Desserts

I can hear you now... "desserts?? For Lent???" You don't have to eat 'em - but if your youngun's birthday comes in the middle of Lent (and every day is somebody's birthday), are you going to serve her bean soup and antipasto salad, and let it go at that? What about the hubbit's boss coming over for dinner... a visit from a relative who lives too far away to visit with regularly? There are all sorts of occasions where it would be most uncouth (and un-Christian) to refuse to acknowledge the specialness of the day for at least others who are in your home during Lent at mealtimes.

Almond Butter Cookies

Ingredients
¼ c canola oil
1 c almond butter
¼ c maple syrup
½ t pure vanilla extract
1 c whole wheat pastry flour (sifted before measuring)
¼ t salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet (or use a nonstick one). Mix together almond butter and oil, beat until smooth. Mix in maple syrup and vanilla extract. Stir together flour and salt. Add to almond butter mixture and mix until just combined. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Roll dough into ¾-inch balls. Place on baking sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool a couple of minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Apple and Rye Bread Pudding

Ingredients
5½ c cubed bread (may be sour dough, wheat, or rye, fresh or stale)
½ c raisins
1 T caraway seeds or anise seeds
5 c diced apples
½ c apple butter
1 T sunflower butter or tahini
1 c water
2 T mellow or sweet miso
2 c amazake beverage (original) or vanilla soy milk

Directions
Toss bread in a large bowl with raisins and caraway seeds. Add apples and toss to mix. Combine apple butter and sunflower butter (or tahini), water, miso, amazake (or soy milk), then pour liquid mixture over apples and bread. Stir to coat. Spoon mixture into a lightly oiled 2-quart casserole dish or two 9-inch pie plates or cake pans. Cover. Allow mixture to sit for 2 to 4 hours before baking so bread will soak up flavors.

Bake covered at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until slightly firm and mixture pulls away from sides slightly. Remove from oven and spoon into individual dessert cups. An ice cream scooper works well. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.

Chocolate Carrot Cake

Soup Ingredients
1½ c finely grated carrots
¾ c granulated sugar
½ c vegetable oil
1 c boiling water
1 ½ c whole wheat flour
½ c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon
1½ t baking powder
½ t salt

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine carrots, sugar, and vegetable oil. Pour boiling water over the mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Add to the carrot mixture and mix well.

Pour into a non-stick or lightly oiled 8-inch square pan. Bake for 35 minutes.

Apple on a Stick

Ingredients
Apples
Honey dates (or other sticky variety)
Almonds or pecans
Popsicle sticks

Directions
Wash apples and remove stems. Stick a popsicle stick through the middle of the apple for holder. Mash the dates. Cover the apples with the mashed dates. Coarsely grind up almonds or pecans. Roll the date-covered apples in the nut mixture.

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