Risky Cookies

Hey guys!!! I'm surprised you're up so early after all that partying you did last night. I figured I wouldn't see you until at least 2 hehe I went to bed around 1:30. My friend, Desiree, came over and we watched Risky Business. I was completely shocked by this movie- you guys didn't warn me!! It was all centered around sex and prostitution. I'm glad I saw it though. I feel like it's a trashy classic that everyone has to see. The lady at Family Video even told me "There's a really sexy train scene, so look out for that." Ummm, look out for that??? How could anyone with the sense of sight miss that???

Okay. I can already tell that this post is going the wrong way and my mom will read it and gasp.

So let's talk dehydrators. I don't have a fancy one, but it does the job. I got it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and I am obsessed with it!!! I use it every day and it's been going strong. It has 5 trays, but you can also buy more if you need them. I would definitely recommend getting one if you like dried fruits or want to make more RAW foods. It's so much cheaper to make your own rather than buying a bag of dried mangoes for 5 bux.

To demonstrate all that this dehydrator can do, here's a cookie recipe that I made up a few nights ago. I loved these!! I ate them drizzled (drenched) in agave nectar for dessert. I also ate them plain when I went to the movies yesterday with my dad. We saw an Egyptian movie about mummies at the Carnegie Science Center. Who doesn't love watching the mummification process on big screen?? haha

I've never described a cookie as "smokey" but this one was. They also kept me full because they are filled with nuts. I might add a few dates next time to make them sweeter, but I didn't have any. So as of now, they aren't a sweet cookie- more like an energy cookie.

Egyptian Energy Cookies

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw shelled pistachios
1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
2 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 medium-size banana
1/4 cup goji berries

Directions: Throw all of that in the food processor until it's well-blended. Shape into little balls, flatten them with your palm, and dehydrate for about 3 hours on 105F. These don't have any liquid, so they dehydrate pretty quickly. You can dehydrate for a few hours longer if you like your cookies crunchy. I prefer a soft cookie. They taste good fresh and warm straight from the dehydrator. I made 8 cookies.

Daring Bakers Challenge Numero Uno

Hello everyone!!! I am so excited for this post today. It is officially my first post as a Daring Baker. I have to post the phrase below because it’s part of the rules, fool.

“This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.”

This yule log was the most delicious dessert I’ve ever had. I mean, EVER. My mouth was in heaven. I am not going to lie- this was the most difficult dish I have ever prepared in my short life. I worked all day at my crappy job, came home, and stayed up late trying to finish it. Obviously, I made the whole damn thing in my bathrobe- we keep it classy here in the Schupp household.

The French Yule Log is so much harder than a regular yule log because it has 6 elements to it. It was also tough because the whole recipe was NOT vegan or gluten-free, so I had to play around with practically every ingredient in order to veganize it. I thought about not making it vegan, but then I came to my senses. I put my happy face on and said “Let’s rock this bitch!”

The first element is the Dacquoise. This is basically a thin almond cake. Naturally, I didn't have parchment paper so foil had to do. The cake got REALLY stuck to the foil, but nobody noticed when it was all assembled.

The second element is the Milk Chocolate Mousse and it is also layered through the entire yule log- thank god. This stuff was so damn good.

The third element is Praline Feuillete, and this includes gavottes. Gavottes are basically crepes and I had to chop them up and pour chocolate over them. Poor little gavottes haha. Luckily, I had a good bit of this leftover so I ate a huge slab of it at the end of my baking adventure.

The fourth element is the Chocolate-Cinnamon Ganache. Dear God. That's all I need to say. How could this ever taste bad???

The fifth element is the Creme Brulee. Now, obviously, I had to cut out all the eggs. I used tofu and it worked like a charm. I forgot to take a picture because I was just shocked it worked.

The sixth element is the Dark Chocolate Icing. I had to use agar flakes, and I had no clue what I was doing. I didn't know about boiling them to make them all "gel-like" so I just softened them in water. Ummm... that didn't work. I just stirred them with the chocolate icing and then poured it on top of the frozen yule log. I put coconut on top to disguise those damn agar flakes.

All in all, I wish I could eat this every day of my life. Everyone at Christmas also agreed. My cousin told me she would pay $80 for this log. I wish I could mass produce it somehow because it just took so long to make!!! It was a fabulous cooking experience though and my mother was so darn proud!!!

Here's some pictures from Christmas!!!
I took a damn big piece of yule log so it's weighing down the plate. ha who cares!!?!?!?!
My sister, Pls, and me. We look so darn cute!!!
All of the cousins in our fam-damily.
My favorite Christmas present of all- my PedEgg!!!! Ahh I laughed hysterically when I opened this, but I just can't stop using it. I decided to demonstrate it for my family and friends. Everyone thought it was disgusting and told me to get out.
It's love.

