For my somewhat successful yard sale yesterday, I made these molasses spice cookies. They were incredible. Adapted from the Cook’s Illustrated recipe.

11 1/4 ounces flour (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Earth Balance
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar (plus more for dusting, optional)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup light or dark molasses

Preheat oven to 375° with rack in center.

Combine flour, baking soda, spice, pepper, and salt in medium bowl. In large bowl, mix Earth Balance with brown and white sugar with a wooden spoon until nice and creamy. Add canola oil and vanilla and stir to combine, then add molasses and mix it up until it looks like this:

and try not to eat too much of it at this stage. Gradually add in the flour mixture. You should end up with a dough that’s not too crumbly, but holds together well enough to form little balls. Roll these little balls around in some granulated sugar (they’re just more magical this way) and place them on a baking sheet, which you’ll then place in the oven.

Bake for about 11 minutes – you don’t want them to be done. Remove from the oven and let them sit there for about 5 minutes and think about what they’ve done. Place them on a cooling rack and try not to eat them all at once.

*The Cook’s Illustrated version calls for adding your own cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice. I didn’t have any ginger or allspice, and they’re damn expensive if you don’t have a bulk spices area in your market, so I cheat and use pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice because it’s already in roughly the right proportions. If you’re curious, those proportions are two parts cinnamon, two parts ground ginger, one part ground allspice, and one part ground cloves.

These cookies were a big hit this weekend, with some going so far as to ask whether or not I baked professionally, and one guy even said it would be criminal if I didn’t. So fool your friends and make these amazing cookies, and don’t tell them they’re vegan until after they already take a bite.

This week is week one of the Apartment Therapy Fall Cure. It’s no secret that I’m way into the cure and I think everyone should do it, no excuses (that means you, my dear). Not only am I determined to actually finish it this year, but I’m going a little further: I’m doing a “green” cure, which, in addition to my usual modus operandi of limiting what I buy new (if anything), using recycled materials where possible, choosing environmentally-friendly paints and cleaners, and reusing what I have, I’m also going to reduce or eliminate as many animal products as possible. I could get really preachy and give you dozens of reasons for going vegan, but instead, I’ll just say this: animals raised as livestock take up an inordinate part of our natural resources including water and plants made into feed, their waste pollutes our water supply, overfishing for human and livestock consumption is depleting our oceans and destroying their ecosystems, cows release more atmosphere-destroying gas than cars, and jammed feedlots produce mutant strains of flu. There are lots of things you can do to help the environment, but few are as profound as adopting a vegan lifestyle.

Okay, end rant.

To this end, all the meals I cook at home during the cure (and for like ever) will be vegan, and if they’re any good, I’ll share the recipes. Here’s one to get you started:

Hearty Vegan Chili

1 tablespoon oil (olive or canola, whatever)
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 stalk celery, also chopped
1 carrot, diced (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
2 teaspoons ground cumin (always better to use whole seeds, toast them, and grind them yourself)
1 teaspoon salt
(see below – spices are added twice)
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of chipotle chili powder (optional)
3 cups vegetable broth (or so, depending on how thick you want it)
2 tablespoons chickpea flour (or your favorite flour, that was what I had)
2 cups white beans (I used dried and cooked, which I’m pretty sure is better than canned)
1/2 cup fruity, tart white wine
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne pepper (yes these are repeated)
1 28-ounce can stewed tomatoes
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 cups prepared polenta (so start with 1/2 cup or so dried cornmeal)

Cook onion, leek, celery, and carrot in oil over medium high heat until just beginning to brown. Add red pepper and cook for another five minutes or so; add garlic and continue to cook for a couple minutes, and add the first round of spices. Let this get nice and brown and develop a fond, and then add a half cup of the vegetable broth to deglaze the pot. Add flour and let it boil down and brown again, and deglaze it again with another half cup or so of the vegetable broth. Simmer, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated, and add the cooked or canned beans with a little salt. And yes, another round: let the beans get browned (you may need to add a bit more oil by this point), add some more of your spices, and just when you think you can brown no more, kick in the white wine and let it simmer down to reduce. Add half the nutritional yeast gradually and let it brown (again). Finally, add the canned tomatoes, deglazing the pan with the liquid. Bring to a boil, stir it up, reduce heat and simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Add the tomato paste and remaining vegetable broth. At this point, taste and adjust your spices accordingly -you may need much more chili powder and cumin – and play with the ratio of vegetable broth to nutritional yeast until you have your desired thickness; some people like really thick chili and others prefer more of a soup.

Serve with a generous spoonful of polenta.