This past holiday season i received both Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar (full review forthcoming) and a bag of vegan white chocoate chips. These seemed like a natural combination, and as I finally began to deplete the masses of holiday sweets filling my house I began to contemplate a cookie making endevor. When I think white chocolate my mind always turns to the classic white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie. The combination of smooth white chocolate and butter macadamias baked into a slightly chewy cookie always hits the spot. My natural inclination was to take my newest cook book for a test drive, but to my shock, these classic goodies didn’t make the cut for the book. OK, I know that these cookies are just your classic chocolate chip with white chocolate instead of your classic semi sweet and macs instead of walnuts or what have you, but I was still shocked that they didn’t receive a mention as a variation. I also acknowledge that I could have used the chocolate chip recipe from VCIYCJ, but due to some irregularities in the formula, I decided to go with a tried and true recipe as long as I was using such pricey ingredients. You may notice a striking similarity in recipe to to my chocolate toffee chip cookies because, well, it is the same cookie recipe.

You may not be able to find vegan white chocolate at your local grocery store, but it is readily available from online retailers like Food Fight. I would really call most of them imitation white chocolate, as they have a higher percentage of vegetable oil than cocoa butter, and tend to use artificial vanilla. They still do the trick though (I also have used them to make flowers on wedding cakes). You can also try making your own with this recipe, but cocoa butter isn’t much easier to come by.

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup Earth Balance
egg replacer to equal 2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 cups vegan white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 375°.
In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, cream together Earth Balance, sugars, egg replacer, and vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix just to incorporate. Add white chocolate and nuts and mix just enough to mix through.

Scoop dough into balls with a cookie scoop or a spoon. Place balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat and lightly flatten, leaving about 2 inches between cookies. Bake 8-10 min, until cookies are lightly browned around edges. Allow to cool for a few min on sheet before transfer to a cooling rack.

The full spread.

I used my fried brussels sprouts recipe, but tossed them with carmelized onions, Bac'un bits and topped with fried onion.

Making your own craberry sauce takes mimimal effort and produced results that far outshine the canned stuff.

The sweet potato pie was my pumpkin pie recipe, but using sweet potato for the pumpkin and I replaced the glazed pecans with a pecan streusel.

Five punds of potatoes, two carmelized onions, and a head of roaseed garlic. Oh and a cup or two of Earth Balance.

]]> http://newvegantable.com/2009/11/t-day-recap/feed/ 0 http://newvegantable.com/2009/11/twice-baked-yams/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://newvegantable.com/2009/11/twice-baked-yams/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:01:56 +0000 Justin http://newvegantable.com/?p=275

This week I gave in to my girlfriend’s pleas to put away the fryer and make something a little healthier this holiday season. Twice backed yams had been on my list of to do’s for the season anyway, so I decided to reexamine my plans for the recipe. I used plain so yogurt rather than margarine or vegan sour cream, and orange juice and carmelized onions lend sweetness and depth of flavor. Add a little chopped pecan for some texture and we have a delightfully rich side dish sure to please. Try to choose larger more “potato shaped” yams as opposed to the longer skinny ones as they will hold up to the scooping and refilling process better. Also, start with a few more yams than you anticipate needing to serve, as inevitably a few skins may break. This is fine as the extra filling makes the ones you serve look nicer.

Twice Baked Yams

3 lbs. yams (sweet potatoes will work as well)
1/2 cup plain soy yogurt
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup caramelized onions
1/2 cup chopped pecans
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375°. Wash the yams well and pat dry with a clean towel. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake 45 min to and hour, or until soft. Let cool until they can be handled. Split the yams in half and scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl. Leave about 1/4 inch of flesh on the skins to give structure to your shells for later. Add the yogurt, orange juice and spices and mash with a fork or potato masher until well mixed and mostly smooth. Stir in onions and pecans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the hollowed yam halves on a baking sheet and spoon the filling into each one (or you can scoop the filling into a large zip top bag, cut off the tip of one corner with scissors, and pipe the filling into each shell). Bake at 375° for about 15 min until heated through.