Shut up and Listen!!

Hello, folks. Aren't you happy it's Saturday? I thought so. I went to bed pretty late last night. I went down to the South Side with my sister and her boyfriend. I thought I'd feel like a third wheel, but I didn't. I will admit, though, that the drive down there was HELL!!! haha Her boyfriend, Mario, does not shut up. AT ALL. You know that friend you have who just won't stop talking? Well, imagine that person talking 100x more often (Yeah, I know it's hard to imagine haha). He was telling me that every way I was taking would take longer and I just wanted to slap the boy. We got into it a little bit and my sister broke us up. I had to refrain myself because he was in the back seat, and I'd probably crash the car if I turned around and expressed how I felt haha

When we finally made it down there, we went to The Cheesecake Factory. The menu had no vegan items whatsoever, so I just got a salad. Don't you hate that? I can make salads at home, and the salad I ordered just wasn't good. I got the Vegetable Chopped Salad. I just try to avoid being the one who doesn't order anything in a restaurant because I used to do that all the time when I had some eating problems. Thankfully, a little shopping made up for the bad salad. We went to Forever 21, and I got the cutest bows for my hair!!!! I love wearing cute hair stuff, so when I found these, I was in love.

As for food, I have a curry for you. This was the first curry I made and the house smelled insane!! Insane meaning ummm.... weird. haha It tasted very good, but I just don't like the smell of curries. I found this recipe in Vive le Vegan because I am just so dependent on Dreena Burton for her good food haha Do you guys have that one cookbook author/authors that you just love?

Here's the recipe:

Sweet Curry Chickpea Casserole
2 1/2- 3 cups cooked chickpeas
1 13/5 oz can light coconut milk
3/4 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1-1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1- 1 1/2 cups apple, chopped (you can peel it but it's not necessary)
2 small-medium cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1-1 1/2 tbsp mild curry paste
2 tsp mustard seeds (or 1/2 tsp ground mustard)
1 tsp cumin seeds (or 1/2 tsp ground cumin)
1/2 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp allspice

Directions: Preheat oven to 375F. In a large, deep casserole dish, combine all the ingredients and stir until well-combined. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Stir through, cover, and bake for another 30-40 minutes, until the veggies are tender. Makes 4-5 servings.

The story of the girl and the muffin

Hi guys. It’s been a pretty rough week so far. School is just taking its tool on me!! I feel so drained, mentally and physically. I hadn’t cooked anything since Thanksgiving, so a few nights ago, I made muffins. They are my “get happy” food. It was about 11:30 p.m. when I started, and my stepdad was noticeably annoyed by the clanking of bowls and spoons in the kitchen because he was trying to watch tv. I didn’t care though- I just needed some cooking time, so he was gonna have to deal. Cooking is just so therapeutic to me- I get in my own little world, wear my favorite bathrobe, and nothing matters anymore except for my muffins.

They turned out amazing!!! But that’s no surprise. You guys know I don’t bake crappy muffins haha They are Coconut Macadamia Muffins. I just love macadamia nuts. I don’t think you heard me. I LOVE macadamia nuts. Haha I’ve been eating them like a madwoman, but I’m okay with it. The original recipe called for almonds, but I didn’t have any. I found it on eat me, delicious. I had to change some ingredients to make it gluten free, and I substituted a few others just for my own enjoyment haha

Coconut Macadamia Muffins
1 cup oat flour
½ cup millet flour
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ cup organic cane sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp sea salt
¾ cup light coconut milk
2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp water (or egg replacer for 2 eggs)
¼ cup canola oil
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
1/3 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. In a small cup, combine flax seeds with water and let stand while assembling other ingredients. In a large bowl, combine flours, shredded coconut, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together. Add in the coconut milk, egg replacer, oil, extracts, and nuts. Stir together until well-combined. Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 10 muffins.

*There was a superman candle sitting on a shelf, and he really wanted to be in the picture. Can you blame him? Look at those two fine ladies!

