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Being vegan doesn't mean you have to give up indulgences. Vegan baking does mean substituting for eggs and dairy ingredients, but it's easier than you may think.
In this cookie, I recommend trans-fat-free coconut oil. It's solid at room temperature, so you can use it just like other shortening.
Refined coconut oil has a more delicate flavor than unrefined and can withstand higher temperatures in cooking. Whichever you use, be sure that it's expeller-pressed, cold-pressed or centrifuged. Cheap coconut oils are usually refined with the use of chemicals.
Tip: A fun way to decorate these cookies is with chocolate hearts. No pastry bag? Spoon the melted chocolate into a plastic freezer bag. Squeeze it all to one bottom corner and twist the top of bag toward that corner. Cut a tiny bit of the tip straight across with scissors, and squeeze the bag to draw a large heart on each cookie.
Strawberry valentines
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Makes: 34 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups strawberries, hulled, diced in 1/4-inch pieces
2 teaspoons orange juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple sugar
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons each: orange zest, baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
6 tablespoons soy creamer
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the strawberries, orange juice, almond extract and
2 tablespoons maple sugar in a bowl.
2. Mix the flour, remaining 2/3 cup maple sugar, orange zest, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Cut in coconut oil with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is the consistency of large crumbs. Stir in the strawberry mixture, then the soy creamer.
3. Drop dough in 1 tablespoon portions (a 1 tablespoon-size scoop works well) onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Press each down slightly. Bake until the edges are slightly brown, 25 minutes. Let cool.
4. Melt chocolate over low heat, adding 1 teaspoon coconut oil if needed for proper consistency. Drizzle over the cookies with a fork or squeeze tube. Alternatively, put the chocolate into a pastry bag or plastic bag and draw a heart on each cookie.
Nutrition information:
Per serving: 55 calories, 2 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 8 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 75 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.
Kay Stepkin is a vegetarian cooking instructor and former owner of a vegetarian restaurant/whole-grain bakery. Email her at foods@tribune.com.