"Spicy Hot Chocolate" Chip Cookies

There are few flavor combinations that are as intriguing and exciting as cayenne and chocolate... 

        During the summer I spent a much needed week in Asheville, NC eating and drinking myself silly.   My boyfriend and I spent our evenings gluttonously devouring awesome vegetarian food and great craft beer.   We really lived it up every night, which didn’t exactly result in us waking up feeling refreshed in the morning.  Luckily Asheville has some excellent coffee shops.  One that we particularly liked... well actually really loved, was the Battery Park Book Exchange.  If you are ever in Asheville you need to go spend a couple of hours (or a couple of days) in this place.  It is a two story coffee and wine bar that is filled, and when I say filled I mean crowded with books.  There are these little sitting areas placed in little rooms amongst the books.  It felt like we were hanging out in the attic of the most interesting person in the world.  Not to mention, this is place is dog friendly!  So you’re surrounded by books, drinking amazing coffee, and hanging out with your dog... or someone else’s dog. 

        Their coffee menu was very unique, it was unlike anything you could get in Augusta.  I tried their Doberman which is a spicy mocha made with dark chocolate, mexican chocolate, and topped with cayenne pepper.  Just typing that made me want one!  It was one of those lattes that you never want finish, but you end up finishing it in less than ten minutes because it is that good. 

            So as a tribute to the Doberman and to wonderful Asheville, I give you "Spicy Hot Chocolate" Chip Cookies.  These cookies have luscious chocolate flavor that is complimented well by the warmth of cinnamon and the subtle burn of the cayenne.  Of all of the cookies that I have made these have been the most addicting. 

What you need:

• 2 sticks cold and cubed unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips 
• 1 cup of white chocolate chips 
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar plus 2 tsp cinnamon for topping 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add eggs and beat until well-incorporated, then add the vanilla and briefly mix 
3. Beat in cocoa powder, cayenne, and cinnamon
4.  Mix in flour, salt and baking powder until just combined. Gently fold in remaining chocolate chips... using clean hands to mix the dough in a large bowl  works well. 
5. Using a greased tablespoon or a cookie scoop measure out 1oz (2tbsp) cookies. This measurement yields about 20 cookies.  I like to measure out my cookies and pop them into the freezer for about twenty minutes. This makes it easier to shape the cookies into rounded balls, and the freezing also results in a moister cookie in the end. However you don’t have to freeze  your cookies. 
6. Before baking, gently roll the tops of your cookies in the cinnamon sugar mixture. This gives the cookies a nice crunchy topping similar to a snicker doodle. (I feel that it is important to mention that this recipe was slightly of inspired by the Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Snicker Doodle recipe in Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar)
7. Bake for 16-20 minutes until edges become firm 
8. Cool on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes and enjoy! 

Spicy music to bake to...

I hate to admit it, but I think that I am a closet Black Keys fan... and I guess that this was my coming out... 

Anti- Fall... Raspberry Lemon Scones

Today I was seriously craving a nice scone to go with my coffee.  I really have a super soft spot for Starbucks’ Cranberry Orange scones, and I seriously considered just going out and buying one for breakfast.  But come on!!  I am trying to perfect my baking skills and simultaneously write a super awesome baking blog, so buying a scone would just be plain cheating!!  So I decided to bake some scones.  I love Fall almost just as much as I love baking with Fall ingredients (ie pumkin); however I fear that my blog might get a little monotonous if I spent the entire months of October and November baking with pumpkin.  (Plus baking over 200 pumpkin cookies in a week can cause one to have a temporary aversion to pumpkin).  I decided that today I would bake the Anti-Fall Scone, and I felt that Cranberry Orange was still a little too fall friendly. 

My raspberry lemon scones were fresh, tart, bright, and just screamed “SUMMER!” However in my opinion they are pretty much perfect for anytime of year because they are awesome and pretty healthy (well healthy in the world of scones). 

Fresh out of the oven... notice the exciting pink color of the berries. 

Moist... delicious... berry... goodness! 

