Vegan Strawberry Ginger Cookies
I came up with this technique early last year (before I was vegan) and, after much experimentation, I realized that the best “liquid” to use was yogurt (probably some acid/base thing). Unfortunately, using vegan yogurt for every batch was a little tough (price, acidity, flavor options, etc).
So, what’s a vegan girl to do?
I skipped the hardcore chemistry this time and decided to go with experimentation. Acids, after all, aren’t few and far between in the food world. Pureed fruit became my go-to as a replacement for the yogurt, but most fruits alone didn’t make cookies that spread perfectly (or cook perfectly for that matter)–UNLESS they contained cocoa powder.
That was my first clue that it was an acid/base thing. So I mixed and matched and tested until I found a fairly fail-safe way method to make vegan cookies that spread and cooked perfectly no matter what wet ingredient you choose (even lentils!)
Oh, did I mention it’s gluten-free, all-natural and low-calorie too?
Mix-and-Match Cookies (microwave-friendly)
makes 10-12 cookies
Start with some dry…
- 1/4 c. mashed high fiber bran cereal (mash it till it has the consistency of flour) or spelt flour or oat flour
- 1 T. protein powder (hemp or rice, preferably but not whey (isn’t vegan) or soy (doesn’t work well))
- 1/4 t. baking SODA
- 1/4 t. baking POWDER
Add about 1 T. of…
- Nut meal/flour (peanut, almond, pistachio, etc)
- Oat bran
- Cocoa powder (use 1 teaspoon less lemon juice — see wet notes)
- Wheat bran
- Wheat germ
- Coconut flour (you will need to add a total of 2 T. extra wet ingredient)
- Flaxseed meal
- Chia seed
- Low-calorie drink mix
- Sugar-free hot chocolate mix
- Any combination of the above
Now some wet…
- 1 T. nut butter (optional but adds chewiness)
Add a total of 6 T. (3/8 c.) of…
- Natural applesauce (add up to 1/2 t. lemon juice)
- Flaxseed meal mixed with water (add 3 t. lemon juice)
- Vegan Yogurt, flavored or plain (add 1.5 t. lemon juice)
- Pureed lentils, beans or tofu (add 3 t. lemon juice)
- Sugar-free jelly (add 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice)
- Canned unsweetened pumpkin (add 3 t. lemon juice)
- Any of the following fruit purees: berries, peaches, pears or any other acidic fruit (add 1 t. of lemon juice)
- Any other fruit or vegetable puree (add 2.5-3 t. lemon juice)
- Any combination of the above
Toss in some…
- Tea bags (I like to rip them open and add all the stuff in to the dry)
- Sugar-free syrup
- Extract
- Dried herbs
- Chocolate chips
- Nuts
- Spices
- Any combination of the above
And don’t forget to add some sweetener and/or salt if you feel the need…
→Preheat the oven to 350*F (325 *F for dark).
In a bowl, melt the butter and mix in the rest of the wet ingredients (they should be at room temperature).
In another bowl, dry ingredients (including any dry spices or seasonings)
Add the wet to the dry and mix. Taste a very small amount.
Add any sweeteners. Mix until evenly mixed. At this point, the “dough” should have bubbled up to roughly 1 1/2 times it’s original volume. If that’s not the case, add more lemon juice.
Add enough liquid to make it drop cookie consistency. You want it to stick to an upside down spoon but fall off when the spoon is shaken.
Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet sprayed well with nonstick spray and bake for about 25-30 minutes, turning halfway through.
→Don’t have an oven? No problem!
Mix the dough as directed.
Drop by spoonfuls on parchment paper.
Microwave at 70-80% power for 5 minutes. Check the cookies at this point and rotate.
Microwave at about 70-80% power for 3-6 minutes longer. (Variations in flour/wet ingredient choice change the cooking times slightly).
Some of my favorite variations (click on picture for specific instructions):
Note: Not all these posts haven’t been veganized as of yet but, so long as you follow the indicated amount of wet/acid ratio, dairy and/or eggs can be substituted without problems).
Chocolate Lemon
Pumpkin spice with orange yogurt dip (sub with pureed tofu or vegan yogurt)
The one that started it all—chocolate chip!
Can you think of any others?
