Cookie Competition Winner and Recipes! December 7, 2007

Posted by Marta at December 7, 2007 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 14 ) | TrackBack

The votes are in from peta2's Christmas Cookie Cooking Competition, and while the competition was certainly close, Megan has taken the top honors with her Holiday Chocolate Mint Cookies. Congratulations, Megan!

We received tons of messages from people practically getting their drool on our keyboards in the hopes of getting all the vegan cookie recipes—and the holidays are all about giving, so as a special gift from all the cookie bakers to all of you, here are our recipes. Just do one thing for me: Make a batch or two for all those people in your life who like to assume vegan food is all about granola and bean sprouts—show them what's up!

Enjoy!

AntiSean's Pinwheels

Ingredients:

1 cup vegan butter or margarine
1 cup granulated sugar
Substitute for 2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 Tbs cocoa
Extra flour and confectioner's sugar for dusting the dough
Colored sprinkles (optional)
Wax paper for rolling the dough

In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together; add egg replacer and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour. Divide dough into 2 equal portions; blend cocoa into one portion. Form each portion into ball. Chill the dough in your refrigerator for 30-45 minutes for the next step!

Place each ball between two sheets of waxed paper lightly dusted with powdered sugar or flour and roll each into a rectangle—the thinner you roll the dough, the smaller the spirals in your pinwheels will be. Put a light coat of sprinkles on both layers if you so desire.

Carefully layer one color on the other. Starting at long edge, roll into a log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate dough for at least 4 hours, until very firm (I might even give it a short run in the freezer, depending on how good your knife is). Cut in 1/4-inch slices and place on a greased baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

Lara's Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegan margarine
Ener-G equivalent to 1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
A lil shredded lemon peel

Cream sugar, margarine, egg replacer & vanilla together, stir in all dry ingredients until well combined. roll, cut out, sprinkle, etc. Bake 8-10 minutes @ 375 degrees.

Marta's Snickerdoodle Stacks

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar + extra sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1/4 cup vanilla or plain soymilk
Cinnamon to taste
Duncan Hines Whipped Vanilla Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oil, both sugars, vanilla, and soymilk, then mix in flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine extra sugar and desired level of cinnamon-y goodness. Roll dough into small-to-medium sized balls and roll in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Flatten cookies on a greased cookie sheet (I used vegetable oil) and space them out accordingly (For square shaped cookies, the dough can be placed close together. For circular cookies, space them further apart.). Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes.

Once cookies have cooled a bit, take sets of two cookies and frost the top of one with desired amount of frosting, then place another cookie on top. Voila! Yummy Christmas goodness. Makes about 10 Snickerdoodle Stacks or about 20 individual cookies.

Megan's Holiday Chocolate Mint Cookies

Ingredients:

8 oz vegan semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp peppermint extract
3/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
Egg replacer equivalent of 1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
Vegan chocolate frosting
Red and green peppermint hard candy

Place chocolate in a microwavable bowl. Microwave until melted (in 30 second intervals stirring between each). Mix in peppermint extract.

Mix margarine, sugar, and egg replacer. Add chocolate/peppermint mixture and flour.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

When cool, drizzle with chocolate frosting (soften by microwaving a few seconds) and sprinkle with chopped peppermint hard candy.

Mylie's Fancy Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup vegan margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
Ener-G-Egg replacer equal to 1 egg (egg replacer is widely available in stores, check for a store near you here)
2 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

For decorating the cookies:

Vanilla Frosting (I used Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla
Vegan decorating icing (I used some from Betty Crocker, but check ingredients) and sprinkles

*Wait until cookies are completely cool before decorating them with frosting or frosting will melt.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In large bowl, beat sugar and margarine together on low speed using a mixer (or spoon) until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla and egg replacer. Next stir in flour and baking soda. Shape dough by teaspoonfuls into balls, then using the bottom of a glass or mug, flatten the balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet (they should be fairly symetrical and look like round cookies). Place them approx 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 9 or 10 min, checking them to make sure they don't burn. The bottoms will start to brown slightly, so checking on them a couple of times is good. When they are done, remove them gently using a spatula and place them on a cooling rack (if you have one). This will help them to cool quickly so you can decorate them.

I hope you enjoy the recipes as much as we do. Now get out there and get baking!

♥ Marta

peta2 Christmas Cookie Cooking Competition! December 4, 2007

Posted by Marta at December 4, 2007 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 23 ) | TrackBack

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a fan of Christmas. Okay, so maybe obsessed is a better word to use when describing how I feel about Christmas. And no, I'm not talking about the greedy aspect of Christmas, I'm talking about spending time with your friends and family, listening to cheesy Christmas songs and singing along loudly, watching holiday movies (A Christmas Story, anyone?), the friendly spirit in the air, and of course, vegan Christmas cookies!

