Vegan Gluten Free Tea Cookies

I needed to make some vegan gluten free cookies for a girlfriends trip and while I RARELY ever bake vegan let alone gluten free. Thankfully for the internet because it sure did deliver! I was so very pleasantly surprised by the recipe from Minimalist Baker since it was not only delicious but all didn't miss the egg, butter or gluten whatsoever. 

I did adapt the recipe since I didn't want to make loads of my own gluten free flour mix. The best substitute I found was actually from Arrowhead Mills using their Gluten Free Organic Pancake & Waffle mix. This provided a great base for the cookie then I just played with my own spice proportions for flavoring. I was also inspired by my dear fellow baker and friend from The Great American Baking Show and the spices he had in his Showstopper gingerbread cookie tree. (Thanks Jeremiah!) 

Vegan Gluten Free Tea Cookies
Adapted from Minimalist Baker & spices inspired by Jeremiah Bills' Gingerbread from The Great American Baking Show
Makes about 24-30 2 to 3 inch cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon finely grounded flaxseed meal
  • 2.5 tablespoons water 
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed 
  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 3 tablespoons molasses 
  • 1/4 cup vegan butter, room temp  
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
  • 1/8 teaspoon mace 
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1 1/2 cups gluten free pancake / waffle mix (brand: Arrowhead Mills) 

1. In a small bowl, mix together flaxseed meal and water. Let it sit for 5 minutes and stir occasionally. This will get very thick almost like an egg white consistency. 

2. In a medium bowl or stand mixer bowl, add brown sugar, molasses, almond butter, vegan butter, all spices, salt and baking soda. Begin to mix with a whisk attachment on medium until all ingredients are creamed together. Turn off mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn mixer back on and add flaxseed mixture. Mix until incorporated. 

3. Remove bowl and add in gluten free pancake/waffle mix. Mix together with a wooden spoon. If the dough is not coming together then add another tablespoon of the flour mixture. Do not over add since it will be too dry and grainy. You want your dough to be thick enough to form a ball. Once dough is ready wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight. 

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

5. Prepare one sheet of parchment paper on your countertop and lightly dust with your flour mix. Place cookie dough on the parchment paper and press down the disc a bit. Dust the top of it with a little more of the flour mix and then place another parchment paper over it. You're going to roll out dough between these two pieces of parchment paper till it's about 1/4 of an inch thick. Don't go too thin or cookies might burn in the oven. 

6. At this point if your kitchen is too hot or dough is too soft, transfer the parchment papers to a cookie sheet and place into the freezer for about 5 minutes to re-chill. Or, you can go straight into cutting. 

7. Transfer cut cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Remember, this dough is VERY SOFT so it can break easily. Use light floured spatulas to move them around or just make sure you work quickly. Place cookies about 1.5 inches apart since they will spread slightly in the oven. 

8. Once cut and laid out, put them back into the freezer again for 5 minutes to harden up and reduce spreading when baked. 

9. Bake in heated oven for 8-11 minutes. The edges of the cookies should look slightly browner and feel stiff. Cool on the cookie sheet for at least 3 minutes before moving since they will feel very soft. 

10. Once they are a bit firmer, move them on a cooling rack to continue cooling to room temp. Enjoy now or store in an air-tight container for 5-7 days. 

 
 

Chinese Green Onion Sesame Rolls

I grew up in a small suburb outside of Los Angeles called, Cerritos. It's a pretty small city and mainly known for the auto square ("605 to South Street, Cerritos Auto Square!"). In addition to the car dealers, there is an awesome Asian food scene in Cerritos where you can get great Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, etc. everywhere you turn. 

I remember one of my favorite places to go as a kid was the local Chinese bakery with my mom and dad. For those who haven't been to a Chinese bakery before, they are these magical places that smell like sugary milk as soon as you walk in the door. with shelves of different types of individually wrapped sweet and savory bread buns with delicious fillings/toppings and pastry cases with fruit cakes, swiss rolls and other yummy desserts. 

When we were tasked to make a dinner roll during bread week for The Great American Baking Show, I was inspired by all the Chinese bread I ate growing up. I knew I wanted to make an enriched dough (with eggs, milk and butter) because it reminded me of home. I was also inspired by Green Onion Scallion Pancakes (Chinese pronunciation: cōng yóu bǐng that is served as another source of carbs besides rice with your meal. 

While I was able to complete these rolls in just about 2 hours on the show, please TAKE YOUR TIME with this. We had proofing drawers and I had to massively rush through the shaping. Bread is NOT to be rushed especially if you want a beautiful light and fluffy roll at the end of this. In total I think with two proper rises at room temperature you're looking at at least 3.5 hours. At least it's worth the wait. :) 

Chinese Green Onion Sesame Rolls
Recipe featured on ABC's The Great American Baking Show, Makes 12 rolls

Bread Dough: 

  • 1 2/3 cups whole milk, slightly warmed 
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 large egg, room temperature and lightly beaten 
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup cake flour
  • 3 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 

Filling: 

  • 8-9 fresh green onions, chopped, cleaned and dry 
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
  • 2 tablespoons Asian toasted sesame oil 

Topping: 

  • 1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk (for egg wash) 
  • 2 tablespoons of toasted white sesame seeds
     

1. In a small bowl, microwave milk for about 30 seconds just until it's warmed (slightly warmer than body temp) then add yeast. Stir lightly and let it sit for 5 minutes to dissolve. 

