Glazed Spice Cake Cookies

These yummy little cookies have a texture somewhere between a cookie and a cake.

Lightly spoon 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour into measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. ground allspice, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves, and 1/2 tsp. salt; set aside.

In a stand mixer, combine 1 cup canned pumpkin with 1 cup packed organic brown sugar and 1/4 cup vegan butter (such as Earth Balance); beat until combined. Add 1/4 cup plain soy milk (such as Silk), 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and the equivalent of 2 eggs using egg replacer (such as Ener-G); beat until combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture, stirring to combine between each addition.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto 2 baking sheets coated with cooking spray, to make 24 cookies total. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool the cookies on the pans for 1 minute on a wire rack, then transfer from the pans to the wire rack and cool completely.

Once the cookies have cooled, make the glaze: whisk together 3/4 cup organic powdered sugar (such as Wholesome Sweeteners), 1 tablespoon plain soy milk, 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract, and a dash of cinnamon. The original recipe said to dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze, but since mine was very thick, I found it easier to spread it over the cookies with a knife. Return the cookies to a wire rack so the glaze can set.

Each cookie is 110 calories.

Cost:
canned pumpkin $2.99
vegan butter $3.29
plain soy milk $2.49
powdered sugar $5.99

Snickerdoodles

The origin of the term 'snickerdoodle' is in dispute; most theories agree that it is merely a whimsical name, originating in early New England cookie baking, though some sources suggest the word derives from German. Either way, the difference between a snickerdoodle and a sugar cookie is the inclusion of cinnamon! So the next time someone asks you, you're armed with the answer.

To make these little cookies vegan takes a few changes, but for the most part I adhered to the original recipe.

Lightly spoon 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour into measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour in a bowl with 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar; set aside.

Cream of tartar, I always want to point out, contains no cream whatsoever; it is obtained when the tartaric acid in grapes is combined with potassium hydroxide, which is just a fancy way of saying it is an acidic salt, and 100% vegan.

In a bowl or stand mixer, combine 1 cup raw sugar and 1/4 cup vegan butter (such as Earth Balance). Beat until well blended, either with your stand mixer, or a hand beater if you don't have the former.

Add 1 tablespoon corn syrup (I like Wholesome Sweeteners), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and the equivalent of 1 egg using egg replacer (such as Ener-G); beat well. Gradually add in the flour mixture, and beat just until combined. At the end, I stirred in an extra tablespoon of water; recognizing that my dough looked a bit too crumbly (a factor I've encountered before in vegan cookie making) I decided to head the problem off with this addition. Cover and chill the dough for 10 minutes.

While the dough chills, combine 3 tablespoons raw sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

Using moist hands (and you'll want to re-wet them several times as you work) form the dough into 42 very small balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar, then place on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Don't overcrowd the baking sheets, since the cookies will spread as they cook - I put about 10 per sheet, and baked in two batches, since I only have 2 cookie sheets.

The original recipe said to flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass, but whether my dough was sticker because it was vegan or because it had been at room temperature too long, I found it easier to flatten them with moistened fingers.

Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand on the baking sheets for 2 minutes (they'll go from very soft to nice and crisp in those two minutes!)

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. One cookie is 60 calories.

Cost:
all-purpose flour $3.99
corn syrup $6.99

Lemon-Ginger Biscotti

These lovely little cookies are a perfect snack with a cup of coffee or tea on a winter afternoon.

Lightly spoon 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour into measuring cups, leveling with a knife. Place the flour in a large bowl, and combine with 1 cup raw sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, and 1/4 tsp. salt.

Finely chop 1/4 cup of crystallized ginger, and stir into the flour mixture - check to make sure that the sugar used to crystallize the ginger is raw - your best bet is an organic brand such as Woodstock Farms: www.woodstock-farms.com

In a separate small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons grated lemon rind, 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and the equivalent of 3 eggs using egg replacer (such as Ener-G). Add to the flour mixture, and stir until blended. The original recipe cautioned that the dough would still be crumbly, but mine was so crumbly as to be unworkable. I added an extra 2 tablespoons of water, since the original recipe had called for large eggs, hoping that the added moisture would make up the difference, and indeed, this idea seemed to work.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly 7 or 8 times (which I sort of fudged, again due to how crumbly my dough was).

Divide the dough in half, and shape each portion into a 9-inch long roll (this was delicate work, using a pinching/stretching motion until I achieved the desired length). Place the rolls on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, then flatten with your palm to 1-inch thick.

