Almond & Chocolate Chip Cookie

Makes 36

·        2 cups all-purpose flour

·        1 tsp baking soda

·        1 tsp salt

·        7 oz almond paste*

·        1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened

·        1 cup granulated sugar

·        ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

·        2 large eggs

·        ½ tsp vanilla extract

·        2 cups dark chocolate chips

·        1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

·        1 tsp coarse sea salt 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.  Take our 4 ungreased cookie sheets. 

1. Toast almond slices for 3-5 minutes, remove and set aside.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.

3. Beat almond paste, butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in mixing bowl until combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each.  Mix in vanilla extract.

4.  Add flour mixture, chocolate chips and almonds.  Beat until well combined.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

5. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.  Place cookie sheets on wire racks and let the cookies set and cool completely.


*For homemade almond paste:

Makes 1 1/3 cups (13 oz.) almond paste. 

• 1 1/2 cups whole blanched almonds, or almond flour 
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
• 1 large egg white (lightly beaten, at room temperature)
• 1. Place the whole blanched almonds and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar in a large, 7-cup food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process the nuts and sugar until the nuts are very finely ground, stopping periodically to scrape the sides of the processor bowl. The sugar will help prevent the nuts from turning into almond butter, but still be careful about over-processing.
• 2. Once the almonds are very finely ground, add the rest of the powdered sugar and pulse until it is completely mixed into the ground almonds.

• 3. Stop the processor and add the egg white.
• 4. Turn the processor back on and process the almond paste until it comes together in a clump in the food processor.
• 5. If it seems very sticky, add a little more powdered sugar, a spoonful at a time, until it is smooth.
• 6. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then store it in a zip-top bag. 
• Wrapped this way, the almond paste can be kept for up to 3 months in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer. Make sure to bring the almond paste to room temperature before using it in recipes.

"Fairfield's Delight" Bar (Vegan and Gluten-free)

• 1 cup dried coconut flakes 
• 1 cup walnuts 
• 2 cups pitted dates
• 3 tsp rosewater
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips 
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons dried cherries or cranberries, optional 

Put the dried coconut and walnuts into a food processor and process until you arrive at the desired consistency- I don't grind it down too finely because I like some texture.  Add the dates and continue to process until the mixture is uniform and comes together. Add cinnamon and rose water and pulse for a little while longer. If you are adding dried cherries, add and pulse for a few seconds.

Press the mixture firmly into a 9x9 inch pan. Place in the freezer just long enough (15 minutes should be enough time) so that they are cool enough for the chocolate to harden fairly quickly when you spread it over the bars. 

Combine the dark chocolate pieces and coconut oil and melt over a double boiler. Once melted, it's ready for spreading but make sure the coconut-date mixture is cold enough so that the chocolate hardens. 

Score into pieces before returning the pan to the freezer. 

Store in freezer up to a week. It takes less than 10 minutes for the bars to warm up to an ideal eating temperature. I like these bars almost straight out of the freezer.

Vegan Chocolate Banana Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes.

ingredients:

1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup ripe banana (1-2 bananas)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

For Frosting (I make Chocolate Banana Mousse and pipe it on after chilling it) 

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

In a small bowl, mash the banana with a fork. Whisk in the almond milk, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until incorporated. Mixture will still be a little lumpy because of the nature of the banana, but whisk out as many large lumps as you can. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in banana mixture. Stir until just smooth (do not overmix).

Pour into liners, filling each with 3 tablespoons of batter (cups should be no more than 2/3 full). Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Vegan Peanut Butter Cupcakes

2/3 cup almond milk, unsweetened (I used vanilla flavored)
1 teaspoon vinegar (I've used Apple Cider and White)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons flax seeds
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line one dozen muffin tins with cupcake papers.

1.Combine the almond milk and vinegar, and let sit for a few minutes before whisking vigorously until frothy. Mix in both sugars. 
2.Grind the flax seeds into a powder with a spice grinder, and whiz them together with the water. Stir the flax seed mixture, peanut butter, applesauce, and vanilla into your mixer, and beat until thoroughly combined. 

3. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly stir these dry ingredients into the batter. Mix until there are no more lumps, but be careful not to mix more than necessary.

4.In a separate bowl combine all of the ingredients for the frosting, and blend until completely smooth. Set aside.

5. Divide your batter equally between the prepared muffin tins. Drop a dollop of frosting into each cup of raw batter, and swirl it around with a toothpick, covering the entire top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. When testing for doneness, be sure to find a spot that is free from frosting, as it may cause the toothpick to appear wet, even if the cupcakes are ready. Let the cupcakes cool inside the tins for at least 10 to 15 minutes. You can either let them cool the rest of the way atop a wire rack, or serve them immediately for a warm delight.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Cherry and Chocolate Chip Almond Scones

Ingredients

• 1cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup wholewheat a pastry flour
• 2 tablspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup packed almond paste
• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 Tablespoons) cold unsalted butter (I used cultured) 
• 1/3 cup dried cherries and/or 1/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream or half-and-half
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• Sugar for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Stack two baking sheets together and line the top one with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate the almond paste and then the butter directly into the dry ingredients. With a pastry cutter, or two knives, cut the almond paste and the butter into the dry ingredients until a few pea-sized lumps remain. Stir in the cherries or mini chocolate chips.
2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and extracts. With a fork, gradually stir in enough of the liquid until the mixture just starts to come together, reserving about 1 tablespoon of the liquid to brush the tops of the scones.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and very gently pat into an 8-inch round about 1 1/2 inches high. Using a chef's knife or bench scraper. cut the dough round into 8 wedges. Transfer the wedges to the baking sheet, spacing the scones at least 1 inch apart. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with the reserved egg-cream mixture and sprinkle liberally with sugar.
4. Bake in the top third of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the tops are golden. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve warm.