I have recently had the opportunity to taste some recipes from this little gem....the verdict? Let's just say after I tasted the Black Metal Forest Brownies I rushed to Amazon and got a copy of it delivered to me quicker than the plate of brownies disappeared...ok so maybe not that fast...It's all vegan and from what I have tasted, downright yummy! It has a little bit of everything in it.
Now, my theory on cookbooks is you can NEVER have too many...D, not so much. He protested this purchase just a tiny bit stating I have 5,000 cookbooks and we are running out of room and I especially didn't need another vegan cookbook. His opinion on my purchase changed after he bit into a Chai Berry Muffin (I may or may not have chosen this one to wow him based on my knowledge of his love for chai tea), and he "couldn't believe it was vegan". Sheesh, I tell ya! Some people hear the words vegetarian or vegan and run the other way...give it a chance, I promise...with the right chef/baker, vegan can be tasty. I swear people think I eat bland "weird" food all the time. Granted, some vegans do eat boring meals, but so do some omnivores! :)
Anyhoo, my first recipe I've made from this was the Chai Berry Muffins, I just used blueberries instead of mixed berries. I've made these twice now, the first time I followed the recipe to a "T" the second time I made modifications (see parentheses). They were good both ways, if I had to choose, I'd say keep them accordingly, or at least don't sub agave for sugar.
You must try these!
3/4 cup soy or rice milk (if adding agave instead of sugar, after you boil and steep the tea bags in the 3/4 cup only use 1/2 cup or else there will be too much moisture. It typically evaporates upon boiling/steeping but just in case)
2 black tea bags
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I subbed 1 cup whole wheat)
2/3 cup sugar (2/3 cup agave MINUS 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of ground white pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil (1/3 cup applesauce)
Preheat oven to 400 (375 if you use agave).
Heat the sou milk on the stove or in a microwave until almost boiling, add the tea bags and steep for 3-4 minutes. Remove the tea bags and let cool. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, salt, and pepper. Stir in the frozen berries. In a small bow, whisk the ground flaxseeds and water together. Add this, the tea mixture and the oil to the dry flour mixture. Stir just until mixed; the batter will be lumpy. Scoop the batter into the muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes (check after 15 if using agave), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 1 minute before removing from the pan. Makes 12 muffins. These are SO yummy.
Another favorite I have made from the book so far is the Black Metal Forest Brownies. If you like brownies, or chocolate for that matter, you MUST try these. I'd say you must try these BEFORE the Chai Berry Muffins. Yes. They are that good. I don't like cherry pie and this recipe includes cherry pie filling and my oh my you don't even know it's there. I have NOT modified this recipe yet.
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
2 cups sugar (YIKES!)
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I recommend the ghirardelli dark chocolate chips for this recipe)
1/3 cup cherry pie filling (trust me on this)
extra chocolate chips to sprinkle on top.
Prehead oven to 350. Line a 9x9-inch pan with parchment paper or grease lightly.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together in a small bow. Stir in the ground flaxseeds. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, water and vanilla. Stir the dry ingredients ingot he wet; the batter will be thick. Fold in the chocolate chips and scoop into the prepared pan. Drop the cherry pie filling by the tablespoonful on top of the batter and use a knife to swirl it in. sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on top.
bake until the sides are set up- the middle will look kind of wet and crackled- about 35 minutes.
Enjoy!
It's a good thing I am VERY generous when I bake. I give about 90% of it away and keep very little. I made these brownies, ate one, then took the rest to work and didn't eat another one. I make cookies, and mail them to friends or deliver them to friends around here and send them to work with D.
Lastly, these aren't from the book, but I thought I'd share a little secret with you for the most AMAZING chocolate chip cookies in the entire world. Follow the recipe on the back of the nestle tollhouse bag except use 4 bags, yes FOUR WHOLE BAGS, of chocolate chips to one recipe. I promise you, you won't regret it and your tastebuds will be in heaven. I learned this trick from a friend. I have always loved her chocolate chip cookies and could never replicate them. Apparently my 2 bags of chocolate chips wasn't enough. Four is the magic number here. By the way, this literally made me a million cookies. I like to bake a couple then roll the rest into balls, line them up closely, but not touching, on a baking sheet and stick them in the freezer until frozen solid. Then stick them in a bag, voila! Fresh cookie dough whenever you'd like a couple! :)
ENJOY!
You'd think I'm going to come back to California at least 20lbs heavier, but as I mentioned, I'm quite generous, I don't eat a decent amount of what I bake :)
