food, without hesitation. Figs are divine. Cosmic. They can do no wrong. Have you ever had a fresh fig? A bite into a good fig simultaneously sends three sign to my brain- sweet. purple. love. Call me crazy, but figs just have a hold on me.

And don’t get me started on Fig Newtons. While I will eat them once in a while, it’s not because they taste anything like a fig fresh from the tree. Fig Newtons and fresh figs are worlds apart… don’t get me started.

What am I going to make with this years budding figs? So far I’m thinking fig compote, upside down fig tart, fig jam on warm biscuits and lavendar and fig cupcakes. Any fig suggestions?