Friday Food Finds
17: Vegan/Plant-Based Baking Edition
Happy Friday, everyone. In an effort to make this newsletter and the recipes I share a bit more search-friendly (on the website end), I’m working to create more thematic FFF editions. My hope is that this approach will also force me to be a bit more organized with my posts every week, but we’ll see if that actually proves to be the case! Feel free to share your thoughts on this shift or anything else about my newsletter. I’m always grateful for feedback.
I’ve found myself steadily more impressed with the baking-oriented vegan recipes I’ve come across lately. I’m sharing a collection of them this week because they all also happen to be very quick and easy to achieve: a nice bonus at this time of year.
Incidentally, three of the recipes I have for you are for cookies. The first is from Katarina Cermelj, the recipe developer, writer, photographer, and self-professed food science nerd behind The Loopy Whisk blog and Baked to Perfection cookbook. Her Tahini Cookies have been a quick stand-by for me a couple of times this spring, and I’m ready to put them on regular cookie rotation.
Texture-wise these are everything I love in a cookie: crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. Flavor-wise, I love their almost pure tahini flavor. I’ve used both maple syrup and honey in them, and can’t say I prefer one over the other. They each add their own distinct background flavor while contributing just enough sweetness to round out the tahini. The cookies do have a tendency to over bake suddenly, so be mindful of how hot your oven runs and pull the cookies out on the earlier side.
The second cookie recipe comes from Aran Goyoaga, an award-winning author, photographer and food stylist, and trained pastry chef. This Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies recipe is from her latest cookbook, Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple. It too has made repeat appearances in my house and beautifully exemplifies my idea of flawless cookie texture.
Despite their short, somewhat unassuming ingredient list, these cookies are like fireworks when it comes to flavor. They’re definitely not shy in sweetness, but that doesn’t diminish the other notes from the peanut butter, banana, and sweeteners — the maple shows up more in the background, while the coconut sugar is up front with its strong caramel flavor. Contrary to the tahini cookies, these are easier to under bake, so I’ve always added a couple of minutes to the bake time. Again, it’ll depend how hot (or cool) your oven runs.
This last cookie recipe you might remember from an earlier edition of Friday Food Finds. They also happen to be Peanut Butter Cookies and they come from Benjamina Ebuehi, a former Great British Bake Off contestant and author of A Good Day to Bake.
I haven’t had a chance to bake these again, though sitting here now I’m definitely tempted to ditch the laptop for a bit. Here’s what I wrote about them back in February:
Their peanut butteriness, while forward, is really well balanced, allowing the caramelized sugar notes to shine through. And the bursts of chocolate and salt only enhance that balance in each bite. If you like peanut butter cookies, but sometimes wish they behaved more like chocolate chip cookies, this recipe is absolutely for you.
Any of these cookie recipes would be all-star picks for a picnic or grilling occasion. Of course, I’m also well prepared for these to make it into a cookie assortment in December.
Next up: vegan banana bread. I shared this Spelt Banana Bread from Laura Wright’s blog, The First Mess, in March because I thought was a great blank canvas type of recipe. This week, I tried this Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread from Anthea of the blog Rainbow Nourishments for its very clear chocolate-driven purpose.
I used spelt flour again in this recipe and will continue to make it my flour of choice for future banana breads. I also added a full 1/2 teaspoon of salt, which I felt was the more appropriate amount for this recipe. I worry a mere pinch would not bring out the flavors as effectively, but that’s certainly a matter of personal preference.
One other note I’ll make about this recipe is that I underbaked the banana bread by quite a bit — it was a late-day project that I was in a hurry to finish. The center square inch section of the loaf was just shy of being completely raw, so in an effort to salvage every last bit of the loaf, I spent the week gently griddling my slices in olive oil. It turns out that this might be my new preferred way to enjoy banana bread. The slices get these really lovely crispy sides, while the center stays moist with pools of melted chocolate oozing out of every bite. It absolutely elevates everyday breakfast toast to a new level!
And speaking of elevated breakfasts, this last recipe for overnight oats isn’t as much baking-related, but I do think it’s worthy of a mention here. I discovered it in Roxana Jullapat’s Mother Grains cookbook earlier this year, and it quickly replaced the rather boring version of overnight oats I’ve been riffing on for years.
What I love most about these oats is that they are simultaneously smooth and creamy, yet retain the recognizable flavors and textures of each of the individual ingredients. I often eat them after a morning run and tend to gulp them down quicker than I should, but when I do take the time to savor them, here’s what comes through: the sweet earthiness of both the oats and the oat milk, the nuttiness of the seeds and coconut, and the warmth of the spices. None of the flavors are sharp or overpowering, and together they make a lovely backdrop for fresh fruit, yogurt, nut butters, or anything else you might put on top of your oats. The choice is yours; I’m partial to berries.
This feels like a good place to stop, though I could probably continue on this topic through a few more recipes. If you have favorite vegan bakes, please do let me know! In the meantime, I wish you a happy, tasty week ahead.
Oh, and if you know someone who might enjoy these recipes please share my work with them. I wish I could adequately express how much your support means to me!
Best,
Charlotte
P.S./Update on the school meals: At the 11th hour, Congress passed and President Biden signed two pieces of legislation that’ll support school nutrition programs this coming year. The Keep Kids Fed Act provides some flexibility for program operators, though it doesn’t guarantee free meals for all students. The nearly $1 billion in additional funding will also support operators in their purchase of American-grown foods for their programs.
Essentially, these efforts will go a good way towards facilitating the operation of school lunch programs. There will certainly be some benefit to students, parents, and families, but it’ll take concerted participation from them (all of us) in order for universal school meals to make it back onto legislative agendas.