Vegan Tea Cookies

Today I am sharing an old cookie recipe my mom and I used to make together whenever company came to visit. Little did she know this typical thumb-print cookie recipe is vegan-friendly. Really the only difference between this recipe and other tea cookie recipes is my mom's conscious decision to substitute margarine for butter or shortening. 

My favorite toppings for tea cookies are Wegman's Organic Raspberry Jam and Trader Joe's Organic Apricot Preserves, and a sprinkling of almond slices. Really you can use any preserves or nuts. My mom always made her  cookies with strawberry jan and walnuts.

WHAT YOU NEED AND WHAT TO DO:

• 1/2 c confectioner's sugar

• 1 c margarine

• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 2 c flour

• Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325°F. 

Mix melted margarine, vanilla and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in salt and flour.

With your hands, roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and press your thumb into the center of the dough. Fill thumbprints with preserves and top with nuts. Bake for 15 minutes. Dust with confectioner's sugar once cooled.

Sweet OR Salty Sweet Potato Fries

One of my favorite things to do every Sunday is visit my local farmer's market in Society Hill. My boyfriend and I like to treat ourself to some delicious baked goods made by a woman we affectionately dub (since we do not know her name) "The Scone Lady." After chowing down on blueberry streusel muffins and cinnamon pear scones, we shopped for some seasonal fruits and vegetables, including one of my favorite fall veggies: yams. 

The only time my family ever cooked sweet potatoes was on Thanksgiving. Having sweet potatoes for dinner was a real treat, but why? Yams are such a common, sweet tasting vegetable that are not only easy to prepare, but also easy to incorporate into a meal. Sweet potatoes make a great appetizer, too. Deciding whether to make sugary fries or salty fries was only real challenge I faced when preparing my sweet potatoes. So I made both! Below is a step-by-step list of instructions explaining how to make sweet potatoe fries. I have included the ingredients list for both sweet fries and salty fries.

WHAT YOU NEED AND WHAT TO DO:

• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 Large sweet potatoes

FOR SWEET FRIES:

• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

FOR SALTY FRIES:

• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• ground black pepper corns (to taste)
• salt (to taste) 

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up. Cut the top and bottom off of the sweet potatoes and then cut them long-ways down the middle. Cut these halves in strips about 1/2 inch thick. (Trust me, 1/2 inch thickness is not too thick since the fries will shrivel up during baking). Place cut fries on to baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and flip. IF you are making salty fries, sprinkle garlic powder and pepper before baking. Bake for 25 minutes until crispy. Flip fries with a spatula halfway through baking. For salty fries, top with salt once removed from oven. For sweet fries, mix sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on fries as they come out of the oven.

Organic Dog Treats

Ever wonder what dog treats taste like? Wonder no more! 

I always spend what must feel like forever in dog-time, deciding what food and treats to get my dog in the pet store. Getting the very best quality, yet the most inexpensive food for my dog is very important to me. So important that I have finally made my own treats. Decoding nutritional labels in the store is tricky, but making food from scratch ensures me and my dog ingest healthy and harmless ingredients. The recipe below makes 3-4 dozen treats (more if you use a smaller cookie cutter), that can be frozen and stored for up to 2 months. Now that's bang for your buck!

These treats have no refined sugar or salt, since neither are good for dogs, they are also made with unsweetened almond milk instead of regular milk. The honey adds a tiny bit of sweetness, so they won't taste too bad if you want to try them yourself. Also, here is a little secret: I do not own a rolling pin, so my cookie dough was rolled out with a can of Yuengling... not that it really makes a difference in the outcome of your cookies. 

This Christmas I intend on wrapping up these treats in mason jars and giving them out to all of my friends' four-legged creatures. 

WHAT YOU NEED AND WHAT TO DO:

• 1 c. unsalted organic almond butter 
• 2 tbsp. organic wildflower honey
• 1 c. organic unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 2 c. organic whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl, mix almond butter, honey, and almond milk with a hand mixer. Add flour and powder and mix together. Dough should not be too sticky. For minimal clean-up, flour a piece of wax paper and scoop and handful of dough. Use more flour for less sticky-ness. Place another sheet of wax paper onto and roll out dough to 1/4in thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. 

Allow ample cooling time before rewarding your pup!