Momofuku Compost Cookies Veganized

Easily the most inspiring cookbook I read in August was the Momofuku Milk Bar book by Christina Tosi. The food photography is stunning. Every recipe is totally original and innovative. The whole book is beautiful from cover to cover. While many of the recipes would be a tad bit tricky to veganize with all the gelatin and milk powder and what not, the compost cookies caught my eye right away. All the flavors and textures are magical. I didn't make them the way suggested since I had already just filled my rice crispy treats with potato chips, so I upped the amount of graham cracker crumbs and pretzel bits. I am glad I didn't make a half batch like I normally do with cookies, because these flew off the sheet tray almost before I had time to properly photograph them. It doesn't matter what you have in your pantry, it will work in these cookies.


Momofuku Compost Cookies Veganized
original recipe here!

1 cup Earth Balance
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tbl corn syrup
1 Ener-G egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup crushed graham crackers
1 1/3 cup crushed pretzels
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp malt powder
pinch of ground coffee

Beat Earth Balance, sugars, and corn syrup in a mixer until combined. Add prepared Ener-G egg and vanilla extract. Beat several minutes until fluffy. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to mixer bowl. Beat until just combined. Add all the mix-ins. Using a large ice cream scoop, portion out the cookie dough & slightly flatten the tops. I piled all the scooped cookies into a tupperware lined with parchment. Chill the dough overnight. Bake at 375 for 18 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm & browned.


If you haven't heard of Mind of a Chef yet, it's a PBS show (also on Netflix)featuring David Chang, who opened Momofuku Noodle Bar. While some of it's really interesting, the show has a lot of footage revolving around meat so I tend to skip through them when something comes up I don't want to watch. Towards the end of the season Christina shows up in the show. She makes a burnt miso apple pie in episode 13 (Soy), and all of episode 14 (Sweet Spot) is centered around her recipes! It's worth watching for just her techniques. It really makes me want to invest in acetate strips for making layer cakes. Look at this beauty! There's a few other Milk Bar recipes I think I might make my way to eventually. Those blueberries & cream cookies sound pretty great. And an Arnold Palmer cake! I highly suggest checking out the cookbook if you are looking for a little inspiration or if you are thinking about opening your own bakery someday. Her story will motivate you.

Sweet & Salty Rice Crispy Treats

You know that thing that your mother tells you countless times (especially if you have siblings that are close to your age so you're more prone to bickering and harassing each other like children do)? If you don't have something nice to say then don't say anything at all. While I feel like that is generally a good rule of thumb, it's not helping me out right now. I have plenty of nice things to say about these rice crispy treats, I just don't have any words to pair with it. Cat's got my tongue? Maybe it's like the Buffy episode Hush, except that instead of being unable to speak, I can't type my thoughts? These rice crispy treats are delicious. They are adorable. There's all sorts of layers of crunch and texture and just enough salt. I feel like that's all you need to know? Maybe it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words, because I definitely have several of those?!


Sweet & Salty Rice Crispy Treats
makes one 9x13" pan

6 cups rice cereal (Erewhon is always GF & there's a new Rice Krispie GF version too)
1 1/2 oz (or a large single serving bag) potato chips of choice
1 cup sprinkles*
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
one 10oz bag Dandies
5 oz (half a tub) Ricemellow
2 tbl Earth Balance

In a large mixing bowl combine cereal, crumbled potato chips, sprinkles, and sea salt. Mix until combined. In a medium sauce pan melt Dandies with Earth Balance and Ricemellow on low heat, stirring consistently. This will take several minutes, just be patient. Once totally melted scrape marshmallow mixture into mixing bowl and press into the cereal. Don't be afraid to use your hands. Press into a parchment lined 9x13" pan, then press additional sprinkles and sea salt into the top if you want a prettier, brighter appearance. Let cool in fridge for 2 hours before cutting with a sharp knife into squares.
*I have had luck finding confectioner's glaze free rainbow sprinkles at bakery supply stores. You just have to be patient. If you can't find any, then use the tried and true Let's Do… sprinkelz or make your own using this recipe!


I suppose I'm just getting a little sleepy. Trying to do too many things at once. Last week I fell asleep with an open but uneaten ice cream bar in bed. And today I left the pint of ice cream I bought at work. When you start losing track of your ice cream, you know things are getting rough.

Toffee & Peanut Brittle

I pre-ordered Vegan Food Gifts: More Than 100 Inspired Recipes for Homemade Baked Goods, Preserves, and Other Edible Gifts Everyone Will Love because I knew that the combination of Joni's food brilliance and Celine's photography must have a spot reserved for it on my bookshelf. I already had a lot of ideas swirling around in my head about what everyone would be receiving this winter, so I didn't make too many of the items yet. I knew that everyone would expect sweets, so I wanted to make sure that I surprised them all a little bit. Instead I laid out a tarp and broke out the fabric dye and paint brushes and all sorts of markers and what not early one morning. Things turned out pretty well, but by the end of the night I still ended up in the kitchen churning out a few snacks to fill the remaining nooks & crannies in the box. So at around 8PM I decided to try this amazingly simple saltine butter toffee. I didn't add anything extra to the toffee, aside from an extra sprinkle of coarse sea salt on top of the chocolate. The broken pieces were sweet & salty, had a lovely crunch, and are incredibly customizable. Toss a few ounces into a cello bag with ribbon, and you're sure to get on every neighbor's nice list. Or at least get to pet their five month old Bernese puppy!


