Vegan Thumbprint Cookies

Vegan Thumbprint Cookies

1 ¼ cups spelt flour

1 cup ground oats

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tbs ground flaxseed

¼ cup canola oil

½ cup agave nectar

½ cup cauliflower puree

Zest of 1 lemon

Low-sugar jam

Mix together the spelt, oats, baking powder, salt, and flaxseed.  Set aside. For the cauliflower puree, put 3/4 – 1 cup fresh or frozen cauliflower with 1 tbs of water into a microwave safe bowl.  Cover and microwave 3-5 minutes til soft.  Puree with an additional tablespoon of water.  It's ok if it doesn't get perfectly smooth. Stir together the cauliflower, canola oil, agave nectar, and lemon zest. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Shape the dough into half dollar-sized balls, then press onto greased pan with deep thumbprint.  Fill the thumbprints with jam. Bake 16-18 minutes, checking to make sure bottoms are brown but not overdone.  Makes about 30 cookies.

source: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegan-thumbprint-cookies/

Whole Wheat Spelt Bread

2 cups of water at 115 degrees

 

2 tsp active dry yeast

 

1.3 lbs of whole spelt flour -- about 4 1/4 cups of flour

 

1 T agave nectar or other sweetener

 

1 tsp salt

 

1/4 cup olive oil

How to make Whole Spelt Bread

Mix the water with the yeast and agave and make sure it bubbles. This will take a minute or so.
Stir in 2 1/2 cups of the flour until there are no lumps. Cover and let it stand for 30 minutes, or until double in size. For a lighter loaf, stir it down and repeat this step.
Stir in the salt and oil and gradually another 1 1/2 cups of spelt flour. When the dough develops into a stiff ball, it is time to knead.
Use about another 1/2 cup of spelt flour to finish the kneading. Add the flour very slowly. When the dough no longer sticks to the counter after a few kneads, it is finished. Kneading will take between 10 and 20 minutes.
Oil the mixing bowl, put the dough in, oil the top and cover. Let it rise for 45-60 minutes, or until double in size. If the room is cold, you may want to put into a warm (110 degree) oven.
After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to degas it. Repeat this step for a lighter loaf.
Lightly oil the bread pan.
To form a loaf: make a ball, pull the sides in to form an oblong shape and then pinch the seams along the bottom and sides.
Place the dough in the pan, lightly oil the top and set aside to rise for 30-40 minutes, or until double in size. Do not let it rise for too long as that may cause the bread to fall or the top crust to separate.
Preheat the oven to 400. Bake for35 minutes.
When the bread is finished baking, take it out of the oven, let cool for 5-15 minutes and remove it from the pan. Place on a cooling rack or across the top of the pan. 

source: http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/whole-spelt-bread

Spelt Banana Bread and Spelt Pie Crust

Spelt Banana Bread
1/2 cup soft butter
1 cup or less brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups SPELT flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking soda
1/2 or less teaspoon of salt
2 or 3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chopped almonds (optional)

      Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and beat well. Add dry ingredients and finally bananas and nuts. Mix well. Bake in three 3x5 " loaf pans or in one 5x9" loaf pan, well-greased. Bake for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Spelt Pie Crust

3 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons cool water
1/4 teaspoon seasalt, if desired
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons SPELT flour

      Whisk oil, water and seasalt together. Stir in the flour and mix until evenly moistened. Press into a 9 inch pie plate. Fill and bake as required for the filling, or bake the empty crust for 12 minutes at 375 degrees F and fill when cool. 
source: http://www.dvo.com/newsletter/monthly/2004/february/0204door3.html

Spelt and Oat Cookies

These popped up on Taste Spotting a few days ago just when I happened to be in a baking mood. This recipe was perfect because I had recently purchased some spelt flour and I have a surplus of organic chocolate chips in my freezer. This recipe also gave me a chance to try out the coconut oil I just purchased. I'm constantly working to make my recipes more nutritionally complete and avoid ingredients that are not pure. This recipe hit the mark allowing me to meet that requirement. Spelt flour is an ancient grain with a lower gluten content than regular flour. Spelt has high water solubility, so nutrients are easily absorbed by the body making it easy to digest. It is high in protein (significantly higher than wheat), higher in B complex vitamins, and spelt is high in both simple and complex carbohydrates. These complex carbohydrates are an important factor in blood clotting and stimulating the body's immune system. These are definitely a healthy cookie, in addition to the spelt flour, these cookies have no butter or eggs in them. Despite, the missing fat, these cookies definitely did not taste like healthy cookies. They had ever bit of flavor that a regular chocolate chip cookie would have. I think Rikki from Diet Desserts and Dogs perfectly described these cookies as ". . . crisp on the edges, chewy in the middle, with lots of texture from the chips, raisins, and nuts." I can definitely say this is one of the best chocolate chip cookie recipes I have made in awhile.

Cow Girl Cookies with Spelt Flour and Oats

2 cups (280 g) light spelt flour

2 cups (200 g) old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant) (I used Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Oats)

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) baking powder

1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda

1/2 tsp (1 ml) sea salt

1-1/4 cups (225 g) non-dairy chocolate chips (I used organic)

1/2 cup (70 g) organic raisins

1/2 cup (55 g) coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (I omitted)

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) cinnamon

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (210 ml) softened organic coconut oil or sunflower oil, preferably organic (I used coconut oil)

1 cup (180 g) Sucanat ( I substituted brown sugar)

1/3 cup (80 ml) room-temperature applesauce

1 tsp (5 ml) pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the oil and Sucanat until well combined. Add the applesauce and vanilla and mix again.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix just until all the flour is absorbed. Use a small ice cream scoop or heaping tablespoon (20 ml) to place mounds of dough on the cookie sheets about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Flatten slightly.

Bake for 13 minutes, or until golden. Makes about 3 dozen.

source: http://reservationsnotrequired.blogspot.com/2009/04/cow-girl-cookies-with-spelt-flour-and.html

Blueberry Spelt Muffins from Whole Foods website

Makes 1 dozen

The classic blueberry muffin gets an update with spelt flour and a flavor boost from orange juice and zest.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) softened butter or canola oil, plus more for greasing the pan
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries

Method

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin liners. In a large bowl, cream together butter or oil and sugar. Stir in applesauce, eggs, orange juice and vanilla.

In a second large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, zest and salt. Stir flour mixture into butter-egg mixture until just combined. Gently stir in blueberries. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 muffin/about 3oz/87g-wt.): 180 calories (50 from fat), 5g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 4g protein, 30g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 14g sugar), 45mg cholesterol, 140mg sodium

Rosemary Lentils from Martha Stewart website

Ingredients

Serves 4.

• 1 cup dried French green lentils
• 2 shallots, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 garlic clove, crushed with the flat side of a large knife
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Put lentils, shallots, garlic, rosemary, and bay leaf in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water by 2 inches (about 5 cups water). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Drain; discard garlic, rosemary stem, and bay leaf. Return lentil mixture to pan. Stir in salt, vinegar, and oil; season with pepper. Cover to keep warm until ready to serve.