Are you harboring a secret grudge against your family because you think you can't partake in the cookie baking deliciousness since you went vegan? Let me be the first to tell you that vegan Christmas cookies are just about one of the best things in life. And to prove that very point to you, I decided to hold the first-ever peta2 Christmas Cookie Cooking Competition.

So there were a few people who didn't compete (I like to refer to them lovingly as "the suckers"), but check out all of the scrumptious options below, and let me know which batch of cookies you'd most like to pull a Santa on (you know, eat a few and wash 'em down with soymilk before stuffing your happy belly back up the chimney) by leaving a comment with your favorite. Pick wisely because the batch of cookies with the most votes will give someone here in peta2 land major bragging rights—and oh yeah, I'll post the winning recipe here on the blog for you to make for all those hungry little elves in your lives.

AntiSean's Pinwheels


Lara's Christmas Cut-Out Cookies


Marta's Snickerdoodle Stacks


Megan's Holiday Chocolate Mint Cookies


Mylie's Fancy Sugar Cookies
I tried many of the cookies, and trust me, they're as good as they look. Leave a comment with your favorite!

♥ Marta

Win Delicious Veggie Turkey for Thanksgiving! November 8, 2007

Posted by Marta at November 8, 2007 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

By now I'm sure you've learned that those of us here at peta2 love the following things:

-Helping animals
-Helping others to help animals
-Giving away free stuff
-Anything related to vegan food

And when we can do everything in one easy step, well that just makes us unbelievably happy. Thanksgiving is just two short weeks away, and we're giving you the chance to win some delicious veggie turkey breasts to share with your family. All you have to do is fill out this form letting your friends and family members know why you're choosing to leave the bird corpse off your plate this Thanksgiving. What better way to help animals than not eat them? There will be five lucky winners, and the deadline to enter is this Sunday, November 11, so get to it!

Now that Thanksgiving is on your brain, I want to share a tasty treat I stumbled across on the peta2 message boards around Thanksgiving last year that I made for my roommates. Everyone loved them, so give 'em a try!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

15 oz. cooked pumpkin (I used canned)
1/3 cup apple sauce
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
4 TBL baking powder
2 tsp water
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Mix everything, then scoop onto greased cookie sheet (I used vegetable oil) and bake for 13-15 minutes.

And who else is stoked to eat TONS of mashed potatoes and vegan gravy on Thanksgiving? It's not just me, right?!

♥ Marta

Halloween in the UK October 29, 2007

Posted by Marta at October 29, 2007 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBack

Here's a special guest blog from Martin with peta2 UK.

It's Halloween Week.

Last weekend I thought I would try to get into the Halloween spirit and carve a pumpkin and bake some vegan cookies. I got in touch with my inner Goth and really busted out my artistic talents.


I have to admit that as I lack any kind of drawing skill I kind of cheated with the stencil but I think I did really well with my cutting talents and the message is right (yeah I know it should really be SUCKS but I ran out of room). As we know there is nothing more horrific than the way that KFC suppliers treat animals before they are to be slaughtered. Beheading, beatings, being scalded alive and electrocution are all parts of life for the animals that are kept captive for the Colonel.

Now for the cookies. They taste good but unfortunately they look like crap. I blame the icing, but I guess it could be my impatience.


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Martin

'Nugget' in Line for Veggie Dogs?! September 13, 2007

Posted by Marta at September 13, 2007 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

Oh yes, you read that right. The absolutely delish Dogville, located here in lovely Norfolk, VA, decided to set up their hot dog cart in our parking lot recently, and the only dogs I saw on the grill were the yum-yum-yum vegan Tofurky sausages. Check it out for yourself:

So naturally we thought, "Hey, 'Nugget' would sure like one of these!" And the next thing I know, look who is standing in line:


Who would ever, ever eat an animal in a bun when the alternatives are tastier, healthier, and well, not someone else's flesh? Beats me.

Anyway, this next photo is long overdue, but I'd like to give a big "THANKS!" from all of us here at peta2 to two amazing former interns, Cassandra and Shivani, who made us the melt-in-your-mouth vegan Snickerdoodles and Chocolate Chip Cookies in the photo below. We miss you both! Come back (and please make us more cookies)!


Okay, that's all from me for now, but I gotta ask: Who's stoked for Hug-A-Vegetarian Day on September 28th?! Ryan and I are!


Hope your Thursday is going great!

♥ Marta