Holiday Baking 2014 (vegan brownies, matcha sugar cookies, chewy double chocolate cookies)

Merry Christmas from No Butter Baking!
First of all, I'm sorry that it's been almost three months since I posted some of my recipes... I was reminded by a colleague that the last time that I posted recipe was in October...it's incredible how time flies by... but, this holiday season, it was a baking storm in my kitchen (you know if you follow me on Instagram :) ) So this blog post, you are in for a treat! Three recipes in one blog post!
One is my famous vegan brownies with a holiday twist, second, chewy double chocolate cookies, and lastly, holiday matcha green tea sugar cookies inspired by my childhood book called, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond with a little twist of Mei.

I know, when I mention something "vegan" people get scared. I don't know but I guess it's something about not using animal products that freaks people out. I am open to any type of baking but vegan baking fascinates me - wouldn't it be great if you can bake a classic dessert but can also enjoy it without changing your diet preference? That's kind of how I started No Butter Baking because I wanted to create baked goods while keeping my diet of reducing my saturated fat and dairy intake. I will say that vegan baking isn't for everyone, but I would say, give it a try! One little note is that since vegan baking have no animal products, many commercialized products contains plant-based oils and plenty of sugar; however, you'll notice on my vegan baking that I try to reduce oil and sugar as much as I can while enhancing the product - I hope you enjoy it!

Holiday Vegan Brownies

Servings: 16 brownie squares

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoon instant coffee (optional) 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 6 Tablespoon soft tofu
• 4 oz (approximately 2/3 cup) unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
• 2 Tablespoon unsweetened soy milk 

Instructions: 

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• Using a blender, or any electronic mixing device and blend the soft tofu until smooth consistency. 
• In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, instant coffee, and sugar. 
• In a smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients: blended tofu, unsweetened apple sauce, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and soy milk. 
• Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture. 
• Place the brownie batter in a pan and sprinkle holiday sprinkles. 
• Bake for about 30-31 minutes. 
• Make sure to use a toothpick to ensure that the batter is fully baked. 
• Cool the brownies, then cut them in whatever shape you desire. (I chose squares) 

Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies 

Servings: 2 dozen 

When I think of cookies, I'm thinking of soft and chewy ones. I don't care too much for the crunchy ones. It literally took me ages to come up with a chewy cookies. I believe the last one was my Chewy Oatmeal Raisin cookies but I wanted something that doesn't contain oatmeal. With many tests and having others be guinea pigs, I finally have a recipe that I am 100% satisfied with. And it's quick and easy too! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup all purpose flour 
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions: 

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• In a small bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. 
• In a large bowl, combine the vegetable oil, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. 
• Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula until fully mixed. 
• Gently fold in the chocolate chips. 
• Take about 1 Tablespoon of dough and roll them into small balls and flatten them slightly before placing them on the baking sheet.
  **For Holiday purposes, I sprinkled them with holiday sprinkles!

• Bake for about 10-12 minutes. 
• Cool on a baking rack and you're ready to eat! 

Holiday Matcha Green Tea Sugar Cookies

Servings: 2 dozen

It's ridiculous how many cookie cutters we have at our house - but I barely use them. So, the holiday season is perfect to utilize these cuties so I always try to use Christmas cookie cutters at least once during the holiday. When I think of Christmas, I immediately think of a Christmas tree; however, Christmas trees are green and I try my best to avoid using food coloring on my baked goods. Although sometimes food coloring enhances the baked goods and small amounts are great (like sprinkles!) but, I don't want to cover my entire dough with green food coloring. So I thought, why don't I just use matcha green tea powder? so that it will still give me that nice green color with a natural food coloring! 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 Tablespoon matcha green tea powder (Mei's twist)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1 egg 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. (Mei's twist) 

Instructions: 

• Preheat oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour baking soda, salt, and matcha green tea. Set aside. 
• In a large bowl, combine vegetable oil, and sugar together until well mixed. Mix in egg and vanilla extract.
• Add flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix thoroughly. 
• Flour a cutting board and a rolling pin to prevent the dough from sticking, and softly roll the dough (about 1 inch thick).
  *note* if the dough is too soft, wrap it in a plastic wrap and chill for a few minutes or add more flour
• Once the dough is nicely cut with a cookie cutter, place them on top of a parchment paper and sprinkle some holiday sprinkles. 
• Bake for about 10 minutes until the sides and bottoms are light golden brown. 
• Cool in a baking rack and you are done! 

What are some of your favorite holiday baked goods? I'm looking forward to explore my options for next holiday!

With that being said, from my kitchen to yours, Happy Baking! 

Smiles, 

Mei