Let Your Sweet Tooth Enjoy!
The holiday season is heavenly for those of us with a sweet tooth!
Nothing says “the holidays” more than a platter of cookies – whether a recipe passed down through the family, or swapped between neighbors and friends, or discovered in a magazine, blog post or cookbook. Here are two delicious and easy vegan options to add to your repertoire.
Perhaps, you bake cookies for the wonderful, warm aroma it creates in the house, or to express gratitude to friends, or just for the fun of family holiday baking. Regardless, you should “BE BRAVE” and try making these vegan options. These two simple recipes use everyday ingredients that you probably have in your pantry – no egg replacements to purchase! If you have a favorite vegan cookie recipe – please share it with all of us in the comments, I love swapping cookie recipes!
So, brighten your own day, or spread the joy with a batch or two of these vegan cookies – Christmas morning will DEFINITELY be better with these treats to go along with your cup of coffee.
Happy Baking!
Soft Baked Vegan Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup O&V Single Estate EVOO *
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon O&V Apple Cider vinegar *
½ teaspoon O&V Melipone Vanilla *
Preparation
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, water, vinegar, and vanilla until smooth.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix till well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 45-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375F and line two rimmed cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Remove dough from refrigerator and portion dough into small mounds using a small ice cream scoop. Flatten mounds slightly
Bake for 9-11 minutes till the bottoms are a light brown, but not the tops, Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from pan.
Enjoy on their own, or top with a dollop of your favorite jam if you like
Makes 16
Active Time: 10 minutes. Total Time: 80 minutes
Notes
* I use a light Spanish Arbequina Unflavored oil, Apple Cider vinegar, and Mexican Melipone Vanilla — all from our Oil & Vinegar store. Feel free to substitute other high-quality oils and vinegars if you wish, but I strongly urge you to use the Melipone vanilla – it is absolutely fantastic and adds a really rich, authentic vanilla flavor to these cookies.
Vegan Chocolate Almond Biscotti
Ingredients
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
5 tablespoons water (more if needed)
2 tablespoons O&V Blood Orange oil or Unflavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil *
1 teaspoon Melipone Vanilla *
½ cup chopped or slivered almonds
Dusting of confectioner’s sugar (optional)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Toast the almonds in the preheated oven for 4-6 minutes or until fragrant and lightly golden (keep a close eye as they will burn easily if left too long)
In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, sugar and zest until combined. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the wet ingredients – water, oil, and vanilla.
Stir in a circular motion from the center slowly incorporating the liquid into the dry ingredients. The dough will be pretty sticky. Add a little extra water if you need it to allow all the flour to be incorporated.
Add the almonds and mix to ensure they are distributed evenly. Bring the dough together with your hands.
Using damp hands, divide the dough into two logs about 3 inches wide and flatten slightly at the top. Arrange on the baking sheet at least a few inches apart. (Try to keep the two logs uniform in size and shape so they cook evenly in the oven)
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the surface is firm. Remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 300F
Let the logs cool slightly on the tray for 10-15 minutes. Then, using a serrated knife, slice gently into ½ inch slices. Place the slices back on a baking tray cut side down and return to the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes on each side (total of 20 minutes). Remove and cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Sprinkle with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.
Delicious for dunking in coffee on Christmas morning!
Makes 16
Active Time: 10 minutes. Total Time: 60 minutes
Notes
* I use a Blood Orange oil to add another layer of orange flavor to these biscotti. You can also substitute with a light Unflavored oil. Feel free to substitute other high-quality oils if you wish, but I strongly urge you to use the Melipone vanilla – it is absolutely fantastic and adds a really rich, authentic vanilla flavor to the biscotti.
Categories: Dessert, Vegetarian, Vegan, Holiday Cookies, Vegan Cookies, Sugar Cookies, Chocolate Biscotti, Almonds, Melipone Vanilla, Blood Orange Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Soft Bake Cookies
