Lace Cookies

I got an ice cream maker for my birthday a month ago and haven't been able to use it because the weather has been so darn cold. Finally the temperature warmed up this weekend and I was able to make some delicious vanilla cardamom ice cream.

It needed something extra, so I decided to bake some crunchy lace cookies to go with my dessert. This recipe makes a whole lot, so you might want to divide the ingredients by half if you don't plan on sharing them with a large group. Make sure to space the cookie dough out by at least one inch because they will expand considerably while in the oven. I made the mistake of placing them to closely during my first batch and I was left with one giant cookie. Enjoy these cookies alone or with a giant scoop of vegan ice cream.

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* Recipe modified from Babycakes Covers the Classics

Makes about 35 cookies

Ingredients

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose baking flour

* 1 1/2 cups vegan sugar

* 1/4 cup arrowroot

* 1 tsp baking soda

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 cup canola oil

* 1/2 cup applesauce

* 2 Tb vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, arrowroot, baking soda and salt.

3. Mix in the canola oil, applesauce and vanilla and stir with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated.

4. Drop the dough by the teaspoon onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are browned and the center is cooked through.

6. Let stand on the baking sheets for 15 minutes before serving.

Sugar Cookies and Icing

Aren't these the cutest?! I haven't made sugar cookies in a long time but when given these cute Hello Kitty cookie cutters yesterday, I stayed up and baked for most of the night. To my surprise, most of the cookies were gone by the time I woke up this morning.

The sugar cookie dough is not too sweet, so if you don't plan on icing them, you might want to add another half cup of sugar to the recipe. While making the icing, it did appear to have more of a grey-ish color but when allowed to dry, it did turn white. To get the pink color, I added one drop of red food color to half of the icing recipe.

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Makes about 20 cookies

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies

* 1 cup vegan margarine

* 1 cup sugar

* 1 tsp vanilla extra

* Egg replacer equivalent of 2 eggs, I like using Ener-G Egg Replacer

* 2 tsp baking powder

* 3 cups flour

Icing

* 2 cups confectioners' sugar

* 6-8 tsp soy milk

* 4 tsp light agave nectar

* assorted food coloring, if desired

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugar with an electric mixer.

3. Beat in the egg replacer and vanilla.

4. In a separate medium sized bowl, sift together the baking powder and flour. Add one cup at a time, mixing after each addition, to the sugar and margarine mixture.

5. Divide the dough into two balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into circles, approximately 12 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick.

6. Dip your cookie cutters in flour before use. Cut out and place about 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Bake for 6-7 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned.

To make the icing...

8. In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and soy milk until smooth. Beat in agave nectar until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more agave.

9. Add food coloring if desired. Dip cookies in icing and allow to dry overnight.

Fried Chick'N

I've noticed that a few vegan restaurants out here in Los Angeles serve fried chick'n. I was curious on how they were able to imitate the texture, so I started looking up recipes and I came up on one from Art Smith. I love Gardein so I figured I'd give this recipe a try. It was so easy to make the fried chick'n and the end result was really delicious. My only suggestion is to make sure your chick'n cutlets are frozen. I left mine out to long and they defrosted a little. When that happened, they became extra fragile and began to break really easily. Please do try this recipe, you won't be disappointed : ]

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Fried Chick-N

Serves 4

Ingredients

* 1 package Gardein Chick-N Scallopini

* 2 cups soy milk

* 1 Tb tabasco

* 1 cup all-purpose flour

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1 tsp garlic powder

* 1 tsp old bay seasoning

* 2 tsp cayenne pepper

* 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

* Olive oil or vegetable oil for deep frying

Directions

1. Place the chick-n in a medium bowl and add the soy milk and tabasco. Stir well to coat.

2. In a separate shallow bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, old bay, cayenne and black pepper.

3. Shake the extra marinade off the chick-n and then dredge in flour.

4. Shake off extra flour and then dredge again in the marinade and coat again in flour.

5. Add enough oil in a deep large skillet to create a depth of 1 inch. Heat over medium high heat until oil reaches 350 F.

6. Fry the chicken in batches until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

7. Drain on paper towels and serve.