For the Sake of Dessert

It’s a crime that all bakers have committed at least once in their modest or illustrious baking career, and one that I can not deny being guilty of as well. Always well-intentioned, who could blame us mad pastry chefs for occasionally dropping some sort of dessert bomb… And not the kind smothered in chocolate. No, far from it.

After the shock of a particularly indulgent recipe beings to wear off, we seek some sort of half-baked way to repent for our sins, perhaps switching out chocolate chips for fruit, upping the whole wheat flour, and really, is all that oil absolutely necessary? The attempts at “health-ifying” desserts are valiant indeed, but there comes a time to draw a line. No, I do not want sugar-free, fat-free, taste-free cardboard cake, thanks.

One sweet treat most commonly burdened with this misplaced desire is by far the oatmeal cookie. Depressingly few vegan recipes exist that don’t attempt to make them into breakfast-friendly bricks of portable oatmeal, or bona fide granola bars.

Don’t get me wrong, those cookies are plenty tasty and I would have a hard time turning one down regardless, but sometimes, as the weather grows colder and the need for comfort foods becomes more pressing, I just want a damn cookie. Like the oatmeal cookies I grew up with, before being vegan, before caring what on earth was making those morsels so irresistibly sweet and chewy, before everyone started fearing eating a full-fledged dessert for dessert’s sake.

If you really wanted, you could still spin these as the smarter choice, being vegan and cholesterol-free of course, but really, they’re just good cookies. The best thing they can offer your health is perhaps a temporary elevation in mood, which is still more than I can say for a plain old granola bar.

Yield: Makes 2 – 3 Dozen Cookies

Bakery-Style Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Name: Bakery-Style Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 Cups Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats; 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour; 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda; 1/2 Teaspoon Salt; 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon; 1/2 Cup Chopped, Toasted Walnuts; 1 Cup Raisins; 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed; 2/3 Cup Date Syrup; 1/2 Cup Vegan Butter, Melted; 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

No Ratings

When you want a genuine cookie and not some healthi-fied granola bar, these are these treats you're looking for. Big, fat, soft, and chewy, they're filled with plump raisins and perfumed with rich, buttery brown sugar crumbs. These are definitely dessert, not breakfast fodder.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 27 minutes

Ingredients

2 Cups Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Chopped, Toasted Walnuts
1 Cup Raisins
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
2/3 Cup Date Syrup
1/2 Cup Vegan Butter, Melted
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line two or three baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
First, place the oats in your food processor and pulse until they’re mostly broken down and look like “instant” oats, but still have slightly more texture and some whole oats remaining. If you were short on time, you could substitute half rolled oats and half instant, but the texture isn’t quite the same. Transfer the lightly ground oats to the bowl of your stand mixer or just a large bowl, and add in the
flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, walnuts, and raisins. Stir to distribute all of the dry goods evenly and coat the raisins with flour so that they don’t all clump together, and set aside.
In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix the brown sugar, date syrup, melted vegan butter, and vanilla until smooth. Pour these wet ingredients into the bowl of dry, and mix until you achieve a thick batter, and no dry patches of flour remain. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then as you stir to make sure you don’t miss any big clumps hiding out there.
Scoop out a scant 1/4 cup of dough for each cookie (I find that an ice cream scoop is an indispensable tool for even cookies here) onto your prepared baking sheets, and very lightly press down the tops so that they’re not mounded up in the center. Bake for just 10- 12, and err on the side of less time to ensure soft, chewy cookies. Slide the sheets off the hot baking pans immediately after pulling the cookies from the oven, and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container, or serving up with a tall glass of non-dairy milk.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 115Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 121mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 2g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

October 7, 2010November 23, 2025

Hannah (BitterSweet)54 Comments

Supersize My Snack

When a standard assembly of cake and frosting just won’t do, and the birthday girl won’t give any hints about her favorite flavors, what’s a baker to do? Stick to the same old, somewhat boring but crowd-pleasing classics? Not on my watch! This sounds like the perfect opportunity for experimentation.

Inspiration for this one came from an unlikely source, not exactly the stuff of celebration or happiness, but in fact, the obituaries. At a loss for how to spoil my sister on her 23rd birthday, it was the last thing on my mind as I was reading the newspaper and came across the announcement that the world had just lost Richard LaMotta, inventor of everyone’s favorite frozen treat, the Chipwich. A staple of American culture, I can’t be certain I’ve actually eaten one myself, but I definitely grew up surrounded by them. The loss was crushing, but my sadness was soon forgotten when I realized that very concept might be just the ticket to a novel new birthday cake.