2. In a stand mixer bowl, cake flour, bread flour, salt and sugar in that order. Then add the milk yeast mixture and then the beaten egg. This will be a very wet dough to begin with.  

3. With the dough hook, knead everything together for 9-10 minutes on low till dough comes together. This will be a wetter dough even when it's done kneading and will be sticky to the bowl and your hands.  Butter or oil your hands and pull the dough from the bottom and form it in a ball.   

4. Take a separate large bowl and spray with oil. Transfer dough ball into the large oiled bowl. Cover in plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for 1 hour for the first rise. Dough should grow to at least 1.5 x it’s original size.

5. While dough is rising, work on making filling. Julian green onions on a slanted cut. Add in salt and both oils. Taste and make sure there is enough sesame and salt flavoring. Cover and set aside. (Image above) 

6. Line a 9 x 13 rectangle pan with parchment paper then set aside. 

7. When dough is ready, punch it down in the bowl and place on a lightly floured counter.  Knead a few times lightly just to get out the air bubbles. 

 8. Place dough on an oiled surface and cut into 12 equal pieces. Measure it on a scale to be precise. Shape each piece into a nice round ball and place into the lined pan. Cover the dough balls that you aren’t actively using with a dry and clean kitchen towel. (Image above) 

9. Take each ball and lightly roll out with a wooden pin into a longer rectangle then add an even layer of green onion mixture on top of the dough. You will be adding about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling to each piece. (Image above) The key is to not get too much oil on the dough since that makes it tricky for sealing. 

10. Roll up the dough with the green onion lengthwise then pinch the ends to ensure it is enclosed inside. (Image above) 

11. Pull the ends of the long “cigar” dough and make a knot with the dough while tucking in each end. Place each dough into the parchment paper lined in rows of 3. Repeat till you’re done with all 12 rolls. Cover the rolls that you’ve place into the pan with a towel as you’re working.

12. Now you're reading for the second proof. Place pan with dry cloth over it back and allow to proof another hour or 1.5 hours until rolls have doubled and fill the space between them. (Image above) 

13. Preheat oven to 350 F / 176 C.

14. Prepare egg wash and brush on top of the buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

15. Bake for 25-30 minutes until tops are golden brown. Make sure buns have reached an internal temp of 200 F / 93 C and tap to hear a hollow sound. Rotate the pan at least once in the oven to ensure even baking.

16. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan. Remove parchment paper and rolls and place on cooling rack until it’s cool enough to be handled. 

17. After a few minutes break them apart and place in a cloth-lined basket. 

 
 

Kona Coffee White Chocolate Mac Nut Cookies

It's been a few weeks since we got back from Hawaii and I'm doing just about anything I can to hang on to the sunshine, warmth and delicious food! I was lucky enough to pick up a bag of these beautiful Hawaiian macadamia nuts from the local market before leaving. One of the hubby's favorite cookies is a white chocolate mac nut cookie so no better time than now to tear into this bad boy! 

I adapted the recipe from Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost Cookie but reductions on sugar and different drop-ins. I am in love with how crispy the outside is and chewy the centers are. They also result in a very THIN cookie. This makes it fun to eat with ice cream or on their own. 

A few tips before starting... use an ice cream scooper for shaping your cookies. This is a very soft dough so don't bother using your hands to roll them. Also, keep in mind these cookies spread quite a bit in the oven so space them out properly. You can also bake two sheets at a time just make sure to rotate them (turn and switch racks) about 75% of the way through.  

Pre-bake: space out 6 cookies per sheet. 

Pre-bake: space out 6 cookies per sheet. 

Post-bake: cookies spread considerably! 

Post-bake: cookies spread considerably! 

Kona Coffee White Chocolate Mac Nut Cookies
Adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar, makes about 2 dozen 4 inch cookies

  • 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp (2 sticks) 
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed 
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup or 2 tablespoons of glucose 
  • 1 large egg, room temp
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
  • 8 oz. white chocolate, chopped into small chunks (I used 2 Ghirardelli baking bars) 
  • 1 cup of macadamia nuts, roughly chopped (to same size of white chocolate) 
  • 2 teaspoons ground coffee (do not use instant coffee) 

1.   In your stand mixer bowl, add butter, sugars and corn syrup. Cream sugars and butter together using the paddle attachment on medium high for about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl then add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat again on medium high for another 6 minutes. 

2. In a separate bowl, add your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together to ensure they are well mixed together. 

3. Your egg, butter sugar mixture should be very light and pleasantly whipped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and turn your mixer to low. Start adding your flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time. Turn off mixer once the dough comes together. Shouldn't be more than a minute. 

