Happiness
I woke up this morning, took a long walk, made myself a cup of coffee and started baking. As I was washing my hands in the kitchen, I looked outside to see a few birds picking on some birdseed in our feeder, and I thought, "This is perfect". And in my own quiet moments in the kitchen, I thought about what it meant to be happy and how to find tranquility amidst a storm of grief and mourning. I dried my hands and started pulling out bags of flour and sugar from my pantry, I began chopping up apricots and rolling balls of dough in sugar. I found myself smiling, laughing, and enjoying this bright Saturday morning. This is why I love to bake. This is why I find myself returning to the oven or the stove again and again.
I found this recipe in a delightful cookbook by Sarah Magid. Sarah owns a custom cake business in New York City, and she lives in Brooklyn with her charming, I repeat CHARMING, husband and two children. This is who I want to be in ten years, maybe less. The recipes in this book are beyond tempting, and I have about a dozen I want to try over the coming weeks. However, I was drawn to her recipe for ginger cookies, which just screamed deliciousness. Additionally they are vegan, which sealed the deal for me. I have made vegan cupcakes and muffins before, but this was my first venture into vegan cookies. I have to say that I think vegan baking is becoming my new passion because these cookies knocked our socks off. The melding of spices and sweetness is perfect, and the cookies are moist, chewy and undeniably addictive. I adapted the recipe slightly, but I would encourage you to check out her new book, Organic and Chic, to view the original recipe and try out some of the other delicious bites.
Vegan Ginger-Apricot Cookies
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 TBSP ground flax seed
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup soy milk
1-2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, powder, soda, salt, ginger and dried apricots.
2. In a small bowl, combine sugar, apple sauce, flax seed, oil, soy milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir to combine.
3. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until moist and fully incorporated. The dough will be fairly dry (add more soy milk if necessary). Form the dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough from fridge and form into 1 inch balls. If you would like, dip cookie balls in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat. Place balls on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten with the greased bottom of a glass. Bake for 18 minutes or until just lightly golden.
5. Allow your cookies to cool on a wired rack. Enjoy!
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 TBSP ground flax seed
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup soy milk
1-2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, powder, soda, salt, ginger and dried apricots.
2. In a small bowl, combine sugar, apple sauce, flax seed, oil, soy milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir to combine.
3. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until moist and fully incorporated. The dough will be fairly dry (add more soy milk if necessary). Form the dough into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough from fridge and form into 1 inch balls. If you would like, dip cookie balls in a bowl of granulated sugar to coat. Place balls on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten with the greased bottom of a glass. Bake for 18 minutes or until just lightly golden.
5. Allow your cookies to cool on a wired rack. Enjoy!
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