Is it pecan pie? is it pumpkin pie? As one friend of mine put it: it’s pumpkin pie in a pecan pie costume. A glazed pecan topping makes a great addition to this pumpkin pie recipe. The recipe calls for cooked pumpkin, not canned. It only takes a little more effort and makes a world of difference. While sugar pumpkin (make sure to use sugar pumpkins, carving type pumpkins are not bread for eating and will be far too watery with very little flavor) is the classic choice, most winter squashes, such as butternut, acorn, hubbard, or even sweet potato or yam all work. In fact I probably have made this more times as a sweet potato pie than a pumpkin pie. I also often use a combination pumpkin and yam. If you are in a pinch you can substitute 2 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree. You can also substitute 2 tsp of your favorite pumpkin pie spice for the spices as well. Serve with your favorite vegan whipped topping or the coconut whipped cream recipe below.

I would recommend at least making the crust and roasting your squash the day before.

To roast pumpkin or squash

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds and strings. Place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet and bake 45-50 min or until flesh is easily pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and let cool until it can be handled. Scoop out flesh and use.

Pumpkin Pie

3 cups cooked pumpkin or other squash (try 2 cups pumpkin and 1 cup yam)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (plus more as necessary)
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
4 tsp canola oil
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground clove
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp arrow root powder
1 tsp agar agar powder (use powder, not flakes)

Pie Crust

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, chilled
1/2 cup non hydrogenated vegetable shortening, cut into pieces and chilled.
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp ice water

Pecan Topping

1 1/2 cup pecan halves
1 Tbsp molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp arrow root powder

Coconut Whipped Cream

1 can coconut cream (or coconut milk, but check cans for the highest fat content, you are looking for one with about 20 grams per serving)
sugar
vanilla extract

To make the crust

In a mixing bowl stir together flour and salt. With a pastry blender or two butter knives cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles course cornmeal. Slowly add ice water and gently stir until the dough is just moist enough to come together into a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator for at least an hour before rolling.

When ready to use, roll on a lightly floured board or between two pieces of parchment. Roll to about a 12 inch circle and transfer to a 9 inch pie plate. Gently press into the plate. Trim to fit, leaving a bout an inch of overhang. Fold overhang under and crimp edges between thumb and finger to create a fluted edge (or simply press into plate if using a fluted plate). If not filling immediately, place back into refrigerator until ready to bake.

Tips: Make sure all ingredients are very cold before starting, especially the shortening and the water (place a cube of ice in a glass of water and measure from there). Be carful to wrk the crust as little as possible, as over working the dough will give you a tough crust. Many crust recipes say to cut the shrtning to the size of peas or hazelnuts which creates a “flaky” crust. Cutting the shortening in finer creates what is known as a “mealy” crust, which will absorb less moisture and is less likely to get soggy.

To make the pie

Preheat oven to 350°. In a blender or food processor combine pumpkin, maple syrup, spices, canola oil, salt, and soy milk. Process until smooth. Taste and adjust sweetener as necessary (not all squash are equally sweet). Add arrowroot and agar and blend to fully incorporate. Transfer to pie shell, cover edge of crust with a foil collar, and bake for 50 min. While pie is baking, mix all ingredients for the topping and set aside. Remove pie from oven, remove foil collar, and spread topping over the top of pie. Place back in the oven and bake for another 20 min. Let cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

To make the creme

Place the can of coconut cream in the refrigerator to thoroughly chill. Remove from fridge, but do not shake. Open can a scoop out the thick, creamy layer at the top of the can, do not use the wattery layer at the bottom. Place into the bowl of a stand mixer and sweeten and add vanilla to taste. With a whisk attachment, whip on high until fluffy like whipped cream. spoon onto slices of pie.

I love mashed potatoes, and there is certainly nothing wrong with your classic recipes, but if you want a different take on the old mashed tubers give this a try. The addition of yams and parsnips adds layers of flavor (not to mention a good deal of added nutritional value). You want to go for relatively equal proportions of potatoes and yams with a smaller amount of parsnip, about 2 parts potato, 2 parts yam, 1 part parsnip.

Mashed Potatoes with Yams, Parsnips, and Pecans

2 large baking potatoes
2 large yams (about the same size as potatoes, or use enough smaller yams to equal the same amount)
1-2 parsnips (enough to equal about one of the potatoes)
1/2 cup Earth Balance, or other vegan butter
3/4 cup vegan sour cream
1 cup Pecans, chopped and toasted
salt and pepper

Peel potatoes, yams, and parsnips. Cut into roughly equal size pieces. Place vegetables into a large pot and cover with water. Salt liberally, place over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until tender (should be easily pierced with a fork). Remove from heat and drain. Return to pot and add Earth Balance and sour cream. Mash with a potato masher or electric mixer, adding some unsweetened soy milk if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste and fold in pecans. Serve with your favorite gravy.