White Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Gingerdoodle Cookies

Looking for a fun new holiday cookie?  I think these will fit the bill!  Of course, they will be delicious any other time of year too, but the butterscotchy, gingery, white chocolatey-ness gives them that warm and cozy feeling perfect for the holidays. Credit for the original recipe goes to Cassie at bake your day; this is my vegan, slightly healthier (still not a health food! :) ) version.  Fair notice – I’m still experimenting with these.  Delicious as they are, but I may play around with the ingredients a bit to get them just right!

Oh, important!  These are amazing dipped in hot tea, curled up with a good book on a chilly day….  :)

White Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Gingerdoodle Cookies

1 stick butter-flavored Crisco (equals 1 C)

1/2 C turbinado (can use brown sugar instead, I like using some amount of less refined ingredients)

1/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C granulated sugar

2 “eggs” from egg replacer (For one egg – 1 1/2 t egg replacer whisked together with 2 T water)

2 T water

1 3.4 oz package butterscotch pudding mix

1 t vanilla

1 1/4 C whole wheat pastry flour (I haven’t tried this yet, but for a softer, meltier cookie, I recommend using only 1 C.  Also, can use all white flour instead, but again, I like using some amount of less refined ingredients.)  

1 t baking powder

1 t ground ginger

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t salt

1 1/4 C all-purpose flour

1 C vegan white chocolate chips

for rolling:

2 T granulated sugar

1 t ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the Crisco, turbinado, and brown and white sugars together until creamy.  Add the “eggs”, water, pudding mix, and vanilla, and mix well.  Add the whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt, and mix until just combined.  Add the white flour and repeat, scraping down sides as necessary to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.  Add the white chocolate chips and mix until just evenly distributed.

3. Mix the sugar and ginger together in a small bowl to use for rolling.

4. Roll the dough into small 1″ balls, and roll in the sugar-ginger mixture.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets, about 2″ apart.

5. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until bottoms are golden.  Note: vegan cookies tend to be extremely tender when removed from the oven.  They really are done, and will harden up a bit as they cool.  

6. Allow to cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!!