Yummy Yummy in My Tummy

Good Morning Everyone. Hope you all had a restful sleep. I had this crazy dream about being on a cruise-ship with my friends and family and then it started sinking. My mom, sister, and I didn't get out in time, but we managed to be in a part of the ship that had an air bubble. Somehow, my mom and I climbed out of the ship, but my sister didn't want to come. We went to a secondhand clothes store to get me a new outfit because mine was all wet and dirty. The lady at the store ended up putting me in this crazy 1960's outfit, but I remember liking it haha We then left that store, and got jobs at this food/market-type place. They had me bagging the groceries on my first day and I was terrible at it, so I quit. After that, I woke up. So I've come to find the moral of the story: If you don't want to end up in 60's clothes, don't go on a cruise!!! haha

I don't think I ate anything on the cruise, I know it's hard to believe, but food wasn't in my dream. But before posting a recipe, I have to tell you about these DISGUSTING TOFU NOODLES I tried a week ago. Don't buy them! haha They tasted like rubber. And yeah, there's like 50 calories in the whole bag, but 50 GROSS calories, so stay away from them! haha All right, now that my product review is out of the way, my recipe for today is Celine's No-Bake Black Bean Brownies... or as I like to call them, SEX IN MY MOUTH!! I have never been so in love with a brownie. It was like a secret affair every time I took a bite. They were so good that I felt I had to hide them from the other food in my kitchen. And as usual, I ate them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until they were gone. haha I love my eating habits. The only changes I made were to add some applesauce because mine were pretty clumpy and to use walnuts + almonds in place of the chestnuts. Chestnuts are hard to come by around me, damnit, but we all have our crosses to bare. haha

Here's the recipe:
No-Bake Black Bean Brownies
1 medium, ripe banana
10 pitted dates (I used medjool, baby)
4 tbsp agave nectar
3/4 cup oat flour
2.5 oz bag of almonds + 1 oz of walnuts (I had no clue how to measure the 1 oz so I just guessed)
1/4 cup carob powder
1/2 cup shredded coconut
14 oz can black beans
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
optional: 1/4 cup unsweetended applesauce (slowly add this if your mix is too clumpy or dry)

Directions: Line an 8 x 8 in pan with parchment paper or plastic wrap. This is ESSENTIAL because they WILL stick to the pan if you don't. Add all the ingredients (except applesauce) to the food processor and blend. This takes a while because there's a heck of a lot of food in there. Just be patient because it will eventually all blend. Add applesauce if needed and blend again. Scoop the brownie batter into the pan and press down with your hands (it might be sticky, but you'll live). Freeze for a few hours and resist the urge to eat it before then.

So Blonde

My birthday party ended up being so much fun!!! I had all my family there and my cousin, a missionary in Nicaragua, came, too. Everyone was in a wild mood and I don't even think people were drinking that much. I mean, there was the Sangria and wine (I had both and they were so nasty). As for the presents, my grandma gave me a pair of her pearl earrings that my grandma bought her. They are so stunning, and it was really unexpected. Then, my great aunt gave me her pearl necklace so I would have a set. If I ever get married someday, that's what I'm wearing! And of course, there was the food. Oh, the food. Let's just say I was not a vegan or vegetarian yesterday. But hey, you only live once, so eat what you want to eat!!!!!! I just hate putting a label on myself for the kind of food that I eat. So as of now, this is what I am: I am a person who lives on a diet free of meat, dairy, and eggs throughout the week. I eat honey because I like it, but that doesn't mean I hate bees. And if I want a piece of chicken once in a while, I'm gonna have myself a piece of chicken!

Whoo that feels good to get that off my chest. But now for the recipe. I'm doing an experiment for biology where I have to transform traditional blondies into vegan blondies. I made up this recipe using my knowledge of fats, proteins, and all of that other stuff. haha I really, really, really like these and so did everyone at the party. They kind of taste like marzipan (that almond sugar candy) and have the consistency of fudge. They do have a weird glossiness to them, but hey, it was my first experiment. I don't even know if I can consider them blondies, but that's what I'm callin them!

Here's the recipe:

Marzipan Chocolate Chip Blondies

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup canola oil

¼ cup organic cane sugar

¼ cup pure maple syrup

¼ cup brown rice syrup

½ tsp almond extract

1 tbsp Ener-G egg replacer + 3 tbsp water

¼ tsp baking powder

1 cup whole wheat flour

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ cup pecans, chopped

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8 in pan with Canola Oil cooking spray.

Mix applesauce, canola oil, cane sugar, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup in a stand mixer. Beat until smooth. Combine Ener-G egg replacer in a cup with 3 tbsp water. Stir and let sit for 2 minutes. Add Ener-G egg replacer and almond extract to the other mixed ingredients. Blend. Add in baking powder, flour, and sea salt. Stir, not beat, until well-combined. Add pecans, shredded coconut, and chocolate chips and stir.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-27 minutes and allow time to cool before cutting.