In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon water with the equivalent of one additional egg, and brush this mixture over the rolls. Sprinkle the rolls evenly with 1 tablespoon raw sugar. I mistakenly added this last bit of sugar to the water/'egg' mixture, instead of sprinkling it on top, but oh well! I suppose in brushing the mixture on, the sugar got in there still.

Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. On a cutting board, slice each roll diagonally into 15 slices - as with the last time I made biscotti, my initial slices were a bit too thick, so my last few slices were quite slender; I recommend estimating the length more carefully than I did before you start slicing!

Place these sliced biscotti upright on the baking sheet (that is, with the water/'egg'-brushed side on top). Return to an oven reduced to 325 degrees and cook for 20 minutes.

Cool the biscotti completely on a wire rack - they will still be a bit soft in the middle when you first pull them from the oven, but will harden as they cool.

1 biscotto is 80 calories.

Cost:
all-purpose flour $3.99
crystallized ginger $5.99
lemon $0.79

Oatmeal-Walnut Cookies

Whip up a batch of these on the weekend - they're loaded with healthy goodies even though they also satisfy a sweet tooth - oatmeal, golden raisins, and walnuts for omega-3 fatty acids.

In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup raw sugar, 1/3 cup packed organic brown sugar, 1/4 cup softened vegan butter (such as Earth Balance), the equivalent of one egg using egg replacer (such as Ener-G) and 1 teaspoon vanilla. (Confession: I forgot the vanilla!)

Spoon 3/4 cups all-purpose flour into measuring cups and level with a knife. Add to the sugar mixture, along with 1 cup regular oats and 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir until combined, then stir in 2/3 cup golden raisins and 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (you could toast the walnuts first, if you like).

Drop by level tablespoons onto 2 baking sheets coated with cooking spray, 12 to a sheet. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes, and cool completely on wire racks. I found that the mixture became sticky and harder to work with fairly quickly, as I formed individual cookies, so my first batch came out better than my second. I might even recommend chilling in the fridge a bit between batches to avoid this problem

Each cookie is 110 calories.

Cost:
vegan butter $3.39

Ginger Shortbread

Pass around a plate of these delicious cookies on New Years Eve!

The recipe called for cake flour, but it can be hard to find. Luckily, all-purpose flour will do in a pinch, if you slightly decrease the amount. So if using cake flour, spoon out 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons into measuring cups, leveling with a knife. If you use all-purpose, just decrease that amount slightly, to 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon.

Combine your flour in a bowl with 1/4 cup raw sugar, 1 teaspoon ground ginger and a dash of salt.

In a separate bowl, let 5 tablespoons of vegan butter (such as Earth Balance) soften slightly, then beat with a mixer until smooth. Gradually beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Add one tablespoon of ice water, and stir just until combined.

Turn the mixture out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a 4-inch circle (my dough was very soft, so don't worry if yours is, too). Cover with an additional layer of plastic wrap and let chill for 20 minutes in the fridge.

Remove the plastic, and lay the dough down on a clean sheet of plastic wrap. Cover with two additional layers of plastic wrap, and roll into an 8-inch circle. Remove the top layers of plastic and arrange the dough on the center of a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Remove the final sheet of plastic.

Sprinkle the dough evenly with a tablespoon of raw sugar - the original recipe actually called for turbinado here, but any coarse sugar will do. Lightly score the dough with a knife to yield 16 wedges, without actually cutting through.

Thinly slice 1/4-ounce of crystallized ginger into 16 pieces. (Note: this is a really tiny amount of ginger, so slice very thinly with your knife). Place one ginger slice on each of your 16 wedges, gently pressing to adhere.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes, then cut along your pre-made marks to separate into wedges. Let the shortbread cool completely on a wire rack. Each cookie is 80 calories.

Cost:
ground ginger $4.99

'White Chocolate'-Cashew Coffee Biscotti

CAny recipe containing white chocolate has previously been a no-no on my list as a vegan; it is actually not chocolate at all - just milk solids, cocoa butter and sugar, which means that a vegan version didn't exist.

But recently, I stumbled across a version of white chocolate decorator chips while perusing veganessentials.com. I instantly searched out a recipe in which I could use them! The result is these delicious biscotti. Dip them into coffee either in the morning, for a snack, or for dessert.

First, though, in a large bowl combine: 1/4 cup raw sugar, 1/4 cup organic brown sugar, 1 tablespoon softened vegan butter (such as Earth Balance), 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, and the equivalent of 2 eggs using egg replacer (such as Ener-G). Beat well with a mixer until combined.

