These treats were made for our friends Mark and Lisa, who spent a year here in the Bay Area on sabbatical. They left last summer, but Lisa got me to start baking vegan goodies for her and now we’re both hooked. I love the science and challenge of vegan baking. Lisa and Mark like the finished product – a perfect match, if you ask me.

Lisa and Mark are back in Toronto, but Larry has been traveling there on business so he’s my vegan baked goods mule. I’ve made vegan biscotti before with good results, but these turned out a little chewier than I’d like. And the dough spreads out a lot and makes very long cookies. The banana cookies were chosen out of convenience – I happened to have two very black bananas on hand. They’re like a cross between a muffin and a cookie and are delicious warm out of the oven.

• Gingerbread Biscotti (Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, p. 207)
• Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies (Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, p. 92)