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From: Bryanna (NewVeggies.vegsource.com)
BRYANNA’S VEGAN EASTER CANDIES, TREATS AND COOKIES: ON CORNSTARCH; Call me old-fashioned, but I really feel that cornstarch is the most reliable and easy-to-work-with starch. I’ve tried arrowroot, but it is just not as consistently reliable as cornstarch. To avoid GMOs, you can use organic cornstarch. Here’s where to get it if your HFS does not carry it; ORGANIC CORNSTARCH; ALCOHOL: SEE NOTES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS FILE ON VEGAN ALCOHOL AND SUBSTITUTES FOR ALCOHOL. ABOUT CHOCOLATE: REMEMBER, it's important to use organic chocolate and avoid cheap chocolate (vegan or not) that is most likely produced with the use of child slave labor. Read John Robbins article on this at the link below (there are lots of alternatives): VEGAN COLORED SUGAR SPRINKLES: (use vegan organic sugar) PURCHASED: Silvia Vegan Essentials has a large range of chocolates that would be ideal for Easter, such as chocolate marbles, earth balls, dolphin chocolates and much more. IN CANADA: email Denman Island Chocolate about their vegan, organic Easter chocolate bunnies: MEGSTAR’S SIMPLE CHOCOLATE CRISPY CANDIES: MELT: 1/4 c. chocolate chips Make into mounds on a plate (lined or oiled or not), place in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Below is a recipe (I haven't tried it). For a vegan version I substituted the following: 1.) Earth Balance instead of butter 2.) ++NOTE: if you can't get powdered sugar made from sugar beets (which is vegan), try blending the lightest, most finely granulated unbleached sugar you can find in a DRY blender with a bit of cornstarch or arrowroot until powdery. You may have to sift out chunkier bits with a fine sieve. Wholesome Foods or Florida Crystals are two brands of unbleached powdered sugar found at most health food stores in the U.S. 3.) Instead of milk chocolate chips, you'll have to use semisweet chocolate chips, checking the label for milk products-- some are vegan, some aren't. Or you can try using a tofu chocolate bar (same weight)-- I can't remember the brand, but I think someone makes them and they are like milk chocolate. ABOUT CHOCOLATE: REMEMBER, it's important to use organic chocolate and avoid cheap chocolate (vegan or not) that is most likely produced with the use of child slave labor. Read John Robbins article on this at the link below (there are lots of alternatives): 4.) If you don't want to use corn syrup, try brown rice syrup. 5.) You can check your health food store for a non-hydrogenated shortening, like Spectrum or Smart Balance, if you don't want to use the regular type. 6.) If you don't want to use artificial color, try using a bit of juice squeezed from grated raw carrot for the yellow. Saffron and tumeric are other possibilities, though saffron has to be soaked in a liquid, and tumeric should be used in very tiny amounts or it looks phony. I don’t know what you would use instead of the red coloring. TOP SECRET RECIPES VERSION OF CADBURY'S CREME EGG (VEGANIZED, IN THEORY, ANYWAY, BY BRYANNA CLARK GROGAN) Here's a little Easter present for you. It's a clone version of the first soft fondant-filled egg candy to hit the market, many Easters ago. Now, because of the success of these chocolates with the orange yolk-colored center, other candy companies have come out with their own milk chocolate eggs. Some are filled with Snickers or Milky Way centers, while others contain peanut butter, coconut, caramel or the same type of fondant center as the original...right down to the colors. These eggs are sold only once a year, for the Easter holiday. And, in that same spirit, this recipe will only be up for a week; so get it while you can or you'll have to wait until next year. Happy Easter, everyone! 1/2 cup light corn syrup (**or brown rice syrup ) 1. Combine the corn syrup, marge, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Beat well with an electric mixer until smooth. I'm not much of a candy-maker, but this easy recipe illustrates how you can use the Sweetened condensed Soymilk recipe below. It makes a good Christmas gift. 5 oz. unsweetened organic vegan baking chocolate, cut into small chunks Melt the chocolate with the powdered sugar and Sweetened Condensed Soymilk in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. When the mixture is very smooth, stir in 2 c. natural crispy rice cereal and 1 c. roasted peanuts. Drop by spoonful onto waxed-paper-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm. BRYANNA'S SWEETENED CONDENSED SOYMILK equal to a 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk-- 1 and 2/3 c. I devised this primarily to make Vietnamese Coffee, but it can be used in baking and candy-making instead of the dairy product. It's fast to make and keeps in the refrigerator for several weeks. 