Vegan 'Puppy Chow'

Super easy to make, cheap, and delicious. Plus, it makes a ton! You can't go wrong with this stuff. It's a finger food, it's a kid food, it's an ice cream topping, it's a popcorn add-in, it's a pretzel mate, it's everything you dream of and more. There's no baking involved so feel free to let your kiddos get in on the preparation.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup nut or seed butter of choice (I used sunflower seed butter)
1/4 cup vegan butter
1 12.8-ounce box of rice chex or crispix-style cereal
1 cup powdered sugar

• In a double boiler, or in a metal or ceramic bowl placed over an inch or so of water, melt the chocolate chips, nut or seed butter, and vegan butter. Stir gently until smooth and well-mixed. 
• Pour over cereal and gently stir, folding chocolate into the cereal, coating each piece. If you have a large Tupperware container with a tight-fitting lid, you can gently shake the mixture until everything is evenly coated. 
• Once the chocolate has cooled slightly, go ahead and toss in the powdered sugar. Gently stir or shake again.
• That's all there is to it. Enjoy!

P.S. We're experimenting with a hybrid of the gluten-free and Feingold diets to try to curb my daughter's ADHD symptoms before school starts back up. So, you'll be seeing lots and lots of gluten-free and low-salicylate recipes over the summer. If it works, you'll be seeing them indefinitely! Wish us luck. 

Alicia Simpson's Sweetgrass Snickerdoodles

Naughty li'l elves!

I have yet to try an Alicia Simpson recipe that doesn't taste amazing! This snickerdoodle cookie recipe is no exception. Crispy, cinnamon-y and full of seasonal oomph, I'm planning to give little stacks of these beauties as Christmas gifts. They go great with coffee or chai tea. And, as you can see in the photo, Santa's Scout Elves just love them! My daughter has two scout elves because Santa determined that she needed an extra set of eyes on her during the holidays - she's a chronic gift-jiggler. She named her elves Lula and Layla, which makes me curious about the names of my future grandchildren...

Alicia Simpson's Sweetgrass Snickerdoodles

from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food (affiliate link)

1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Garnish:

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Cream the margarine and shortening with the applesauce and sugars. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 
• Combine the dry ingredients with the creamed mixture 1/2 cup at a time and mix with an electric mixer until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
• Chill the dough for about 10 minutes in the refrigerator. 
• Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar with the cinnamon. 
• Scoop 1-inch balls of dough with a teaspoon. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture, coating all sides. 
• Place on a baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart and bake for 12 minutes for chewy cookies and up to 15 minutes for a crisper cookie.
• Remove from baking sheet, cool, and enjoy.

Please Note: Alicia Simpson did not put me up to this. I purchased the cookbook on my own, years ago, and I love it! If you want to support a fantastic vegan cookbook author, buy something with her name on it. You won't be sorry! I've included all of her Amazon.com cookbook listings below. If you click and buy one (or all!) of these books through my links, I'll get a small percentage of the purchase price, which really helps me out. Thanks!

Christine's Premium Motor Oil

Christine's Premium Motor Oil tastes oddly like chocolate syrup...

There are those perfect vegans in the world whose taste buds are so pure, unadulterated and refined that they claim to never crave any unhealthy foods. They might say, for instance, "I used to Jones for ice cream 24/7, but now all I ever want is kale." To this I say both Piff and Twaddle. C'mon, guys. Are you seriously telling me that you never crave slumber party food? Like, never?! 

Well, the opposite of that is me - I am a junk food enthusiast who could live on homemade popcorn drenched in vegan butter and nooch, and who loves to bake bake bake! Yes, I do try to control my intake of junk food, and I eat my fair share of kale, but I would be straight-up lying if I said I never had a sharp craving for the rich stuff - sugary, chocolaty, richy rich, ooey gooey, yummy stuff. Yeah, you know what I'm talkin' about!

Luckily, thanks to the absolute necessity of learning to cook if you want to be a healthy vegan, I can make my own versions of just about anything I'm craving. That's where this li'l awesome recipe comes in.

My six-year-old daughter, Lila, wanted ice cream with chocolate syrup. (She has two boxes of Ruby's Rockets in the freezer, but - no! - it had to be ice cream.) We all know the frozen banana ice cream trick (if you don't know it, scroll down to the bottom of this post), and it always suffices. She loves the stuff. But what about the syrup? I could probably find something that's technically vegan at the grocery store, but I don't want my little toot gobbling up gallons of HFCS and artificial dyes. What to do? Keep reading and you'll find out...

