We were very excited when we learned about BiaSol – the spent grain goods hitting shelves nationwide. A locally sourced, zero waste, nutrition packed grain? Count us in. A by-product of the brewing industry – the barley that has been soaked for use in beer has been traditionally regarded as waste. BiaSol says it’s anything but.

Spent grains are packed with vitamins and nutrients, and they can add great flavour and interest to your baked goods.

With a growing range of milled grains and baking mixes, BiaSol make it easy for us to collectively reduce waste and improve nutrition.

So we were chuffed when they asked us to formulate a Vegan recipe utilising their brewer’s spent grains specially for World Vegan Day.

And here it is; a seasonal (and plant-based, naturally) spin on BiaSol Crafty Cookies!

A modest amount of oil in replacement of the butter makes this take a more heart-healthy treat. Pumpkin puree replaces the egg suggested on the back of the box and gives the cookies a soft cakey texture. The added spices infuse full autumn into each cookie, appeasing the pumpkin spice gods upon their crimson leaf thrones.

But where do I find Pumpkin Puree?!
Almost everyone

As an American expat, there were a few foods I had a hard time finding after immigrating. Pumpkin puree was one of those. Tins of pumpkin are one of those American staples that virtually every grocer in the States stocks year-round. While that is definitely not the case here, there are a few places where I have found the goods in the past:

Anywhere with an “American Section” is a good place to look. Then of course there are the usual online suspects one could order it from.

But what about the ‘real deal’? In the interest of keeping things local – and keeping it simple – you can always roast and puree your own pumpkin. I have it on good authority (S told me) before I immigrated circa 2008 it was nigh-on-impossible to find a real pumpkin in a produce section. Times have changed, and that’s definitely not the case now! Almost every grocer has fresh pumpkins in stock this time of year. And while the majority of bakers I’ve known prefer working with tinned pumpkin puree (which is actually not even pumpkin – but I digress for fears of being lost in the abyss of another Dickenson-Field-Squash-Tangent) the fresh stuff will work.

Please don’t tell the pumpkin snobs I told you this; but you could even substitute Butternut Squash or Sweet Potato for the orange stuff! With the dark magic ingredients of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Clove only the most refined palates are going to notice the difference.

And dare I say it?

“different” is not necessarily a bad thing.

Why yes, that is straight out of my book of self-affirmation mantras.