Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Treats (30 page)

BOOK: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Treats

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SWEDISH CHOCOLATE BALLS

MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN COOKIES

THESE TASTY, NO-BAKE CONFECTIONS ARE POPULAR IN SWEDEN, typically eaten as a snack while taking a coffee break. Easy to make and creamy, they taste like a cross between an oatmeal cookie and a chocolate truffle. And oh, look, they’re wheat-free without even trying. Flaked sweetened coconut and Swedish pearl sugar (a large-grain, snow-white sugar with a crunchy texture) are traditionally used to coat these cookie balls, but do try finely chopped nuts or cookie crumbs or even crushed sweetened cereal for fun.

This adaptation of
chokladboll
is based on our friend Peter’s family recipe. So we guess it’s okay to call these Peter’s Chocolaty Balls. There, it has been said.

3¼ cups of quick-cooking oats
A pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered
sugar
⅓ cup natural or Dutch cocoa powder
½ cup nonhydrogenated margarine,
softened
½ cup chocolate or vanilla nondairy milk
or chilled brewed coffee
1¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

FOR THE COATING:

1½ cups or more flaked coconut or
finely chopped nuts or cookie
crumbs or crushed sweetened cereal
or 1 cup pearl sugar.

1. In a large bowl, combine the oats and salt, then sift in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add the margarine and use a pastry cutter or a large fork to combine with dry ingredients, mashing to form a crumbly mixture. Pour in the nondairy milk and vanilla, stirring with a rubber spatula to form a thick, sticky dough.

2. Spread out the coconut on a large plate. If using other coatings for the cookies, spread these out into separate plates. For each cookie scoop a generous tablespoon of dough, drop directly into the coating, roll to cover completely, and then briefly roll between your palms to form a smooth ball. Repeat with the remaining dough. If desired, chill the cookie balls for at least 30 minutes prior to serving to allow flavors and textures to meld a bit. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Morsels

✦ For a smoother texture, try whirling the oats in a blender for a few seconds. Take care not to overblend oats to a fine flour, though.
✦ Look for pearl sugar in gourmet baking supply stores or stores that sell Swedish stuff.

COOKIE DOUGH SCOOPS

MAKES A LITTLE OVER 2 DOZEN COOKIES

EVERYONE KNOWS THAT UNCOOKED COOKIE DOUGH is the most all-American snack there ever was or will be. Never mind the peanuts or popcorn. Any dough in this book could be consumed straight out of the bowl, but this recipe is a classic—creamy, buttery-tasty brown sugar dough plus a generous portion of chocolate chips. And no baking soda or powder ensures no bitter aftertaste. You can enjoy these cute frozen scoops as is or roll them into a tube, store in the fridge, and slice off rounds as needed. Or fancy them up with a partial dip in melted chocolate if they don’t get gobbled up immediately.

1 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup nondairy milk
½ cup nonhydrogenated margarine,
softened
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups chocolate chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, use electric beaters to combine the sugars and the nondairy milk until the sugars are moistened. Beat in the margarine and vanilla, creaming the mixture until combined. Add the flour and salt and beat to form a soft, fluffy dough. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips.

2. Place a sheet of waxed paper onto a small baking sheet or cutting board that will fit into your freezer. Use a small ice cream scoop to scoop out balls of dough onto waxed paper. Freeze for 1 hour or until firm. If desired, let the cookies stand for 10 minutes to soften slightly before serving. Store cookies loosely covered in the freezer.

Variations

COOKIE DOUGH DIPPED SCOOPS:
Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips (page 24) and dip the bottoms of the frozen cookies into the chocolate. Place them back on the waxed paper and freeze for 10 minutes or until the chocolate is firm.

GLUTEN-FREE COOKIE SCOOPS:
Since there’s no baking required it’s easy enough to make these gluten-free. Substitute the all-purpose flour with 1 cup white rice flour plus ¾ cup tapioca flour. The texture will be a little grittier than wheat flour dough, but the cookies will still be creamy and irresistible, especially if dipped in chocolate!

Morsels

This recipe is ideal if you
have dreams of making vegan
cookie dough ice cream at home.
Pat the cookie dough into a ½-inch-thick
disc between two pieces of waxed paper
and freeze until firm. Cut into tiny,
bite-size chunks before folding
into vanilla or chocolate
vegan ice cream.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

TERRY WOULD LIKE TO THANK:

John Stavropoulos for swearing the Magical Coconut Bars were better than brownies.

The Audio department for putting up with all of those cookies, week in and week out.

Nerd NYC friends with your helpful stomachs, palates, and hardcore love of cookie dough.

And of course my parents for putting up with a lifetime of me messing up the kitchen.

ISA WOULD LIKE TO THANK:

Justin Field, for putting the chocolate in chip. And doing the dishes.

Marlene Stewart, aka “Mom,” for becoming a stage mom later in life.
Portland in general, and Herbivore and Food Fight in particular, for being there for me. (Literally. You are there only for me.)

Fizzle, Avocado and Kirby for being cats.

Jon Hopeless Roberts for teaching me everything I know.

AND THEN, LIKE THE THUNDERCATS, WE FORM ONE GIANT ROBOT AND BOTH THANK:

All who baked cookies and assisted for the photos: Jess DeNoto of Get Sconed, Kimmy Coconut, Michelle Citron, Jawn Dogmatic, Virginia Paine, and Evan “RayRay” McGraw

The crew at Perseus: Katie, Christine, Wendie, Georgia, and Wesley

Our agent, Marc Gerald
And of course, our elite cadre of testers. They gingered the biscotti, black and whited the cookies and oated the meals. And what do they get? An all too brief mention in the back. Thank you guys, for suffering all manners of cookie!!