Cathleen Woods - Vegan Christmas Cookies

I learned how to bake from my mom, who isrenowned among her friends and family for her desserts. She willoften throw a dinner party for 20 people and have 15 differentdesserts, just to be sure there's enough. One of my favoritepictures from my childhood is the one of my sister and me inpigtails standing on buckets and rolling cookies on the kitchencounter. For me, baking has always been natural.

When I became a vegan, I wasn't sure what thecookies and cakes of my future would taste like, and that was onlybecause I hadn't tried vegan desserts before. There has been anexplosion in the vegan dessert world over the past few years andyou can now find delicious desserts at plenty of restaurants andbakeries. At the very beginning though, I had to make my own, andit was a process of trial and error. Now I know that no longer arevegan cookies flavorless hardened pieces of cardboard that you'reembarrassed to share with friends. Now I know that almost anydessert a person could ever want can be made delicious andanimal-free.

It's one of the best feelings in the world topresent someone with a homemade cookie, have them say it'sdelicious, and then tell them the cookie is vegan. I'll never getover the surprised and amazed looks on their faces. If you can bakeeven one stellar vegan cookie, your friends will be impressed. And,when people are impressed, they are more likely to want to make thecookie themselves, and once they know they can make it themselves,they are so much closer to completely dropping animal productsforever.

So, basically, vegan baking is a worldcause!

Vegan Christmas cookies make an amazingpresent for anyone, whether they celebrate the holiday or justenjoy the holiday season. My mom has been baking dozens of batchesof cookies and arranging them on trays for the neighbors for aslong as I can remember, and this book honors her tradition. Many ofthe recipes are veganized versions of her best cookies, whileothers are my best versions of my own favorite cookies.

Share the world cause of vegan cookies andenjoy!

Many thanks to the amazing recipe testerswhose arms I pulled to get them to try some vegan Christmascookies, and without whom we wouldn't have unbiased opinions onthese cookies. Thank you to: Phillipe Bojorquez, Lindsey Bronner,Justine Butler, Chris Fux, Sarah Hoffman, Kristi Hope, Adam Jerome,Lou, David Powders, John Starr, Maggie Starr, and Mary Woods.

Baking vegan cookies is very much the sameprocess as baking "regular" cookies. There are a few substitutionsand very few adjustments to make, but it's really nothing daunting.In this introduction, I am going to pretend as though you don'thave experience baking any kind of cookies to ensure I cover myvery best tips and techniques, so bear with me for the veganadjustments if you already know how to bake.

To begin with, you will need a few tools. Youcan use anything from yard sale finds to gourmet cooking tools;it's completely up to you.

The most important baking tools:

Good mixing spoon (I like a metal one)

Good spatula (plastic tip, wooden handle)

Whisk

Measuring cups

Measuring spoons

Electric mixer (but you can do it byhand)

Cookie sheets

Melon baller or ice cream scoop (makesrolling cookie balls quicker)

Parchment paper or silicon liners for thecookie sheets

Pancake flipping spatula (for removingcookies from the sheets)

Potholder

Cooling racks

Use high quality ingredients:

I also think it's important to use goodingredients when you are baking. I use organic pure vanillaextracts, high quality raw nuts and good flaxseeds, and good oliveoil/coconut oil/nondairy butter because I think it makes a bigdifference in the final product. I hate the taste of bad vanillaextract and I think it really stands out when you're taking a biteof a small dessert like a cookie. Sometimes these betteringredients can be more expensive, but if you're only using itoccasionally, it's worth the investment.

The process of baking and adjustments:

Baking cookies is a process of combining dryingredients with wet ingredients, mixing just until they'recombined to prevent them from becoming tough, and then rolling theminto balls, rolling them flat and shaping with cookie cutters, ordropping them onto cookie sheets and baking them. Afterwards youtake them out of the oven and let them cool on cooling racks untilyou're ready to eat or frost them. Simple.

One thing to keep in mind is that every ovenis different, so I recommend using a thermometer inside the oven tomake sure it really is the temperature you need. Also, if thecookies offer a range in baking time, always set your timer for thelower number. You can check them at that point to see if they needto keep baking.

Some of the obvious adjustments you will makewhen you bake vegan cookies rather than regular, dairy-basedcookies is with the butter, milk, and eggs. I find eggs to be thetrickiest of the substitutions because eggs play a more substantialrole of helping to give the cookies shape and texture, and some ofthe final product depends on the productivity of the egg product.Luckily, there are a few common commercial products that can takethe place of eggs. The recipes in this ebook will all list mychoice for egg replacer for that particular recipe, but if you aremore comfortable with another option, you can use somethingelse.

Ener-G Egg Replacer:

This is a mixture of stable flours thatenables you to add a whipped egg-like product into your cookieswithout adding too much flavor or any color. It will help form thecookies in the same way an egg would have. While it is the simplestegg replacer, some people prefer to use whole food products ratherthan the more processed Ener-G. The basic recipe for one egg is 1.5teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer whipped into 2 tablespoons warmwater.

Ground Flax Seeds:

When you whisk ground flax seeds into liquidfor several minutes, it takes on a gooey, sticky texture that isjust like a beaten egg. It is perfect for binding ingredientstogether and I personally love it in most recipes. The only issueis that if you are baking a white cookie or one that has a verylight texture, you might be able to see flecks of flax in thefinished product, and you also might taste its slightly nuttytaste. So, I recommend it for heartier cookies. One egg is equal toabout 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds and 2-3 tablespoons warmwater.

Bananas or Applesauce:

Any fluffy, light, sticky smashed fruit orbland vegetable could potentially take the place of eggs in arecipe, but they tend to create puffier baked goods and work betteron cakes or brownies. I typically stay away from them in regularcookie recipes, but if you want to experiment, about 1/4 cup ofwell mashed bananas, applesauce, potatoes, or pear puree wouldreplace one egg.

Silken Tofu or Soy/Coconut Yogurt:

Nondairy yogurts and silken tofu can make anice egg replacement, especially in a puffy, cakey cookie, andthey'll always work when you have nothing else on hand. To make atofu egg, smash 1/4 cup silken tofu well and whip it until it'slight and fluffy. About 1/4 cup of yogurt would make one egg.

Vinegar/Baking Soda:

The other option for an egg substitutes is amixture of baking soda and vinegar. I prefer this for cakes, quickbreads, and brownies rather than cookies, but you can experiment.To make one baking soda egg, combine 1 teaspoon baking soda with 1tablespoon white vinegar.