In the last of my cashew butter cookie recipes, I wanted to provide a completely plant-based, vegan version. My regular cashew butter cookies and molasses cashew butter cookies both use an egg. Given my new year’s resolution, I wanted to see how these cookies would do with an egg alternative. It worked and so I definitely want to share this recipe for gluten-free vegan cashew butter cookies with you.

The vegan version of these cookies come out wonderfully, but they do in fact have a different texture than the version with eggs. The cookies come out much flatter and are a little more “wet,” if you will (i.e. they stick to your fingers a little bit when you eat them). They taste awesome, however, and the texture is delicious, so if you want a plant-based alternative, these cookies are great. (See picture below comparing the two different versions of the recipe.)

In addition, if you want to add chocolate chips, go right ahead! And if you want to molasses-ize them, use the molasses cashew butter cookie recipe and sub out the 1 egg for the ground flaxseed and water, like you see in the recipe below. As with the other two cashew butter cookie recipes, these cookies are dairy free and gluten free. Enjoy!

Vegan Cashew Butter Cookies

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 12-16

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashew butter
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (or flaxseed meal)
• 3 tablespoons hot water
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseed and hot water. Let sit for 5 minutes.
3. In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients, including the flaxseed mixture. Stir well.
4. On a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat, drop cookie dough balls, evenly spacing them like you would chocolate chip cookies. I used a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop. The dough is quite wet and the scoop makes it easy to create the cookie dough balls. If you don't have a scoop, use a spoon and wet fingers to form your dough balls.
5. Bake for approximately 11-15 minutes, or until the cookies are starting to brown lightly around the edges. They will look cooked, if you know what I mean - if there is cracking, the cookies should no longer look wet inside. (See pictures as a guide.)
6. Let cool at least 10 minutes before eating.

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This week is the parade of cashew butter cookie recipes! Once I figured out how to make a really good gluten-free cashew butter cookie, I had to start experimenting. The result was the recipe below for gluten-free molasses cashew butter cookies. These cookies are wonderful. Yes, they would be perfect for the holidays, but honestly I love them any time of year, especially with a nice cup of coffee or tea.  

When I first tried turning the cashew butter cookies into something that was reminiscent of molasses cookies or gingerbread, I wasn’t 100% sure it would work. But I’m really glad I tried because cashew butter cookies proved to be an excellent base for these spicy flavors. 

Next up in the parade of cashew butter cookies will be a vegan version. And don’t forget the original recipe, which is especially tasty with chocolate chips! 

Gluten-Free Molasses Cashew Butter Cookies

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 12-16

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashew butter
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
• Granulated Sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg then add all the other ingredients. Stir well.
3. On a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat, drop cookie dough balls, evenly spacing them like you would in other cookie recipes. I used a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop. The dough is quite wet and the scoop makes it easy to create the cookie dough balls. If you don't have a scoop, use a spoon and wet fingers to form your dough balls.
4. Once the dough balls are on the cookie sheet, with wet hands, gently press each dough ball down a bit so they are a bit more disc like, rather than balls. Sprinkle each dough ball with granulated sugar, gently pressing the sugar into the dough.
5. Bake for approximately 11-15 minutes, or until the cookies look set, with some cracking. If you peek in the cracks, the cookies should no longer look wet inside. (See pictures as a guide for what they should look like.)
6. Let cool at least 10 minutes before eating.

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I’ve known I have a peanut allergy for nearly 20 years but only recently discovered I also have a wheat allergy {cue sad music}. I’ve tried making my favorite chocolate chip cookies with gluten-free flour, but they just are not the same. Last December when my daughter Cate’s cello group was out wassailing with their cellos (yes, really, and it was awesome), one of the houses served us dairy-free, gluten-free cashew butter cookies. The cookies were divine, so first thing I did the next day was start researching gluten-free cashew butter cookie recipes. 

The result of all my researching and testing is today’s recipe for gluten-free cashew butter cookies with chocolate chips. In addition to this recipe, I will also be sharing a vegan version and a molasses version. I’m basically a cashew butter cookie junkie now. 

This recipe for gluten-free cashew butter cookies has chocolate chips, but they could easily be made without the chocolate. Sans chocolate would make for a reallllly good cookie. That said, these are excellent with some chocolate thrown in. In addition, if you are like me and finding yourself allergic to peanuts but really missing peanut blossom cookies, this recipe would be a great alternative and I know “cashew blossoms” would be just as tasty as the original. Maybe more so, Nate and I find we like these cashew butter cookies than peanut butter cookies, actually. With all the great new options that gluten-free cashew butter cookies have provided, I can truly say I’m not missing wheat-based cookies any more. It’s a miracle!

And, yes, the texture is like an actual cookie. And, no, there is no flour. And yes, it’s pure magic.

Gluten-Free Cashew Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 12-16

Ingredients

• 1 cup cashew butter (other nut butters like peanut and almond would work in this recipe as well)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
• ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg then add all the other ingredients. Stir well.
3. On a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet or a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat, drop cookie dough balls, evenly spacing them like you would chocolate chip cookies. I used a medium (2 tablespoon) cookie scoop. The dough is quite wet and the scoop makes it easy to create the cookie dough balls. If you don't have a scoop, use a spoon and wet fingers to form your dough balls.
4. Once the dough balls are on the cookie sheet, with wet hands, gently press each dough ball down a bit so they are a bit more disc like, rather than balls. This will make for a nicer shaped cookie in the end, although this step is not critical to the success of the recipe.
5. Bake for approximately 11-15 minutes, or until the cookies are starting to brown lightly around the edges. They will look cooked, if you know what I mean - if there is cracking, the cookies should no longer look wet inside. (See pictures as a guide.)
6. Let cool at least 10 minutes before eating.

Notes

To make "Cashew Blossoms" (a peanut-free alternative to Peanut Blossoms), Once you place the dough balls on the cookie sheet and press them down a bit, sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Bake as directed. When the cookies come out of the oven, press a Hershey kiss into the center of each cookie.

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For a while I wrote a fun series of posts on Babble called “3 Kids, A Mom & a Kitchen.” For one of the article the girls and I made a super tasty Barbecue Chicken Salad recipe. I just clicked through to link to that recipe for today’s weekly menu and discovered that Babble did a website update, which means the captions that had the recipe included are missing! So, I’m reposting the recipe here, for posterity’s sake. Well, actually, mostly for my sake so I can have the recipe handy. 😉

This is one of those recipes that’s not really a recipe – no measurements necessary and feel free to add or omit ingredients at will. I pretty much stole the idea for this salad from a restaurant called Croutons. Enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken Salad

 

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Adapted from a dish served at a restaurant called Croutons

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• Grilled chicken breast
• Barbecue sauce
• Romaine lettuce, chopped
• Shredded cheese, cheddar or mozzarella
• Canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• Canned corn
• Chopped tomato
• Cornbread croutons (if I can find these at the store I toast cubed cornbread in the oven until crispy)
• Chopped Granny Smith Apples
• Ranch dressing

Instructions

1. Shred grilled chicken and toss in barbecue sauce to coat.
2. Toss everything together and serve with ranch dressing. Voila!
3. No set amount for ingredients - plan for about ½ chicken breast per person and adjust ingredients as necessary for the size of the salad!

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Here’s the thing with today’s rice crispy treats. When you look at them they look like normal, everyday, boring rice crispy treats. And then you take a bite. And you’re like, “What am I eating!?!?” You’re eating sea salt and brown butter rice crispy treats, that’s what. And they are so good.

I discovered this recipe thanks to my friend Nikki, who is also the reason that the SoNo Chocolate Ganache Cake is in all of our lives. We went camping with Nikki and her family this summer and she brought these for dessert on the beach. As soon as I took a bite I knew she had done something different with the recipe. Sure enough brown butter was involved. And lots of it. The original recipe that Nikki uses is from Joanne Chang’s Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe cookbook. I have adapted it and my version is below. (You can see the original recipe on Epicurious.) I use vanilla bean paste to get that wonderful vanilla bean look and flavor but without messing with the pods, which I never have on hand anyway. I also added coarse sea salt to the mix because coarse sea salt always makes everything more delicious.

By the way, if you don’t really like rice crispy treats then I don’t think these are going to miraculously change your opinion. They are still rice crispy treats after all…but they have a really wonderful salty-sweet flavor and I myself can’t get enough of them! Enjoy!

Sea Salt and Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Adapted from Joanne Chang's "Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe"

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 32

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) salted butter
• Generous ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus a bit more for sprinkling
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 2 10-ounce bags large marshmallows
• 10 cups rice crispy cereal

Instructions

1. Spray a 9" x 13" baking pan with oil and set aside.
2. Heat a very large pot over medium heat on the stovetop. While pot is heating, gather all of your ingredients so they are ready to go.
3. Cut butter into squares and add to heated pan. Cook, stirring regulary, for about 7-10 minutes until the butter has browned. For the first 5 minutes or so there will be a white foamy layer on top, then that will start to disappear, then the butter will start to bubble and foam up again. The butter will brown sometime after this happens. It will look light brown below the foam and have a lovely nutty aroma. Be sure to cook until butter just turns brown (you have to really look because the foam on top can obstruct your view. It is helpful to cook the butter in a light-colored pan so it's easier to see the color of the butter.)
4. As soon as the butter has browned, reduce the heat to low and stir in the salt and vanilla paste. Mix well then add the marshmallows, cooking over low heat and stirring constantly until all of the marshmallows have melted and you have a smooth mixture.
5. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the stove. Add the rice crispy cereal and stir well to coat. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
6. Using wet hands, press the mixture firmly and evenly into the pan.
7. Sprinkle the top with just a bit of sea salt.
8. Let cool 1 hour before cutting. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Makes 32 1½" x 2" squares.

