Veggie Burger and Gooey Chocolate Cookies

     Throughout the day Ben and I kept contemplating on what we wanted to make for dinner. Personally, I've been craving Chinese/Thai and anything Asian. That delicious eggplant and basil, ginger and tofu, or slippery noodles with a spicy red pepper sauce. Sounds like a "party in the mouth", huh? But when we got to the store we saw that some of the vegetables we needed were not available since they were not in their prime season. 

                Lately, I've decided that I want to make sure I purchase certified organic, fair trade, seasonal    and local products. The cost becomes less important since I know that there are numerous benefits granted when you take that step to start eating with a focus towards humanity and health, rather than the size of your wallet. 

                 In economics class the other week we watched a documentary entitled, "Is Walmart Good For America?" They showed how Walmart's motto of having the lowest prices has shut down many American companies and laid off workers. Walmart has demanded companies, such as RubberMaid, to produce products at a certain price, and if that company can not comply to their request, Walmart refuses to purchase that product. In return, the company is unable to produce a product that cheap in America and are forced to travel to China. Manufacturing in China allows the product to be produced at the price Walmart has demanded. But how does this cheaply produced product affect people? First off, it pays Chinese workers around 50-cents an hour, or about a $100 a month. Secondly, it has depleted the number of manufacturing plants in America as well as American jobs. So is it really good for America? 

                 Fair Trade- Fair trade is when a company, such as Sun Spire, purchases their chocolate from a third world country. They offer to pay the supplier a higher price for the chocolate, so long as the supplier will pay their workers more than the average pay. In return we pay a higher price, but it allows to help that third world country stabilize their economy by paying the employees the proper amount.

       But, now back to the dinner! We decided to go along with some classic, easy and always delicious. The burger. Our Sunshine burgers were on Ezekiel Whole Wheat Sprouted Buns, topped with sauteed mushrooms in garlic and thyme, smothered with Veganaise, Dijon mustard, ketchup, lettuce, sprouts, tomato and onion. It was a giant burger at that, but worth every bite! After waiting a couple of hours for a stomachs to go back down to size, we began making cookies. Gluten-free, vegan, healthy, delicious and loaded with chocolate. Take a look, make them, eat them ruthlessly, and devote yourself to a large glass of almond milk and quite a few cookies. NO shame to be taken here.

Mutant Flourless Chocolate Cookies
 (Adapted from Wing It Vegan)
Makes about a dozen cookies

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

3 tbsp cold water
1/2 cup dried shredded coconut*
1/4 cup sucanat
1/4 cup stevia
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup almond butter
4 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup macadamia nuts

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or lay down parchment paper.

 In a small bowl or measuring cup mix the flax seeds and water.

In a medium size mixing bowl combine all ingredients except for the chocolate chips and nuts. The dry and powdery ingredients are better off in the bottom of the bowl to prevent a big powdery *POOF* when you start mixing.

 Mix for about 30 seconds or until a smooth dough forms. It will look chunky at first but keep mixing and it will become smooth. Make sure everything is mixed well and beat the dough vigorously.

Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Make them as chunky as you want, as you can see I like a lot of chocolaty and nutty goodness, but you can adjust the chunkiness to your taste.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop for perfectly round cookies) onto the cookie sheet and slightly flatten and shape each future cookie with the tip of a spoon. But then again you might not want to flatten them at all if you like them all round and poofy! Leave about an inch of space in between cookies.

Bake for 14 minutes. Let the cookies slightly cool for a minute on the baking sheet before you transfer them to a cooling rack.

If you manage not to eat them all right away and you need to store them, let them come to room temperature and store them in a paper bag. The paper bag keeps them from getting soggy

* You can grind the coconut to a fine powder in a blender or food processor if your not one of those people who just loves the texture of coconut!

A little Christmas Giving

 This holiday season I wanted to be "practical" and save some money on all the gifts I planned on purchasing. So in my game plan, I concluded on making a small assortment of different cookies and giving them to friends and family. This sounds like a good idea, no? I had been pondering, and trying to creatively conduct a unique combination of holiday favorites. I came up with Hazelnut Fig drizzled with chocolate (what is in the pictures above), Gingerbread dipped in white chocolate, and Infused Pomegranate Dark chocolate cookies. The hardest one for me to figure out was the pomegranate cookie. I had no idea of how to get that beautiful pomegranate flavor into a chocolate cookie. I tried two ways, one just pomegranate juice and the other a pomegranate molasses. I would try this cookie again with a better molasses. I tried to make my own and it didn't work out too well for me... The gingerbread on the other hand was DELICIOUS! I believe it was my favorite. Although the white chocolate part is not vegan the whole cookie was. It had a bright ginger flavor with a texture right below that of a typical crunch cookie. blissful. The hazelnut and fig was my favorite to try and figure out. It was really nice and chewy and good flavor. Next time i'll add more fig to the recipe in bigger sizes and maybe some hazelnut extract? Overall it was not truly time saver. I ended up spending allllllll night in the kitchen, up till two a.m. baking cookies! But it was fun! 

Pomegranate Chocolate Cookies

( I only used half the recipe which will yield 2 dozen cookies)

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup earth balance

1/2 cup applesauce

1 tbls vanilla

1/4 cup pomegranate molasses

1 12oz bag dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds ( optional)

Line cookie trays with parchment paper.

Mix your dry ingredients together in one bowl.

In a second bowl mix together wet ingredients.

Begin adding the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mixing thoroughly as you go.

When the cookie dough consistency is formed, fold in chocolate chips and pomegranates.

Let the dough sit in the fridge for one hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Place two tablespoons of dough on your cookie trays about two inches apart, flatten a bit with the bottom of a greased/floured glass.

Bake for 8-10 minutes and let cook before eating!

Ginger Cookies

4 tblsp raw sugar

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp canola oil

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup almond milk

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper

Place raw sugar in a bowl.

Sift together dry ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.

Them pour flour mixture into mixing bowl and combine well.

Roll into 1-inch balls and flatten. Place into the raw sugar and line on the cookie trays.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Hazelnut Fig Cookies

1 cup hazelnut butter

1/2 cup earth balance softened

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1.4 cup applesauce

1/2 tsp vanilla (hazelnut) extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tsp cup hazelnuts (optional) 

2 cups semi sweet chocolate

2 tblsp earth balance

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl beat together hazelnut butter, brown sugar, and sugar until creamy, then add applesauce and vanilla.

In a second bowl combine the dry ingredients, add chopped hazelnuts.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients. 

Cover and refriderate for 30 minutes.

Roll into balls the size of golf balls, roll into sugar and place on cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes

Next heat the chocolate in a saucepan  over low heat, as it melts add the earth balance.

Next dip cooled cookies into chocolate, dust with hazelnut pieces and let settle in the fridge on wax paper. 

ENJOY!