Veganomicon_ The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook - Isa Chandra Moskowitz [163]
On the baking sheet, form the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide. Bake for 28 minutes, until lightly puffed; the top may also be slightly crackled.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 30 minutes, until very firm.
Turn up the oven heat to 375°F. Carefully transfer the baked dough to a cutting board. With a heavy, very sharp knife (or use a serrated knife), slice ½ -inch-thick slices. The best way to do this is in one pushing-down motion; don’t saw the slices off or the slices could crumble. Be gentle when handling the biscotti at this time, as they are delicate.
Set the slices on the cookie sheet cut side down and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until your desired level of brownness and crispness is achieved.
Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring the slices to a cooling rack. When completely cool, store in an airtight container.
Variation: Chocolate-Hazelnut-Espresso: Whisk 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder into the liquid ingredients before adding the dry ingredients.
APPLE-PEANUT BUTTER-CARAMEL BARS
MAKES 12 BARS
TIME : 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES, PLUS COOLING TIME
These bars were created one autumn night when we were sitting around with our friend Paula, thinking about apples and peanut butter. Everyone loves peanut butter on apples, so why aren’t there any treats dedicated to this combination? Could all the world’s problems be solved if only we would take hold of our innermost desires? To the kitchen we went. The result is this bar; an apple pie filling inside a graham cracker crust, with a crumb topping and ribbons of luscious peanut butter caramel.
➣If you can’t find vegan graham crackers, vegan vanilla cookies make a good substitution.
Crust: 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
⅓ cup canola oil or 5⅓ tablespoons nonhydron- genated vegan margarine, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons plain soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Crumb topping: ½ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2-3 tablespoons canola oil
Pinch each of ground cinnamon, ginger, and allspice
Apple filling: 3 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 6), cored and sliced thinly (peeling is optional)
1 tablespoon canola oil
⅓ cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon water
Pinch each of ground cinnamon, ginger, and allspice
Peanut butter caramel: ⅔ cup chunky peanut butter (the no-stir kind, not the kind that separates)
¼ cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
PREHEAT THE oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking pan.
Prepare the crust:
Place the graham cracker crumbs in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with the oil and mix until moistened. Add the soy milk and mix with your fingers; the crumbs should hold together if pinched. Press the crumbs firmly into the prepared baking pan to form a crust.
Prepare the topping:
Place the flour, sugar, and spices in a mixing bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into the flour and mix with your fingertips until crumbs start to form. Keep tossing the mixture with your fingers; you want the crumbs to be fairly large for crumbs. Add more oil if necessary.
Prepare the apple filling:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, coating all the apples.
Layer the apples onto the crust and sprinkle with the crumb topping. The topping won’t solidly cover the entire pan; just sprinkle it randomly over the top so that the apples are peeking through in places.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the apples are tender.
When the bars are almost done baking (at the 35-minute point), start preparing the peanut butter caramel: Mix all the ingredients very well with a fork, in a small saucepan. Heat over medium