The Savory-to-Sweet Switch

Converting a savory food to a sweeter variation is something my brain has a hard time with.

For example, onions have no place in a dessert.

Marshmallows do not belong in a dinner salad.

And for heavens' sake, please keep the chocolate off my pizza.

For these reasons, among many others, I was skeptical of dessert hummus. You want me to add sugar to my....beans?

Friends, after making a batch of dessert hummus earlier this week, I now recognize myself as its #1 fan. Seriously. I gobbled up a bowl-ful of this sweet, beany dip with a sliced apple and a bowl of banana soft serve for my Thursday night dinner. It was truly like eating dessert for dinner.

The creator of dessert hummus--Evan Thomas--suggests using it as a dip for graham crackers, fruit, animal crackers, or a sandwich spread.

Or, you can simply eat it by the spoon-ful (which I may or may not have been doing at my desk at work this week. What can I say? This girl needs bean-powered fuel to get through the day).

I'm now a savory-to-sweet believer. Just don't ask me to pour hot fudge on my garlic bread.

Cinnamon Dessert Hummus

(recipe adapted from The Wannabe Chef)

The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup pure maple syrup. I eliminated most of this because, well, I did make my dessert hummus for dinner. But by all means, if you don't mind the sweetness and you're looking for a truly desssert-y dip, go all out with the maple syrup!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups butter beans
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• a drizzle of pure maple syrup (the recipe called for 1/4 cup, but I used far less)
• 1 - 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• For dipping: apple slices, banana soft serve, graham crackers, and a big ol' hungry spoon

Directions:

Process ingredients in a food processor until desired taste and consistency have been reached. Go crazy with your dipping items :)

I Met a New Cookie. And I Liked It.

I introduced myself to a Cinnamon-Pecan Cookie this week.

My only regret is that I waited this long to meet her. She was chewy and chunky, sweet and salty, loaded with a super-dose of cinnamon, and chock full of toasted pecans.

I've decided that she's truly the unsung hero of the Cookie Universe.

Once baked--and sufficiently tasted--these babies were packaged up for a 7 hour drive to Kentucky (the land of horse races and bourbon). My parents were traveling to the Bluegrass state this weekend to visit family, and I figured it was high time I expand this Cinnamon-Pecan Love beyond the borders of WV.

(Truth: I was powerless in the face of the Cinnamon-Pecan influence. That stack of cookies had complete and utter control over me...so much so that I had to ship them 7 hours away to resist.).

I hope that you all have the opportunity to meet a Cinnamon-Pecan Cookie in the near future as well. Don't be shy, now. She'll like you just as much as you like her. Promise.

Cinnamon-Pecan Cookies

(recipe adapted from this one by Ina Garten in her Back to Basics Cookbook)

Oatmeal cookies so often include raisins, other dried fruit, or chocolate chips. I switched this recipe up to highlight two perfectly-paired ingredients: cinnamon and toasted pecans.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pecans, toasted (toast on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 /2 tsp. salt
• 1 - 1/2 cups quick oats

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat baking sheets with cooking spray

2) Cream the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well-combined. Add dry ingredients to the batter and beat well. Stir in toasted pecans (don't forget to toast them--it's key!).

2) Drop by rounded tablespoon-fuls on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Yield: about 24 cookies.

City Girl Snickerdoodles

One of my favorite kitchen tasks is baking for birthdays.

Give me a birthday, and I’ll give you butter. Dietary restrictions, you say? Bring it on! I love a challenge. Lactose intolerant, gluten-free, or nut allergy…I revel in the hunt for an accommodating birthday treat that makes you say “wow!” (Or, maybe it just leaves you speechless. And full.)

In honor of my sister-in-law’s 30^th birthday today, I shipped off a package of “City Girl Snickerdoodles.” Why this recipe? Two reasons: First, my sister-in-law is a fabulously stylish city girl. Second, these cookies are so potently delicious that I’ve made them a right-of-passage cookie requirement for anyone turning 30 (I'm not yet 30 myself, but I'll keep eating them for the next couple years until I get there).

Snickerdoodles: essentially, sugar cookie meets cinnamon and sugar. It’s like converting a Cinnabon into cookie form. Brilliant, isn’t it?

As I continue to bake my way through my new favorite cookbook, today’s recipe obviously hails from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. My version was so very not vegan though…I definitely used real butter. Since we were out of Earth Balance (a non-hydrogenated vegan margarine), I went with the real deal. Sometimes, only butter will do.

(Side note: as you’re baking the vegan cookie recipes, I urge you to either use vegan non-hydrogenated margarine, OR real butter. Do not use regular margarine! That stuff should be taboo and is definitely not considered real “food.”).

Enough talk. Let’s get snicker-doodling.

Happy Birthday, Andrea :) Adam had to take a bite before we mailed them out (see picture below)

City Girl Snickerdoodles

(recipe from the oh-so-awesome Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)

Authors Terry and Isa hail from NY and Portland, OR, respectively. Thus, they coined their version of snickerdoodles as the "city girl" adaptation. They'll melt in your mouth they're SO GOOD.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup non-hydrogenated vegan margarine (or real butter), softened

- 1 - 1/4 cups sugar

- 2 TBSP milk (soy or regular)

- 1 - 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

- 1 - 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

- 1/4 cup corn starch

- 1 tsp. cream of tartar

- 1/2 tsp. baking soda

- 1/4 tsp. salt

CINNAMON SUGAR FOR ROLLING

-1/3 cup sugar

-1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon

-pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, cream the vegan margarine (or butter) and sugar together until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until combined. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, and beat the mixture until a soft dough forms, about 4 minutes. Chill dough for 30 minutes (or if desired, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight).

2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat baking sheets with cooking spray. In a small, shallow bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and pinch of nutmeg.

3) Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough, roll in cinnamon-sugar, and roll into a ball. Place dough balls on cookie sheets about 3 inches apart. Sprinkle the tops with any additional cinnamon-sugar.

4) Bake 10 - 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool a few minutes before removing from baking sheets and cooling on a wire rack completely.

5) City-person or Country-person, love your snickerdoodling self :)