Saturday, March 26, 2011

Spring break and Cookies.

I've been bogged down with the week before spring break lately, but it's over now! A week off to spend time on my own agenda, excellent.
I have a few posts planned for the next week that i'm working on, about some fun vitamins. You'd be surprised by the potency of the psychoactives you can buy at a Walgreens. Uh, did i say that out loud? Anyway...
In the meantime, here's a way to replace eggs with fruit, and a delicious peanut butter cookie recipe; vegan or not, they're fucking awesome cookies. There's a whole variety of options to replace eggs in recipes; two notable ones were puréed fruit, and ground flax seed. In this recipe, i used applesauce, as it goes well in cookies with oatmeal (which every cookie should have.) The conversion works out like this:
1 egg = 1/4 C applesauce + 1/2 tsp baking powder.
So, here's the recipe, copied from this recipe at Allrecipes.com
Also, this:

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups shortening
  • 1 1/2 cups peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar**
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups quick cooking oats
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda *
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Optional: Chopped almonds, or some other nut (like hemp!)
So, those three eggs work out to be 3/4 C applesauce, and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder.
*Don't confuse baking powder and baking soda. These are different ingredients.
**Applesauce adds sugar; in a previous cookie batch made with applesauce, there was so much sugar that the cookies caramelized and burnt. I recommend removing some of the brown sugar. (I weighed out an amount of brown sugar equal to the amount in the applesauce, according to the nutrition facts, it was about equal to a rounded teaspoon of packed sugar.)

Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
  2. In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening and peanut butter. Add the brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla; mix well.
  3. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt; add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
  4. Drop by the rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten with fork. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
  5. Cool for a few minutes on the pan, and then move to paper or a cooling rack to cool them the rest of the way.
PROTIPS:
You don't want to brown these cookies much at all. They might seem like they're falling apart when they're fresh from the oven, but this is good; when they cool down, they will end up CHEWY rather than CRUNCHY.  
Peanut butter cookies are deceptively brown, so it can be difficult to tell exactly how done they are by sight, without taking them off of the pan. They are easy to burn. Done just right though, these cookies are, like I said before, fucking delicious. 
Check the bottom of one cookie when they're done (without removing the rest from the pan), and if it's browned on the bottom, then it is done. If the sides are browning, then the cookie is likely to be dried out, and will end up crunchy and not as delectable.

Make them 1/4 inch thick. This really makes them better, and helped with the chewy factor.

Though I fucking hate Starbucks, they have a kick ass Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookie. This is because A) it is huge, B) it has crushed Reese's in it. Take a look:



34 comments:

  1. have fun with spring break, looks like a tasty cookie

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  2. I really wish I could cook anything more than noodles. Its got to the point were I don't even try anymore. Anyway keep up the good work

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  3. I read your blog.I thought it was great.So I thought I would add you as a friend so that we can read each others work. Hope you have a great day.
    New Emerging Technologies

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  4. That cookie looks gianormous! never cooked cookies before, I've always wanted to.

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  5. Fuck. I want those cookies. SUBBED.

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  6. Oh. My. God. You made me so hungry and my diet doesn't allow me to eat after 6ish :(

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  7. This looks excellent. Really enjoyed the read.

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  8. That looks like a mouthful of GOODNESS.

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  9. That cookie looks like it could eat me.

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  10. Looks good, made me really hungry lol.

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  11. Great post! Was a really good read! thanks for sharing!

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  12. Those look mighty delicious!

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  13. I want that cookie. Now. Give me that cookie.

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  14. nice post
    great blog
    followed

    http://incredible-mo.blogspot.com

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  15. yumy!
    followed!

    http://all-around-toto.blogspot.com/

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  16. Looks pretty good but I'm still apprehensive. Following.

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  17. eggs replaced by fruit.. will try that once

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  18. Oh my , why would you do this to me?! Trying to stop eating crap :D haha

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  19. If I were still allowed to touch the oven, I'd totally try these. Long story short, yes, elastic melts, and no, the oven is not a suitable substitute for a clothes dryer.

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  20. Sooo what exactly should I be buying at Walgreens? :D

    bigunicorn.blogspot.com

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