What you need for the scones:

• 2 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 large lemon (for zest and juice)
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 large eggs (I’ve never mentioned this before, but I always use large brown cage free eggs in all of my recipes. I really think that they taste better and result in a better product. Not to mention they’re slightly more ethical than regular cheap eggs)
  

What you need for the glaze:

• 1cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Combine 2 cups flour, brown sugar, baking powder and kosher salt in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Add chilled butter and cut into flour mixture (using a pastry cutter. If you don’t have one you can use a a fork or whisk, but make sure you’re cutting the dough and not simply mixing) until butter resembles pea-sized pieces.
3. In a small bowl, combine raspberries, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup flour. Stir until berries are well coated with the flour, then add to flour and butter mixture and stir to combine. Try to avoid breaking your berries too much, but a little breakage will be alright. 
4. In a separate large mixing bowl, use a whisk to beat together yogurt and egg until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. 
5. Using a greased 1/4 cup measuring cup scoop out rounded scones onto a greased baking sheet leaving a little over 1 inch between each scone. This should yield about 10 large scones. (For triangular scones you could also kneed your dough and roll it out onto a floured surface. Roll your dough out in a circle about 3/4 inch thick and cut into triangles.)
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. 
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling rack for about five minutes. 
8. Drizzle with or dip in the lemon glaze. 

Music to bake to...  Trust me its not a weird song about lemons, or berries, or summer. 

For the past month I have not been able to get enough Real Estate! This cd has been on repeat in my car for what feels like forever! I believe the whole album is on youtube... lucky you! Its awesome to bake to, or just to listen to! 

Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

      I am seriously excited.... its officially the time of year when I get to eat PUMPKIN FLAVORED EVERYTHING!!  Obviously many people share my enthusiasm for pumpkin season, because as soon as Libby’s Pumpkin Puree hit the shelves of my local supermarket it pretty much sold out. I have been wanting to make pumpkin cookies since summer, but I had to wait until the second week of fall (which I think was too long of a wait) to make some deliciously soft pumpkin cookies. In hind sight I think I should have been really cool and made my own pumpkin puree, but I didn’t so what can you do? 

     I baked my first batch of (vegan) pumpkin cookies the day I got my hands on some canned pumpkin. They were soft like cake, and I some how found a way to pair them with every meal... cup of coffee...glass of water.  They were so delicious I decided to bake over 100 of them.  Well I didn’t really decide to bake 100, I was actually commissioned (like I got paid, yay!) to bake 100 cookies for a local art auction.  Just let me tell you baking 100 cookies sounded pretty easy... it wasn’t.  Although it was really messy and nerve wracking at times, I feel like I learned a lot about baking, about cleaning, and about my awkward inclination to lick my fingers (which I know is not cool when you’re baking for the public).  So here you go, Spiced Pumpkin Cookies!!

This is what about 50 cookies looks like... imagine 100!

Drizzled glaze... it looked really pretty when it hardened. 

What you need for the cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spiced glaze:

• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground clove 

What to do:

1. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger and salt in a mixing bowl
2. Using a hand mixer, beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended 
3. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth 
4. Gradually beat in flour mixture 
5. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets
6. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm (15 was plenty of time for my cookies). 
7. Transfer to wire racks and allow time to cool completely. 
8. Glaze!! You can glaze these cookies however you like, but in my opinion the glaze really makes the cookie. I enjoyed them best with a lot of glaze spread over the top using a spoon. I used a piping bag to drizzle the glaze on the cookies that I baked for the commission. Its really up to you though. 
9. EAT THOSE COOKIES!!  

Music to bake to: 

This recipe was modified from the Old Fashion Pumpkin Cookie recipe found on  www.verybestbaking.com

Key Lime Pie Cookies

      Once my grandmother found out about my baking blog she and I began discussing cookie recipes. She told me that she loved key lime pie and would love to try a key lime pie cookie (I think that its because she lives in Florida, but who knows). So of course I promised that I would try to turn that classic pie into a cookie.

      I began to look up some recipes, and I was amazed to discover the abundance of key lime cookie recipes that are on the web. I read one blog where the writer referred to themselves as a “lime head!”  I’m not really sure what a “lime head” is, but I imagine this person might have an oddly shaped green head.  Regardless of what their cleaver nick name is really referring to, I know that I for one am no lime head.  I have never in my life been a fan of key lime pie. I remember eating key lime pie as a kid. I would some how manage to eat the whipped topping and the crust and almost completely avoid the tart lime filing. Still I wanted to stand up to the k.l.p cookie challenge! 


      I believe what I have come up with tastes a lot like the original, and true lovers of the pie will appreciate this cookie. I baked a moist key lime sugar cookie topped with royal icing that sorta of mimics a meringue topping.

