Snack

The whole idea of Anytime Bars is right in the name; you never know when hunger is going to strike, and you want to be ready to take advantage of those moments to nourish yourself. A lot of my clients take these portable packets of pleasure to chemo sessions. It may seem odd that people want to eat during treatment, but many do, and these bars are a delicious, healthy alternative to the bowls of sweets so often found around infusion centers. The great thing about this recipe is that you can change the ingredients to fit your taste preferences. You can even split the batter and make half with currant and cranberries and the other half with walnuts or whatever you’d like. These bars come together very quickly with the food processor, but if you don’t have one, you can certainly chop the fruit and nuts by hand.

These chewy gingerbread cookies contain half the fat of most traditional gingerbread recipes, have no cholesterol, and swap out the sugar for agave nectar and molasses. But do they sacrifice on flavor? No way! My boys say, “They’re better than great!”

There’s an old French saying that madeleines are supposed to take one back to one’s childhood. So transport yourself back in time, or begin the tradition anew with your little ones. These small, light, lemony, shell-shaped sponge cakes are easy to make; you just need the proper pan. They are perfect with a cup of tea or for breakfast with a glass of rice milk.

Sophisticated and divine, these cookies are a real treat, whether it’s Valentine’s Day or you just feel like saying “I love you.” And, they’re made without the traditional allergenic addition of hazelnuts or almonds; what could be better?

My husband Adam asked me to create this recipe. He wanted a facsimile of Archway Dutch Cocoa Cookies, one of his childhood favorites. This recipe comes pretty darn close to the original, and has become a real favorite with my kids as well.

This is a simple drop cookie with a delightful maple flavor. I went to college in Quebec, and these cookies transport me back to snowy winters where nothing was more warming than a freshly baked treat.

Spicy, exotic, buttery drop cookies—just the perfect size for dunking in a hot cup of tea or mulled apple cider.

Subtly sweet and ultra-crispy, these twice-baked Italian cookies are an all-purpose treat. Great for dipping, dunking, or just plain snacking, they’re wonderful to have on hand any time of day. I like mine dunked in tea, and my kids like theirs partnered with vegan ice cream.

SunButter is used in place of marshmallow as the binder in this allergen-free version of an old favorite. In addition to being delicious, this rice crispy treat is also packed with protein and vitamin E, so you can feel indulged and virtuous, all at the same time! Dark Karo syrup contains molasses instead of high-fructose corn syrup, and thus is better in my opinion, but dark and light corn syrup are interchangeable.

This one is an “Uh-oh, if I don’t watch out, I’ll eat the whole pan!” recipe. Its flavor is a cross between lemon meringue pie and key lime pie. My mother claims I’m so fond of citrus because she ate lemon meringue pie every day when she was pregnant with me. Whatever the reason, I love tart sweets, and if you do too, then this is the recipe for you. The kickin’ lemon-lime pairs perfectly with the buttery shortbread crust.

These graham crackers are addictively delicious. They’re great as a snack with a glass of rice milk, or wonderful made into s’mores (see variation below). This recipe also makes a wonderful pie crust.

I was so excited when Enjoy Life came out with their new line of chocolate bars, I literally jumped for joy. I was already a huge fan of their chocolate chips, and now they’ve given me a whole new genre of chocolate to bake with. These chocolate chunk cookie bars are an old-fashioned picnic or school function favorite. So easy and yet sooooo good!

So simple, yet so perfect. These cupcakes are topped with a chocolate buttercream frosting made with no butter, no cream—but it’s rich, chocolaty, and creamy nonetheless! This frosting will frost 12 cupcakes if you’re piping it, more if you’re just spreading the frosting. If you have leftover frosting, it will keep for weeks tightly covered in the fridge. Just let it come to room temperature and whip it up again. For added panache, dress these cupcakes up with sprinkles for kids’ birthday parties, or top them with Rice Milk Chocolate Ganache (page 104).

Often called “dream bars,” these double-layered bar cookies have a crunchy graham cracker base and a chewy, caramelized top. My friend Ben Duke says, “The only problem with these cookies is that there aren’t more of them!”

Up until I created this recipe, allergen-free, gluten-free brownies were a bit like the Holy Grail. I kept searching, but to no avail. I worked on my own recipe, but making brownies without dairy, soy, gluten, and, most of all, eggs is not easy! Granted, there were recipes out there that called themselves brownies, but they were really just mini cupcakes. A chewy, moist brownie with a nice crusty, glossy top remained elusive. Until now, that is. Yup, that’s right, after years of trying, I’ve finally baked it—an honest-to-goodness allergen-free, gluten-free, vegan tray of real brownies. Go ahead, I dare you, try eating just one.

Of all the cupcakes in this book, these are my favorite. When I baked up a dozen, I personally consumed nine out of twelve. I even ate the one I had set aside for my husband. Yup, it’s true. They’re that good.

These diminutive tea biscuits are a wonderful little treat. My son Lennon, upon tasting them, told me he’d like to take them with him to heaven. Really, he said that. Just a little word of caution: these puppies are hot, so wait until they’ve cooled a bit to eat them, or the orange marmalade will scorch the roof of your mouth.

This recipe first appeared in Living Without in December 2008. I had to include it here because it’s so good, and also because it reminds me of my grandmother Catherene, who taught me to bake cookies. She was very fond of ginger.

These look like Hostess Sno Balls but are much healthier. They taste sublime, and are so very, very pretty.

Make these for any of the holidays where you want cutout cookies. They’re perfect for Halloween, Christmas and Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, Easter... you get the idea. They’re also great made into letter cookies or animals. My kids love baking these as an activity. It’s part cooking, part art project, and they’re so proud of their handiwork once it comes out of the oven.