apple bran muffins

Trending on the blog: all vegan everything. because that's how it is now. :) These muffins are made with wheat bran  (not cereal flakes but little bran flakes), and like small-flake oatmeal, they aren't really visible once baked. Rather they make for a heartier, more wholesome texture and muffin. yay! inspired by breakfast things (and these blueberry ones), the apples and added whole grains make them worth biting into. cheers.

apple bran muffins

2 cups flour (1 cup whole-wheat, 1 cup white)
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups soy milk (I used a soy-rice blend, as that was what I had on hand)
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped small
1/2 cup wheat bran

Preheat oven to 400 F and line muffin tin, or grease if you prefer to go paperless.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl beat together the apple sauce, sugar, oil, and milk. Stir the wet ingredients into flour mixture, and gently blend. Fold in apples and bran.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 25minutes. leave muffins in pan for 5 min before removing. Cool on wire rack.

Yields 16 muffins.  I think they could have had an extra half of an apple, as I would've liked these a tad bit more apple-y. nevertheless I proceeded to eat one, two, ... three in a row.. enjoy!

vegan big bakery cookies

roughly adapted from Cookie Madness' "Urth cafe" cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) Earth Balance or other non-dairy butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

1 tsp almond or vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (optional)

1 tbsp water plus 1 tbsp ground flax seeds

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla extract, baking soda and salt, beat until evenly distributed. Beat in the egg replacer (flax mixed with water) Stir in flour and almond meal until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate and 1/2 cup chopped nuts if desired.

Shape the dough into 6 equally-sized balls, place on cookie sheet and pat to make 2-inch rounds- cookies will spread. Bake for 18 minutes, turning pan once halfway through bake time. Cool on sheet 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Makes 6 big cookies.