(I should probably note that Earth Balance 'butter' takes no time at all to soften - about 5 minutes. As a kid, I can remember my mom taking out real butter in the morning to soften it for cookie-baking in the afternoon, but there's no need to do that with vegan butter).

Spoon one and 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour into measuring cups and level with a knife. Combine in a separate bowl with 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules, a tablespoon and a half of unsweetened cocoa, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/8 tsp. salt, and a dash of nutmeg. Gradually add into the sugar mixture, beating until blended. Stir in 6 tablespoons of coarsely chopped cashews (I used raw cashews, even though the recipe called for dry-roasted).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 7 times. Shape into a 12-inch long roll. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray and pat down to about 3/4-inches thick. Sprinkle the top with a teaspoon and a half of raw sugar (I forgot this step! But oh well, of all of them, it is probably the least important).

Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes. Let the roll cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then slice diagonally into 21 slices (about 1/2-inch thick each).

Place the slices upright (meaning standing on the crust side, not flat like a cookie) on the baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees this time, for 20 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Once cooled, melt an ounce and a half of the vegan white chocolate chips, either in the microwave or in a small skillet over the stove. Spoon into a zip-top plastic bag and snip a tiny hole in one corner. Drizzle the icing over the biscotti (hopefully more artfully than I was able to do, as evinced by my photo!).

Each biscotto is 90 calories.

Cost:
unsweetened cocoa $7.99
cashews $6.19
'white chocolate' $3.99

Christmas Sugar Wafers with Vanilla Icing

Well, when my boyfriend saw these cookies straight from the oven he told me they were "bakery quality." Couldn't ask for a higher compliment than that! Bring a batch of these to the relatives' house and I bet they won't believe they're vegan.

In a large bowl, combine 6 tablespoons raw sugar, 1/4 cup vegan butter (such as Earth Balance) and 2 tablespoons organic brown sugar (the recipe said dark, but I used light with fine results). Beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy (about 4-5 minutes). Add a teaspoon and a half vanilla extract and beat until combined. Beat in the equivalent of 2 eggs using egg replacer such as Ener-G, adding one at a time and beating after each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine a cup and a half of all-purpose flour with 3 tablespoons corn starch, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda and 1/4 tsp. salt, stirring with a whisk. Add to the sugar mixture and beat until combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (it will be soft). Form into a ball, then divide into 4 smaller balls. Working with one portion at a time, roll each into an 8-inch circle in between two sheets of plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

This part of the recipe gets a little complicated, but it's not hard, just involved. Remove one portion of dough from the freezer and leave the others inside. Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter (any shape you like!), cut 3 cookies and place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Gather the scraps from the dough, re-roll into a smaller circle (about a 4-inch diameter this time) and refreeze for about 15 minutes.

Repeat with the remaining dough! I found it was easiest to bake the first round of 12 cookies while the second rolling-of-the-dough froze in the freezer. Either way, bake in 2 batches of 12 for 8 minutes at 375 degrees until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Once the cookies cool, combine the icing: mix 1 cup powdered sugar (try the organic powdered sugar from Whole Foods' 365 brand) with 2 and a half teaspoons warm water, 1 teaspoon light corn syrup, 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract and a dash of salt. Stir with a fork.

You can drizzle the icing haphazardly over the cookies, or put into a zip-top plastic bag, cut a hole in 1 corner and pipe onto the cookies in a pattern. Alas, you can see that my decorating skills are not quite up to par, otherwise I would have made pretty snowflakes.

You'll have 24 cookies. Each one is 100 calories.

Cost:
powdered sugar $3.69
light corn syrup $5.69

Molasses Cookies

Baking moods usually strike me on a Sunday! These cookies were actually nearly vegan in the original version, with only the exception of an egg, since they call for vegetable shortening instead of butter.

In a large bowl, combine one packed cup organic brown sugar and 1/2 a cup of vegetable shortening - try the non-hydrogenated shortening from Jungle which is certified vegan - much preferable to the Crisco my mom used in my childhood! Beat well with a mixer until light and fluffy.

Add 1/2 a cup of molasses and the equivalent of one large egg using egg replacer (such as Ener-G), and beat until well combined. Molasses, FYI, is a vegan powerhouse. It has a high dose of Vitamins B12 and B6 and a good amount of iron and potassium - I even remember reading in several sources that vegans should have a spoonful a day! Rather than resort to that, just have a few cookies ;) Although most molasses should be vegan anyway, the one from Wholesome Sweetners is certified as such, and organic.

