Vegan Feast (Gluten-Free, too!)

My sister came to visit this past week.  She and I spent a few hours cooking vegan treats and recipes we'd been wanting to try.  Here is our spread...

After waiting a couple hours to become hungry again (the best thing about making vegan cookies is the ability to eat the raw batter), we feasted with Nick.  During our post-meal lethargy, we reviewed all of the recipes and rated them.  Here is what we came up with...

In the sweets department:

1st Place:  Veganomicon's Orange Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies: Slightly crunchy outside, gooey inside.  The chocolate and orange flavors really complimented each other. 

2nd Place: Oh She Glow's Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints with Raspberry Chia Seed Jam:  Sweet, salty and crunchy.  Reminded me of Samoa Girl Scout cookies. 

3rd Place: Veganomicon's Jelly Doughnut Cupcake: Last only because something had to be last... Kira loved this but I was only so-so... I am not a cupcake person nor am I a huge jam person.

In the non-sweets department:

1st Place: Chef Chloe's Black Bean Sliders: This vegan "burger" turned Kira into a veggie burger person.  And that's a big deal!  It has all the flavor of traditional Mexican food but in a burger form.  

2nd Place: Roasted Chickpeas: I had heard of this as a healthy snack and decided to try it.  I think they needed to roast a bit longer and I will do that next time.  But they were a good snack while we made the rest of the food. 

3rd Place: Edible Perspective's Cauliflower Chickpea Puree: This spread was like a light hummus.  I thought it was a bit underseasoned... Next time I'll use less cauliflower. 

And here's the recipes!  We tweaked them a bit, so I will write in what we actually used.

Orange Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies 

2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (We used Trader Joe's)

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup coconut oil
1 cups sugar
4 teaspoons ground flaxseeds
1/2 cup almond milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat two baking sheets with coconut oil.
2. Combine all dry ingredients into a large bowl, and mix with a fork to combine.
3. Add the sugar and coconut oil into another large bowl, and stir with a fork until combined. Add the almond milk, vanilla extract, flaxseed, and orange zest. Mix well with a fork.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring with a fork to combine after each addition. If it gets too dry, use your hands. Once all the ingredients are combined, fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Use a tablespoon to drop it onto the baking sheets, leaving one inch between each cookie because they'll spread.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. 

Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints with Raspberry Chia Seed Jam

1.5 cups shredded coconut
1 cup almond meal/flour

1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt

1/4 cup agave

1/4 cup coconutoil, softened

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the chia seed jam (we cheated)

1/2 cup raspberry jam

1 tbsp chia seeds

Instructions:

1. For the chia seed jam: Combine raspberry jam and chia seeds and let sit for a few minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 275 and coat a baking sheet with coconut oil.
3. In a large bowl, combine the coconut, almond flour (or meal), and salt.
4. Melt the coconut oil over a very low heat.
5. Add agave, coconut oil, and vanilla into the dry mixture and stir very well until combined. The dough will be very wet and sticky, but this is normal.
6. Grab a couple tablespoons of dough at a time with your hands and drop it onto the baking sheet. With a wet finger, press a well into the middle and lightly shape the outsides if necessary. Repeat for the rest. Fill each well with jam. The macaroons don’t spread out so there’s no need to space them far apart.
7. Bake at 275 for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 10-20 minutes (We baked for 40 minutes total) until the bottoms are lightly golden and browned, but not burned. They burn easily, so keep them on the top rack and maybe even reduce the oven heat a bit.

Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes

1 cup almond milk 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons potato starch 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup coconut oil 2/3 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract About 1/3 cup raspberry jam

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour the almond milk, vinegar and potato starch into a measuring cup and set aside.
3. If using a muffin pan, line it with paper liners (we used silicone cupcake molds)
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt. Create a well in the center if the flour to pour your wet ingredients into.
5. Stir the almond milk mixture with a fork to dissolve the cornstarch, then pour into the flour mixture. Add the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
6. Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full with batter. Place a heaping teaspoonful of jam on the center of each cupcake. You don’t need to press down in the jam or do anything else; the baking will take care of all of that and it will sink in.
7. Bake for 21 to 23 minutes. The tops should be firm.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on wire racks

Black Bean Burgers

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 onion, finely chopped 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced or shredded (about ½ cup) ½ cup frozen corn kernals ½ cup cornmeal ½ cup breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 teaspoon sea salt ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro ¼ cup water

Instructions:

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onions and let cook until tender and slightly caramelized, about 20 minutes. Transfer onions to a large bowl. Reserve skillet for later use.
2. Add beans, carrots, cornmeal, breadcrumbs, chili powder, salt, cilantro, and water to the bowl of onions. Use a large spoon or your hands to mash it all together. If the mixture is too dry to hold together, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Using your hands, form the bean mixture into patties, to match the size of your slider buns. In the reserved nonstick skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat, and pan-fry patties about 3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and crisp. Add more oil to the skillet as needed. Drain patties on paper towels.
4. After this, I baked mine in the oven for 10 minutes because I found the insides of the burgers to be a bit too moist

Roasted Chickpeas

1 (15 ounce) can of chickpeas

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of pepper

1 pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Drain and rinse chickpeas
3. In a bowl, combine chickpeas with all other ingredients
4. Spread out on pan and bake for 15-20 minutes

Cauliflower Chickpea Puree

1 head cauliflower, core removed + chopped 1 can cooked chickpeas 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk 1 tablespoon Earth Balance buttery spread 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried basil 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 3 cloves garlic, pressed

1 pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Steam the cauliflower until very tender (15 minutes or so).
2. Place in a blender or food processor with all other ingredients, starting with 1/2 cup milk.
3. Blend or process until smooth.
4. Taste and add more salt/pepper/spices if desired and blend again

Enjoy!