Not the prettiest icing job ever...

What you need:

• 1 stick of butter softened at room temperature 
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup Key lime or other lime juice (I just used plain ol’ lime juice)
• 2 teaspoons lime zest 
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. 
3. Add egg and mix until creamy. Beat in lime juice and zest just until combined.
4. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt; mix well. 
5. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. (I measured out the dough balls with a table spoon. Chilling the dough for an hour can make this process easier). Only bake about 8 cookies at a time.
6. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden. Transfer to wire rack. Let them cool completely!!!! (Your icing will melt off if you don’t let them completely cool, but if you don’t want them iced then you can eat them warm) 

Royal Icing

There are several ways that you can go about making royal icing... trust me google this and see for yourself.  I chose to use, what cookie enthusiasts would call, “the egg whites method.” 

What You Need: 

• 2 egg whites
• 2 tsp of fresh lemon juice (No you can’t sub lime juice for them lemon juice. That would be cool considering we are making lime cookies, but the acid in the limes will cause you to have running icing) 
• 4 cups of confectioners sugar (some recipes wanted less, but I wanted a stiffer icing)

Directions: 

1. Using a handheld mixer, whip together the eggs and lemon juice until well incorporated.  
2. Next mix in powdered sugar, mix until creamy. There you have it... Royal Icing!! 

I folded 1 tsp of green sprinkles into the icing to add a pop of color. You could also try using a little lime zest. I think that would look very nice. 

Music to bake to... 

Yummiest Vegan Banana Bread Eveerr!!!

      I am seriously beginning to think that buying bananas is a waste of money.  I like to buy the organic kind which seem to ripen (notice I didn’t say rot) a lot faster.  I could just be imagining this, because now that I’m thinking about it I feel like I have heard several people complain (when discussing generic grocery store bananas), “AAAGGHHH!!! I don’t know why I buy bananas (of the regular variety)!!! They’re always rotten!!!!” 

      Organic or not the basic theme of over ripe bananas seems to be pretty universal to me.  I’m sure you’re reading this right now and you’re starting to think about those black, slimy bananas that are sadly slumped on your counter! I really hate eating over ripe bananas raw, because something about the texture makes them really hard to swallow. However they are a very versatile ingredient to bake with.  

      Seriously this whole over ripe banana thing is what really turned me into the baking monster I am today. When ever my bananas start to turn black I throw them in the freezer. My freezer is full of frozen bananas! I admit that it might seem little strange, but freezing and thawing bananas causes them to have a moist and slimy texture which works well as a binder when baking. This banana bread was the first banana recipe I ever tried out, and I have yet to find a recipe that trumps this one. Its moist and sweet and absolutely wonderful!! I love to eat it warm with a little dab margarine and a cup of coffee. Pure bliss! 

I really love my cute green stove!

Gooey banana goodness! 

This is a modified recipe from Veganomicon (aka the Bible)

This recipe takes about 1hr 30 min (but it all depends on how fast you can mash your bananas!)

What you need: 

• 2 large or 3 small very ripe bananas (I like to use three)
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup cane sugar (I use 1/4 cup cane sugar and 1/4 cup of brown sugar) 
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar (you could also use honey, I’ve done both)
• 2 cup all-purpose flour (or you could use 1 cup AP flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour to make your bread fiberific)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon all spice 
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnut (optional) 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

1. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas really well. Add the sugar, applesauce, oil, and molasses, and whisk briskly to incorporate.
2. Sift in the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined. If you're using chocolate chips or nuts (I prefer nuts, but in the pictures posted I used chocolate chips), fold them in here.
3. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. (You can also make this batter into muffins! I have done this several times and they are a hit! Simply pour dough into lined and greased muffin tins, then reduce baking time to 18-25 minutes.)
4. When the breads done the top should be lightly browned and a knife inserted through the center should come out clean.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack. 

Music to bake to: Harry Belafonte- "Banana Boat Song"

Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies:

VEGAN COOKIES!!

