Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) vegan butter (like Earth Balance)
1/2 cup castor or superfine sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender flowers
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon or vanilla extract

To Make the Biscuits

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Lightly grease a 8-inch x 8-inch cake pan.
• Combine flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
• Using a mortar and pestle, grind lavendar flowers until fine.
• In a separate medium bowl, thoroughly beat the butter until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar, lavendar flowers, salt and extract and continue to beat on high speed until well blended.
• Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter. Using your hands or dough cutter (do not use an electric beater or the dough will become too soft), thoroughly and gently blend in all the ingredients. If necessary, cover and refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes to firm up, otherwise press dough into a cake pan and prick surface with a fork.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until light golden brown.
• Cut shortbread into 18 slices and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Gently remove slices from the cake pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

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Ingredients

½ cup unsalted or vegan butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar + a little more for sprinkling
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups organic spelt flour (See Cooking Tip for an accurate measurement of flour.)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
3.4-ounce package pistachio flavour instant pudding and pie filling
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup soy milk


Beat butter and 1 cup of sugar until creamy and pale yellow. Add the vanilla and beat well. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, instant pudding filling straight from the packet, and salt. Add flour to the butter mixture in 1/3 increments alternately with the milk, ending with the flour. Beat well after each addition. Cover cookie dough with plastic wrap, and let dough rest in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.

Set oven rack to the middle level and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet with butter or line with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon and spoon heaped mounds of dough onto baking sheet, leaving enough room between cookies to allow for spreading. Sprinkle a little sugar over each cookie and with the bottom of a glass, flatten the dough to about 1/2-inch in thickness. Dip the bottom of the glass into sugar each time to prevent sticking.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cookies are slightly browned around the edges. Remove and cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside while still warm, but will become soft and chewy as they cool. Store tightly covered in a cookie tin.

COOKING TIP

For an accurate measurement, fluff flour with a spoon to loosen and aerate, then scoop into a measuring cup; level off with the blunt part of the knife. If not, you will use up to 25% more flour than needed resulting in heavy-textured and drier cookies.

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Ingredients

4 cups rolled oats
2 cups vegan caster or superfine sugar* (not confectioner’s, or powdered, sugar)
2 cups all-purpose or oat flour
2 ½ teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups vegan butter
3 tablespoons golden syrup**

To Make the Crunchies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inches baking pan (make sure it is at least 1-inch deep. If not, the mixture will spill over the pan while baking) with butter.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. In a small saucepan, melt butter and syrup over medium heat. When mixture starts to boil, immediately add to the dry ingredients and blend well with a wooden spoon. All the ingredients must be thoroughly incorporated.

Spread dough evenly and press firmly into the greased baking pan. Bake on the middle oven rack for 15-17 minutes, or until light golden brown and puffy.

Remove from oven and cool for 1-2 minutes. While still hot, immediately gently cut the cookies into squares with a sharp knife. Cookies will be soft at first but will firm as they cool. Cool completely in the pan before serving.
Store in an airtight container or a cookie tin.

*To make your own caster sugar, blitz it in a blender until fine.
**Golden Syrup is available in the ethnic foods section of some grocery stores.

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