Sheet Pan Suppers Vegetarian – Review

To begin, I want to make it clear. I am not a Vegetarian. That doesn’t mean that a vegetarian cookbook like Sheet Pan Suppers Vegetarian by Raquel Pelzel isn’t of value. It is important to have veggies in your diet and everyone should have a go-to dish when having a Vegetarian over to eat.

As the author says, cooking with a Sheet Pan is easy. A big bonus is the recipes leave you without having to clean up a messy stovetop. There is nothing that can spoil a meal more than a huge pile of dishes and a messy kitchen. Most of these recipes will only need the pan a wooden spoon and a sharp knife.

Most of the recipes included use a 13×8″ pan known as a “half sheet”. It is nice that you don’t need a lot of special tools to make everything. Even if you haven’t used a sheet pan to cook a meal, all the information you need to prepare is in the Introduction. The author even includes tips on getting picky eaters to eat their veggies.

The first Chapter is “Bits, Bites, and Snacks” recipes. This is where you find tasty snacks like potato skins, dips, salsas, and more. With Chapter 2 you find “Soups and Salads”. And yes, apparently you really can use a sheet pan to make a soup. That surprised me.

With Chapter 3 you find “Veggies with A Side of Vegetables”. These recipes can be a main course or side dish as needed. Throughout the book, you will see little tips and tricks for Sheet Pan cooking. They range from preheating your pan to charts for cooking, variations of methods for reheating, and even where to find your ingredients and their benefits to mention only a few. Tips like these are invaluable.

“Grains Bowls and Beyond” is Chapter 4. As surprising as cooking soup in a pan, it is possible to make rice, bulgur, and other grains. There is even a risotto recipe. It does require stirring every 5 minutes but hey, that isn’t too bad! With “Beans and Legumes” in Chapter 5 you find the chili, baked beans, and other recipes. There is even the “Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burgers” recipe here.

If you want Pizza or Focaccia you will flip straight to Chapter 6 “Pasta, Bread, and Pizza”. There are recipes for Cornbread, a Burritza (a burrito/pizza hybrid) and even Lasagna. Chapter 7 has recipes for “Breakfasts and Brunches”. The various toasts look lovely but I am sure the Roasted Strawberry Danish will become a Sunday Brunch favourite with me!

Tasty Dessert Recipes Too

My favourite Chapter is 8, “Desserts”. Who could resist recipes like “Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with Quickest Chocolate Buttercream Frosting” and “Cherry Bomb Bars”? Not me.

In all the book is a good resource if you want to have veggie meals with a minimum of fuss. I like that all of the recipes have an opening description about cooking it or when/how it will work best. The instructions give you the detail I like to see and will make it easy, even for someone like me who has never done any Sheet Pan cooking.

The recipe for “Chocolate-Chocolate Sparklers” is irresistible which is why I have included it below. Enjoy!

Chocolate-Chocolate Sparklers

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Crackly on the surface from coarse sugar and chocolaty-decadent-chewy at the core, these cookies have a perfect balance of crisp edge to soft center. Their give makes them a fantastic cookie to turn into an ice cream sandwich.

Makes18 Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup molasses dark
• 1/4 cup corn syrup light
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate melted, about 4 ounces
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup coarse demerara sugar (Sugar in the Raw) or turbinado sugar

Instructions

• Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-size bowl until well combined and set aside.
• Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer). Add the brown sugar and beat at medium-high speed until airy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, add the egg yolk and vanilla, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until combined, about 15 seconds. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the side and bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer in medium-low, add the molasses, corn syrup, and melted chocolate. Increase the speed to medium and beat until well combined, about 20 seconds.
• Stop the mixer and the flour mixture. Mix at low speed until almost no dry streaks remain. Add the chocolate chips and keep mixing at low speed until well combined, about 30 seconds total. Scrape the bottom and side of the bowl.
• Place the demerara sugar in a medium-size bowl. With a large spoon, scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough from the bowl and use another spoon to scrape it into the sugar, rolling it around a bit to coat the top of the cookie. (The dough will be soft – you can wet your hands with a little ice water to prevent sticking, but it’s best just to handle it gently.) Place the cookie on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat, spacing the cookies 1 1/2 inches apart.
• Bake until the edges are set but the cookies seem soft in the center (like they could use another minute in the oven), about 11 minutes. Remove the sheet pan from the oven give it a bang on the counter, and let the cookies sit for 5 minutes before transferring them, with a saptula, to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. The cookies will keep, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 1 week. Alternatively, you can shape the remaining dough into balls, freeze them, dip them in water and roll them in sugar, transfer to a gallon-size resealable freezer bag, and keep frozen to bake another time.