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So a while ago I played around with making some goji berry brownies and made a high-fat batch and a low-fat batch. Neither turned out very well so tonight, due to a major PMS inspired chocolate craving, I decided to give it another go. This is mainly because, while not quite successful, the goji berries in the fatty-batch (aka: buttery brownie crumble) tasted amazing! Again, I have to preface this by saying that my cupboards are lacking and I put off doing my grocery shopping today *shameface* so I made these with egg beaters and crisco instead of butter. Ew. You definitely need the added taste that only butter or margarine can bring to the table.
Prepping the goji berries:
You can easily find goji berries in your local whole foods. They’re a pinkish color and come dehydrated. Their taste is subtle, sweet, but also salty. I don’t really like chewy things in my brownies so I rehydrate them. However, you can also just add them into the batter as is for a little chew-factor! They would complement walnuts really well… if you like walnuts in brownies… which I really don’t 
or if you like the combination of orange and chocolate you could rehydrate the berries in orange juice and then add some orange zest to the batter!
Dried Goji Berries
In a small bowl add a handfull of berries, agave nectar, honey, a touch of vanilla, and soy milk. Stir and let sit for a little while. I did this while I was defrosting my egg beaters. Pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir and let sit until room temperature again. .. then pop them back in for another 30 and stir and let sit. They should be nice, plump, and tender now. Put this aside as you work on the rest of your batter. They are the last thing to be added!
See them getting plumper?!
Brownie Batter:
- 1 cup butter/margarine/crisco
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 2/3 cup cocoa
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- goji berries (prepped)
You know the drill! Cream together the butter/margarine/crisco (ew) and sugar. Add wet ingredients then dry. At the tail end scoop the goji berries into the mixture. While you certainly don’t want to get all of the milk mixture in there, make sure to spill at least a little bit in 
I decided to make my brownies in my muffin tin so that I could freeze the extra ones. Bake at 350 degrees for about half an hour or until they’ve risen and you can stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean.
Brownie-cakes in the oven! 
... aaand out of the oven!
My only complaint is that they aren’t really as fudgy as I wanted 
-Kate
Tonight I decided to make gingersnaps to give people as little holiday bundles 
I didn’t expect to make two batches separately, nor did I expect them to vary so interestingly… but that’s the way it worked out due to and ingredient shortage. For instance, both recipes were made with (un)frozen Egg beaters rather than actual eggs…
Batch No. 1 — Involved a mixture of margerine and butter as well as traditional molasses.
Batch No. 2 — Involved Crisco and dark, unsulphered molasses.
(1) turned out light in color and the tops of the cookies broke very prettily. They rose well in the oven… quite a bit more than I am used to, to be honest… and while crisp on the outside they were just a bit moist on the inside.
(2) turned out very dark in color and the tops never broke. They were quite dense and while they rose the same ammount as batch numero uno, they didn’t get crispy or moisty. Rather this batch was a bit more… cake-y. Something I’ll admit I detest in a cookie, but Emily seems to appreciate … though I can’t see her incorporating Crisco into her cookies! You can definitely taste the molasses in this cookie and it reminds me more of those ones you get at the grocery store in the orange and black box, but without the crispiness.
Lessons Learned: In the future, I will make gingersnaps with dark, unsulphered molasses and margerine (as intended). I don’t think the egg beaters made a lick of difference so I’m not too pressed about that. Also, I’m not 100% sure, but I think the butter and shortening cut the flavor so that the cookies were less intense than usual… and that is just a sad thing in a gingersnap!
-Kate