1 c. light unbleached sugar or white beet sugar Combine all ingredients in a blender until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is thick. Pour into a clean jar, cover and refrigerate. It thickens when chilled. ********************************** BRYANNA'S CHOCOLATE-SOY GANACHE Makes about 1 and 1/2 c. TRUFFLES: A firm ganache is also the basis for making chocolate truffles-- if you would like to try this, reduce the amount of soymilk to 1/3 c. to 1/4 c.. Roll the cold mixture in chopped toasted nuts, coconut or cocoa powder. ************************************** BRYANNA'S VEGAN COFFEE TRUFFLES makes about 2 dozen 9 oz. semisweet (vegan) organic chocolate PLUS 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate Break up the chocolate in very small pieces. Place in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Cook until chocolate melts, stirring often. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl. With an electric mixer, beat in the Earth Balance. Gradually beat in the liqueur, beating constantly to keep the mixture creamy and smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours, til firm. With hands, roll mixture into 1" balls. Roll balls in cocoa, shaking off excess. Equally divide between two pint freezer bags with zip-lock tops. Remove excess air and seal. Greeze up to 6 months. NUTTY ORANGE TRUFFLES: ******************************* BRYANNA’S DOUBLE NUT CLUSTERS (OR “NOT-CHOCOLATES”, if you prefer carob) As I’ve said before, I’m not much of a candy-maker. I like easy candy recipes, and you can’t get much easier than this! TO MAKE CAROB CANDIES (“Not-Chocolates”), omit the chocolate and use 1 c. UNsweetened dairy-free carob chips. You may want to add 1-2 T. of maple syrup. 1 c. semi-sweet organic dairy-free chocolate chips (you can use the naturally-sweetened ones) Combine and melt the chips and nut butter (and optionals, if using) in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. When the mixture is smooth, stir in the nuts. Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper on cookie sheets. Refrigerate until firm. BRYANNA’S “ENERGY BALLS”--- these are yummy; can be shaped into “eggs” and rooled in colored coconut. 1/2 c. oatmeal (or other cereal flakes for cooked cereal) Grind the oatmeal in a food processor until chopped well. Add remaining ingredients and blend until a ball forms. Roll into 4 large or 8 smaller balls. These can now be dipped in melted semi-sweet organic vegan chocolate (or melted unsweetened dairy-free carob chips), or rolled in coconut, if you wish. **************************** BRYANNA'S CAROB FUDGE With your hands, mix together well: This is very sticky. When well-mixed, wash off hands and leave them wet. Roll into balls, egg shapes or logs, or press into an oiled pan and cut into squares or other shapes. Roll in coconut (colored, if you wish), ground nuts or ground granola. ***************************************** Here is a recipe that I just tried, and my non vegan husband loved them. He was 3/4 cup light granulated unbleached or white beet sugar Heat oven to 350 degrees F . Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, VARIATIONS: CHOCOLATE CHUNK MACAROONS CHOCOLATE MACAROONS *********************************** 4 c. sifted flour Mix and sift flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, cream margarine,add sugar, cream well. Add egg sub., blend well. Add vanilla and stir in flour mix. Beat well, cover with waxed paper and refrigerate 1/2 hour (ok to leave overnight too). Roll on floured bord 1/4" thick. Cut. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 400 degrees F 10 minutes or til lightlu browned. Cool on racks, decorate as desired. 1 c. Vegan Powdered Sugar (see below) In a small bowl, stir together the Vegan Powdered Sugar Version and vanilla. Add soy milk a little at a time, stirring well after each addition to reach spreading consistency. Spread on cookies using a knife, spatula, or a pastry bag. Allow frosting to dry completely before stacking cookies. *Note: If desired, you can tint the frosting with natural food coloring. Or use fruit juice concentrate (such as raspberry or blueberry) as a replacement for the soy milk in the recipe, for a more natural tint. You can use carrot juice for yellow. 2 c. light granulated unbleached cane sugar or white beet sugar In a blender or food processor, blend sugar and cornstarch for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and blend an additional 30 seconds. Store in an airtight container. ******************************** BRYANNA’S FROSTED LEMON COOKIES makes 20 You could make this in bunny, chick or egg shapes and decorate. 1 c. granulated unbleached or white beet sugar Icing: Beat granulated sugar and margarine in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add egg replacer and next 4 ingredients (egg replacer through 1 tsp. vanilla), beating well. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through salt).Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring well. Spoon dough onto plastic wrap; flatten to a 1-1/2-inch thickness. