I whipped up a batch of Mexican Wedding Cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking.  They were awesome and so easy to make!  I really, really, really love this cook book.  Every recipe that I have tried has been great and the book is filled with all kinds of tips.  Definitely a good investment.

While browsing the dried fruit section of the grocery store yesterday, a tub of figs jumped into my cart. The figs then convinced a tub of dates to follow. Actually, I bought them intentionally, knowing that I had no clue what to do with them once I got them home. Emma really likes fig cookies (newtons, newmans, whichever), so I thought I would look around for a recipe to make them myself.

My sous chef (Emma) and I went to work this morning whipping up this recipe for a very healthy sounding fig bar. The sky was very overcast outside and it sounded like the perfect indoor activity. The entire recipe was incredibly easy to make, although I had to add a little bit more water than the recipe calls for to thin out the filling enough for my food processor to, I guess, process it. I also used maple syrup in place of the agave nectar. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly.

These turned out really tasty, although, I think Emma preferred the uncooked version. After licking the spoon clean, she said it was:

While my figgy bars were baking, I thought of the tons of bananas in my freezer taking up valuable space that I should try to use up. I buy a big bunch of bananas every time we are at the grocery store and, when they start getting brown and spotty, I peel them and freeze them. I probably had 3 bags of frozen bananas to use up and, since my kitchen was already a mess, why not whip up some muffins too?! My sous chef abandoned me for her legos and I was left to tackle this challenge all on my own.

I’ve made this recipe for banana bread before and thought it was “very, very good,” but all that non-dairy butter is probably not too good for my thighs. I decided to substitute 1/2 cup homemade applesauce in place of the 1/2 cup margarine. I followed the recipe exactly, other than that one substitution. After filling my muffin cups, I pressed a few walnut chunks into the tops of the muffins for a little extra crunch and some Omega-3s. Baking time was about 20 minutes, and I got 12 good sized muffins from this recipe.

(Emma is helping me with this post.) We have a family gathering tomorrow and I’ve been hard at work this afternoon making cookies to take. I’ve made Dreena’s chocolate chip cookies and “You’ve Got Peanut Butter in My Chocolate” Cookies from ED&BV. So delicious….

I’ve made these cookies a few times and my parents are big fans, so I decided to make up a batch for them to take home after their visit for Emma’s birthday party. These cookies are the best– so much better than any other cookie I’ve ever made before– vegan or not. The best part is that the recipe only makes about 12 cookies, so you don’t have to worry about over indulging when you want a sweet treat to nibble on. They also freeze extremely well.