Vegan MoFo Day 7: Star Wars Inspiration

Today's post is all about food inspired by a book or film. If you know me, you know the choice here was pretty simple...I had to go with some Star Wars inspiration!



I have already made many a Star-Wars inspired baked good in my time. Back in 2011, I made these amazing cupcakes for one of my closest friends' birthday. She had always been a bit skeptical about vegan baked goods, but these cupcakes really knocked her socks off!



These are the lemon gem cupcakes from Vegan with a Vengeance and they are delicious! I'm not quite sure what was going on with my frosting here--it was tasty but certainly not fluffy! This was my first time making cupcakes, though--so not a bad first go.



A year or so later, my Mom and sister conspired to give me some awesome Star Wars cookie cutters for Chanukah. They're really meant for sugar cookies--and I had just the recipe! Some day I'd like to try decorating these guys with colored frosting, but they're still quite delicious without. You can see the recipe here.





And this year I put even more Star Wars cookie cutters on my wedding registry. Some wonderful cousins sent them our way.



They're pretty amazing, right?



I had a little too much fun setting them up for photos.



These cookie cutters are advertised as gingerbread cookie cutters. I imagine they would work well for sugar cookies too, but since I've already made those, I thought we'd go with the gingerbread. Plus, gingerbread is one of my all-time favorite cookies. In fact, I've already posted a recipe for gingerbread vegans, which you can see here.



And gingerbread cookies are so fun to make--I even got my husband in on the action!



So fun, no?




Note the Darth Vader spatula, below, which is a regular fixture in our kitchen (another present from Mom and sis, and it works great!).




Couldn't help myself. A little Vader with Vader.

And don't forget to frost!



Also...this recipe makes a bunch of cookies! Don't worry, though--they're somehow even better the next day. And frosting is actually super simple!



Tips and Tricks:
The cupcake set, sugar cookie cutters and Darth Vader spatula all came from Williams-Sonoma. They did a little Star Wars series several years back. Unfortunately, they've all been discontinued, though they do seem to be readily available on eBay.

These gingerbread cookie cutters are still available on ThinkGeek, however!

Sugar Cookies!

I don't remember particularly liking sugar cookies before I was vegan. They were okay. I'd eat them if they were offered, but I never really sought them out. Somehow, though, once I started baking vegan myself, I found myself craving them. I stumbled upon this recipe in one of my first vegan cookbooks, and over the last five years or so, it's become an old favorite.

One of the best things about sugar cookies is how fun (and easy) they are to shape and decorate.
So, whether you're in the mood for a Chanukah cookie...

Or some Star Wars fan fare...


(like a Millenium Falcon)


(or a tie fighter or x-wing)


...you can pretty much shape them into just about anything you want!


For Valentine's Day, they're a pretty easy go-to. I acquired some heart cookie cutters a while (possibly several years) ago with the intention of making some Valentine's Day cookies, but didn't quite get around to breaking them out until this year. Better late than never!


I had a real decorating bonanza!

But enough about me...on to the cookie recipe!

Vegan Sugar Cookies
Adapted from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Joy of Vegan Baking
What You'll Need:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated, non-dairy butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Egg replacer plus warm water (equivalent of 1 egg)*
1 tsp vanilla extract

What You'll Need to Do:
Sift together flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the non-dairy butter and the sugar with an electric hand (or stand) mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Combine egg replacer of choice with appropriate amount of water and mix together in a small bowl. Add this "egg" mixture, along with the vanilla extract, to the butter mixture and beat another minute. Add the flour mixture and beat for another three minutes or so, until you have a nice, homogenous mixture.

Divide dough in half, roll each half into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about an hour, until firm.

When the dough is ready, cover two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F. Remove one ball of dough from the refrigerator and roll out onto a floured surface. Roll dough about 1/4-inch thick, and then cut to the desired shape. Place on prepared cookie sheets, and then place the cookie sheet in the fridge for another 15 minutes to chill the dough prior to baking.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness), until they just begin to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let sit on baking sheet for several minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.



Once cool, decorate away!

*Tips and Tricks
I am not usually a fan of out-of-the-box egg replacer; I find it can taste a bit chalky and make things a bit dry. In the case of this recipe, however, I have to say it is not a problem! I have used both Bob's Red Mill egg replacer and Ener-G Egg replacer with great success. They require slightly different amounts of powder and water to substitute for an egg, however, so read directions and use accordingly. If you don't mind a slight change in texture, I imagine flaxseeds or chia seeds might work well, too!

Feel free to make these cookies all different sizes, as I've done here! Just be sure to bake similar sizes together, as smaller cookies will bake faster.



