Well. Thanksgiving having passed and Christmas coming on, I need to be getting busy on Christmas treats. The first two baskets will go out next Thursday, to the two ladies who run the office for my largest client.
One of these ladies is vegan, which obviously limits what I can make for her. I'm thinking of making Chex mix with either oil or vegan butter, and also on the possibles agenda:
- Quick bread. I found a can of pumpkin in the pantry, have the other makings, am picking up egg replacer in the a.m., will use almond milk, so pumpkin bread.
- Assorted jellies and pickles. I have plenty, even though I didn't can any this summer.
- Coconut macaroons made with egg replacer.
- Cinnamon rolls made with egg replacer and vegan butter.
- Spicy or candied pecans
Here's my question. I am by no means a chocolatier, but I have had some minor success with fudge and with chocolate dipped things. I'm contemplating chocolate dipped mints, making the mint filling with confectioner's sugar and vegan butter to make the filling. Everyone loves those fudgy cookies you make with cocoa and oatmeal and cook on top of the stove and drop on waxed paper. Would those work with vegan butter? I'm sure Mama used to make them with margarine, as that was what she typically used for everything, so I don't see why not. Chocolate peanut butter balls, filling simply peanut butter and confectioner's sugar.
I'm thinking this year I will use the Paragon unit to melt/hold the chocolate. What temp do I want? It's grocery store chocolate bark; as I said, I am not a chocolatier, and I don't know that I have access to the good stuff here, anyway.
I have a box of Cheddar Bay cheese biscuit mix (a la Red Lobster). Contemplating mixing up a batch of those to toss in. What I'd like to do is figure how to make a stiffer dough, roll it thin, cut it out and prick it, and make crackers, as they'd stay fresh longer. Vegetable shortening, or vegan butter?
Last year, she was just vegetarian, and I could handle that; she just didn't get bacon jam or ham-cheese rollups. This year she's a lot more problematic. I have told her this. She also shoots hell out of my "bring them lunch the last day this year that I work down there" plan. Although I did one day this year bring a big pot of carrot soup with sorghum grain in it that wasn't bad.
Thankfully, no one else on the goodie basket list has dietary restrictions. And I always make GF Chex Mix anyway, as it's easy, and Child C and I can both eat it.
