Oatmeal Raisin Cookies May 24, 2008

I made up this recipe a while ago, and I find them to be quite easy to make and enjoyable to eat.  They don’t store particularly well, so eat them within a few days of baking.  Or, save part of the cookie dough and bake some later too! 

These oatmeal cookies can be gluten free if you make them with gf oats.  They are only sweetened with fruit and inside when they bake they get soft inside but a little crusty on the outside.  I can’t explain it well, just try the recipe and you’ll see what I mean!

Fruit-Sweetened, Vegan, Wheat Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup raisins
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup apple juice
1 cup oat flour or finely ground rolled oats
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins or walnuts

Bring the raisins, dates and apple juice to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.  Mix together dry ingredients.  When the fruit is done cooking, blend it in a food processor or blender.  Add to dry mixture, and drop by the tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden. 

Awesome Blueberry Cake May 18, 2008

I have made this cake 3 times now and every time it’s come out really well. I do suggest that you go with canola oil and not olive oil, because even light flavored olive oil adds a bit of an olivey flavor to the cake. The website also has some good information about agave nectar.

Wheat and sugar free banana muffies May 18, 2008

This post is the first in a series of wheat-free, sugar-free recipes for treats.

Dispite looking quite large and looming in the above picture, these muffins are tiny. That’s why they are called “muffies”. The word muffie is also more fun to say. I just modified a regular banana muffin recipe a bit, and they came out great. You can make them regular sized as well, of course.

3 medium bananas, mashed, blended, or pulverized in a food processor (my personal favorite)

1/2 cup canola oil or 1 4-oz stick of butter

2 large eggs

3/4 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 cups spelt flour or 1-1/2 cup spelt + 1/2 cup barley flour

1/2 cup of blueberries, walnuts OR chunks of dark chocolate (I like 85% -it has a miniscule amount of sugar-but people who are used to sweets tend to find it too bitter)

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix banana, oil, eggs, agave nectar, and vanilla together. In a seperate bowl, mix baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour together. Add liquid to dry, and mix until smooth. If you’re using berries or walnuts, stir them into the batter. If you want chocolaty center muffins (shown on right), place a chunk of chocolate into each muffin tin once you fill them, and carefully cover the chunks with the batter, making sure you don’t push the chunk all the way to the bottom. If you use regular size muffin tins, bake for 23-28 minutes. If you use mini muffin tins, make it about 12 minutes or so… I can’t remember the exact time. Just make sure a cake tester or knife comes out clean.

A NOTE ON MY WEIRD INGREDIENTS

Agave nectar is a low glycemic sweetener, which means your body processes it more slowly than sugar. It is great for people like me who love sweets but can’t really take the high sugar content. It is also the plant tequilla is made from.

Spelt and barley flour can be found at Whole Foods, and some supermarkets. You could always use whole wheat in this recipe. Barley flour makes muffins more crumbly, which is good in small amounts, this is why I used a quarter barley flour. According to King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook, that is the ratio to use. (I recommend the cookbook to those who want to integrate whole grains into their diet while eating “normal”; it also has a lot of good information about baking with less common grains)