Many hours or my life have been spent studying in the Barnes in Noble Cafe.  Any one who has been to a B&N cafe knows that their pastry case, in all of its Cheese Cake Factory glory, pretty much trumps most of the pastry cases in other commercial coffee shops.   As a vegan during my entire first year of college I was forbidden from trying the egg and dairy filled wonders that taunted me from behind the glass.  Forced to neglect what had become an overbearing sweet tooth, I found myself gluttonously fantasizing about things that I could not have.  However, after reverting back to a lacto-ovo vegetarian my sweet tooth began to subside, and the B&N pastry case began to tempt me less and less.  The only thing that I have ever tried from their pastry cases was the deliciously oversized peanut butter cup cookies.  For a brief moment I felt that all of my ridiculous vegan pining was justified, because this was one tasty cookie. 

With the exception of a handful of items (and when I say handful I mean the things that you could literally fit into one hand.  For example maybe a bagel and if you’re lucky, I mean really lucky, a muffin), the baked goods sold in corporate coffee houses have never been too vegan friendly.  I may still not be vegan by definition, but this fact still upsets me.  I love incorporating vegan foods into my diet, and with my passion for baking, of course I feel compelled to come up with delicious vegan alternatives to all of my favorite non-vegan foods.  

Although these cookies may not be an exact replica of the awesome peanut butter cookies from B&N, they could potentially make you forget those cookies ever existed!

On a side note: I work at Rooster's Beak, a locally owned restaurant located in downtown Augusta, and it is not particularly vegetarian (let alone vegan) friendly.  The owners of the place really love their meat, eggs, and dairy, but when I took these cookies to work they absolutely loved them!  I waited until they had finished their cookies before I dropped the vegan bomb on them, and they were baffled when they found out that vegan baked goods could be so awesome and delicious. Now they are considering incorporating vegan friendly deserts into their menu!! Hopefully I can go from being the Lil' (broke) Baker to the Rooster Baker (with a hefty pay check)!! 

What you’ll need: 

• 2 sticks ‘cold and cubed’ unsalted vegan margarine (Make sure you use sticks and not margarine from a tub. The sticks have more water content which will result in a moister cookie. I prefer to use Earth Balance margarine.)
• 3/4 cup raw cane sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar - lightly packed
• 3 tsp of Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked together with 4 Tbsp of water (You can use whatever egg replacer you would like. Flax seed would also work very well in this recipe. Just make sure you are making the equivalent of two eggs.)
• 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour- sifted to avoid clumps (add more if the dough is too sticky, or if the dough is too dry add a little water 1Tbsp at a time until you’ve reached the right consistency. The dough should feel something like cookie dough from a tube.)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 tsp baking powder 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups of vegan dark chocolate chips or carbo chips 
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons of creamy organic peanut butter (Its crucial that you use peanut butter that contains peanuts and nothing else. Additives such as salt or sugar can create an imbalance in flavor. Not to mention that peanut butter made purely from peanuts is much healthier for you.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large bowl use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add egg replacer and beat until well incorporated.
2. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Using a icing spatula or your hands gently fold in the peanut butter, swirling it into the batter. You do not want to completely mix the peanut butter into the dough, hence the peanut butter swirl. (If you do choose to use your hands during this step spray them with non cook spray. You don’t want cookie dough covering every inch of your hands... well maybe you do, but for the sake of this recipe lets say that you don’t.)
4. After the all of the ingredients are well incorporated divide out your cookie dough into 2oz portions (1/4 of a cup). You should get about 16 cookies from this recipe. You can always increase the size of your cookies to 4oz to get 12 monster cookies. 
5. Gently form the dough into balls, and then place them onto a large plate. Place your cookies in the freezer for about ten minutes, allowing them to become slightly hard. I find that my cookies come out more moist when I chill and partially freeze my dough. However, if you are feeling super anxious about your cookies you can skip this step and proceed to step 6.
6. Place your cookies on a lightly greased sheet pan (you can line it with parchment paper if you wish). Be sure to space out your cookies because they will grow. I recommend baking 6/8 at a time. 
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-23 minutes until very lightly browned. I wouldn’t recommend baking your cookies any longer than 25 minutes, because no one likes an over baked cookie. 
8. Let your cookies cool on the pan for about two minute on the pan before you transfer them to the cooling rack. This will help avoid breakage. Once on the cooling rack allow your cookies to cool for ten minutes for optimum flavor. Serve immediately or store in an air tight container. (If you don’t own a cooling rack you can always flip your cookies upside down on a plate to cool. Don’t leave your cookies on the hot pan because the bottoms will burn.)

Once your cookies have cooled EAT THEM!! then store the left overs in an air tight container. They should maintain optimum freshness for about  4/5 days.