Taking some liberties with the design, I switched out the traditional vanilla ice cream for chocolate, a move that my vanilla-ambivalent sister greatly appreciated. Though chocolate chip cookies and chocolate ice cream are hardly a creative combo, I knew for sure that my sister had a soft spot for both. Throw in some colorful, crunchy sprinkles to coat the sides, and you had yourself a deal.

Needless to say, it was an unqualified success with the birthday girl.

My only suggestion for anyone wishing to make their own chipwich cake, is to absolutely make the cookies thinner than what is pictured here! I took a full batch of my Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies (published in Go Dairy Free) and simply divided it between two 8-inch round cake pans. Next time, I would use only half that amount, because the effort it required to slice through those giant cookies was practically herculean! We had to break out both the electric knife and the kitchen torch!

Additionally, make sure you allow plenty of time for your ice cream to set up and freeze solid, so that it doesn’t melt before you finish cutting the cake. I used a 1/3rd batch of my favorite chocolate ice cream recipe, minus stracciatella, in this case.

If there ever was a way to improve on such a fantastic sweet treat, this would have to be it!

May 29, 2010November 22, 2025

Hannah (BitterSweet)49 Comments

Maca Mania

Who knew that maca was the new hot, must-have ingredient? Not I, that’s for sure! Though the $50 iHerb shopping spree was plenty popular, I wasn’t sure if there was more interest in winning, or just getting that cookie recipe! Never fear, I wouldn’t make you lovely people choose between the two, so let’s get the bookkeeping out of the way first, shall we?

The winner is commenter #90, who is Gail, of Cooking at the Pacific Outpost! Congrats, Gail, you’ll be hearing from the kind folks at iHerb shortly. Hope you enjoy that SuperBerry and SuperFruit Blend you were eyeing!

And for everyone else, don’t forget, you can still get $5 off your first order by using the discount code “NAH833“.

Losing may never be so sweet though; These long awaited maca bars will surely soothe the pains of missing out on the contest. One of those flavors that is hard to describe, and even harder to replicate with alternate ingredients, it’s just something you’ll have to try for yourself. Trust me, it’s worth any hardships to find real maca powder, if only to bake these cookies!

Yield: Makes 6 - 8 Bars

Maca Maca Bars

No Ratings

Maca powder and macadamia nuts combine in one buttery, sweet, and decadent cookie bar.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

3/4 Cup White Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tablespoons Maca Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Plain Non-Dairy Milk
1/4 Teaspoon White Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Unsalted Macadamia Nuts

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, maca powder, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, and whisk to combine.
Separately, whisk together the melted coconut oil, sugar, non-dairy milk, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and with a wide spatula, stir just enough to bring the two together without too many lumps.
Transfer the batter into your prepared pan, smooth out the top so that it fill the loaf pan in one even layer, and sprinkle the macadamia nuts evenly across the top. You may choose to lightly chop them if you feel they’re too large, but I like the visual impact of the whole and halved mac nuts. Use your hands to lightly press the nuts into the batter.
Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until golden brown around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan before slicing.

Gone, but Not Forgotten

At last, the storm has passed, and the dust has begun to settle once again. Having been on a practical lock-down at Christmas, hoping to weather the storm with as little damage as possible, there’s a disgraceful number of treats and crafts that weren’t shared in time. And really, who gives a flying fork about holiday goodies after the fact? Done and over with, be it a time to remember or desperately try to forget, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all washed our hands clean of jolliness and moved on.

So do me a favor, would you? Disregard the fact that I made these in a frenzy of holiday spirit, whipping up a quadruple (unless it was quintuple- I don’t quite recall) batch, bathing in the powerful aroma of chocolate and peppermint for hours. Squeezing that cookie gun for what felt like hours at a time, crossing the line from average holiday baker to crazed foodie once the blisters surfaced on my palms, it was an experience of both joy and extreme frustration.

Thrilled to be sharing something sweet with so many friends and family members, wincing in pain at my hands, both looking redder and angrier by the moment, all of my energy went into just getting them done. Cool the cookies, fill them, wrap ’em up, out the door, done, done, done.