Christine (1983)

Anybody remember the movie Christine? The book was by the great Stephen King, the movie by the equally great John Carpenter. If you've never seen it, it's honestly really good. And, like so few horror films from the 80s, it stands the test of time. If you have cable TV (I, myself, do not *sigh*) I'm sure you'll be able to catch it in October when AMC starts running horror films all month. I highly recommend that you DVR it. Also, the title character, Christine, is a car. Thus, the motor oil association.

And now, let's get to the chocolate syrup recipe... Nom nom nom.

Christine's Premium Motor Oil

1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

1 cup sugar, or more to taste

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla
A few drops/squirts liquid stevia (optional)

• Bring the milk to a gentle boil in a small saucepan, stirring frequently with a whisk. 
• Add the sugar and whisk to dissolve.
• Add the cocoa and salt. Whisk to mix. Reduce heat to medium-low. 
• Let mixture simmer for a few minutes, stirring or whisking occasionally, until it starts to thicken a bit. It will thicken more as it cools.
• Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla.
• Grab a spoon and try some. If it's not sweet enough, you can stir in a few drops of liquid stevia to pump it up.
• Allow to cool before pouring on ice cream or stirring into milk. This stuff makes a fantastic glass of chocolate milk!!
• Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Oh yeah, buddy! Banana ice cream with homemade chocolate syrup.
Life is gooooooooooood.

Side Note: We have begun homeschooling our daughter and this recipe was a fantastic cooking lesson for a six-year-old. It didn't have a lot of ingredients, but it did involve actual stove top cooking and mixing. She loved it!

Banana Ice Cream

If you've never made the banana ice cream, you must try it! It's so wonderful, and so insanely easy, you will never look back. Peel some bananas, break them up into two or three pieces and freeze them. When you're ready to make the ice cream, just toss the frozen bananas into a food processor and whirl until smooth - no sugar needed. My kid eats it right out of the processor tub and this is the reaction I get every time.

 A smile worth every dollop of ice cream dropped on the kitchen floor.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Welcome Vegan Potluckers!

As part of the Virtual Vegan Potluck blog tour this year, I am happy to be a part of the "Dessert Course." Last year, I was a "bread course" gal (click HERE to see last year's entry), but this year I'm goin' whole hog sugar rush with some decadent double chocolate chip cookies. DIABETICS BEWARE!

1/2 cup soy or almond milk
1 tablespoon ground flax
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla or almond extract 
1 1/2 cups pastry flour or all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• In a small bowl, mix the ground flax with milk and set aside for about 10 minutes, then stir again.
• Cream together the sugar and oil, until smooth and silky. Add vanilla and mix.
• Add dry ingredients (but not the chocolate chips) to wet, but do not stir until all dry ingredients are in the bowl. Mix well, but do not overmix. Just mix gently until everything is moist and well-incorporated.
• Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Place by rounded tablespoonful, two inches apart, on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until crispy on the top and around the edges, but still moist in the middle. Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack before eating or storing.
• These are fabulous with an ice cold cup of almond milk!

VEG COACH

VEGAN HERITAGE PRESS

Low-Guilt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Please take heed that I titled these cookies "low guilt," not "NO guilt." So, yes, there is a small amount of guilt involved with the consuming of these cookies, but I just love eating cookies so much, I will accept an extra dimple or two on my butt as a token of my affection for this confection.

I do still love whipping up Dreena Burton's yummy Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies when I can, but my pocketbook does not often allow the purchase of maple syrup. Seriously, why is that stuff so expensive?!
So, I took the liberty of altering Isa Chandra's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen and tried to make it just a smidge healthier, albeit not totally guilt-free.

I replaced half of the oil with unsweetened applesauce, left out the milk entirely, subbed potato starch for tapioca starch (because it's cheaper), subbed whole wheat pastry flour for the dastardly white stuff, and added in an extra quarter cup of chocolate chips (because I flippin' love chocolate).
The verdict? Slightly less evil, but just evil enough to taste amazing. The family went nutso for these, and my husband was shocked that I'd removed an entire 1/3 cup of oil. He said he couldn't tell the difference at all between these and the wonderful Isa Chandra recipe I've been making for years.
Give these a try and let me know what you think!

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons potato starch (this sounds weird, but I promise it's cheap and easy to find)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (can sub white flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly oil two large cookie sheets. In lieu of oil or baking spray, a Silpat works well for these cookies if you have one.
• Mix together the sugars, applesauce, oil, starch, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. 
• Add flour, soda, and salt. Stir until well-incorporated and smooth, but take care not to overmix or your cookies will lose that crunchy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside magic that makes them so good.
• Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Use a Small Cookie Scoop to scoop out your dough. Place 16 dough balls on each cookie sheet, and bake for 9 minutes. Watch the cookies closely during that last minute, to make sure they aren't getting too overdone.
  
