Sunday, December 23, 2012

Childhood favourite, Nutella!

Nutella. Yummy! What else is there to say, who doesn't love Nutella??? Here's the catch: I love Nutella, but not what it's made of. I figured there has to be a way to quench my craving without actually buying some. I found an old (expired) jar in my pantry and looked at the ingredients:
  • Sugar (replace with agave nectar)
  • Modified palm oil (destroying rainforest! Skipping the oil to reduce fat content, but feel free to try it because it gives it a smoother texture)
  • Hazelnuts (yep)
  • Cocoa (yep)
  • Skim milk powder (I used almond milk, but I also could have tried soy milk powder)
  • Whey powder (dairy by-product)
  • Lecithin (What?? After doing a bit of research, I found out that lecithin is a fat that can be derived from many sources to improve texture. Most lecithin is derived from soybeans, but other sources include egg yolks, so no guarantee.)
  • Vanillin (Vanilla, for those of us who speak english)
Totally easy to re-create a fixed up version. Here's what I did:

Monday, December 17, 2012

Exams and Snickerdoodles

Hello again, it's exam time for me at the moment. It's stressful and crazy but it goes by very quickly. I am now in my fourth year of university, and I've become quite the expert at procrastination. As I was taking out my books and study notes, I stumbled upon the VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest (don't ask me how these things happen, I have no idea!). Naturally, I got the urge to make cookies... So I did, obviously. I've been meaning to try out a recipe my friend gave to me. She had made me some snickerdoodle cookies for my birthday and they were amazing! I've had the recipe for a while, but I've been in cupcake mode lately. So I figured, perfect! I'll test it out, I need food while I'm studying anyways (doesn't every student use this excuse?). Thank goodness I had JUST enough Earth Balance butter left. Here is the recipe she gave me, complete with notes: