Monthly Archives: June 2021

Raisin Oat Muffins

raisin oat muffins
raisin oat muffins

I am a big fan of books called “Cozy” mysteries. These Cozies are lightweight murder stories (less Jason Bourne and more Jessica Fletcher) that are solved by someone whose job is not that of a detective. My favorites are solved by sleuths that work in the food industry, and the authors usually include recipes mentioned in the story. A fun crime to sort out in a food setting, with instructions for making the food – what’s not to love! So, today’s post is inspired by a recipe in one of Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mysteries.

To make the recipe vegan, curdled non-dairy milk subbed for buttermilk and Just Egg was used in place of an egg. For high altitude adjustments I added flour and milk, while reducing the leaveners. If you’d like to enjoy these muffins while sipping coffee and catching a killer with coffeehouse owner Clare Cosi, then visit The Village Blend.

Raisin Oat Muffins adapted from Cleo Coyle’s Oatmeal Cookie Muffins

1 cup soy milk
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
2 TBS Just Egg
3 TBS canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 TBS all purpose flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1.25 tsp cinnamon
generous 1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup raisins

Advance prep: whisk soy milk and apple cider vinegar together in a bowl or container. Let sit at room temp for 10 minutes. Add the oats, then cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.

When ready to make the muffins, preheat the oven to 375F. Line muffin cups with paper liners and lightly coat the papers with non-stick cooking spray.

Put the Just Egg in a bowl and whisk until frothy. Add the oat mixture, oil, and vanilla, and stir to combine. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the brown sugar and raisins and stir. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir with a spatula until just moistened.

Scoop batter into muffin cups, filling 1/2 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the top of a muffin is firm to the touch and an inserted toothpick has just a few small crumbs. Remove pan from the oven and tip the muffins out onto a wire rack. Let muffins cool completely.

Until next time, happy baking!

Brown Sugar Rice Krispie Treats

brown sugar rice krispie treats
brown sugar rice krispie treats

With temperatures hovering around 100F I vowed not to turn on the oven. That meant no baking of any kind, including that of tasty desserts. Still I was craving a yummy snack so I turned to the classic Rice Krispie Treats. After the ingredients spend a short time in a saucepan and then a mixing bowl, they transform into a cool and decadent pleasure.

I have offered various versions of this in the past, but I delved deep into my archives to find a brown sugar cereal bar. The website I retrieved it from is defunct, so I am glad to share my take on these Krispie Bars. The recipe was already vegan and needed no high altitude adjustments. The changes made were to adapt the ingredient amounts for my tastes, including the addition of chocolate chips. These cereal bars taste a bit caramely, a bit marshmallowy, a bit chocolatey, and a whole lot of delicious.

Brown Sugar Rice Krispie Treats

2.5 cups brown rice crisps cereal
2 TBS + 2.5 tsp light brown sugar, packed
1 TBS almond milk
1/8 tsp sea salt
2 TBS vegan margarine or coconut oil, plus extra to grease the pan
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 oz (or 14 large) vegan marshmallows
1/4 cup mini vegan chocolate chips

Line and grease an 8 x 8” pan with foil, leaving an overhang to help lift the finished bars from the pan. Pour the cereal into a large bowl and set aside.

In a saucepan, over medium-low, heat the brown sugar, milk, salt, and 1 TBS margarine. Cook for 5 minutes, whisking continuously, until the mixture looks like caramel sauce. Add the vanilla and cook an additional minute. Whisk in the remaining 1 TBS margarine until completely combined. Remove from heat and immediately add the marshmallows, stirring until smooth. Pour marshmallow mixture over the cereal and stir until partially combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir until well combined.

Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan. Allow to cool before removing from the pan and placing on a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares, or maybe just 9 squares as I did.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

chewy chocolate crinkle cookies
chewy chocolate crinkle cookies

Several readers have been asking for this recipe, and here it is (drumroll, please). Let me present … Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. My post The Magic of Crinkle Cookies chronicled my experiments with different crinkle ideas, and now I offer you the delicious cookie that arose from those tests. This chocolatey cookie is moist and chewy with notes that are sweet with a hint of salty. The fissures in the cookie’s crust are brought out by a slight dusting of sugars. This cookie took me back to my childhood and made me smile. I hope it makes you smile, too.

Although I borrowed parts of many recipes, the base of my creation was from a cookbook called A Good Bake. To make their cookie vegan, I swapped the dairy butter for Flora plant butter, and I used aquafaba in place of an egg. I kept the brown sugar because it has more moisture (for chewiness) and is more acidic (for its reaction with baking soda to help the cookies rise), but I used light brown sugar for a more subtle flavor. Before baking, I rolled the dough balls in granulated then powdered sugar to ensure I would get that snowy look that crinkles have. I am glad that I took the time to sort these tasty treats out because now they are a part of my regular cookie repertoire.

Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies adapted from A Good Bake

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (not dutch-process)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
16 TBS unsalted vegan butter, softened (like Flora)
1.5 cups light brown sugar, packed
3 TBS aquafaba
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan sugar, for rolling
1/4 cup vegan powdered sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350F with a rack in the middle. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.

Put the butter and brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula once or twice, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the aquafaba and vanilla, and beat until well combined, 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until no visible flour remains, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour the vegan sugar in one shallow bowl and the powdered sugar in another. Use a 2 TBS cookie scoop to get a lump of dough, then roll it in your hands to form a ball. Roll the dough ball first in the bowl of vegan sugar then in the powdered sugar, and place on a prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all dough is used, leaving 2” between each cookie.

chocolate crinkle cookie defies gravity
chocolate crinkle cookie defies gravity

Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for 13-15 minutes, rotating each baking sheet from front to back midway through the baking time. Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the sheet for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Yield: 24 cookies.

Until next time, happy baking!