Place 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife) in a bowl, along with 2 teaspoons of baking soda, one teaspoon of cinammon, 1/2 tsp. cloves, 1/2 tsp. ginger, and 1/4 tsp. salt; stir with a whisk.

Add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and beat until combined. Cover and freeze for one hour.

Fill one small bowl with 1/2 a cup of water and another with 1/4 cup raw sugar. Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray and shape the dough into 48 balls. Dip one half of each ball into the water, and then dip that same half into the sugar.

Place on baking sheets one inch apart and bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. (Note: I actually found that my oven needed closer to 11 minutes, so check yours starting at about the 8 minute mark; they were also easier to remove from the baking sheets if you let them sit a minute or two out of the oven). Cool on wire racks. Each cookie is 70 calories.

Cost:
vegetable shortening $3.99
molasses $5.39

Chocolate Malted Cookies

My best advice for vegan baking is this: don’t let it daunt you!

When I first began baking as a vegan, I assumed I could simply substitute. Egg substitute for eggs, soy milk for regular milk, vegan butter for the real thing etc. Half the time, my creations would come out great; the other half, cakes would collapse, pies wouldn’t really gel together, and I found myself a bit frustrated. Then I read an article about the chemistry of baking – what the butter does, the role that sugar plays in preventing flour from making gluten etc. etc. etc. So, armed with a few new tricks and a bit more awareness, I learned to tweak recipes more, and bake properly as a vegan.

That said, it’s always still a bit of an experiment, and I never know quite what I’ll get! This cookie recipe in particular posed a problem right off the bat just in reading the name: Chocolate Malted Cookies. Any recipe listing malted milk powder as the second ingredient had to be pretty dependent on it, right?

So I began to research. First, I thought to try barley malt powder, assuming it was the maltedness of it that would make a proper substitute. No websites confirmed this hunch though, so next I turned to soy powder. Soy powder – not soy flour! – advertised itself as being great in baking. I thought: malted milk powder vs. soy powder, seems pretty similar, so I took the plunge and bought it. Luckily for me and for you, it worked!

Grab a couple bowls and let’s get started.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup packed (organic) brown sugar, 6 tablespoons soy powder (such as Fearn’s), 5 tablespoons vegan butter, softened, 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup, one tablespoon vanilla extract, and the equivalent of one egg made from egg substitute.

For vegan butter, as always, I use Earth Balance (http://www.earthbalance.net/product.html). For chocolate syrup, try Ahlaska! dairy free chocolate syrup, in a bottle eerily similar to the Hershey’s squeezable one, but without any of the animal ingredients. Here's the link: http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce/ExecMacro/nspired/ahlaska/home.d2w/report

For eggs, as always, I use Ener-G (http://www.ener-g.com/).

Beat it all with a mixer at low speed for two minutes until completely smooth.

In another bowl, combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 tsp. salt. When measuring out flour, I’ve learned this helpful tip: spoon it into measuring cups instead of scooping, then level with the backside of a knife. This ensures the proper weight of flour, which can be off by several ounces if you use the scoop method.

Slowly pour the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture, beating at low speed to combine.

Here’s where I hit a common vegan snag: my mixture was crumbly and didn’t look like it would hold together well, while shaping cookies. Thinking quickly, I added another tablespoon of warm tap water. The recipe called for a large egg, whereas my egg replacer simply made standard sized eggs with two tablespoons water to a teaspoon and a half of the powder. Adding this one extra tablespoon of water seems to have done the trick, and I stirred it all together gently with a wooden spoon, abandoning the electric mixer.

Now gently stir in 1/2 a cup plus an additional 1/3 cup chocolate chips.

Yes, vegan ones exist! I used to use the vegan carob chips (available from several different companies), but found they had a slightly off-chocolate taste that made my vegan cookies obvious for what they were. This time, I discovered Whole Foods’ 365 brand vegan semisweet chocolate chips right there next to the regular ones. Before you could blink, they were in my shopping cart. Yum yum.

Shape the dough into 30 patties of about a heaping teaspoonful each. Another snag I’ve frequently encountered as a vegan was that my cookies didn’t spread out the same way normal ones do during baking. Then I read it was because butter actually aids that spreading! So this time, I cheated a little and gave my vegan butter a head start by smooshing the cookies into flattened discs before baking, instead of putting them into the oven as balls. This seems to have worked beautifully.

Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes. Remove from oven and let sit on the cookie sheet 2 minutes, then transfer over to wire racks to cool completely. If you don’t own a wire rack, sheets of wax paper on the countertop will do in a pinch.

Cost:
soy powder $4.39
flour $3.39
chocolate chips $2.99