Wednesdays are amazing

I officially proclaim Wednesdays the best day of the week. No school, no work- I can do whatever the hell I want!!! So pretty much I'll be baking all day and doing a little bit of homework. Taking it easy is key, and I'm a pro. I'm determined to make my own bread today. I've never done this before, but I figure I'll need to know so I can sell it at my bakery someday. It's between chocolate tahini bread and carrot bread... or both. haha It wouldn't be unlikely for me to make the same thing anyways. Either way, it'll be good. And speaking of really gross things (which we weren't), I was doing laundry this morning and I had to pick up a huge crapload of clothes on the floor. I picked up the first half, and a gigantic spider crawled out. I screamed and cried of course. Then, I picked up the second half, and a mountain lion millipede walked out. I was like "wow, how disgusting can our basement get?" haha Can't wait to go take everything out of the washer... I'll probably get attacked by a lizard or something.

Now that all that madness is over (until I go back down there), here's the recipe for today. I didn't feel like cooking last night, so I'm posting a cake recipe that I made a little while ago. It was for my sister's birthday, and it's one of the best cakes I have ever made/eaten. It was vegan of course and every person who tried it really liked it. It's from Dreena Burton's cookbook "Eat, Drink and Be Vegan." - I love her. She is a goddess! I added the raspberry filling because it needed something fruity. Oh the really sexy guy in the picture is my best friend, Mitchel. We cook all the time together when he's home, so birthday cakes are no exception haha. I made him do ALL the sifting and he wanted to murder me.

Here's the recipe:
Coconut Cake with Coconut Dream Frosting and Raspberry Filling

Cake (makes 2 round cake layers):

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups plain soy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, including coconut, sifting in flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine soy milk, applesauce, vanilla, almond, and coconut extracts, lemon juice, and oil. Add wet mixture to dry and stir until just well combined. Lightly oil 2 round cake pans. Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 23-26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer cakes to cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Dream Frosting

1 pkg (12 oz) silken extra-firm tofu
1 pkg (8oz) Tofutti cream cheese
1 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
1/8 cup macadamia nut butter
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Directions:

Put tofu with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. In a food processor, puree tofu with cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add remaining ingredients and process for 1-2 minutes until very smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Refrigerate until completely cool before using.

Note: Make the frosting a day or night before icing the cake. It will firm up and thicken. Also, when icing the cake, I iced the first layer, then put raspberry jelly between (about 1/2 cup) that layer. It tasted great with the coconut icing!

I'm so sorry... this is the last muffin... for today?

I have to go to work today. Blahh. Cannot wait til next Saturday (my last day). Thank Heavens. As for the man in the picture, it's my old boss Charlie. He's back again as a cashier and I'm like putty in his hands. I love that man!! I'll still see him because I'm doing seasonal but that won't be til November. Today, I work til 4:15 and then I gotta go home and test some recipes for school. It's for my cooking show for Biology. I'm transforming traditional blondies to vegan blondies. It shouldn't be too hard considering all the damn baking I do. haha. I say that now, but I'll probably be going nuts later.

So this is the recipe for today. It's another muffin. haha. You guys probably think I don't eat anything but muffins, but that's probably true. I ate 5 yesterday. They are just the all around health food. I found these ones on the "Have Cake, Will Travel" blog, but I adjusted the recipe. Here's what I used because they turned out really good!!! I even halved her recipe and got 5 muffins, so this is the halved recipe. The hemp seeds give this a distinct hempy flavor, but I don't mind it. I accidentally deleted all of these muffin pictures... damn... but that doesn't mean I didn't eat these like crazy. I had them with cream cheese and maple syrup. Yum.

Here's the recipe:

Cornmeal Hemp Muffins

3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
pinch of sea salt
1/8 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 + 1/8 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp hemp seeds
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/8 cup applesauce
scant 1/2 cup soy milk
scant 1/2 cup freshly squeeze orange juice ( I used a mineola)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare muffin pan. In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, hemp seeds, and coconut. In a smaller bowl, combine applesauce, milk, juice, and vinegar. Mix together until just mixed. Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 12 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in muffin pan.

Endoscopy Day

I have to get an endoscopy this afternoon. I haven't been allowed to eat or drink anything this morning, so I'm obviously very weak. haha. I had my mom call off work for me because I'll be too tired to go in... yeah. All right. I'm pretty much getting this done because my stomach just sucks. It always hurts and my mouth tastes like crap all the time. I got home yesterday from school and just went to bed because I didn't feel good. I ended up baking muffins to get my mind off of things. I didn't try one though. I ended up eating a few brownies, okay 3, that we had leftover. They were from a picnic I went to and they were the chewiest, chocolatelyest brownies I've ever had. I need some real food though. This vegetarian/vegan eating is just taking it's tool on my body!!!