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My dear friend Michelle had the opportunity to live in Hyderabad, India for a year and is, therefore, well versed in Indian cuisine. One day when we were hanging out, she was ranting and raving about curry powder. Her complaint is that Americans think that curry powder makes curry, when in fact curry powder totally isn’t Indian. Sure enough, if you look up curry powder on Wikipedia you’ll see this: “Curry powder and the contemporary English use of the word “curry” are Western inventions and do not reflect any specific South Asian food.” Michelle explained that “curry” basically means a saucy dish with tons of spices, and there are lots of different kinds of curries in India, and that none of them have curry powder.

Basically, curry powder isn’t Indian. The end.

Michelle was feeling bad, however, once she realized that there is a recipe she has from an Indian cookbook that actually does use curry powder. It’s called Curry in a Hurry and it’s her favorite non-Indian Indian food recipe. I’ve had this recipe sitting in my “to-try” pile for years and we finally made it last week! It was very good, even if it is fake curry. 😉 Nate commented that it actually tastes more like a North African dish, which is kind of true. Whatever it is, it’s delicious. All of my kids liked it, too, especially my 8-year-old Anna. (Here’s a link to the cookbook the recipe came from originally – Michelle likes this book a lot!)

As for which curry powder to use for this recipe, just use whatever you find at the store. I used McCormick’s curry powder. Michelle said that since she first shared the recipe with me, she has discovered Penzey’s curry powders and she likes them better than the standard grocery store versions. The Sweet Curry Powder is milder and Michelle says her kids really like that one, but her favorite is the Maharajah Curry Powder, which has really good flavor.

Thank you, Michelle, for giving us a way to use curry powder that doesn’t make you want to yell at us. 😉

Curry in a Hurry

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Originally from "Indian Home Cooking" by Suvir Saran (I modified the measurements slightly on a few things and wrote the directions in my own words.)

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 1½ tablespoons oil
• ½ of a small onion, chopped
• 5 teaspoons curry powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 dried red chilies (I just used 1 so it wouldn't be too spicy for my kids)
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (original recipe was 2 chicken breasts, but I added more)
• 3-5 cups fresh spinach

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent.
2. Add curry powder, garam masala, garlic and red chilies. Stir for one minute.
3. Add coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato paste and simmer until thickens, stirring regularly.
4. Add chicken; simmer until chicken is fully cooked. (Alternatively, you can add already cooked chicken if you have it, just cook until heated through.)
5. Add spinach, stir and cook until spinach as wilted.
6. Serve over rice.

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Today’s post is a quick update to let you know about a few little upgrades here on This Week for Dinner. Some of you have been asking for these things for a loooong time, so I’m happy to finally deliver!

• We now have a mobile version of the website! Woohoo! It will be much easier to view and navigate the site on your phones and tablets now.
• We now have a recipe index, with links to all the recipes on the website, organized into all kinds of handy categories. You’ll be able to access the recipe index from the top navigation of the website (look top left!) as well as under the recipe category in the secondary navigation (coming soon!). In addition, the recipe index is very easily accessible from the top drop-down navigation menu on your mobile device.
• Recipes have a brand new look and feel. You can see examples here, here and here. My assistant (yes, I hired an assistant and I love her to PIECES – shout out to Rachel!) and I are going to be updating all the recipes on the site to the new format over the next few weeks. In addition to the recipes being prettier, they will be linked to ZipList. What is ZipList? Well, read the next bullet to find out!
• I am now partnered with ZipList, so you’ll be able to save recipes to your own recipe boxes as well as create shopping lists. I’ve been meaning to hook up with ZipList for years but my recipes weren’t formatted properly. Now I’ve got my act together and we can get this show on the road!

This is all stuff I should have done ages ago, but better late than never, right? Enjoy! (And please be patient as we slowly get all the recipes updated!)

Okay, so, a couple of weeks ago I had this brilliant idea to create a recipe for chocolate pumpkin butter. That just sounds like it should be good, right? I did a little searching and there are practically no recipes for it out there, at least not for what I was envisioning in my head. (Side note: I should have taken that fact as a warning but, alas, I plowed on.)

Anna and I created the recipe together other day and were feeling pretty good about our butter. It had the texture I was looking for and it was nice and chocolatey. We tasted it quickly and saved it for Halloween morning. I got up early today, made waffles and broke out the special chocolate pumpkin butter. AND…here is how breakfast went down.

