Intrepid Murmurings

C is for Cookie...is good enough for me!
I enjoy baking cookies. They are so much better than store bought ones, and not very difficult to make. Really! To make them dairy free, I usually just switch the butter that a recipe inevitably calls for and replace it with diary-free margarine (of course, it does not taste or turn out exactly the same, but close enough, usually). I would not, of course, try this with something like shortbread, or any other butterhog of a cookie. There are only a few dairy-free margarines on the market, believe it or not, because it seems they often add some component of milk (like casein, whey, or milkfat) for taste or stability. For a long time our dairy-free margarine of choice was Willow's Run. We have now started using Earth's Balance, as well, since it is better for you. I have also recently discovered the joys of using coconut oil, which I get at Whole Foods, but I imagine you can get it elsewhere or online. It's not as bad for you as you were taught to believe! Keep it in the cupboard; it gets way too hard in the fridge. Now I wouldn't spread it on bread (like they suggest on the website) any more than I would spread lard on my bread (mmmm...) but it sure seems to work well in baking. For example, here is a recipe I found that actually appears to turn out better when the butter is replaced with dairy-free options! When made my way, it spreads out into more of a flat, chewy cookie, instead of a hard tall one. It is my new favorite cookie, and the recipe is huge, which is great as long as you have a freezer or quite an appetite (otherwise, I would half it). World's Best Dairy-Free Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Cookie (now thats a mouthful. But a delicious one, at least.) 3 c. flour 5 tsp. soda 1 tsp. salt 2 c. shortening ***(I highly recommend 1 cup dairy free-margarine, 1 cup coconut oil!) 1 1/2 c. brown sugar 1 1/2 c. white sugar 4 eggs, unbeaten 2 tsp. hot water 4 c. oatmeal 2 tsp. vanilla 3 c. chocolate chips 1 1/2 c. chopped nuts Combine flour, soda & salt, and sift. Cream shortening until fluffy. Add sugars, mix well. Beat in eggs, add hot water & sifted ingredients (a bit at a time). Mix well. Add oatmeal, chocolate chips and nuts, if desired, and vanilla (since this is such a huge recipe, it starts to almost overflow my stand mixer at this point, but it does just barely make it) and stir until combined. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet (recipe calls for greased cookie sheet, and I use "Silpats" so I don't know if you actually need to do this). Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes (watch it carefully, for my oven, it is exactly 10 minutes, and it tends to overbake quickly after that!). Mmmmmm.....makes a great ice cream/soy cream sandwich, too!