4. Now add the white chocolate, mac nuts and ground coffee to the dough. Again, only mix until all the dough comes together (about 30 seconds) and do not over mix. Scrape the dough together with a spatula. 

5. Prepare 1 large baking sheet with parchment paper and grab your ice cream scooper. I like to use a 1 and 3/4 inch scooper which results in about a 4 inch cookie. Remember the larger scooper you go, the more you'll need to space out your cookies for baking. Start to scoop cookie domes to the baking sheet until all the dough is gone. 

6. After all the cookies have been scooped, wet the back of your scooper and lightly press down each cookie so you flatten out the tops a bit. Next these cookies will need to chill for at least 1.5 hours or up to a week in the fridge. Wrap the baking sheet tightly in plastic wrap and go enjoy something on Netflix. 

7. When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 F. 

8. Place the chilled cookie domes on parchment lined baking sheets spaced at least 4-5 inches apart. (See images above) You can fit about 6 cookies on each sheet and bake two sheets at a time. Keep cookies that aren't going into the oven yet in the fridge. 

9. Bake for 16-18 minutes. about 13 minutes in, rotate the pans and switch levels if you're baking two sheets at a time. 

10. Cookies are done when the outsides are a nice golden brown and the centers are still a bit blonde. Remove from the oven and cool cookies on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes. If you try to move them too soon they'll completely fall apart. 

11. Pour a glass of milk, or if you're like me, almond milk, and enjoy! Keep remaining cookies in an airtight container up to 5 days. 

 
 

Orange Rosemary Shortbread

While we were in Hawaii, I really wanted to bake something for a family gathering. With a very limited kitchen... no stand mixer, no hand mixer, no measuring cups/scale (!!), and no rolling pin, I went in search of something I could make that would be delicious and be pleasing to the eye! 

Behold... the SHORTBREAD COOKIE! What a great way to get back to improv baking! The key to shortbread is similar to sugar cookies. Make sure the dough stays cold, cold, cold after you roll it out and all through the shaping process. Here's what you'll need: 

- Mixing bowls, wooden spoon, plastic wrap, parchment paper, a glass cup or wine bottle (as your rolling pin), large chef's knife, baking sheets. 

Orange Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Makes 2 Dozen cookies depending on your cutters

  •  1 1/2 cups of unsalted butter, room temp
  • 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1/8 cup of clover honey 
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  •  ¼ teaspoon salt 
  • zest from 2 large navel oranges, separated
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, chopped 
  • 2 cups dark chocolate, melted

1.   In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with your wooden spoon or using your stand mixer. Add in vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. 

2. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and add flour, salt and orange zest. Mix until well incorporated. 

3. Remove dough from the bowl and shape into two round, flat discs. Wrap with plastic wrap and place into the fridge for 30 minutes. 

4. After dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350F. 

5. Roll out the chilled dough till it's about 1/2 inch thick. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and put it into the freezer for 10 minutes to re-chill. Repeat rolling out the dough with the second dough disc. 

6. Remove rolled dough from the freezer and cut rectangles with your kitchen knife (or use cutters at this time. 

7. Line more baking sheets with parchment paper and space out cut cookies at least 1 inch apart. Lightly sprinkle each cookie with chopped rosemary. 

8. Bake up to 2 sheets in preheated oven for 20-25minutes until the edges start to turn golden. When you touch the edges of the cookie they should feel stiff but the middles of the cookies will be a little soft. Rotate sheets at least once. 

9. Remove cookies from the oven and let it cool for 1 minute on the sheet. If the cookies browned too much in the oven, then remove immediately to a cooling rack. 

10. Let cookies cool completely before dipping in chocolate. 

11. In a small bowl, microwave 1 cup of chocolate chunks for 30 seconds then 10 seconds at a time until you can stir the melted chocolate. Don't overheat. Add in the rest of the chocolate and continue to stir until that chocolate has melted into the bowl. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled. 

12. Zest your second orange and set aside in a small bowl. 

12. Dip each cooled cookie into the chocolate, sprinkle chocolate section with orange zest and then set on parchment paper for the chocolate to set. 

17.  Store dried cookies in an air-tight container for a week.

 
 

Strawberry Black Pepper Mini Pavlovas

Photo: The Great American Baking Show

Photo: The Great American Baking Show

Pavlovas are one of my absolute FAVORITE desserts to bring to dinner parties. They're surprisingly easy so long as you have a reliable oven with consistent temperatures. Get an oven thermometer if you don't already have one. That's how I like to make sure the temperatures are accurate. 

This pavlova was so fun to test because you can pretty much add any sort of freeze dried ingredients to the pavlova base and get these awesome bursts of flavor. One of my favorite desserts is a black pepper strawberry shortcake. Using that as inspiration, I used freeze dried strawberries and black pepper in the pavlova. Then topped them with the balsamic black cherry reduction with vanilla mascarpone cream.

Recipe available on ABC!