Grrl Scout Cookies: Mint-Core

As far as my grrl scout cookies went, these were by far the best recreation of the original, which is why I had to save them for my last post. I used a simple chocolate wafer cookie dough and added a bit of peppermint extract. Then, I further "minted" them out by pouring a little of the extract into the dark chocolate topping. The cookies were perfectly crunchy and deliciously chocolate-y. They had a strong minty flavor, but it was not overpowering. It was very much like that sensation that comes from eating a peppermint patty. Hmm, maybe that's what I'll do with the rest of that peppermint extract.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this particular baking project. I had a tough week last week and I very much used last Friday night to take refuge in my apartment and devote a couple of hours to something I really love. I'm also always glad to have cookies to share with friends and co-workers, because I like to think that it brightens up their day.
This week really got me thinking about going into business and selling some of these cookies. I'm always looking for ways to monetize my life. So, if any of you know of any good commercial kitchens with time to rent, or about the permits and licenses you need to sell baked goods, please, please, please hit me up.

Tell All Your Friends

Continuing on with my week-long salute to vegan cookies, I am pleased to present my next recipe, a vegan twist on the tagalong. 
The girl scout cookie website describes them as vanilla-flavored cookies topped with peanut butter and coated in milk chocolate. It sounded delicious to me, and substituting dark chocolate for the milk seemed like it would only improve the cookies. As usual, I was right, and the dark chocolate added a layer of complexity and sophistication. I was surprised that these were my smallest cookies, but also packed in the most calories. We're talking 105 calories a cookie here, which means that as soon as they were baked I had them packaged up and ready to go to friends' houses and work. I've got pretty good will-power when it comes to eating, but I was not about to live under the same roof as these.

Notyourfriends (because nobody likes a tagalong)
cookies

• 3 tbsp. earth balance
• 2 tbsp. applesauce
• 2 tbsp. agave
• ener-g egg replacer for 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 c. unbleached whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

peanut butter filling

• 2 tbsp all natural peanut butter
• 1 tbsp. earth valance
• 1 tsp sugar

chocolate coating

• dark chocolate chips
• 3 tbsp. soy milk

1. In a mixing bowl, beat together earth balance, applesauce, and agave until smooth. Add the ener-g and vanilla, mixing well. 
2. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together until well incorporated. 
3. Add the dry mixture to the wet, 1/2 at a time. Don't overwork the dough. 
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours. 
5. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
6. Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough. Separate it into golf-ball sized pieces then flatten and place on the cookie sheet. 
7. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Immediately after taking them out of the oven, use the back of a spoon or your thumb to make an indentation into the cookie. Let them cool.
8. In a small pan, warm 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp. earth balance, and 1 tsp brown sugar. Spoon into the holes you just made in the cookies. Place cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes.
9. Melt together chocolate chips and soy milk, then dip the tops of the cookies into it. 

18 cookies at 105 calories each

Grrl Scout Cookies: Do-si-dont's

And the grrl scout cookie party continues. I wish that this whole idea didn't probably violate a million intellectual property laws, because I really think that this could take off as a business. I'm also having a great time employing my friends to re-name cookies and brainstorm ideas. All of the clever cookie names can be attributed to my friend Carolyn. Check out her blog here. Today we are talking about Do-si-does. Do-si-does are oatmeal sandwich cookies with a peanut-butter filling. I love oatmeal cookies, and I had a great recipe using bananas and plenty of steel-cut oats. I like this particular recipe because wet and dry ingredients get mixed in the same bowl. This means less dishes, and for someone who does not have a dishwasher, that is a very, very big deal.

A Study In Grrrl Scout Cookies

February and March mean that spring is almost here, but they also mean that it is what used to be my favorite time of the year: Girl Scout Cookie Season. I am not alone. I meet very few people who were raised vegan all their lives, so most vegans that I have talked to in the past couple of weeks have, like me, fond memories of Girl Scout cookies. These delectable little treats are loaded with sugar and fat and peddled by adorable little girls in uniforms. Make no mistake though, these girls are ruthless in their pursuit of a sale. Besides fund raising, the primary reason for selling cookies to to teach Girl Scouts entrepreneurship and business savvy. Think about that the next time you get puppy dog eyes outside of the grocery store. I bought 3 boxes this year, and promptly disposed of them by opening them during a morning stand-up meeting. There is nothing like a sugar rush at 10 oclock in the morning. The next few days, though, were the toughest. Everywhere I went, people had boxes of cookies out on their desks. It took a great deal of willpower, but I managed to resist. Still, I had cookie fever and I had it bad. But, I had a fantastic idea for my next baking project.

From the producers who brought you Blueberry Bread Bake-off, Christmas Cookie Extravaganza, and Pancake Palooza, I am proud to present:
A Study in Grrrl Scout Cookies: Cruelty-free Versions of America's Favorite Treats.

I tried 4 recipes. I ended up with 3 batches of delicious cookies and 1 batch that I royally screwed up. I will leave it up to the taste testers to decide which batches were which. I will be posting 1 recipe per day for the entire week, so check back often and while you are at it, click on some ads from my wonderful sponsors.

The Great Debate

Friends,

On my desk you will find 3 different kinds of vegan blueberry bread, along with a tally sheet. Please stop by and try one of each, then record your vote.

First Up we have a blueberry bread with walnut and brown sugar streusel topping

Secondly, a lemon blueberry bread

Lastly, a blueberry banana bread.

Details, ingredients, and nutritional information can be found at http://nicole-doesnt-eat-meat.blogspot.com/

1 vote per customer

This is the actual e-mail that I sent out to a select group of my co-workers after lunch today, hoping that I could harness their afternoon sugar cravings into a focus group. As you know, I spent most of the weekend trying different blueberry bread recipes, hoping that I would be able to get a definitive answer today about which one was the best. Well, it was a useless idea, because we ended up with a 3 way tie. Personally, my favorite was the lemon blueberry bread, but I thought it was maybe just a tad too dense. I liked the banana bread as well, and it rose better than the lemon, but it was fat-free and a little dry. Perhaps I could have taken it out of the oven a few minutes earlier. 

I'm told that it was a three way tie because all of them were so good, but I think that it just goes to show that everyone has different tastes (except for one curmudgeon who does not even like blueberries). As such, I am going to take the dry ingredients from the banana bread recipe and mix them with the wet ingredients from the lemon recipe, and add lemon zest to the whole damn thing. I'm also going to try my new favorite flour, whole wheat pastry flour from the Whole Foods bulk section. I used it to make whole wheat naan last night, and it did not disappoint.

During the two weeks that I was not a vegan, I had my friend Noelle order some Girl Scout cookies from our bosses' daughter, who comes around the office every year and shakes us down is kind enough to sell us cookies. I absolutely love Girl Scout cookies. As a former Girl Scout myself, I think that it's important to support the entrepreneurship and initiative of the girls who sell them. However, much to my dismay, Girl Scout cookies are not vegan. Some varieties are, but not the ones that I decided I needed to buy. I picked up my cookies this morning and promptly unwrapped all three boxes, deposited them on a desk, and let the vultures descend. I feel good about my decision. It was a major step for me, resisting the cookies that I used to eat by the boxful. I rewarded myself with peanut butter soy ice cream when I got home from work today, because we can't all be perfect all of the time. It did get me thinking, however, that my next blog series might focus on reinventing Girl Scout cookies as vegan.