The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur
Posted by intheend on Nov 21, 2010 · Member since May 2009 · 283 posts
I just got this book and am so excited. It has an awesome layout and the pictures are fantastic. I made the Carrot Cake cookies and they're already gone. It was a sandwich cookie that had cream cheese frosting in the middle. Oh so good! There's so many other recipes I want to try, like the White Russian Cookies. There's a couple of different chocolate chip recipes (I have my eye on the Soft baked chocolate chip cookies) and things I've never heard of like Kourabiedes and Jam Kolaches. Then there are cookies that sound totally decadent like the Cookies 'n' Cream Cookies, Chocolate marizpan ravioli, and Peanut butter cup cookies.
I saw this book on the shelf last month and I should have bought it. I stumbled across her blog a while back, and didn't even know she had a book out. Stoked to read some reviews!
I just bought this book and can't wait to try out the recipes. It is a beautiful book with beautiful cookie photos.
I knew I'd see you in here, Saskia! Let me know your thoughts on the chocolate chip cookie ;)
I don't have the book but the hypnosis cookies are really neat looking! Let me know if they taste as good as they look :)
This is a lovely book with photos of everything and it's hardback, which makes it easier to prop open while you're cooking.
I only got the book the other day but I've already made two of the recipes - one of those three times! I don't have the book with me at the mo' so I'm not 100% sure of the names.
The first one I tried was the Bakery-Style Double Chocolate Cookies (or similar name). They made MASSIVE cookies and my word, they were both rich and extremely moreish. Kelly suggests getting your hands into the dough to shape it, but I found the recipe produced more of a thick batter than a dough and it was way too sticky to use hands.
The first time I made the cookies as per the recipe, the second I replaced half the oil with applesauce, the third I had run out of cocoa powder so I just used the same amount in flour. Each time, the cookies baked up brilliantly, both in taste and texture. A firm favourite with me already!
The second recipe was the chocolate chip cookies with a hint of maple. The dough was rather dry and crumbly and I had to add a good tablespoon of soya milk to get it to clump together (Kelly suggests this might be needed).
I only baked the cookies for 8 mins and although they were only a little golden around the edges by that stage, they were still a bit too dry inside for my liking. They tasted quite nice (though not a patch on the double chocolate ones) and I'll make them again, though next time I'll either add more soya milk or bake for even less time. (Oh, and I have to say I couldn't taste even a hint of maple, in the finished cookies or the raw dough.)
White Russian Cookies: Coffee and Kahlua in a sweet, soft cookie form, with a dollop of Kahlua icing and chocolate shavings for a subtle mocha taste. Next time I will use espresso powder and an extra tablespoon or two of Kahlua for a bolder taste. I doubled the icing because there wasn't enough. These cookies were the first to go when I brought them in a cookie tray to a Christmas gathering. Easy to make too.
Soft peanut butter chocolate chip cookies - Love these. Of couse, this combo is hard to beat! The texture is great and they stay nice and soft.
Almond butter cookies - These are awesome. Seriously. I've made them with almond butter, hazelnut butter, and peanut butter - and every variation is amazing. This is my favorite cookie in the book so far.
Soft baked chocolate chip cookies - Very good. They are definitely soft, maybe a little too soft...I let mine bake for an extra minute or two the second time around.
I made the soft baked chocolate chip cookies and didn't like them. Actually, no one was a fan. I felt like I could taste the molasses too much but I suspect it may be because all I have is blackstrap. What did you think about the taste? Something seemed off.
Chewy banana-banana cookies - I added the chocolate chips in these because I couldn't help myself. These are so delicious!! I loved the texture because they aren't crunchy.
Glazed apple cider cookies - Yessssss. So good! The apple taste really comes through in these due to the apple butter and cider. These would be great to take to a potluck or give as a gift when it's cold.
Autumn cloud pumpkin chocolate chip cookies - These are really cakey which I don't mind but the taste is awful. There's just nothing going on in these that stands out.
Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies-Good, but not amazing
Lemon's Dark Chocolate Truffle Cookies- these are amazing. I've made them three times already, everyone loves them. They are so good and a great gift cookie, I think.
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies- Great flavor, but they look nothing like the picture. She must have used a cookie press for the photo or something. They stay on the exact shape that they are plopped down in. It says to flatten slightly, but mine didn't spread at all, and looked like little drop biscuits. I had to bake them longer, probably Because of altitude. I will make them again, though, because they had a nice, light flavor.
Orange Vanilla Dream Bars- These were gross. My 5 year old wouldn't eat them. They just tasted way too sweet. They were slightly better after being in the fridge for a day, but I still don't think I'll make them again.
English Toffee Squares- These were bland, and tasted nothing like toffee. Just pretty boring.
Iced Oatmeal Cookies- These were yum. A delicate cookie w/ a drizzle of caramely frosting. Easy to make. I'll make them again.
I was gifted this cookbook by my sweet friend, bgs! So far I've only had the chance to make the Rice Crispy Treats, but my whole family thought they were really tasty. They go together quickly too. They are very sticky/gooey, so don't forget to lightly grease the plate you're going to store them on. :)
Cherry pie bars - These were phenomenal. I used a jar of sour cherries from TJs since that's what I had and it worked out great. This is the ideal alternative to a pie when you're too lazy to roll out a crust.
Cranberry Almond Cookies:
These are very tasty! I made mine a little thicker, so they came out a bit on the cakey side, but oh so good! The only thing I did differently was to use roasted almond pieces.I think these would also taste nice with a light lemon or orange frosting, or with a chocolate drizzle.