Question for those who bake a lot......
Posted by DamianMarley on Nov 05, 2006 · Member since Oct 2006 · 2 posts
What ingredients helps give vegan cookies that chewy bite of non-vegan counterparts and make them less 'fall-aparty'???
Just curious b/c I've tried a few of the recipes and followed most of them exactly w/ few substitutions so just wondering if anyone has any input on this. Thanks!
who always get this response from me...
try 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for each egg. It works!
Here's a popular-audience food-science article on cookies being "flat, crispy, soft, or chewy"-- it's very omnivorous but the principles are sound.
http://www.wcpo.com/recipes/2004/03/06c.html
For chewier cookies, you'll want brown sugar (or sweetener that will hold more moisture-- like applesauce or dates) as opposed to drier types of sugar (like white sugar). You will want to have your ingredients good and cold (so they don't spread out as much) and, possibly, to replace a little of the fat with a fruit puree (applesauce, again!) so that the cookies don't spread and get thin & crisp before they set.
Happy baking!
I don't like Ener-G egg replacer and I have never used flaxseed to replace eggs. I have used applesauce with mixed results.
When I replace eggs, I used silken tofu. I blend a 12 oz box with 1/3 cup of water and use 1/4 c for each egg replaced. Eggs contain albumin (protein) that binds with the flour starches and supports the cellulose structure as it rises. Only the silken method replicates this without another flavor and without changing texture of the finished product.
As stated, brown sugar makes for a softer chewier cookie. If you don't want to use brown sugar, you can add molasses and use white sugar with the same effect. So many vegan cookies will be "cake like" and puffed up and round. This can be solved by using the floured bottom of a pretty bottom glass or a commercially available glass cookie stamp.
If you have not tried whole wheat pastry flour for cookies, please do. The flour is finer and makes a really nice cookie.
I forgot mashed bananas! They seem to make cakey things a little chewy, although I haven't made cookies with them... maybe they'd provide some of that moist-sweetener chewyness.
Good catch, Dragonfly! I've had good luck with flax in cakey baked goods, but it's kinda bleh for cookies in my experience, but I haven't tried Ener-G.
Thought the applesauce and banana will work great to get a more chewy cookie...
Also check the brand of margarine you are using. If you switch that, it will certainly change the texture, check specifially the veg oil content (it will be a percentage written on the container somewhere)
Thanks for all the tips! I look forward to seeing what works in upcoming bakings! Wish me luck!