Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

I also made these for Christmas and they are super simple! The dough is a little bit harder to work with because there are not a lot of wet ingredients in the recipe. However, they turned out tasting good, which is the most important part!

Ingredients

10 Tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) non-dairy butter (I used Earth Balance)

1/3 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 ounce semisweet chocolate (or chocolate chips- it's a little under 1/2 a cup)

3/4 teaspoon corn syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

3. In a large bowl, beat together 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) of butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla.

4. Once smooth, add in flour.

5. When dough is combined, roll into small balls, placing them 1 inch apart of the cookie sheet.

6. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, make an indentation in the middle of each cookie, and return to oven for 9 more minutes.

7. Take cookies out of oven and remove to a wire rack to cool.

8. In a small bowl, combine chocolate, 2 Tablespoons of butter, and corn syrup.

9. When cookies are cool heat the mixture in the microwave at 50% power in 45 second intervals until melted and smooth. (Stir between each interval)

10. Fill the thumbprints with the chocolate mixture and allow to set.

Note: When making the thumbprint, try to find something other than your thumb (like a small spoon) to do this with. It can be done with the thumb but the cookies are super hot!

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these for Christmas and finally have time to post this :) I know that they are not very "Christmas-y," but when you combine peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate...nothing but a fabulous concoction can be made. If you are addicted to the previous three ingredients as I am, you should have no problem devouring a batch of these. Happy Baking!

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) non-dairy butter (I used Earth Balance)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (Skippy is my favorite!)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Ghiradelli Semi-sweet contain no dairy!)

Yield: 18 cookies (depending on how big you make them!)

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.) Lightly spray cookie sheets with non-stick oil.

3.) In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.

4.) In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, both sugars, and vanilla extract.

5.) Once well mixed, add the applesauce and continue to combine.

6.) Lower the speed of your mixer (if using one), and slowly add flour mixture until just combined.

7.) Stir in the oats, and then add chocolate chips.

8.) Using a spoon, drop large balls of dough (or whatever size you like) onto the cookie sheets, making sure they are about 2 inches apart.

9.) Bake until cookies are golden brown (the recipe says it takes 10 minutes, but I usually add about 2-3 minutes because I like my cookies a little bit crisper).

10.) Cool completely on baking sheet and remove to a container for storage.

11.) If you don't eat these straight out of the oven, warm them up in the microwave so the chocolate is just barely melted before enjoying!

Christmas French Toast!

I was told about this recipe a few months ago but hadn't tried it yet. However, I thought, "What better occasion than Christmas breakfast?!" So this morning, I made this for my mother and brother. We all came to the general consensus that it was amazing and so I had to share it!

Ingredients:

1 cup non-dairy milk (I used Silk Soy Milk)

2-3 Tablespoons flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Dash (or more) of cinnamon

4 slices of bread (I used cinnamon raisin bread, but any bread will work!)

Non-stick spray or butter

1.) Mix together soy milk, flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

2.) Dip both sides of the bread in the batter and place in a lightly greased (or buttered) pan.

3.) Fry bread, rotating on both sides, until golden brown.

4.) Serve with powdered sugar, syrup, strawberries, or whatever your favorite topping is!

Yield: 4 servings

I used cinnamon raisin bread because we had just gotten a fresh loaf at Cinnamon Productions (which has the worlds best tuna sandwiches...but that is besides the point). I topped it with butter and had strawberries and pomegranates on the side. It was truly one of the best breakfasts I've had in a while! I am sure that other types of bread work great too :)

[Adapted from VegWeb]

Merry Christmas!

Italian Butter Cookies

Every year around Christmas time, I see these butter cookies everywhere. I have always wanted to make them, but could never find a good recipe. However, I stumbled across this one and just had to make them! Unfortunately it calls for a cookie press...which I do not own, but I made due. These cookies are crisp and sweet. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) non-dairy butter (I used Earth Balance sticks)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

(For decorating)

raspberry jam

semi-sweet or dark chocolate

sprinkles

powdered sugar

1.) Beat softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).

2.) Add applesauce and vanilla, beat until combined.

3.) Add dry ingredients slowly until well mixed in.

4.) Fill a piping or plastic bag with the dough and pipe shapes onto a greased cookies sheet.

Note: This is where the cookie press was supposed to come in. If you have one, by all means use that to make the shapes. However, I loaded the dough into a plastic bag and made it a piping bag by cutting one of the corner tips off. I then piped it into shapes.

5.) Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, rotating once.

6.) After baked, let cool slightly before moving the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

7.) After cookies have cooled, take jam and mix in a bowl until it has a smooth consistency.

8.) Spread jam on the inside of one cookie and place another on top of it, creating a "cookie sandwich" of sorts. Repeat for all cookies.

9.) After the jam has set (about 30 minutes or so), either dip in melted chocolate and cover with sprinkles, or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Adapted from Obviously Sweet

Peppermint Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know that it's a mouthful to say, but that is exactly what you will get when you bite into one of these cookies: a mouth full of joy.

Since it is so close to Christmas, I thought I would adapt one of my favorite recipes from Becky Bakes and "vegan-ize" it with a holiday twist.

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter substitute (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (anything that says "natural" on it is unsweetened)

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

10 oz bag vegan chocolate chips (about 1 2/3 cup)- Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips are already vegan!

1 pkg. peppermint oreos (I used Trader Joe's Peppermint Jo Jo's)

Yield: 22-24 cookies

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.) In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together with mixer.

3.) Add applesauce and vanilla, continuing to mix until well combined.

4.) In a medium bowl, mix together flour, salt, and baking soda.

5.) Slowly add dry ingredients to wet until just combined.

6.) Add in chocolate chips and continue to mix with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed.

7.) Using a small spoon, scoop out balls of dough and place one ball on the top, and one on the bottom of the Oreo.

8.) Using your fingers, spread the dough around the Oreo and seal at the edges-- you should only be able to see the cookie dough at this point.

9.) Place onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, and continue until there is no more dough

10.) Cook time will depend on your oven and how much cookie dough you use per cookie. My cookies took about 16-18 minutes per batch. You want to cook them until they are golden brown, but be careful not to burn.

11.) When the cookies are done, let sit outside of the oven for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

12.) Enjoy with your favorite type of milk. Happy Holidays!

Welcome!

Hello Everyone!

I have wanted to start a blog for a while now, and what better time then before the start of a new year? A little about me:

My name is Sarah. I'm a senior at UC Davis. I love to bake.

I am creating this blog to share my recipes and life that seems to revolve around food. Most of the things I cook/bake are vegan. Now, I am in no way a vegan, but I am lactose-intolerant and it is sometimes easier to bake this way (because it already omits dairy). However, my boyfriend is vegan so he gets the benefit of always being my taste tester :) I love finding delicious recipes and making them vegan. I know that "vegan" food scares some people, but I promise I never use any strange ingredients and people really can't tell the difference!

I named my blog Mangia Dolce because it translates literally to "Eat Sweet." I believe that food should always be enjoyable, and what's better than sweets? I also have an unhealthy addiction to chocolate, so don't be surprised if it pops up frequently in my recipes. But really, who doesn't love chocolate?

Thanks for reading, whoever you might be, and be on the lookout for some delicious recipes! :)