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; chill 4 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll dough to a 15 x 12-inch rectangle on a heavily floured surface. Cut dough into 20 (3-inch) squares using a sharp knife. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes or until golden. Immediately remove cookies from pans using a wide spatula, and cool on wire rack. TO PREPARE ICING, BRYANNA’S LOW-FAT SUGAR COOKIES makes about 3 dozen 1 and 3/4 c. white pastry flour Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine margarine, sugar and oil and beat with electric mixer on low speed til creamy. Add egg replacer and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients in 4 additions, beating on low speed and scraping down sides after each addition. Do not overbeat. Divide dough in half. Roll out each piece (dusted generously with flour) between two sheets of waxed paper to 1/8”. Transfer dough, still inpaper, to baking sheets and chill in freezer 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with oil on nonstick spray. Cut cookies with 2 and 1/2” cutter. Reroll scraps. Place cookies 1” apart on prepared sheets. If decorating with colored sugar, sprinkle on now. Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, with rack in upper third of oven, 7-9 minutes, or til lightly colored. Cool pans on racks thoroughly before removing cookies. Decorate as desired. ***************************************** 1/2 c. water HEAVENLY LEMON BARS 1/2 cup unbleached flour Preheat oven to 325. Have a 9-inch square baking pan ready. In large bowl, mix 1/2 c. unbleached flour, whole wheat flour, confectioners' sugar and margarine until crumbly. Press mixture into greased pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven. In small bowl using electric mixer, beat egg replacer, granulated sugar, orange juice concentrate, and lemon juice until pale and well blended. Beat in remaining 2 tbsp. all purpose flour, lemon peel and baking powder. Pour lemon mixture over crust, return to oven and bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 mins. Set pan on wire rack to cool completely. When cool cut into bars. Makes 16. FROM: VEGAN EASTER GOODIES: Obviously we do not know so much about what is available in America but there are two good online companies we can recommend for Easter goodies: Pangea (veganstore.com) do a large range of chocolate including Whizzer's mini eggs. Vegan Essentials (veganessentials.com) do a large range of chocolates that would be ideal for Easter such as chocolate marbles, earth balls, dolphin chocolates and much more. CHOCOLATE NESTS WITH TINY EGGS Ingredients: Place your paper cases in the tin. Melt the chocolate and stir into the crumbled cereal biscuits. Put a spoonful of the mixture into each case and shape with the spoon into a rough 'nest' shape. How big or small you make these is entirely up to you! Leave to cool and set (in the fridge is fastest). Then place two or three mini eggs in each nest - simple! Ingredients: Whizzers mini eggs or other sweets to decorate ********************************************* SPARKLING WINES FOR CELEBRATIONS; According to The Vegetarian Network of Victoria (Australia), Dom Perignon Champagne is vegan. Also Moet & Chandon, and Mumm. The sparkling; http://www.ecowine.com/cgi-bin/quikstore.cgi NON-ALCOHOLIC: WHY ISN’T ALCOHOL NECESSARILY VEGAN? Wine is clarified, or cleared, after fermentation. Some of the ingredients used include: Their approved list of wines and spirits; http://www.ecowine.com/cgi-bin/quikstore.cgi http://www.greenculture.com/ps/pp_wine.html Organic Grapes into Wine Alliance (they may be able to give you info on vegan wines) http://www.vegansociety.com/html/info/info28.html http://sbvdesigns.com/veg/veganwine.htm http://www.freywine.com/freywine/index.html Australian site with list of alcoholic beverages suitable for vegans; 2 T. Grand marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur= 2 T. rum or brandy= 1/2 to 1 tsp. rum or brandy extract and 2 T. white grape juice or apple juice 2 T. amaretto or other almond-flavored liqueur= 1/4 to 2 tsp. almond extract (use only pure extract) 2 T. bourbon= 1-2 tsp. vanilla extract (obviously only for baking) 2 T. sherry= 1 tsp- 2 tsp. vanilla (in baking) OR 2 T. orange or pineapple juice 2 T. Kahlua or other coffee or chocolate-flavored liqueur= 1/2 to 1 tsp. chocolate extract plus 1/2 to 1 tsp. instant coffee or espresso (or coffee sub) with 2 T. water 1/4 c. port, sweet sherry, rum, brandy or fruit-flavored liqueur= equal measure unsweetened orange juice or apple juice plus 1 tsp. of corresponding flavored extract or vanilla 1/4 c. white wine= equal measure broth (in savory dishes), light juice or nonalcoholic wine 1/4 c. red wine= equal measure cranberry juice, apple cider or nonalcoholic wine (or broth in savory dishes) OR you can also add a splash of balsamic vinegar to any of these, as well NOTE: Add either white grape juice, apple juice or broth to the flavoring substitute, if necessary, to get the volume of liquid specified in your recipe.
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