• They will be puffy when you pull them out of the oven, but as they cool, they will flatten and crisp to perfection.
• Enjoy!

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Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

My Sweet Vegan: Delicious Vegan Cookie Recipes

The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur

Homemade Vegan "Parmesan"

I've had this cookbook, Vegan Food Gifts, on my Amazon Wish List ever since I got wind of it, and I tried unsuccessfully to win it from two or three different blogs during MoFo. When I finally figured out I wasn't going to win it, I just sucked it up and bought the damn thing. Because (spoiler alert to my friends, family, and neighbors) this year I'm planning to give "food gifts" as presents. My first course of action is to start making and sampling the recipes so I can figure out what's good to give.

So far, I've made the Fudgy Brownie Mix (photo at the bottom of this post) and the Italian-Spiced Parm-y Sprinkles. There are about 50 remaining recipes I'm dying to try. They all look soooooo good! And since nobody else I know is vegan, besides my husband, and my health guru, Katherine, I have to choose wisely when considering what to give as gifts. So far, I've only tried the two recipes, but they were both fantastic. And I wanted to share the "parmesan" recipe with you because, not only does it taste amazing, but it's easy to make, not too pricey, looks and smells gorgeous, makes a fabulous topper for garlic bread, spaghetti, popcorn, and salads. And I think even non-vegans can appreciate the yummy flavors it presents. Plus, it's got walnuts in it! Hello, protein! My daughter hates the taste and texture of nuts, but she loves this stuff. So, now I can sprinkle the health benefits of nuts onto her salads and she's none the wiser.

1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 panko-style bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed (*I subbed cumin)
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste

• Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and pulse until the walnut pieces have been ground into a powder. 
• Yield: About 1 1/2 cups.

And, since I want to make you really, really crave chocolate right now, here's a picture of the brownie mix prepared...

The mix would be so cute in a jar, and all your recipient has to add is milk, oil, and applesauce. I will definitely be handing this one out for Christmas!

Beer-Battered Onion Rings

These onion rings were a happy accident. And now I'm certain I'm going to make them every weekend as a special treat!
What happened was this... I was making the Beer-Battered Tofu recipe in Isa Chandra Mosokowitz's fabulous cookbook, Vegan Brunch*, and I just happened to have some batter left over. So, my husband suggested that I "pick any vegetable and fry it up in the batter." I had an organic onion sitting on my counter about to go smushy, and the rest is history! This was, of course, my first attempt at onion rings. I think I will cut them a lot thicker next time. But thick or thin, it doesn't really matter, they were great!

You will need...
1 to 2 large white or yellow onions, sliced and rings separated

And here's the recipe for the batter, from the cookbook Vegan Brunch:

Vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold dark beer
1/2 cup cold water
Salt, for sprinkling

• Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan (preferably cast iron) over medium heat. Pour in about a half inch of oil. Proceed to make the batter.
• In a large mixing bowl, use a fork to combine the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder.
• Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the beer and water. Mix until thoroughly combined.
• Test the oil by dropping in a drop of the batter; if rapid bubbles form around it then the oil is not hot enough. If you have a thermometer then it should read between 325 - 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Okay that's the batter from the cookbook.
The rest is up to me. Here it goes...

• Dump as many onion rings as you think will fit into your frying oil into your batter and coat them thoroughly. Your hand are going to get messy!
• Gently slip the rings, one at a time, into the oil and try to keep them from being too crowded. Drop medium sized rings into the larger ones, and so forth, but don't pile them all on top of one another. 
• After a minute or so, flip the rings over and allow to fry on the other side. It won't take as long this time, just somewhere between thirty seconds and a minute.
• Allow cooked rings to drain on several paper towels. 
• If you're going to salt them, it's best to do it immediately after removing them from the oil, to help it stick. 
• Repeat with remaining rings.
• Then dip in ketchup and enjoy!

*If it seems like I'm yapping about Vegan Brunch a lot, it's because I've only had this cookbook in my possession for a couple of weeks. I know it's been around for several years, but it's new to me. And I am excitedly discovering all that it has to offer, which is a whole lot of yum!

