Shortbread and Peanut Butter and Jelly
There are few foods more classic than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies. I'm thinking THAT must be the reason I enjoy the two so much. Now, I make cookies all the time, but I had never made shortbread before last night. In fact, I had never enjoyed a piece of the unleavened cookie-eqsue dessert before last night either! According to Wikipedia, what classifies a cookie as shortbread is the ratio of ingredients: one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour.
I found a variation of the following recipe in an old "name-brand" cookie cookbook. What appealed to me was how few ingredients are needed. You'll notice that, though this recipe doesn't abide by the true ratios, you don't need eggs, baking powder, baking soda, milk, etc. Also, this shortbread comes together in a snap . . . and I think it would travel well (if you ever send cookies to friends in the mail).
VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP SHORTBREAD
What you'll need . . .
- 1/2 cup butter (we used Earth Balance as a substitute -- the non-soy kind)
- 1/2 cup sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (Sunspire)
Method . . .
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Set aside a 8 inch by 8 inch square baking pan. We used a glass one.
- Cream together your butter (or substitute) and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. About 5 minutes on high with the paddle attachment should work just fine.
- Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Add the flours and stir until well moistened. The mixture will be super crumbly.
- Add in the chocolate chips and stir. Again, the mixture is crumbly -- but that's how it's supposed to be.
- Pour mixture into your UN-greased pan and press until flat and evenly distributed.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.
- Let cool before cutting into squares and/or rectangles.
Yesterday when I went to make my customary lunchtime favorite, I realized we were out of jelly! Of course, apples and peanut butter on a wrap would suffice, but I had a better idea: Add bananas! But I didn't want to chunk up the sandwich much more than it was already, well, chunked.
So, I mashed up half a banana with a little maple syrup. It was delicious! I'm even having it yet again for lunch today. We got a question from Hillary about the "best" way to fold a PB&J wrap in our inbox, so we thought a couple pictures would help illustrate how we do it:
What did YOU pack for lunch today? Or do you usually dine out for your mid-day meal? Let us know -- just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker@gmail.com! I've been making a huge effort to brown bag it lately. So far, so good!
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21 comments:
I've never made shortbread either but it does sound so good! Whenever recipes call for chocolate chips I like to mix and match other chips (there are so many kinds these days!) like peanut butter or butterscotch. Mmm =)
I've never made shortbread...and I'm not sure I've had it before either. I've definitely had shortbread cookies before, and LOVE them! This looks fab as does the pb+bananer wrap!
I am lucky enough to live one mile from the university where I work, so I almost always bike (or ride my scooter!) home for lunch. My favorite lunch is two slices of Ezekiel bread, toasted, topped with hummus, sliced avocado, and a liberal sprinkling of fresh ground pepper. So good!
Thanks so much for posting pics on how to wrap the wrap! I was inspired by your PBJ&Apples wrap the other day, so I decided to bring one for lunch yesterday ... but my wrapping technique resulted in a soggy jelly mess. Now I'm ready to try again! -melissa
I almost always brown-bag it--so much cheaper and healthier! I usually make myself a spinach-based salad and eat leftovers from the night before! Today's lunch is spinach salad and leftover basil linguine with zucchini and tomato sauce.
I've been having good luck substituting almond "butter" (as you say) for fats in recipes lately. It's a great idea--yummy too!
the wrap looks good! today for my lunch it's left-over squash soup (so many dang squash are still coming from my garden) (the soup is meh...), half a whole-wheat pita with hummus, cucumber, lettuce, and carrots, and an orange (hoping the orange will keep me away from huge pack of twix bars someone brought in). Tried to make your Juicy Lucy the other night. I didn't have sweet potatoes though for the fries and I only had ezekial bread, but it was still yummy. really want to make your version though because it looks so much better.
the vegan choc chip shortbread looks delicious! I bet it would be great with peanut butter chips, too. the possibilities are endless. :)
This should not be allowed on the internet; it is outright cookie porn. How could I NOT make these after seeing them?
What are you wrapping the pb/apple/bananana in? It looks delish!
That shortbread looks delish and easy, just one question (sorry if this is silly)... Did you actually use almond butter, or earth balance butter substitute? I want to make these, and have both, but am a little confused as to which you used :)
Also, do you think it would work with whole wheat flour, or other types of flours?
Thanks!
I love PB&J. I make my own "J" but jelly requires so much sugar that I try to stay away from it. I too have a love for PB&B (bananas!) on a sandwich. I've never tried it on a wrap, I'll have to try it soon!
My husband eats out every day (with no weight gain) but there is no way I could do that. I feel horrible when I eat out all week. I usually throw an apple or orange in a bag, make a sandwich on whole grain or stop by my aunts around lunch time. She's always got some healthy veggie creation at her house!
Rachel and Dorry -- you're so right. ANYTHING could go in this. so many possibilities!
Anon -- It's flatout bread: http://www.flatoutbread.com/
:)
Susan -- Sorry! I should clarify. I mean the new Earth Balance butter substitute that is almond based, not soy. Sorry about that!
Jenna -- men are so like that, right? they can just eat and eat with no consequences!
Thanks for the wrap tips - looks delicious! I'd love a post on more brown bag lunch ideas - I try to take mine, but am running low on quick lunch inspiration lately. Or maybe you've already covered that? I'll do some digging...
that shortbread looks amazing! I really like the idea of a cookie exchange too:)
Fantastic idea for lunch!! I have almond butter on bread for lunch today..blah..yours looks way more fun!
Oh my gosh girl! Apparently we were in the same state of mind last night. My snack (second dinner) was a brown rice tortilla with almond butter and mashed heated banana. Sliced apple with cinnamon on the side. It was a debate...apple in/apple out :) Glad we think the same!
Nicki
did you mean almond butter? or butter? can i use almond butter instead of butter? that would be delicious I'd think, but then again, would it work out???
That pb+j is such a great idea- definitely bringing that for lunch soon!
Jamie -- I mean Earth Balance's new "butter" made from almonds and not soy! I'll clarify in the post. Sorry for the confusion!
Great shortbread recipe. I'll have to try that soon.
I try to bring my lunch every day. This week I made a big pot of black bean soup then divided it up into 5 portions. Easy!
I packed some delicious lentil dal..but I sure would have liked that cookie to go with it!
I always pack a lunch!! It's usually leftovers of some sort. I try to make enough so I can brown bag it at work!
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