Ladies and Gentlemen, I’ve discovered the secret to veganizing cookies.  Crisco!  Crisco.  It’s so simple.  How did I not figure this out before?  Maybe others in the world out there had already figured this out, but somehow it had escaped me.  Every vegan chocolate chip cookie, or the like, that I’ve had has never been… quite right.  They’re usually too oily – which makes sense, since many recipes call for oil instead of butter.  Which just doesn’t quite work.  And no recipes that I’ve found have quite captured the essence of a true original tollhouse cookie.

And then 2 days ago it dawned on me – what about Crisco?  I thought this aloud as I was eating with my mother, and she said yes, she was pretty that’s what my grandmother (her mother) had always used.  !!!  It’s taken me until now to figure this out but somehow my grandma figured it out probably 75 years ago?! So this post is in honor of my Grandma Lorraine, which seems appropriate after yesterday’s was in honor of my Grandma Allese.

This recipe will introduce you to the concept of egg replacer, which I used to replace the 2 eggs.  Next time I will try flax seed meal, another great egg substitute, but for the first time around I wanted to see how they tasted as close to original as possible, since the flax would add a bit of a nutty flavor.  Egg replacer you should be able to buy at any Whole Foods store, and potentially even at a regular supermarket.  The one I use is called Ener-G.  Just follow the instructions on the box to replace each egg in a recipe.  The great thing about Ener-G is that it lasts in your pantry, and one box is equal to 112 eggs!

Veganized Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C Crisco
3 T water
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 Ener-G “eggs”
3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 C all purpose flour (Can use all all purpose flour – wanted to make these a teeny bit healthier)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 C vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Add Crisco, water, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla to mixing bowl, beat at medium speed until creamed together.  Add eggs, mix in on low speed.

Gradually add flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until fully incorporated.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.  First sheet may need a little bit extra baking time.

Enjoy!

Note: I recommend storing in an air-tight container with a piece of bread, just like my grandma always did.  Keeps the cookies soft and chewy.  :)

I swear I will not only be writing about desserts – I don’t even eat them that much, but for some reason I’ve become a baking fiend lately!  Tomorrow’s post – chick’n and cashews.  :-)