Gluten-Free Hot Fudge Brownies

Okay, I know this picture looks like a plate full of steamy hot you-know-what, but trust me, it's really a plate of gooey awesomeness. Hear me out...
I have yet to bake a single recipe in the New Dawn Kitchencookbook that I haven't gone ga-ga over, and this one is no exception. As usual, I craved a sweet treat. And my daughter was begging me to make a bowl of buttercream frosting for her to eat. Ummmm... I don't think so! My pantry is seriously looking deserted right now, so I wasn't sure what - if anything - could really be concocted from the confines of it's barren recesses. So, I started digging through my cookbooks to see if I had any remotely viable options, and after a few minutes of leafing through cookbook pages, I stumbled across the 'Hot Fudge Brownies' recipe in Dawn Grey, PhD's fantastic (but self-published and therefore not widely known) cookbook New Dawn Kitchen: Gluten-Free, Vegan, and (easily) Sugar-Free Desserts. It was the strangest recipe for brownies I've ever made. And I will admit that I was very skeptical when I was pouring boiling water over raw sugar and cocoa. I even exclaimed once, "What the hell am I making?!" But it turned out oh-so-scrumptious. When I took it out of the oven, the crusty top was pulsing with the hot fudge underneath, and little bubbles of fudge were popping in the cracks. It looked like a dream. I could only wait about five minutes before I had to dig in and taste it. Yes, I burned my tongue. Please try to exhibit more self-control than I did. The cookbook recommends that this be served warm, so I was just following instructions. Yes?

"2 cups All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
1/2 cup granulated sweetener (I used organic white sugar)
3/4 cup powdered cocoa
4 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt product (I used fine sea salt)
1 cup chocolate milk product (I used Silk chocolate soy milk)
1/4 cup oil (I used canola)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups boiling hot water, divided
2 cups packed brown granulated sweetener (I used brown sugar)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, white sugar, 4 teaspoons cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
• Spread into two 9x9" square baking pans (I used one 9x13" pan, lightly coated with baking spray). Combine brown sweetener and remaining cocoa into a separate bowl until blended, then sprinkle over the two pans equally.
• Pour 1 3/4 cups hot water over each pan. For hot fudge effect, do not stir.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, until toothpicks come out clean. Rotate pans after 20 minutes. (I forgot to rotate - didn't seem to hurt.)
• Best served warm with mock whipped cream or non-dairy ice cream."
• Makes about 15 brownies.

NUTRITION INFO (per brownie):

Calories: 244 / Total Fat: 5.1g (Saturated Fat: 0.6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2.4g) / Cholesterol: 0mg / Sodium: 559.8mg / Potassium: 192.4mg / Total Carbohydrates: 61.9g (Dietary Fiber: 3.2g, Sugar: 47.2g) / Protein: 2.9g

The Gluten-Free Vegan

Flying Apron's Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book

Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen- & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes

The Best Vegan Brownie You Will Ever Eat

Fudgy in the middle with a light layer of crust on top. Perfection! I've been tweaking and re-tweaking this recipe and I think I've found the perfect combination of ingredients to create brownie awesomeness. Oh yes, brownie awesomeness.
This recipe is for the basic brownie, but feel free to play around with it - top with walnuts, stir in some chocolate chips, or add some mint flavoring to the mix and sprinkle crushed peppermint sticks on the top to spice it up for the holidays.
And get ready! For what, you ask? For brownie awesomeness.
Yeah, you heard me.
BROWNIE. AWESOMENESS.
Make these right now. Trust me.

1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons flaxmeal
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or sub another cup all-purpose flour)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy.
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour (or use baking spray in) a 9x13" baking pan.
• Whisk together all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
• In a large, separate bowl beat together oil, water, sugar, vanilla, and flaxmeal on medium speed until very well mixed. 
• Add dry mixture to wet. Stir or beat on low speed until just-mixed and smooth. Do not overmix, but don't undermix either. The batter will be thick but smooth.
• Spread mixture evenly into your baking pan. 
• Bake on middle oven rack for 25-30 minutes. Test with finger (don't burn yourself!). Top should be crusty, but innards should still have a little bit of "give."
• Makes about 15 medium-sized brownies.
• Enjoy!

NUTRITION INFO (per brownie):

Calories: 271.7 / Total Fat: 8.6g (Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4.5g) / Cholesterol: 0mg / Sodium: 111.3mg / Potassium: 99.5mg / Total Carbohydrates: 48.3g (Dietary Fiber: 4.6, Sugar: 26.8g) / Protein: 3.7g

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar
The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes
Flying Apron's Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking Classics

Banana Bread Bundt Cake

If you need a quick and easy cake for a holiday party, this is the one to make! I've slightly "healthified" this version by replacing the butter with applesauce and lowering the amount of sugar, but you can substitute vegan butter for the applesauce and add an extra half a cup of sugar to the recipe to make it more decadent. You can also top it with lemon zest, sugared walnuts, or grated cinnamon for some extra zing.
Oh, and if you don't have a bundt cake pan, don't worry - you can just use two standard loaf pans.

