Vegan brownies (uses flax eggs)

 Saw this on Insta, tried it out because I had some leftover vegan butter. 

From A Big Man’s World:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 6 tablespoon brewed coffee can use for water
• 1 cup chocolate chips of choice
• 1 cup coconut sugar * See notes
• 6 tablespoon vegan butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour can use gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1-2 cups chocolate chips of choiceoptional

Instructions

• Prepare your flax egg by combining your ground flaxseed with your brewed (chilled) coffee. Let it sit for 10 minutes, to form a gel.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a square pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a microwave-safe bowl or stovetop, melt your chocolate chips of choice. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, add your vegan butter and coconut sugar, and whisk well. Add in your prepared flax eggs, melted chocolate, vanilla, and almond extract, and mix well, until glossy.
• Sift through your flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. If using chocolate chips, fold them through. 
• Transfer your brownie batter into the lined pan. Bake your brownies for 30-35 minutes. 
• Remove brownies from the oven and let cool completely, before slicing into 12 pieces.

My notes:

1. Not balanced, not chocolate -y enough, but good texture, and uses half of the normal amount of butter so would consider a retry. I also sort of messed this up the first time in that I accidentally used 6 oz of butter not 6 TBSPs, so I had to double the recipe and I didn’t double the amount of coffee, just added more water… I used imitation vanilla too

2. I modified the directions a bit— 1 cup chips = 6oz chocolate, so I just melted 12 oz of bars and also melted the vegan butter into it too because I didn’t understand how else to do it. I obviously only used vanillin and not the almond extract. I also used white sugar and not coconut sugar. 

3. Would consider making again only because the texture was pretty fantastic, considering it has half the the usual amount of butter. 

Lemon Pistachio Loaf (Vegan, like an olive oil cake)

 This recipe was from Ochre, in Chicago I thought although now apparently in Detroit 

Ingredients

Makes one 9x5" loaf

⅓

cup vegetable oil, plus more for pan

¾

cup (100 g) raw pistachios

Zest of 2 lemons

1¾

cups (220 g) all-purpose flour

1

cup (200 g) granulated sugar

2

tsp. baking powder

¾

tsp. kosher salt

5

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

7

Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, divided

2

cups powdered sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Grease a 9x5" loaf pan with vegetable oil, then line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on long sides. Oil parchment paper (for insurance and an easy release).

Step 2

Pulse pistachios in a food processor until finely ground (it’s okay if some of the pieces are a bit larger). Set aside a heaping tablespoonful.

Step 3

Whisk lemon zest, flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and remaining pistachios in a large bowl. Whisk olive oil, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, remaining ⅓ cup vegetable oil, and ½ cup water in a small bowl to combine. Pour oil mixture into dry ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula to combine. Be very careful not to overmix: This batter contains a high ratio of liquid, which means it can get gummy if overworked. Transfer to prepared pan and use a spatula to distribute batter; batter should come halfway up the sides.

Step 4

Bake cake until golden brown all over, it springs back when gently pressed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50–60 minutes. It's okay if your cake has dipped a little in the center. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool completely in pan, at least 2 hours. Using parchment overhang, lift cake out of pan and place on rack. Peel away parchment.

Step 5

Whisk powdered sugar and 3 Tbsp. lemon juice in a medium bowl, drizzling in remaining 2 Tbsp. lemon juice as needed until you have a thick but pourable glaze. Pour glaze over cake, letting it drip down the sides (if your cake has dipped, you can always glaze the flat underside instead of the top). Immediately top cake with reserved pistachios, then let sit until glaze is set, at least 30 minutes.

Step 6

Do Ahead: Cake can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

My notes: 

1. Delicious, would make again. Pistachios really sing with the subtle lemon zest. Tastes like it’s spiced somehow even though it’s not. Crumb is like that of an olive oil cake. 

2. I would try to pulse the pistachios until quite well ground. Mine sunk in the middle a bit, and I wonder if the variable size of the nuts was a factor. I used APP and followed the recipe exactly, except I only made half of the glaze, which was plenty plenty. Next time, would consider using a little water/milk instead of all lemon juice in the glaze, as I found it on the sour side. 

