no-sugar-no-enriched-flour challenge

There is a vegan out there for whom I frequently provide baked goods. It's extremely entertaining because he is constantly undergoing torturous dietary changes, which means I am bombarded with new baking challenges. It's awesome, mostly because it gives me an excuse to bake all too often.

The most recent diet frowns upon white flours and sugars (no refined sugars, no honey, no maple syrup, no rice syrup, no syrupy things of any kind) except agave nectar. This is coming from a human being who is mildly obsessed with these black current scones (AWESOME):

I am pretty proud of these scones. For awhile my oven had resentments against my baking obsession and decided to ruin a lot of treats, but these prevailed. These are fun because you have to keep the butter (note when I say butter, I mean "butter") super cold then use a pastry cutter in the flour to create crumbs. The butter / flour mixture looks like flour covered peas, that way when the pieces of fat melt, you have flaky, delicious scones! 

Back to the challenge: 

I do not trust agave. I think it's bullshit and probably horrible for you. HOWEVER, I will never turn down an opportunity to make up recipes. So... 

I found in my "no-sugar-no-white-flour-agave-vegan-cookie" recipe search that basically NOTHING good actually exists. So I combined stuff to make a "cookie" that tastes as good as humanly possible for something so contrary to the goodness of my usual goods. The healthy-vegan-boy (who has been off  sugar now for 3 weeks) thinks these cookies are awesome. But you can't really trust someone who has been deprived of sugar for so long. Recipe is as follows: 

2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon agave
1/3 cup coconut oil (I used this for the flavor, you have to melt it, which is totally disgusting. You can probably use extra-light olive oil but it won't have the same flavor. Maybe add a couple teaspoons coconut extract if using olive oil)
2 tbsp almond milk
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 mashed banana
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
generous 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup rolled oats
lots of shredded coconut (maybe close to 3/4 cup)
close to 3/4 cup carob chips

preheat oven to 325 degrees. in a large bowl, whisk agave, oil, banana, almond milk, flax seeds, and vanilla. sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to form soft dough (don't over mix). fold in oats, coconut, and chips.
drop tablespoons of dough on parchment paper and flatten slightly. bake for 10 mins and let cool.

I must say, these are actually pretty good. It definitely took some experimenting to discover a combination I felt was acceptable enough to impart to someone. Now I am sharing it with you. 

I have also been on a mad streak with this Flourless Chocolate Tart: 

This was the second one I ever made for a friend's birthday party. The original recipe is from The Vegan Table, same author as The Joy of Vegan Baking (my fav). This one, due to dietary restrictions, was actually made using unsweetened %100 cocoa chocolate and added honey (a shit-ton) instead of refined sugars. The crust is the best part: walnuts, pecans, butter, honey. That's it. Awesome. But you have to be a chocolate lover.



 I am happy to say that, as of today, I GOT A NEW OVEN! So many more delicious treats are soon-to-be conquered.
One word: bagels.
and sourdough bread.
and cake, I just got the urge for cake.
and lavender-tea cookies, maybe in the form of a layered shortbread.
banana bread?

out-of-control...
and as always, sleeping Bertie: