Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Part 121

Variation: Chocolate-Hazelnut-Espresso: Whisk 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder into the liquid ingredients before adding the dry ingredients.

APPLE-PEANUT b.u.t.tER-CARAMEL BARS.

MAKES 12 BARS.

TIME : 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES, PLUS COOLING TIME.

These bars were created one autumn night when we were sitting around with our friend Paula, thinking about apples and peanut b.u.t.ter. Everyone loves peanut b.u.t.ter on apples, so why aren't there any treats dedicated to this combination? Could all the world's problems be solved if only we would take hold of our innermost desires? To the kitchen we went. The result is this bar; an apple pie filling inside a graham cracker crust, with a crumb topping and ribbons of luscious peanut b.u.t.ter caramel.

If you can't find vegan graham crackers, vegan vanilla cookies make a good subst.i.tution.

Crust: 3 cups graham cracker crumbs

cup canola oil or 5 tablespoons nonhydron- genated vegan margarine, melted and cooled

3 tablespoons plain soy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumb topping: cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2-3 tablespoons canola oil

Pinch each of ground cinnamon, ginger, and allspice

Apple filling: 3 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 6), cored and sliced thinly (peeling is optional)

1 tablespoon canola oil

cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon water

Pinch each of ground cinnamon, ginger, and allspice

Peanut b.u.t.ter caramel: cup chunky peanut b.u.t.ter (the no-stir kind, not the kind that separates)

cup pure maple syrup

3 tablespoons brown rice syrup

PREHEAT THE oven to 350F. Grease a 9 13-inch baking pan.

Prepare the crust: Place the graham cracker crumbs in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with the oil and mix until moistened. Add the soy milk and mix with your fingers; the crumbs should hold together if pinched. Press the crumbs firmly into the prepared baking pan to form a crust.

Prepare the topping: Place the flour, sugar, and spices in a mixing bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into the flour and mix with your fingertips until crumbs start to form. Keep tossing the mixture with your fingers; you want the crumbs to be fairly large for crumbs. Add more oil if necessary.

Prepare the apple filling: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, coating all the apples.

Layer the apples onto the crust and sprinkle with the crumb topping. The topping won't solidly cover the entire pan; just sprinkle it randomly over the top so that the apples are peeking through in places.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the apples are tender.

When the bars are almost done baking (at the 35-minute point), start preparing the peanut b.u.t.ter caramel: Mix all the ingredients very well with a fork, in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat for about 3 minutes. The mixture should soften and slide off the fork in ribbons.

When the bars are done baking, drizzle the caramel in ribbons all over the top. Let cool completely before serving; you can place the pan in the fridge to hasten the cooling process. Slice into bars and serve.

FUDGY WUDGY BLUEBERRY BROWNIES.

MAKES 16 BROWNIES.

TIME : 50 MINUTES.

These brownies are ridiculously fudgy. They better be, they're called fudgy wudgies.They have triple chocolate power-in the form of melted chocolate, cocoa powder, and then chocolate chips. And they have double blueberry power-in the form of blueberry spreadable fruit and plump, fresh blueberries, adding a tangy contrast to each sweet bite.The blueberry-chocolate combo is not the most popular one, but it should be! For a variation, try raspberry-chocolate by replacing the blueberry ingredients with raspberry ones.

The highest-quality vegan chocolate chips will produce the highest-quality brownie. The only ingredients should be chocolate liqueur, sugar, cocoa b.u.t.ter, vanilla, and possibly lecithin. Avoid chips with high-fructose corn syrup as an ingredient.

Since the consistency of spreadable fruit varies from brand to brand, we used the kind that had no whole blueberries visible. If yours looks like it does have whole fruit, no worries! Just pulse it in a blender a few times until smooth. You can add the recipe's measure of soy milk to it, if necessary, to make the blending easier.

cup plus cup semisweet chocolate chips

10 ounces blueberry spreadable fruit

cup soy milk