These were the thinnest I'd ever made these cookies. They were a bit thinner than 1/4-inch. This makes for crispier cookies. I think I actually prefer them thicker, but this was a good experiment, and they're certainly still tasty! Thickness of your sugar cookie is all about personal preference.

If you want to decorate your cookies using the techniques below, all you need is some vegan chocolate.

Vegan Cookie-Decorating Chocolate
What You'll Need:
1 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used a combination of white chocolate chips, tinted pink, and dark chocolate chips)
one or two small plastic baggies, with a small corner cut out of each (depending on the number of colors you're using, and if you want to decorate with fine lines and squiggles!)
vegan sprinkles, optional*

What You'll Need to Do:
Put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on high for 1 minute. After 1 minute, remove from the microwave and stir thoroughly with a fork, really pressing down on the softened chips as much as you can. Return to the microwave for another 30 seconds and stir thoroughly again. At this point, the chocolate should be completely melted. If not, continue to heat in 15 second intervals until melted, stirring thoroughly after each additional interval. Be very careful not to overheat, as this will cause the chocolate to seize and make it very difficult, if not impossible, to work with!

Once the chocolate is melted, you can dip your cookies in it, or use the back of a spoon or knife to spread it on to the surface. Then, spoon remaining chocolate into the corner of a prepared plastic baggie. With a very small hole in the corner cut out, you can use this to apply the chocolate as a line. Have fun with it and don't sweat it if you're not an artistic genius--outlining the shapes you've made, and sticking with squiggles and zig-zags is a good way to start!

Be sure to let it dry for a while. You can either put the cookies in the fridge, or just let them air out. Just keep in mind that if you're applying everything quite thickly, it could take a while for them to completely set. You'll be able to tell they've set once the surface sheen disappears and they appear matte (in the pictures above and below the white chocolate is starting to dry, but the dark chocolate is still quite wet!).

*If you're looking for some decorations that you're sure are vegan, I like "Sprinkelz" They're vegan, gluten-free, and they get their color from sources like turmeric and red cabbage!



Enjoy!

If this whole project seems a bit much, but you'd still like some vegan Valentine's Day ideas, you can check out my entry on chocolate-covered strawberries, or try a box of vegan chocolates!

Ani's Cookies

Ani's cookies, with (vegan) chocolate chips


Analisa Raya-Flores (otherwise known as Ani) and I are kind of like soul-sisters. We're both teeny-tiny (although I have a whopping 2 inches on her five-foot frame), we both love the outdoors, and all kinds of other good things that I will not expand upon here.

When I first met Ani, she won me over with her stories of cooking big, ridiculous vegan feasts for her friends. Having just moved from North Carolina, where that was also one of my primary pastimes, I couldn't wait to share some meals with Ani.


Ani (above) and me (below) hiking in Topanga Canyon


Despite living in the same city for over a year, Ani and I never quite got around to making a big feast together. We were both on opposite sides of the vast city that is Los Angeles, and I was super-swamped with grad school. That didn't stop us, however, from getting together for a fairly regular vegan brunch (traditionally at Real Food Daily) and/or hike. And the few times that I did host some type of dinner event, Ani would bring along some devastatingly delicious baked goods to accompany everything.

Ani was the first person I met who really tackled veganism like I did--excited and happy to take up the challenge of making good food for yourself and others. In fact, she made it seem effortless!

Aside from being a talented writer, Ani also nannies for some really great kids. One of the children has some very acute food allergies, however, so Ani quickly set to work learning how to make things he could eat. She told me tales of experimentation and innovation, trying to utilize ingredients that this child could not just eat, but enjoy, baking with ingredients that I'd never even heard of before. In the end, Ani could throw together a batch of cookies with no trouble at all, easily choosing from all of the options laid out before her (of course it helped that the family she was working for had a well-stocked kitchen!).

When I started writing this blog, Ani was one of the first people I thought of. At some point we'd jokingly discussed making a cookbook together--Ani, as I've mentioned, is not just a talented writer, but also an hilarious one. I still believe that her witticism and creativity in the kitchen, combined with my own skills and interests would make for a pretty great book! But, in the meanwhile...I asked her for a recipe.

Here I have a confession to make. I asked Ani for this recipe ages ago (as in, last February). So Ani sent me this recipe. And as I stared at the list of ingredients, I felt very intimidated. Flax meal? Coconut oil? Just a few months ago these ingredients seemed quite foreign to me, but they've since become a well-integrated part of my kitchen (see my "Vegan Pantry" page). But also, I can tell you now with some confidence: don't be afraid! As it turned out, because of some more adventuresome recipes I'd tried out in recent months, I had all the ingredients I needed except the flour, so that was easy enough.