Seeing them begin to arrive at their destinations, the misery was more than worth it, and all the complimentary comments were little nudges saying “Hey, you should share this on the blog!” I had the pictures, the recipe, everything ready to go, but I was sick of those adorable and delicious little morsels. Overdosing on the leftovers to cap off the whole experience, I had literally and figuratively taken one bite too many.

Slowly digesting that episode throughout the ensuing weeks, it may have taken over a month now, but I’m finally ready to think about those deceptively simple sandwich cookies again. Honestly, you won’t incur the same distress if you stick to one batch at a time, and there’s hardly any reason for the mentally sound person to go above that limit- It’s a big batch by any standards, even when you figure that every two cookies only makes one sandwich.

The classic combo of chocolate and peppermint is an easy crowd pleaser, the crisp but still soft cocoa cookies yielding to a creamy, lightly minted filling, riddled with crunchy pieces of smashed candy canes.

It’s the sort of staple that you just can’t go wrong with, whether you give them as holiday presents, or whip up a batch later in the year to serve in the middle of summer. They do, by the way, taste fantastic straight out of the freezer, cold and refreshing, so don’t think you can safely “hide” them in there for too long.

Yield: Makes about 80 Chocolate Cookies; 40 Sandwich Cookies

Chocolate Spritz Cookies

No Ratings

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate Spritz Cookies

2 Cups Vegetable Shortening
1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 (6-Ounce) Container Vanilla Vegan Yogurt
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

Candy Cane Filling:

1/2 Cup Vegan Butter, Softened
1/2 Cup Vegetable Shortening
4 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
4 Ounces Crushed Candy Canes or Starlight Mints

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheet with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
In your stand mixer, thoroughly cream together the shortening and sugar, so that the mixture is homogeneous. Add in the vegan yogurt and vanilla, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and cream that in as well.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together all of the remaining dry goods for the cookies so that all of the ingredients are well-distributed throughout the mixture, and slowly add them to the stand mixer, incorporating them in 2 or 3 separate additions. The resulting batter with be very thick, and it may seem like it’s not going to come together, but just be patient; Do not, under and circumstances, add any extra liquid!
Once you achieve a cohesive dough, place a few mounds of it into your spritz cookie gun, which should already have the design you desired installed. Squeeze out cookies as directed by the manufacturer of the gun, reload when you run out of dough, and repeat. Once you use all of the batter and have your cookie sheets filled, place them in the oven and bake for 8 – 10 minutes, until no long “wet” looking on top and the cookies look solid. It’s hard to tell when they’re done since the cookies are so dark to begin with, but make sure you never bake them longer than 10 minutes or else they’ll taste burnt.
Let the cookies cool on the sheets for at least 10 minutes, and then completely on a wire rack before filling.
To make the filling, simply whip together the vegan butter and shortening in your stand mixer until smooth. Add in the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and crushed mints, start the machine on a slow speed so as not to send sugar flying out, and gradually mix to incorporate. Once there’s no longer a risk of sending ingredients out onto the walls, turn up the speed to high and beat for about 5 minutes, until smooth, creamy, and fluffy.
Apply to cookies as desired, sandwiching two together to finish.

Quick Cookie Fix

Just when it seems like life couldn’t possibly get any more hectic, there’s bound to be something extra to squeeze into that already overbooked schedule. At least that’s been my experience lately, splitting my time between recipe development, restaurant work, a photography internship, and of course, the blog.

Free time is but a fantasy, and I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like there simply aren’t enough hours in a day to accomplish everything on that mile long “to-do” list. Thank goodness my time is occupied by things I love doing, and at the end of the day, there are still plenty of sweets and good eats in general left over to enjoy.

For the average 9 to 5 worker bee though, it’s no surprise that baking and cooking may fall by the wayside, not willing to spare those precious extra moments in the kitchen. And it’s really a shame, too, because many baked goods can be as quick and easy to make as another business appointment.

Peanut butter cookies are hardly innovative, but for those stressed out and simply craving a small morsel of comfort, these fit the bill perfectly. Calling for only three ordinary ingredients, I’m willing to bet that you already have everything you need for these babies on hand right now. As an added bonus, they’re naturally gluten-free, so they should appeal to a very wide crowd.