CAKE
1 1/2 cups organic white sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
4 tablespoons flaxmeal
1/4 cup water
6 overripe bananas, mashed
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking soda
3 cups organic all-purpose flour (you can sub whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil or spray a standard bundt cake pan, or two loaf pans, with baking spray.
• Mix the flaxmeal and water together in a small bowl. Stir with a fork or small whisk until well mixed. Set aside.
• Beat bananas, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl until very well mixed. Add the flaxmeal mixture (this is your egg replacer) and mix until incorporated.
• Sift the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger together directly into your batter bowl. Just let it sit on top of the wet mixture until you're ready to mix.
• Gently stir or beat all ingredients until just-mixed. Do not overmix. 
• Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake for about an hour. Test with a toothpick at 50 minutes and watch closely from there. 
• Allow the cake to cool for a half hour before turning out onto a plate. Then allow it to cool completely before applying the glaze.

GLAZE
1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted and lightly cooled
2 tablespoons soy creamer

• Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl until a smooth glaze is formed. For thinner glaze, use more milk (added one teaspoon at a time). For thicker glaze, use less.
• Pour slowly around the top of cooled cake, or drizzle onto cake using a wooden spoon.
• Makes 16 servings.
• Enjoy!

NUTRITION INFO (per serving):

Calories: 252.1 / Total Fat: 1g (Saturated Fat: 0.3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g) / Cholesterol: 0mg / Sodium: 238.5mg / Potassium: 220.3mg / Total Carbohydrates: 59.2g (Dietary Fiber: 2.1g, Sugar: 37.2g) / Protein: 2.7g

Vegan Holiday Kitchen

Gluten-Free and Vegan Holidays

Quick & Easy Vegan Celebrations

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

It's cold and crappy outside. What else is there to do but bake, drink coffee, and watch old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and That 70's Show? Seriously, what else???


COOKIES
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (the natural kind, not the hydrogenated crud)
1/2 cup vegan shortening, softened (I used Earth Balance)
1/2 white sugar (organic preferred)
1/2 cup brown sugar (organic preferred)
1/4 cup soy or nut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

• Cream together peanut butter, shortening, and both sugars until fluffy and pale. It will take several minutes to reach the right consistency.
• Add vanilla and milk. Mix until well-blended.
• Add baking soda and salt. Continue to mix.
• Gently add flour, a half cup at a time, until mixed in well (be careful not to over-mix). Scrape the sides of the bowl regularly with a rubber spatula.
• Chill the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare your filling... (see filling recipe below)
• After you have prepared the filling, and your dough is nicely chilled, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
• You'll need a big, flat area to roll out your dough. I used my kitchen table. Sprinkle your table with flour (use more as needed) and rub your rolling pin with flour too. Roll out the dough in batches (I did a third of the dough at a time). Make each batch about a quarter of an inch thick and use a circular cookie cutter or a glass (which is what I used) to cut nice, uniform circles into your dough. Gently place each piece of dough, two inches apart, onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, using a thin spatula.
• Bake for 10 minutes. 
• When you take the cookies out of the oven, leave them to sit on the cookie sheet until they are cool. They will break very easily if you don't. But, once they have cooled, they will be very sturdy.
• Once they have cooled, stack them and set them at the work station where you intend to cram them with filling.

FILLING
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (ditto what I said above about the natural stuff)
1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery spread, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar (organic preferred)
2 tablespoons soy creamer

• Cream together the peanut butter and Earth Balance until fluffy.
• Add the vanilla and continue mixing. 
• Add the sugar and continue mixing. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• Add the soy creamer a tablespoon at a time, mixing well each time. 
• Place about a tablespoon of filling in between two cookies and gently squeeze until it reaches the outside edges. 
• Give one to your kid and another to your husband to shut them up so you can finish the rest!
• Repeat. Eat!
• Makes between 12 and 16 cookie sandwiches, depending on how big you cut your cookies.
• Enjoy! 

Just for funsies, I used the new Star Wars pancake molds I got for my birthday on some of the cookie dough. They turned out great! It inspired talk with my husband about a Star Wars-themed Christmas party...
 

The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

The Joy of Vegan Baking