3. Took about 52 minutes in the oven. 

Lime Pudding Cups (no egg, no cornstarch)

 Recipe comes together brilliantly fast. Great flavor, and sets really smoothly. 

Would consider using as the filling if I had a graham cracker crust ready, would be just like a thick key lime, or could do squares, would be like lemon bars

Salted Pistachio Crumbles

Delicious! The grittiness of the cornmeal is nice here, and I added some cardamom into the crumbles, which I would absolutely do again. Nice on top of ice cream, fruit, etc. 

Salted Caramel Apple Galette

 Recipe from JK adams 

Caramel Apple Galette

Serves: 6-8

• FOR CRUST:
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 sticks cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
• FOR FILLING:
• 5 medium Honeycrisp apples peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• Salted caramel sauce (we use Stonewall Kitchen) 
• 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk for egg wash

Directions:

1. FOR CRUST:
1. Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor to blend. 
2. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles sand. 
3. Whisk egg yolks and heavy cream until well combined. 
4. Slowly add cream mixture to dry ingredients in processor and pulse until dough forms. Your dough should hold together (but not be sticky) when you squeeze it. If it's too dry, add a little more cream and pulse lightly until you're happy with the consistency. 
5. Form your dough into a ball on a lightly floured surface, flatten to a 1-inch-thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. 
2. FOR FILLING:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Mix the apples, brown sugar, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and almond extracts together in a large bowl. 
3. Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough into an 11-inch circle. The true beauty of the galette is that perfection is optional: rough edges lend themselves beautifully to the rustic nature of this dessert. Transfer dough to your baking sheet. 
4. Arrange the apples – without their juice – in the center of the dough, leaving a 3 inch border all around. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the apples, pleating the dough and pressing gently as you go. Spoon 2 Tablespoons of caramel onto the apples. Brush your dough with the egg.
5. Bake until your crust is golden brown, about 35-38 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Drizzle salted caramel sauce across the top before serving.

My notes: 

1. Galette dough was quite dry with only 3 TBSP of cream,  I had too add lots more glugs, and even then it was dry, and crumbly after a day of refrigeration. 

2. I used 4 large honeycrisp apples, and I didn’t have room for all of them. I saved some. Filling is yummy, but doesn’t need to rest super long. I don’t think honeycrisp is the best apple in terms of texture— stayed quite crispy. 

3. Would I make again? Unlikely. I used my own salted caramel though 

Apple-Walnut Upside Down Cake

From Bon Apetit

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/apple-walnut-upside-down-cake

1. Pretty much followed this recipe to the letter. Used a mix of Granny Smith and Pink Lady Apples. 

2. Delicious, would happily make again. 

-Chocolate-Coconut-Almond Gluten-Free Cookies

 From Martha 

https://www.marthastewart.com/1537563/almond-coconut-chewy-chocolate-cookies

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1 2/3 cups almond flour, such as Bob's Red Mill 
• 2/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter or margarine (for Passover), room temperature 
• 1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar 
• 1 large egg, room temperature 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate 
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted almonds 
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

• Step 1

  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt.

• Step 2

  In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter with brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat on medium speed just to combine. Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture, beating until combined. Fold in chocolate and almonds. Shape dough into a 1-inch-thick disk, tightly wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

• Step 3

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place coconut in a shallow dish. Scoop 2 tablespoons (about 1 ounce) dough and form into a ball; roll in coconut to coat. Repeat with remaining dough. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, 1 inch apart; press each lightly to flatten. Bake until cookies are cracked but still slightly soft, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on sheets, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

  
  

My notes: 

1. I used mostly cups and spoons for this recipe, and I creamed the butter and sugar by hand. I used guittard cocoa rouge powder and 70% dark chocolate for the chopped chips. I roasted some slivered almonds for the chopped almonds that way they wouldn’t have skins, and I used old TJs frozen sweetened shredded coconut for the rolling. 

2. Dough is thick, and I would use the medium (1.5 TBSP) scoop next time. Only flatten a tiny amount— these are better the more ball-like they are, and they don’t spread very much in the oven. Took about 17 minutes in the oven. 

3. Would consider making again, they are quite yummy, on the dense-side of course, but not in an unswallowable way. Definitely an easy gluten-free treat to make.