I also made a large patch of peanut brittle. I have made several pounds over the last few weeks and I think I have finally perfected my recipe. I'm not quite ready to share it with anyone. Sometimes you have to hold your cards. There's only one other recipe that I am not willing to share, because it's the best thing that I have ever done (shh...it's the pastry cream that I use in my fruit tarts). I haven't made too many other brittles, but I have a growing list: ginger sesame, chocolate covered hazelnut, and pumpkin seed. Do you have a favorite brittle? What treats did you make for all your loved ones this year?

Chocolate & Salted Caramel Tarts

A few months ago I made a giant jar of caramel sauce for an ice cream social at my house. I have been grateful to have this jar stowed away on multiple occasions. I highly recommend it. You can just make it once, only have to clean a candy thermometer once, and store it in mason jars. The glass jars are great for the caramel syrup because if it ends up firming more then you want, you can just dip the glass jar in hot water to re-melt to sticky, gooey perfection. It’s also perfect to pour a tablespoon or two over ice cream or onto a slice of cake.


Last week I used a fair portion of my remaining caramel to make a quick tart. I also happened to have a half batch of shortbread tart dough (from Vegan Pie in the Sky) in my freezer. I let it thaw, pressed it hurriedly into a three 3” tart shells and baked them while I melted a few ounces of bittersweet chocolate. As the chocolate and shells were cooling I mixed a teaspoon of salt into the caramel. I poured the caramel into still warm shells. And then without even letting it cool just a little more, I attempted to spoon the molten chocolate over them. The caramel and chocolate mixed a bit, and weren’t completely even, and spilled over the edges as I threw the tarts in the refrigerator.
It may be a little messy, but instant gratification tastes so good. These tarts are like a classy, adult version of the Twix bar. If you weren’t making these just to comfort yourself after a rough day, then you might want to let the tart shells cool completely, add the caramel, and freeze them for just a few minutes before you add the chocolate. I highly suggest using a nice bittersweet or dark chocolate to balance the sweetness of the caramel. The snap of chocolate and crispness of the shortbread tart shell also contrast the gooey center perfectly. A sprinkle of large grain kosher salt on top of the shells adds a nice visual balance. Things just can’t go wrong.

Soft Pretzels

These pretzels are making me thirsty! I had to say it. I couldn't not say it. I mean c'mon. I hear it in my head every time I eat a pretzel. If you have a standing mixer with a dough hook and a few spare hours, then you should give these a shot.
I don't know why people feel like soft pretzels are so elusive. At the last bake sale that I did, they were the first thing to sell out. Pretzels really aren't difficult. The folding just takes a little bit of finesse. But after a few dozen, you'll be throwing the dough around like any Auntie Anne's employee. Heck, you don't even have to shape them like standard pretzels. Get creative. Spell your name or make your favorite sport's team's logo or just make circles. They will all taste just as good.
Most pretzels recipes are pretty similar. My recipes of choice is Alton Brown's, just substitute the butter and the egg wash for Earth Balance. But do melt the Earth Balance you're using for the egg wash step. This is one time when I really prefer weighing the flour. Doughs can be a little finicky, and it's just easier to know that you aren't too fair a hand with the flour. I also know a few people who like to throw a teaspoon or two of vital wheat gluten into the dough, but I don't find it necessary.
If you want to make a fancy snack platter with the pretzels, you could make a few dipping sauces. Maybe an agave dijon or a cheddar cheese sauce? Either way, you won't regret your foray into the saltier side of things.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream (Take Two!)

This weekend I took another stab at the salted caramel pretzel ice cream that I told you about earlier in the month. Last time I tried to follow Chloe Coscarelli's recipe but forgot the sugar, which is pretty crucial in ice cream. This weekend I tried out some new things. I instead opted for the vanilla recipe from The Vegan Scoop. I got the book over the holidays was pretty excited to finally put it to use. The grocery store near my work doesn't carry Silk soy creamer, so I bought two pints of the vegan brand they did have. While the label was pretty misleading and showed white creamer being poured into a steaming cup of coffee, the creamer itself looked like chocolate milk! I'm not sure if that is only true for their french vanilla flavor, which maybe has additional vanilla extract tinting it? The ice cream tasted delicious, but it did look like it should be chocolate or coffee flavored rather than vanilla.
I also went a different route for the mix-ins. Rather than add the chocolate covered pretzels to the ice cream, I allowed everyone to throw a few on top of their scoop to accommodate for different tastes or potential gluten allergies. The caramel recipe that I used was a recipe I had bookmarked years ago from Dog Hill Kitchen, but hadn't made yet because I only recently bought a candy thermometer. It was perfect! I made a quarter batch and cooked it to 230 degrees F, like suggest for a sauce. I threw in 1/4 tsp sea salt with the vanilla after taking it off the burner. The warm caramel hardened as it hit the cold ice cream, which was really magical for me. I can't wait to make individually wrapped caramels from this recipe.


I yet again apologize for the quality of the picture! This was taken with a phone while friends were quickly devouring the ice cream in the dark. I promise to document things better soon.
I have been thinking about ice cream quite a bit lately. There are several flavors I plan on making soon. At least it's been unseasonably warm while I experiment with more frozen treats. Do you have any favorite ice cream recipes or flavors?

*I'd also like to thank everyone who has been reading my blog posts! Today I reached 10,000 page views which is so exciting. I'm also happy to hear feedback from so many people lately!

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Today I have a guest post on my friend Kaelah's blog. There you can find a recipe for salty chocolate chip cookies! She is also responsible for this blog's aesthetics. So if you're looking for a re-design, you should consider commissioning her!