Orange Spice Cookies - Light, Vegan, & Gluten Free

VegFest was a couple weeks ago and I had the pleasure of helping Laurie Sadowski set up her demo and 200+ samples each for two gluten free baking demos. Today, I thought I'd look through her cookbook I picked up at Vegfest  "The Allergy Free Cook Bakes Cakes & Cookies".  I found a recipe for Orange Spice Cookies that looked nice and I had most of the ingredients.  As usual, I scanned the ingredients and decided what I was going to use for the ingredients I didn't have on hand.  It's Sunday and very cold. I went for a nice long walk today, but I'm not going to the grocery store. I'm sure I have what it takes to make these cookies with ingredients I already have in the kitchen. That's one of the purposes of this blog, to help myself and others get through some of these recipe hurdles.  I always suggest to my cooking students to use recipes as a template and change the components to suit their tastes or availability of ingredients.  Then I need to remember to write down what I did so I can to repeat the recipe again.  It's been very helpfull to have my recipes stored here.

This is Laurie's recipe as it's printed in her book, "Orange Spice Cookies".  It's a good recipe, free of most allergens, but I need to make some changes since I don't have the specific flours suggested and I want to avoid the oil.

1/4 cup unrefined cane sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil, softened
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 TB freshly squeezed orange juice (zest orange before squeezing)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sorghum flour
1/4 cup quinoa flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 TB finely grated orange zest

One of the first ingredients I noticed I would have to substitute was unrefined cane sugar. I have some coconut sugar, but no cane sugar available. Then I noticed 1/2 cup coconut oil, softened.  Although this is a pretty healthy recipe, as is, I still want to avoid processed oils as much as possible, that includes coconut oil.  I decided I had a nice ripe avocado, but didn't want to overpower the flavor so I replaced half the suggested amount coconut oil with ripe mashed avocado and used fresh applesauce to make up the rest of the coconut oil. I have quite a bit of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Mix in the kitchen, so I used that instead of sorghum flour and tapioca flour. Bob's Red Mill's blend is a combination of sorghum flour, tapioca flour, potato, garbanzo bean, and fava bean. I probably could have substituted all the flour with the BRM blend, but I thought I'd like to use the quinoa flour as suggested in Laurie's recipe. It should add a richer flavor as well as a bit of protein. Quinoa flour pretty easy to make a small amount. Just wipe out your coffee grinder and grind some whole quinoa.

This is what happened to the same recipe in my kitchen:

1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup mashed ripe avocado (not too ripe)
1/4 cup applesauce (just core and apple and throw in the blender)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 TB freshly squeezed orange juice
seeds from one half vanilla bean
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour
1/4 cup quinoa flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon pink Himalaya sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

Preheat the oven to 350º F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.

Put the sugar, avocado, applesauce, maple syrup, orange juice, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Using the paddle attachment, or a large bowl and hand mixer, beat on medium=high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Mix the flours, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, and spices in a medium bowl. I like to sift my flours and spices together in a sifter or mesh strainer. Add the orange zest and mix together.

With mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients to the wet until combined and a soft dough forms.

Scoop out a rounded tablespoon of dough and place on lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between cookies.

I topped half of my cookies with a few pecan pieces then baked for 10 - 12 minutes.

These cookies are delightful!  Light and full of flavor.  They are the perfect light snack that might also be good served with a little jam.
 

Vegan Fusion Cooking Workshops Portland, OR March 14-18, 2016

Come play with your food in Portland, OR in March.  Learn how easy it is to  to cook great vegan meals with or without a recipe. We'll cover all aspects of vegan cooking from appetizer to dessert,  raw, cooked, and fermented. Most recipes are gluten free, and can be adapted for most preferences and allergies. This one week raw and cooked vegan cooking workshop will transform your life in the kitchen.


Please join Vegan Fusion Certified Teacher Deb Kay in Portland, OR for a 5-day Vegan Fusion Cuisine Immersion into the world of vegan cooking and raw food preparation.

The dates are Monday, March 14th to Friday, March 18th, 2016.
Prepare to transform your life and take your cooking abilities to the next level!

Experience greater confidence in the kitchen
Save money by learning how to prepare more delicious and healthy cuisine on your own
Learn new tips and tricks that will greatly enhance your culinary abilities
Connect with others who share a similar interest in vegan and raw foods
Deepen your knowledge of the healing qualities of vegan foods
Discover new ideas for presentation that will transform an ordinary meal to a gourmet experience
Whether you are an experienced chef, looking to get a job in the vegan restaurant industry, or simply a curious foodie interested in deepening your knowledge of vegan foods, you can learn from a pro how to prepare healthy world-class vegan cuisine!

