Leftoversfor Tomorrow's Vegan Apple Brownies

I am generally a bit hesitant to try "vegan" snacks. I figure, since I'm not a vegan, what's the point? Well, I guess it never hurts to add healthy food to the diet, but I'm not going to worry about going vegan until I stop eating chicken and steak. And that may not happen in this lifetime, but you never know.

Mimi, one of my yoga teachers, made this recipe (that is credited to Missi D'Arcy) for an Open House. I took a very small one, because I expected I would not like it. It was, to my amazement, really tasty, I'm talking go-back-for-more-tasty. I have not yet tried to make this recipe myself, but since this card has been sitting on my desk for over a year - I'm going to add the recipe to the blog to make at a later date. (Photo Coming Soon - How Soon? No Idea.)

VEGAN APPLE BROWNIES

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (like earth balance)

1 cup natural sugar (turbinado can be used)

1/4 cup unsweetened organic applesauce

2 medium apples, pared, cored, and chopped fine (Macs or Granny Smith suggested)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup all purpose unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream margarine. Gradually stir in sugar, then add applesauce. Mix until creamy.

Mix in apples and walnuts.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, & cinnamon.

Stir dry ingredients lightly into apple mixture.

Turn into greased 7" x 11" pan and bake for 40 minutes.

Place on wire rack to cool, cut into bars.

***Suggestion*** Double recipe and use 13" x 9" pan. Baking time usually about the same.

Kim's Country Cookies

I believe this recipe came from a book of paper dolls that my friend Kim had when she was a little girl; the girl in the book was also named Kim. These are some of my favorite cookies. They are pretty easy to make; the hardest part is stirring the thick batter, as my little hand mixer would start smoking and then die if it tried to help me out with such a thick mixture. So you get a mini workout as a bonus... I am particularly proud of how circular & even in size my latest batch came out. I had to take a picture. Then I remembered my long neglected food blog... So hopefully you'll start seeing new recipes on leftovers4tomorrow with some frequency in the weeks to come. I did warn you that my cooking & baking happens in spurts!

Beat together:

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil


• 1/4 cup molasses


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 egg

Add & Mix Well:

• 2 cups flour


• 2 cups flour


• 2 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp cloves


• 1/2 tsp ginger


• 1 tsp cinnamon

You may also add raisins, which was in the original recipe, but I like the cookies without the raisins. If you do not have cloves, the cookies will still taste great, but they'll have a little less personality & bite to them. I usually add just a bit less than 1/2 tsp cloves, but add a little extra cinnamon to compensate. Also, I do sift the flour I use. Not sure if that makes any difference, but I enjoy sifting. :)

• Chill in the Refrigerator. (I have to admit I always skip this part & it does not seem to make a difference. Maybe the chilling makes the dough easier to roll into balls? I'm too impatient.)


• Grease Baking Sheet (I used country crock)


• Roll into 1" balls and dip into sugar. (The sugar on the bottom seems to help prevent the cookies from getting burnt bottoms - the downfall of some cookies I have made. Moving the cookies off the cookie sheet to cooling rack - about 1-2 minutes after they are out of the oven also helps the bottoms of the cookies stay nice and golden.) I am realy proud of this batch.


• Place on Greased Cookie Sheet


• Bake 8 minutes at 350º