Thursday, April 17, 2008

Three Cookies

I baked three batches of cookies recently. All were delicious. One was easy to prepare, and the other two required a bit more skill, time, and patience.

Cookie No. 1 - the easiest and probably my favorite.

No Bake Peanut Butter & Popcorn Crispies




In a medium heavy saucepan over low heat combine:
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup brown rice syrup
2 cups cornflakes
1 cup popped popcorn
1 cup toasted shredded coconut

Bring just to a boil, stirring constantly until combined, then add in the cornflakes, popcorn, and coconut. Turn heat to very low. Drop big spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and let cool. (You really couldn’t taste the coconut in these cookies. I think you could sub in cornflake or popcorn crumbs instead and save your coconut for another treat.)

These were so peanutty delicious with a fun popcorn flavor and crispy flakes for a great texture contrast.


Cookie No. 2 – medium difficulty, and my new favorite non-chocolate cookie.

Citrus Ribbon Cookies



The only veganizing needed for this recipe is to replace the egg. You should only us Ener-G egg replacer. Anything else will interfere with the delicate flavor of the citrus. As you can see from my picture, I used a flax egg and that was wrong wrong wrong.

A bit of skill is required to evenly divide your dough into equal thirds, flavor and tint it, and then pat it into even layers in a loaf pan. Your cookies will turn out prettier and be much easier to mold if you wait to make these until your son returns your clear glass loaf pan instead of prepping them “blind” in a metal bread pan as I had to do; hence, the rather uneven layers.


Oh, well, I still couldn’t wait to bake these. Here’s how they looked after slicing and ready to go into the oven.



Even though the flax flavor was strong, once I got past that (which I really didn’t mind) the citrus flavors, layer by layer, came through very nicely. These cookies would be perfect for bridal or baby showers, Mother’s Day, or any sort of spring fling party. Oh, the cookie at the front of the plate was made with leftover dough all mushed together. You could just make all tie-dye cookies!




Cookie No. 3 – so time consuming and so messy I vowed never to make them again. Until I tasted them.

MSV Turtle Shortbread Wedges



I guess I actually made Goober Shortbread Wedges because I used peanuts instead of pecans (I’m not a fan). These cookies are insanely delicious. My whole family went crazy for them. I have dreamed of making a vegan Snickers, my favorite candy bar that I can’t remember the last time I tasted. These cookies are probably as close as I could ever hope to get. You definitely should make these, but there are a few points to consider.

1. It took much longer to make these than the recipe seems to indicate. The candy topping takes 30 minutes or more to reach 300 degrees; the recipe says 5 – 7 minutes, then until done. I hardly ever make candy so I wasn’t expecting it to take so long.

2. The recipe states that when the cookie is finally done, you should wait 20 minutes before cutting into wedges. When I took these pictures it was nearly midnight and I had waited an hour, so I had to go ahead and cut. But you can see it’s still not completely set.

3. It will take you a good half hour to clean up. Hot candy cools and solidifies on anything it touches and is extremely difficult to remove. You will have to clean up rock-hard glued-on clumps of sticky sugar from the stovetop, spoon rest, pot you cooked in, sink, countertop, floor, and anywhere else it may have dripped. (I’m still finding spots on the floor!)

4. My biggest issue when I read through the recipe was which type of baking pan to use. The recipe said to use an 8-inch round cake pan. I couldn’t imagine turning out or sliding out delicate shortbread with a soft topping. I decided to use a disposable 8-1/2 inch pan I had on hand. To remove the cookie, I cut the sides of the pan and folded them out flat, then carefully slid the whole cookie out. A cheesecake pan would work even better, as my pan was so full with the liquidy candy topping I was nervous moving it in and out of the oven.

But like I said, it’s definitely worth the time and mess to make these goodies at least once!



15 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

LOVE all the cookie varieties you've been baking lately!! But I must say, I think that the No-Bake Peanut Butter & Popcorn Crispies are my favorite (and apparently they're YOUR favorite, as well!)

Those citrus cookies are so vibrant, and reminiscent of spring - gorgeous!

EVERY goodie in 'My Sweet Vegan' is worth making again and again, no matter how time-consuming it may be, to make :0)

Anonymous said...

I can go for those No-Bake Peanut Butter & Popcorn Crispies right about now!! I love the combination. =)

Sam said...

Those layered citrus cookies are amazing! They remind me of the coconut neapolitan candy I used to eat when I was younger. And the shortbread? It's calling my name for sure...

Maggie M. said...

Ooo those look great! I want to make the no-bake ones. So simple, and they look so yummy...

Anonymous said...

oh yum! your photos make these treats hard to resist!

JENNA said...

cookie heaven. i need to make cookies now. my diet will have to start tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

i will love those cookies yum! i want cookies now! :)

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

i love you. lots. bring on the cookies!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

All three types look delicious... and I am planning to make the first ones STAT!

Rose said...

Oh wow, all these cookies look wonderful! I was especially intrigued by the rainbow colored one.

Anonymous said...

mmm... they all look good, but those tri-color ones look especially spring-y!

Carol said...

Your cookie recipes are making me hungry. I live in Australia and some of those ingredients are a mystery to me but I'm sure I can find substitutes. You may like to look at my daughter Suzy Spoon's new vegan website http://irondeficientchef.com
All the best, Carol

Jackie said...

Thanks for the great recipes. I must try the No Bake Peanut Butter & Popcorn Crispies as they sound nice and easy and we just received a shipment of the organic brown rice syrup at the health shop I now work at part-time.

Vegan_Noodle said...

This makes me want to make cookies!! I have stayed away from from the turtle wedges for the same reason... candy making is not a skill I possess. And I don't have a candy thermometer. But dang they look good...

Sheree' said...

How did I miss this post? These cookies are awesome! I am making the no bake ones tonight. Oh my, oh my!!!