Anna: “It’s good!” (She proceeded to eat all of the pumpkin butter on her plate.)

Cate: “I can’t decide what I think of it.” (Cate would never say anything bad about anyone or anything, so I think we can all guess what she really meant.)

Owen: He didn’t say anything but he didn’t have to. He left the pumpkin butter untouched on his plate and ate the waffles plain.

Nate walked into the room about halfway through breakfast and asked how the pumpkin butter was. I actually  enjoyed it on my waffle and, as I started to tell Nate that I though it was pretty good but that next time I would use water instead of apple juice for the liquid, Owen piped in with a very loud, very clear, very spirited “YUCKY!”

Nate took one bite and said, “I have to admit, I do not like this at all.”

And THAT is how my special Halloween concoction turned from treat to trick.

Okay, seriously, I liked the chocolate pumpkin butter on my waffle. Anna liked it, too. But we were the only ones in the family who did. So, I’ll share the recipe with you but please know that you will probably think it is “yucky.”

Trick or treat!!!

Chocolate Pumpkin Butter

 

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Created by yours truly”¦which may or may not be something to brag about. Hey, we can’t win ”˜em all.

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

• ¼ cup water (I used apple juice and that was a bad choice, stick with water!)
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 pinches salt
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir well until all chips are melted. Set aside.
2. Add all the rest of the ingredients to a small sauce pan and heat over medium-high heat. As it starts to simmer, it will actually start sputtering a lot, so make sure you are constantly stirring. Let it cook for about 5 minutes. It should be steaming throughout this process.
3. Remove from heat then stir in the chocolate.
4. Store in refrigerator.

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Today I have a super fast and easy dinner recipe for you that is also delicious and healthy. That’s the best kind of recipe, right?

But first, a confession. I love ramen noodle packs. You know, the 89-cent packages of ramen noodles paired with the sodium-rich broth that is oh-so-good. But…but. The sodium. Ah, the sodium. I haven’t bought ramen in years and years because of that darn sodium. Happily, today’s recipe will let us have our ramen and eat it, too!

You will need to buy one of those cheap-o packages of ramen for this recipe, but you’re going to throw the flavor packet in the trash where it belongs. Instead, we’ll use healthy, natural ingredients and just a bit of salt to create a yummy meal that’s perfect for kids, adults and college-kids alike!

This recipe is fast to prepare and should be eaten immediately, so plan accordingly!

Easy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup (a.k.a. Homemade Ramen)

 

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Cook time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Adapted from a recipe in America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Soup, Poultry

Cuisine: Asian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
• ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded*
• 2 green onions, sliced thin with greens separated from whites
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced (I use my garlic press)
• 3½ cups low-sodium or sodium-free chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus extra as needed (a commenter mentioned that soy sauce can be high in sodium, so if you really want to cut back, try using low-sodium soy sauce or reducing the amount used)
• 1 3-ounce package ramen noodles, flavor packet discarded
• 1½ cups shredded coleslaw mix (I used a coleslaw mix made only with green cabbage)
• 1½ cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
• ½ tablespoon sesame oil, plus extra as needed
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped white green onions (reserving the greens for later), ginger and garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
2. Stir in chicken broth and soy sauce and bring to a simmer (you’ll want to turn the heat up to get it boiling gently, then reduce the heat to medium or so to maintain the simmer).
3. Stir in ramen noodles and coleslaw and cook for 4 minutes.
4. Add chicken and spinach and cook for 1 minute.
5. Stir in the rest of the green onions and sesame oil. Mix together, taste, then add salt, pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil to taste. Serve immediately.

Notes

*Cook the chicken however is easiest for you – grill, sauté, boil, whatever!

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I love the folks at the California Avocado Commission. And not just because they sent me a case of avocados today! They really are a great group of people representing a great product: California-grown avocados. In fact, a lot of those avocados are grown right here in San Diego!

The commission shared a fun fact with me last week: the Fourth of July is the highest consumption day for avocados in the US. I guess we all love guacamole on the Fourth! The great thing is avocados are actually in season right now, so our demand matches the time when they taste best!

To get us ready to eat our 96.4 million avocados this Thursday, I think an avocado Call for Recipes is in order!

I’ll kick us off with one of my most favorite dip recipes: Hummus Guacamole Dip with Black Beans. If you haven’t tried it yet, I’m sure you’re thinking it sounds weird. It is actually really delicious. Like, I can eat the whole bowl myself. It’s also very healthy!

Your turn! What are your favorite recipes using avocados? Please type up the recipe or share links to recipes in the comments. Anything goes as long as there are avocados involved!