Bob's Red Mill Eggless Snickerdoodles
I made these a few years back when my daughter had a vegan friend visiting. They were so good. The first vegan cookies I ever made. The recipe is not ‘strictly’ vegan if you worry about where your sugar and shortening comes from. Also, you could probably use ground flax seed mixed with water as an egg replacement. Of course, Bob's Red Mill carries ready made ground flax seed meal which I keep at all times.
I made these a few years back when my daughter had a vegan friend visiting. They were so good. The first vegan cookies I ever made. The recipe is not ‘strictly’ vegan if you worry about where your sugar and shortening comes from. Also, you could probably use ground flax seed mixed with water as an egg replacement. Of course, Bob's Red Mill carries ready made ground flax seed meal which I keep at all times.
- Carbohydrate 11.5124541705504 g
- Cholesterol 25.114083337373 mg
- Fat 16.4791216739272 g
- Fiber 1.91162998373156 g
- Protein 2.15615916687868 g
- Saturated Fat 8.34461125291486 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (45g)
- Sodium 345.766841881758 mg
- Sugar 9.60082418681886 g
- Trans Fat 0.994667167007128 g
- Calories 198 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening, sugar and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the egg replacer with the water. Beat egg replacer mixture into the creamed shortening.
- Sift together the whole wheat flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture into the creamed shortening and mix well. Roll into 1–balls. Combine last two ingredients in a small bowl. Roll cookie balls in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack and place in air-tight container. Makes 24 cookies.
Baking snickerdoodles without eggs frequently fails when home bakers skip the step of sifting the chemical leaveners thoroughly through the whole wheat flour. Without proper mechanical dispersion of the baking soda and cream of tartar, pockets of unreacted acid or base remain isolated, resulting in uneven rise and metallic off-flavors in the baked crumb. Because whole wheat flour contains heavy bran particles that physically impede gluten strands, managing how fats coat these starches dictates whether the final texture remains tender or turns dense. Cream of tartar specifically provides the tartaric acid necessary to activate the baking soda at 400 degrees Fahrenheit while imparting the signature tangy flavor profile intrinsic to traditional snickerdoodles.
Mastering Equipment and Fat Mechanics
Using vegetable shortening instead of butter fundamentally alters how cookies spread on a greased baking sheet because shortening lacks water and milk solids. Standard butter contains roughly twenty percent water which turns to steam during baking, whereas shortening melts at a higher, more uniform temperature range of 115 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. This higher melting point prevents premature flattening before the structure sets. Combine the shortening, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and vanilla vigorously until aerated, trapping microscopic air pockets that the chemical leaveners will expand during the 8 to 10 minutes in the oven. When rolling the dough into 1-inch spheres, ensure uniform sizing so each portion bakes at an identical rate without burning the exterior cinnamon-sugar coating. Once removed from the heat, transfer the batch immediately to a wire rack to stop residual cooking from the hot pan bottom.
- Substitute the commercial egg replacer and water with ground flax seed meal mixed at a 1-to-3 ratio by volume, though this will darken the crumb and introduce a nutty flavor.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature to preserve moisture balance without softening the exterior crust.
- Preheat the oven precisely to 400°F to guarantee the rapid thermal shock required for proper chemical leavening activation.