I decided to make the gluten-free version, since many people I know have recently switched over to a gluten-free diet. In fact, we have some family visiting this weekend that will definitely appreciate some gluten-free cookies!

So, here it is, straight from Ani's fingers to your eyes (or something like that). Be sure to check below for different variations and suggestions.

Ani's Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
What You'll Need
1.5 cups gluten-free oat flour
1 cup Bob's all-purpose baking flour
1/2 cup white sugar*
1/2 cup maple sugar (or brown..but maple is a fun twist)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup tapioca or arrowroot flour (or corn starch, which is cheaper!)
1/4 cup flax meal or almond meal (gives it a great nutty flavor)
1 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, 1tablespoon)
splash (tiny splash!) of almond extract
6 tbsp apple sauce
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
1-1.5 tsp xantham gum**

For mix-ins, I alternate between pecans and chocolate chunks or chips (vegan of course!)

What You'll Need to Do
Mix up the dry, then add in the wet...

Place 1-inch balls about 2-inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350F for approximately 12 minutes (until starting to turn golden brown around the edges).

Ani's Tips and Tricks
Instead of the flours listed above, you can also use 1 cup gluten-free oat flour, and 1/2 cup each millet flour, sorghum flour, and potato starch.

This recipe works with safflower or veggie oil as well, but I prefer the flavor profile of the coconut).

*Not all granulated sugar is considered equal...some is not considered strictly vegan. See my "Vegan Pantry" page for more on this.

**These cookies do better with a touch of xantham gum, but it can be really expensive. It seems some companies recognize this, and have started selling it in smaller quantities (because a little goes a looong way!). When I tried making these cookies, I used only a teeny-tiny amount (1/4 tsp), and they turned out very tasty. The issue is that the gum helps with binding, so when my boyfriend took some cookies to work and back, they came back a bit crumbled (but still delicious!). Many gluten-free recipes do call for xantham gum, but its use is definitely up for discussion on some blogs. I think ground up chia seeds may be an alternative option. Ani and I will do some experimenting, and get back to you with an update on this.

Gingerbread Vegans

Happy Chanukah to those of you who celebrate!



This recipe comes from Shmooed Food, a blog written by Jennifer McCann, and featured in one of her books, Vegan Lunchbox. I bought Vegan Lunchbox many years ago. I was dating someone at the time who was a very picky eater, and I thought this book might offer me some good solutions. It has some really great recipes, good for kids and adults alike! I especially like a lot of the relatively simple, but tasty snack ideas, and the baked goods. I'm not a big fan of egg replacer, a common ingredient used in vegan baking. It can be very chalky tasting, and it makes for very dense baked goods, not things I much care for. This recipe, like most of my favorite baking recipes, avoids the use of egg replacer, which if you ask me is a very, very good thing.

I grew up eating gingerbread around the holidays, and I love the taste! I actually first made these cookies at a friend's house on Christmas, complete with lots of snowflake shapes, gingerbread men, Christmas trees, Santa Clauses and reindeer. They were so good I thought I'd adopt them as my own holiday tradition, so I now make Chanukah gingerbread vegans for my family and friends!



Gingerbread Vegans

The recipe says it makes about 2-3 dozen, I find it usually makes at least 3 dozen (it all depends on the size of your cookies!)

What You'll Need:

1/3 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (I like to use Earth Balance), at room temperature
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 cup sweet unsulphured molasses
3/4 cup water
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice

What You'll Need to Do:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or (as in my case) in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the margarine, brown sugar, molasses, and 1/2 cup of water.

In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, adding just enough of the water to form a dough that holds together well.

Form the dough into four equal balls. Wrap each ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When you're ready to make your cookies, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line some baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Roll the dough about 1/4 inch thick and use cookie cutters to cut out your shapes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the prepared cookie sheets, placing them about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the surface is relatively firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then decorate with Gingerbread Vegan Icing.



Gingerbread Vegan Icing
makes about 3/4 cup, enough to decorate all your cookies!
What You'll Need:
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp Silk Nog or 1 tbsp water
Food coloring (optional)

What You'll Need to Do:
Combine powdered sugar and vanilla. Add Silk Nog or water in slowly, stirring well with a small spatula and using just enough liquid to form a smooth icing. It should be soft enough to squeeze easily out of a piping bag, but not so runny that it runs out! Add food coloring, if desired. Transfer the icing to a piping bag (or a resealable sandwich bag with a very small hole cut in the tip of the corner to squeeze the icing out) and decorate the cookies as desired.

This is a relatively simple recipe, but ultimately quite time-consuming--I recommend making them with friends and family, if there are two of you it will go twice as fast and be (depending on your helper) twice as fun!