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.