These muffins that I made are vegan, though. haha. They look really beautiful, so I hope they taste amazing as well. I doctored up the recipe quite a bit just because I wasn't in the mood for following one. I also made them healthier by omitting the sugar and adding some almonds. The one I started with was Dreena Burton's Carob Chip Muffins. I'll change the title to Crazy C's Muffins just because I like that better.

Here's the recipe:
Crazy C's Muffins

Dry ingredients:
2 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup carob chips
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup blanched almonds
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Wet ingredients:
1 cup plain non-dairy milk
3 tbsp maple syrup
1/8 cup agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/3 cup canola oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Stir through until well combined. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients and stir. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and gentle fold together until well combined. Spoon the mixture in to a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners, or lightly oiled. Bake for 21-24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes 6 large muffins or 9 small muffins.

Great Day for a Pinic!

This morning is amazing. No work, no school, new Postsecret posts, delicious cereal breakfast, yoga, and painting my nails. This is the freakin life, I swear. Haha. So different from yesterday's hellish day at work. All day in the mens department + me = a hot, tranny mess. Well, actually a cold, tranny mess. I ended up taking the tags off of a jacket from the juniors department and wearing it during my shirt. I really like it and considered taking it home with me because we have no security anymore. Haha but I refrained from my thievish ways. but come on, it's a god damn freezer over there. I was just happy to leave at 4 and go to Bally's. My friend Dina was at the gym and we talked about love affairs and all the hot guys around us. She's friends with ALL of them, and she's probably in her 60's or 70's. Can you say playa?

But onto today's recipe. I'm going to a picnic today with my sister, dad, and grandma. It's at a place in South Park, so it should be nice and relaxing. I baked a beautiful cake last night after I got home from grocery shopping. My coworker gave me the recipe for a German Chocolate Crater Cake. I didn't have German Chocolate cake mix, so I used Devil's Food instead. I haven't tried it yet because it's still in the baking dish. It looks amazing though, and the smell was enough to make me faint... in a good way. haha

Here's the recipe:
Devil's Food Crater Cake

1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup flaked coconut
1 box Devil's Food Cake mix, prepared as on box directions
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1 (2.05 oz) Milky Way candy bar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1 16 oz box powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray 9 X 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
3. Sprinkle pecans and coconut over bottom of baking dish.
4. Prepare cake mix as on box. Pour over pecans and coconut.
5. Melt over low heat cream cheese and butter. Stir in powdered sugar and continue stirring until blended. (It will look like there is a ton of powdered sugar, but it cooks down, so keep stiring it)
6. Pour or spoon cream cheese mixture over the cake batter.
7. Place baking dish on top of a cookie sheet just in case the cake overflows. Bake about 40-45 minutes.
8. While cake is baking, melt milky way candy bar in evaporated milk. Cool slightly.
9. When cake is baked, poke holes over the top with fork. Pour the chocolate cream over the top of cake.

Can we say weird dreams?

I had the strangest dreams last night. The first one, I saw one of my friends from a different state. He was trying to get me to come shopping with him. The second dream, my ex-boyfriend's friend was creeping around. He got a job where I worked and wouldn't quit following me around the store. I wish I knew someone who could interrupt dreams because I am just plain confused. haha.

Well, anyway, here's today's recipe. I baked these cookies to send to the U.S. Military in Iraq. I'm an angel baker, and each month we ship a box of goodies to the men and women who are fighting. These cookies are absolutely delicious!!! They are thin and flaky, and very chewy. I made the rest of them into ice cream sandwiches. And let me tell you that these cookies spread a lot while baking! The recipe is from "Vive le Vegan," but I used almonds instead of pecans.

Vegan Carob-Coconut-Almond Cookies
1 cup spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 - 1/2 cup carob chips
1/3- 1/2 cup blanched almonds

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, combine flour, but sift in baking powder and baking soda. Add the coconut, sugar, and salt, and stir until combined. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup with the vanilla and coconut extracts, then stir in the oil, carob chips, and almonds and stir through. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir through until just combined (don't overmix). Place large spoonfuls of batter on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or on a non stick cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies a little bit with a fork. Bake for 11 minutes, until lightly golden (if you baker for much longer, they will get dry). Let cool for no more than 1 minute on the sheet, then remove and transfer to cooling rack.

I really hope you guys try these suckers. They have become one of my favorite cookies. I ended up having an ice cream sandwich every morning for breakfast when I made them.