Day 1 Vegan Soups/ Salads & Dressings
Day 2 The World of Grains and Beans/Tofu, Tempeh & Seitan Dishes
Day 3 Casseroles and Sauces/Wraps, Spreads, Sandwiches and Rolls
Day 4 Vegan Desserts/Raw Cuisine 1 Smoothies, Pates, Pasta & Pudding
Day 5 Raw Cuisine 2 Elixirs, Soups, Plant Cheeses, Ravioli, Parfaits & Ice Cream/Raw Cuisine 3 Nut and Seed Milks, Granola, Pizza, Tacos, Live Pies

Tuition is $625/Person

For more information and registration email info@veganfusion.com or kaydebbie25@yahoo.com

Vegan Fusion

Pictures of past workshops:  2 Day Holiday Workshop Portland 2015

Pecan Crusted Tahini Tofu Cutlets, Asparagus with Hollandaise, & Raw Cranberry Relish

Raw Pecan Pie

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Sesame Bok Choy with Quinoa

What have I been up to lately?  Reading, yes reading.  I made a personal resolution to finish the eight or so books I have started but not finished.  I began with John Robbins Diet for a New America.  Many vegans I know were vegetarian until they read this book.  I am starting to see why.  John Robbins was one of the first speakers I stopped to listen to when I started really learning about plant based eating.  I remember his talk. He was very interesting, but I hadn't really gotten deep into his book until now.  He really brings home the idea of the suffering animals endure in the name of making money.  Even though I began this journey to improve my health, I am starting to take on a little empathy for the animals. I've heard that there are three main reasons people go to plant based eating:  health, the environment, and the animals.  Once one door was opened the other reasons become clearer and it just all became part of what I think about when it comes to choosing what we eat.

We're going on vacation this year to see my son and meet my newest granddaughter.  We're going to be staying in a small two room dome made from earth and rock in the desert.  There's an outdoor kitchen with a cooler.  I thought I'd spend some time practicing some really easy recipes.  With those kind of meals in mind I can pick up some fruit and veggies, a little quinoa, some dates & nuts, and some beans and we're ready to spend the week eating plant based with a little decadence while camping. I flipped through the Vegan on $4 a Day cookbook I picked up this summer and it didn't take long to find an easy recipe with few ingredients.  It's a great book to practice those quick and easy meals.  I have some fresh locally made tempeh and started looking for a nice tempeh recipe. I found an easy tempeh recipe pretty quickly, but on the opposite page was a recipe for Sesame Bok Choy.  I remembered I picked up a couple nice heads of Bok Choy at People's Coop last weekend.  I'll use the tempeh tomorrow.

This whole meal didn't take longer than 30 minutes to prepare.  I diced an onion, sliced four carrots about an inch thick, chopped three nice cloves of garlic, and thinly sliced up two medium heads of Bok Choy.  I put 1 cup of quinoa on to simmer for 20 minutes in 2 1/2 cups water with a little sea salt.

While the quinoa was simmering I sauteed the onion, garlic, and carrots in 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil until they were tender.  Then I added the bok choy, about a tablespoon of tamari, , a teaspoon of chopped fresh ginger, a teaspoon of maple syrup, and a half a cup of water.  I let that all simmer together about five minutes.

I served that on top of the hot quinoa and sprinkled a few toasted sesame seeds on top.  Lovely meal and quick too.

White Bean & Black Rice Soup with Kale

My friend Linda gave me a recipe recently for Chickpea & Rice Soup With a Little Kale.  I made it this weekend for our lunches and dinners this week with some white beans I had on hand and black forbidden rice. That's why mine came out more like a brown sauce stew than soup.  I thickened it with the cashews creme and it came out very nice.  It's a nice hearty stew that will warm the bones in the cold weather this week.  This recipe can be made with just about any beans and your favorite brown rice.

Here's the recipe the way I made it.

White Bean & Black Rice Soup with Kale

I cooked 1 cup and a half of white great northern beans that I soaked for about six hours in a quart of low sodium vegetable broth.  I cooked them until tender and the liquid was most absorbed.  Canned beans may be used - 1 24 ounce can white beans drained and rinsed.

3/4 cup cashews, soaked in 2 hours or overnight
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground black pepper
3/4 cup forbidden rice
3 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 cup carrots, diced chunky
5 cups vegetable broth (may need more depending on the desired consistency)

Thinly sliced green onion for garnish

Drain the cashews and place them in a blender with one cup of fresh filtered water.  Blend until completely smooth, scraping the sides of the food processor or blender.

In a large soup pot saute onion in a couple tablespoons water, adding 1 tablespoon at a time to keep from sticking to the pot until translucent.  Add garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper and saute a couple minutes more.

Add rice, celery, and carrots and then pour in the broth.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, bring down to a simmer, add the beans, and let cook for about 20 - 25 minutes until rice is cooked and carrots are tender.

Add the cashew creme and kale, and simmer until kale is wilted, 3 to 5 minutes more.  You may need to add more vegetable broth or water to the soup if it seems to thick.  Serve topped with sliced green onions.