Veganized Omni Recipe Review
This was a super easy recipe from allrecipes to veganize. I used Earth Balance for the butter, EnerG Egg Replacer for the eggs, and an almond milk-apple cider vinegar mixture for the buttermilk. The dough was easy to work with (for a refrigerated, rolled dough - not as easy as drop cookies). Instead of all raisins, I used 1/3 chopped dried cherries, 1/3 dried blueberries, and 1/3 raisins. I would also reduce the amount of sugar added to the filling, it was too sweet.
The recipe indicates it will yield 21 cookies. I cut them out with a drinking glass and could fit nine cookies on each tray. I didn't feel like waiting for a final tray of only a couple extra, so stopped after the third tray (27 cookies). I may have gotten more cookies because my glass diameter was a different size, but the cookies seemed plenty big enough to me. It also may be because I purposefully tried to roll the dough on the thin side. One thing I don't like about filled cookie is when the dough is thick and you have to bite through two layers of it. I also baked them one less minute because I wanted the dough to be infinitesimally undercooked so they'd be more pleasant to bite through.
I brought them to work today. My coworker volunteered telling me about how good they were. People liked them. Because you have to roll and cut two circles for each layer, it takes a lot of flour and time. I wouldn't want to have to make a large quantity of them, but a batch or two is worth the effort.
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made for: gifts; December 2010
Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
The recipe is from Recipiezaar (now food.com) and is another recipe that's easy to veganize. I use EnerG Egg Replacer for the eggs. I haven't tried flax. The recipe needs vanilla, I think, so I add some in when measuring out the water for the egg replacer. If you forget, as I sometimes so, then make an icing and add it in there.
There's a Better-than-Cinnabons on VeggieBoards, only with 1/2 cup more flour. Don't make that one. When it's humid at my house, the recipe barely takes the full four cups; in fact, I add 3-1/2 cups and then figure out how much of the difference to add as I mix. I tried it with 4-1/2 cups flour before and it was a big no-go.
I combine the ingredients in a slightly different order than the recipe. I warm the milk, sprinkle in a smidgen of powdered sugar and a packet (1/4 ounce) of activated dry yeast and whirl it with my coffee frother. While it's proofing, I cream the granulated sugar and margarine, then beat in the proofed yeast, eggs, and salt at the same time. Once that's all mixed, I beat in the flour.
After the dough is rolled and I'm adding the cinnamon sugar (I use extra cinnamon) and pecans, I smear the dough with EB, then sprinkle it with flour, then with cinnamon sugar, then with more flour, then with the pecans. A bit of flour helps keep the ingredients in place.
The recipe makes 12 cinnamon rolls. I usually end up with smaller rolls, and bake it for 7 to 8 minutes instead of 10 minutes. They're quite popular for holiday breakfasts and better if slightly under-baked. I don't usually ice them as it makes them harder to easily transport. I usually just toss them in a ziplock and they're good to go. If you do make icing/frosting and use EB, don't add salt - it gets too salty.
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made for: end-of-year co-worker food & Christmas brunch; December 2010
French Pastry Pie Crust
Dang, this is easy to make and easy to use! I've been playing with pie crust recipes for a while. I even posted an amalgamation of recipes here. They're all complicated. Not this one. None of the ingredients need to be chilled beforehand and the dough sits in the refrigerator for only 10 minutes. It's easy to use. I'm really pleased. I am going to make this crust from now on.
Only add 3/4 teaspoon salt (instead of 1-1/2 teaspoons) - otherwise it will be way too salty.
I substituted 2 tablespoons of shortening with 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance just 'cause.
I used a flax egg.
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made for: Christmas Eve dinner; December 2010
Blueberry-Raspberry Pie
I brushed the bottom of the pie shell with a thick EnerG Egg Replacer blend, but I forgot to sprinkle sugar on the top. It's a really tasty pie. The recipe calls for fresh berries, but I used frozen. I thawed them first, then drained them. The frozen blueberries held shape whereas the frozen raspberries didn't, but it doesn't seem to hurt the aesthetics of the pie. I started to measure the berries, but stopped when I realized it works out, roughly, to 2 (12-ounce) bags of blueberries and 1 (12-ounce) bag of raspberries. The recipe is 3 blueberries : 1 raspberry and the way I made it is 2 blueberries : 1 raspberry, but there's just enough sugar in the recipe to have a greater proportion of the tarter raspberries. It jelled waaay better than I expected it to.
eta: This is my favorite pie, ever.
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made for: Christmas Eve dinner; December 2010
Apricot-Nut Drop Cookies
The cookie is flaky and crisp but still soft. It's a nice combination. I added way more than a cup of chopped dried apricots, which seemed to make the cookies not stick together as well, but the big taste of apricot in each bite is worth it.
butter-flavored shortening: I subbed regular shortening. You could sub Earth Balance and not add the additional salt.
egg: I subbed a flax egg.
milk: I subbed Mimic Creme, because I had some left over from another recipe.
pecans: I subbed walnuts. I usually sub the other way, but apricots and walnuts are magic together.
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made for: friend who is fixing my computer; January 2011