Healthy Vegan Hedgehogs

For my Birthday, my lovely boyfriend made me a veganized, healthier version of this one of his favorite desserts: Hedgehogs. Supposedly they are of German origin, but I can't seem to confirm either way. If anyone knows, drop me a line.
Here is the recipe for these bite-sized treats. They are the perfect dessert because they are filled with heart-healthy walnuts and medicinal dates, a great energy booster. Plus, you can eat more than one of these without feeling sugar sick since dates are already quite sweet, it only requires a minimal amount of extra sugar.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups crushed walnuts
1 cup dates
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking pan with non-stick parchment paper
2. Place shredded coconut in a small bowl.
3. Make sure walnuts are crushed are finely crushed, but not powdery. Mix walnuts, dates, brown sugar, cornstarch mixture, and vanilla in large bowl together. The resulting mixture will be quite sticky so mixing with your heads is best. (I put a small bit of water on my hands to keep mixture from sticking).
4. Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it out into a 3 inch long log. (Feel free to choose any shape you like however, round balls or shorter logs works as well).
5. Roll log in shredded coconut and place on baking sheet. Repeat until all the mixture is used up. You can space logs relatively close together since they do not expand in baking.
6. Please baking sheet in oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until the coconut is just beginning to brown. Enjoy!

Peace&Love

Happy Cow Cakey Peanut Butter Cookies

Edit: Just another reason to try these bad boys out, just found out they won the DailyMeal + Flour Bakery Contest! Now to try to veganize the free Flour Bakery Cookbook they sent me... :)

Christmas was always my favorite time of year as a child. Not because of the presents--no, the best part of Christmas came in the days before, where my mum, my aunt, and I would get together and make tons of cookies all day! This is my (loose) rendition of the peanut-butter chocolate chip cookies we made, veganized! They cookies have a cakey texture, but are nice a crispy on the outside (whipping the margarine with sugar is key!) Cornstarch is the perfect binder in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 14 tablespoons vegan non-hydrogenated margarine (Earth Balance)
• 3/4 cup vegan granulated sugar (or turbinado sugar)
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons of corn starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water (mix only right before usage)
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) vegan chocolate chips
• A good dollop of peanut butter, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the margarine with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. (If you do not have electric mixed, beat well with whisk by hand). Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and cornstarch mixture. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and peanut butter.
2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges and set in the center, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Enjoy!