Miss us this weekend? I decided to take a couple of days off. What did I do with the free time?
Well, crave cookies, of course. Rumpy’s not the only one around here that likes cookies.
What’s a Cookie Monster to do if she craves chocolate chip cookies, but wants to live cruelty-free?
Make her own!
OK, so I made bars. And yes, they are vegan.
But wait! How’d you do that?
Baking vegan is not difficult at all. It simply takes some planning.
I’ve baked with both soy and almond milk. I prefer unsweetened milk for baking. If your recipe calls for buttermilk, simply add a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of your milk.
Substituting margarine for butter is easy. Just check your ingredient label to make sure there’s no whey, lactose, casein or caseinate in the mix. Personally, I use Smart Balance. The organic spread is vegan and is suitable for baking. Earth Balance is also a good product, but not usually available in our grocery store.
But what about the eggs?
Substituting eggs in a baking recipe is amazingly simple. There is an egg substitute called Ener-G Egg Replacer.
To substitute for one egg, simply add 1 1/2 teaspoons of Ener G to 2 tablespoons warm water, stir and let sit for a few seconds. Warning: This box of energy will last even the most dedicated of bakers awhile. While I like and use this product, I don’t recommend using Ener G with plain flour. If you do, you may end up with a salty taste to your baked goods.
You can also use ground flax seed as an egg substitute. Simply combine 1 tablespoon ground flax seed to 3 tablespoons warm water. Let sit for a few moments before using.
Other egg substitutes? How about 1/4 cup silken tofu, blended until smooth. But what about the leftover? You can freeze it. Just measure out 1/4 cup portions and pop in the freezer. Then you’ve got egg portions ready as you need them.
You can use 1/3 cup applesauce, 1/3 cup pumpkin, or 1/4 cup pureed banana. The downside is they’re going to change the taste of your baked goods, so they’re not suitable for every recipe.
You can also use gelatin. However, keep in mind that gelatin products not labeled as vegan are NOT vegetarian. The marshmallows and gummy bears you love, the capsules you take, and the gelatin desserts you enjoy are made using connective tissue, skin, and bones of cows and pigs.
The BEST part of baking vegan is that once again you can lick the bowl! No worries for salmonella because you’re not using eggs!
Your turn. Are you a cruelty-free baker? What substitutes do you find helpful?
Dogpaddling Through Life 
I’m saving this for after my cleanse!
Hope that cookie bar isn’t too distracting!
Miss you rumpy 🙂
Thank you! I am getting back in the groove!
there’s a post i have shared from someone’s blog about a dog named cocoa!!! you need to read that!! And also help me make that girl who commented below “sarah” realize that a furchildrens are not disposable 😥
Also i forgot to mention that in my post “an open letter…” a girl has mentioned your name to inspire her to get a pet!! Her pet is 6 months old now and she says she got after reading the blog “Rumpy Dog”. I am happy that your blog helped a fur baby to get a home 🙂
Looks interesting. It’s always fun creating recipes that my family can eat. With various allergies it’s a bit awkward sometimes but we get around it. Currently working on an egg free, dairy free, gluten free – spiced apple cake. It’s a bit frustrating right now but I want it to make something everyone can eat for Friday, so practicing now!
~ Amy
You’ll get it! Have you tried vegweb.com? They have lots of tips for cooks like us that are trying to eat less cruelly.
Oooo no, I haven’t. I’ll definitely check it out. I’ve just started getting the most delicious eggs from a friend’s pair of chickens she rescued and it is sooooo taunting me that I can’t use them in this recipe!
xxxx
That looks tasty! Think I will join the cookie-saurus-crew! I wish I would found that egg replacement here, sometimes I’m not sure if the eggs from supermarket are always ok, because sometimes they smell and look weird.
Or try the tofu!!!!
Wow!!! Chocolate chip cookie is one of mom’s favorite!!! Besides they use replacements for vegan which sounds very healthy! We have some vegan restaurants in Japan, too but not so many….besides it’s hard to find those replacements for cooking something……….
By the way, we hadn’t hear from you only for a few days…we missed you alot!!!! We so glad you’re here today!!! 🙂
Oh Kevin, your mom would never know they were vegan just by tasting them!
It’s *always* helpful to have an arsenal of alternatives in the benign war against allergies and sensitivities (physiological or psychological or both!).
Baking without eggs helps laying hens!!!
Oh my I am so hungry now 🙂
They are good!!!!!
Oh my, that looks so delicious! Thank you for the substitutes list. Great ideas. 🙂
There lots of tips at vegweb.com. Check it out!
Happy to have you back
Thank you! It was a nice break!
That looks totally gooey and yummy!! Thanks for sharing the substitute samples too!
Take care
x
Oh they are delicious! Best served warm!
And if the chop chips are carob or have no chocolate (which I know sounds weird but I have seen them) the fur-ones can enjoy… in moderation as well 🙂
Once again thank you for the info. I was always curious what vegans use to make chocolate chip cookies and such. Do you find these items in a specialty store or would any grocery store have them?
I bought the chocolate chips I used in the local health food store. Living in a larger city, you could probably find everything you need at Publix.
I’m going to talk more about chocolate in a future post because I love the stuff so much.
I look forward to chocolate related posts. 🙂
Ohh.. keep them coming please.. i’d love more cruelty free cooking ideas. 🙂 Looks yummy.
I’m learning as I’m going, so please feel free to share your tips too!
looks yummy!xx Speedy
They are!
Those bars look delicious!
They are! And you wouldn’t know they were vegan by the taste.
Yummy tummy! Molly says 2 paws up!
I’ll share!!!
They look delish!!!! 😉
Sherri-Ellen & Nylablue xo