A WORK IN PROGRESS

Image courtesy of The Houndstooth Gourmet.

A WORK IN PROGRESS

I’ve been kinda busy lately and am sad to say I had no free time to bake this past week. But lucky for me, my fellow blogger Kristen came to the rescue and let me sample some of her Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies baked from Vegan Diner.

Not only did they look like normal cookies and were perfectly round and had the right balance of crispy outside and softer inside, but they were delicious. Clearly, Kristen is a much more experience baker than I am. And so I look to her for advice and tips, and she enlightens me.

For example, while the recipe she used was vegan, it wasn’t gluten free. So instead of going through complicated vegan gluten-free cookbooks, she just subbed in all-purpose gluten-free flour for regular wheat flour. Brilliant. Why didn’t I think of this before?

She did note, however, that when subbing gluten-free flour you also need to add a little xanthan gum. Always read your packaging—look at the back of your gluten-free mix and it will tell you how much xanthan gum to add per cup of flour.

Here’s the recipe she used…

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes about 16 cookies

13/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose gluten-free flour)

11/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) non-hydrogenated vegan margarine, softened

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3 tablespoons soymilk or almond milk

1 tablespoon flaxseed meal, preferably golden

11/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup raisins or dried cherries (or cranberries)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat silicone mat.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt,

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the brown sugar, margarine, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the soymilk and flax, beating until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the margarine mixture, beating just until mixed. Add the oats, mixing until incorporated. Mix in the raisins. Don’t overbeat the batter.

Scoop the dough with a cookie scoop or 1/4 cup measuring cup onto prepared baking sheets. Press the tops of the cookies lightly with slightly damp fingers, to flatten into a disc. Bake in the preheated oven for 14 to 15 minutes, or until the cookies have puffed up and are golden, but are still soft to the touch. They will probably have a few cracks on the top, too. Let the cookies cool completely on baking sheet before removing.

As a perfectionist cookie baker, there are a few tips and tricks to keep your cookies coming out perfectly every time. The first is to not overbeat your batter, once the flour mixture is added. This will help keep your cookies from flattening out on the cookie sheet. Another pro tip is the cookie scoop, otherwise known as a dasher.  Your cookies will bake and be shaped more evenly. You can find them in cooking stores, in restaurant supply stores, and online. Finally, line your cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. No greasing required, and they won’t get too brown on the bottoms (unless of course you overbake them).

Recipe reprinted from Vegan Diner © 2011 by Julie Hasson, Running Press.

Happy baking,

Caroline

@carolinebrown