Gingerbread PIGS

Aren't they CUTE?!?!

Happy Holidays Internet!!

'Tis the season to make vegan Christmas cookies. In the spirit of the holidays I whipped up a batch of vegan gingerbread pigs! They came out adorable and tasted great! (a little spicy though, so if you aren't a fan of GINGER in your gingerbread, watch out!) I didn't frost them because I have issues with vegan frosting coming out runny, aka not good for decorating. These cookies are chewy and crunchy in all the right places.

Gingerbread Cookies (Recipe Courtesy of www.vegnews.com)
Makes 24 Cookies

What You Need:

• 2-3/4 cups pastry flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1-1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons soymilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together margarine, molasses, and brown sugar together until smooth. Add soy milk and vanilla and whisk thoroughly.

2. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix with spatula to form a dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

3. Roll out dough onto a floured board, 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick, depending on desired texture (thinner cookies will be crispier, thicker cookies will be chewier). Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness.

The Soy Sow Visits New York!

I know this blog is all recipes, but I HAD to tell you about a few amazing vegan places I tried on a recent trip to New York City! As usual, I dragged anyone I visited to every vegan place I could find.

First stop: Candle Cafe.

I knew of this restaurant because I buy their frozen dinners at Whole Foods. There restaurant blows those frozen meals out of the water. I went to Candle Cafe with my sister and cousin, so we got to try a lot of things on the menu. After trying everyone's I think I liked my sister's entree best, the "Cajun Seitan Sandwich."

My cousin had the "Tuscan Seitan Parmesan Sandwich": (sorry for the blurry photo!)

My sister had the "Cajun Seitan Sandwich":


Last, I had the "BBQ Tempeh Sweet Potato Sandwich": (sideways, my bad.)

After Candle Cafe, we headed to Lula's Sweet Apothecary.

Vegan ice cream sundae anyone?? This was the best sundae I have EVER had since being a vegan and my family had to pry me out of that place because it was AMAZING. My sister and cousin had milkshakes and they were impressed as well. Not to mention it is extremely cute in that little ice cream parlor!

To end my trip I headed over to Sprinkles Cupcakes.

The perfect afternoon snack is their "Vegan Red Velvet Cupcake." It.was.GOOD. As a vegan, I think I say after every meal "You wouldn't know it was vegan unless I told you, right?!?!" If I hadn't overused this phrase too many times before, it would be the perfect sentiment for this cupcake.

Overall, New York had some pretty amazing vegan food..does it compare with Chicago's vegan restaurants like Chicago Diner, Karyn's Cooked and more? No way.