The potential variations are endless as well, so take this opportunity to exercise your creativity! Substitute any sort of nut butter (almond, hazelnut, cashew…) or add in a pinch of your favorite spice mixture (chai, five spice, apple pie…). Try using brown sugar instead of white, and go crazy with any sort of add-ins you fancy (chocolate chips, chopped nuts, coconut…).

Make this recipe your own and dress it up or down as you please. Most importantly though, just make it!

Yield: Makes 32 – 40 Little Cookies

1-2-3 Peanut Butter Cookies

No Ratings

Calling for only three ordinary ingredients, I’m willing to bet that you
already have everything you need for these babies on hand right now.
As an added bonus, they’re naturally gluten-free, so they should appeal
to a very wide crowd.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 27 minutes

Ingredients

2 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Whole Flax Seeds*

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or sillicone baking mats.
Grind the flax seeds in a spice or coffee grinder until they turn into a fine powder. Transfer the powder into a large bowl, add in the peanut butter and sugar, and mix well. Go ahead and mix like crazy, because there’s no gluten involved! Just make sure they mixture is completely smooth and homogeneous.
Scoop out about 2 teaspoon of batter per cookie, and space them approximately 1 inch apart on your prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8 – 12 minutes, until very lightly browned around the edges. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the sheet before transferring them to a wire rack. Take a moment and enjoy (they’re fabulous warm, too!)

Notes

*Using flaxseeds results in a somewhat crumbly cookie- Substituting an equal amount of chia seeds tends to hold the cookies together a bit better. Both will work though!

Edible Animals (That are Still Vegan!)

As any vegan can tell you, there will be people out there who are just out to press buttons and ask antagonistic questions about your choices. From the standard, forgivable “where do you get your protein?” to the completely inane “what would you do if you were stranded on an island with only animals to eat?”- Proving that really, there are stupid questions, no matter what some encouraging teachers may say. One particular query that I recall came while standing by the vending machines in school one day with friends, examining the limited options. “Hey, what about animal crackers? Are those vegan?”, some wiseguy taunted, thinking he was being so clever. “Nope, not vegan- But only because they have whey in them!” I quickly responded.

While it may still be a bit weird to consider eating food shaped like animals, even if it contains no actual animals, there is something about these cute crackers that is just irresistible. Luckily, it’s not at all hard to create these cute cookies at home, and without all of the questionable ingredients too. You can even take a few liberties with flavors and get creative! These zoo creatures above may look just like the classic, but there is a secret that will only reveal itself once it hits the palate…

Curry! That’s right, a pinch of curry powder adds not only a rich yellow color, but a nice warm, slightly spicy flavor. Definitely a more grown up version of the original, these animals are some of the few that are actually fit for consumption.

Yield: 3 - 4 Dozen Cookies

Animal Crackers with a Kick

No Ratings

A pinch of curry powder adds not only a rich yellow color, but a nice warm, slightly spicy flavor. Definitely a more grown up version of the original, these animals are some of the few that are actually fit for consumption.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
1/4 Cup Water
3/4 Cup Vegan Butter
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Mellow Curry Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Powder
1/8 Teaspoon Turmeric
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Begin by grinding the chia seeds into a fine meal using a coffee or spice grinder, and then add the water, pulsing to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes for the liquid to absorb.
Meanwhile, cream together the butter and sugar in your stand mixer until smooth and homogeneous. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, and turmeric. Whisk briefly to combine. Add half of the dry ingredients into the mixer, and mix until smooth.
Next, incorporate the chia mixture, and the second half of the dry goods. Add in the vanilla, and allow the mixer to continue working until the dough comes together. It may seem very dry, but just be patient and resist the urge to add more liquid.
Once you get a smooth dough, divide it into two pieces and wrap each up in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before proceeding.
When the dough is thoroughly chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
Take one ball of dough and roll it out very thinly, to about 1/8th of an inch in thickness. Lightly flour the surface and rolling pin if necessary to prevent sticking. Use the cutest animal cookie cutters you can find and cut out your shapes, transferring them to the silpat or parchment paper.
Quickly slip the sheets of unbaked cookies into the freezer for 15 minutes before moving them into the oven. This will help to prevent the shapes from distorting or spreading. Bake for 9 – 15 minutes, taking into a account how small or thin the animal shapes are and keeping an eye on the cookies so that they don’t burn.
Let the cookies cool on a rack before storing in an air-tight container.