Our friends at Skratch Labs gave our tastebuds the go ahead to post their recipe for the ultimate vegan cookies. And, what better to wrap them in, than Skratch Labs new “Skratch Paper” parchment paper.
As many of you know or are learning, our Cookie Mix is pretty versatile stuff; you can make savory cookies, sweet cookies, berry cookies, chocolate chip cookies, s’mores bars….did you know that you can also make vegan cookies with our Cookie Mix? And the best part, it’s just as easy as making our mix according to the box directions!
On our Cookie Mix box, you’ll see that there are no animal or dairy ingredients in the mix. However, we do call for one egg and a stick (1/2 cup) of butter to make cookies in the most straightforward way. Therefore, to make vegan cookies with the Cookie Mix, all you need to do is substitute the egg and butter.
This may sound rather straightforward, and it is, so long as you keep a few things in mind: the butter and egg called for in our basic cookie recipes serve several purposes – the butter provides fat and that fat contributes to the moist, frankly-addictive texture of the baked cookies. The egg provides moisture and binder to the baked cookies. If you don’t add in that moisture, fat and binding agent you’re likely to have baked cookies that are dry, and crumbly and they’ll fall apart in your pocket. In a nutshell, they’ll be less delicious, less functional on the go and then you won’t have cookies to share with your friends! Horror!
So! How do you successfully substitute for the butter and eggs in vegan cookies? There are many straight butter substitutes out there; if you follow a vegan diet, you likely have your own favorite butter substitute and it will absolutely work in this case. The best butter substitutes have a good amount of fat suspended in water (just like butter!) We prefer not to use soy, or canola based butter substitutes in our own test kitchens, and instead have found slightly warmed coconut butter or coconut manna (NOT coconut oil!) is our favorite. You can typically find coconut butter in the nut butter aisle of well-stocked grocery stores, or in the natural foods section. Simply warm the coconut butter and mix it into the mix in the same way you would with dairy butter. Coconut butter still has a good amount of water content because it’s literally pureed coconut, but it doesn’t have as much water as butter so depending on where you live, you might find you need to add a bit of additional moisture. In this case, add water in 1 tablespoon increments until you have a moist dough. We like the flavor of the coconut butter particularly well in chocolate chip cookies, or in the Carrot Cake Cookie (recipe below.)
If you don’t have access to coconut butter, don’t fear – there are lots of other ways to substitute for the butter. The best way to do this is to combine a few ingredients, for example a bit of fruit puree plus a small amount of coconut oil will do the trick (because, you’ll need to be adding back in some water, ad some fat!) We also use nut butter paired with a bit of extra maple syrup and/or water (see the Peanut Butter + Jelly Bar recipe below!)
For the eggs, there are also many direct egg substitutes – egg replacer being among them. In our test kitchens, we like to use ground flax seed bloomed in a bit of water. (1 Tablespoon ground flax seed + 2 Tablespoons of warm water = 1 egg.) These two substitutes have provided us with the most reliable results when it comes to texture of baked cookies.
Below, you’ll find a handful of our favorite vegan cookie recipes using Skratch Labs Cookie Mix. These recipes go above and beyond the basic substitutions and we hope that these recipes serve more as examples of all the possibilities the Cookie Mix offers, instead of limiting you to these formulas alone. Aside from giving you the permission to eat cookies (!!) the most wonderful part about our Cookie Mix is that it provides you the opportunity to create your own favorite flavors and recipes. Sports nutrition is personal – not merely physiological – and so we encourage you to be brave, try new ingredients and new flavor combinations to make your best vegan cookie. Then get out there and be Cookie Powered!
Vegan Apple + Almond Butter Cookie Bars
1 box Skratch Labs Cookie Mix
½ cup + 2 tablespoons almond butter
1 tablespoon ground flax seed + 2 tablespoons warm water
5 tablespoons applesauce
1 cup diced apple
Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees and line a pan with parchment paper. Mix the flax with the water an allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. Follow the directions on the back of the cookie mix box – combining the almond butter, bloomed flax, apple sauce and cookie mix in a bowl. Sprinkle ½ of dough over the bottom of the prepared pan, then sprinkle the apple, then the remaining ½ of the dough. Press into the pan and bake until golden brown, cool completely, cut and enjoy!
Vegan Carrot Cake Cookie Bars
1 cup coconut butter, warmed
3 tsp of egg replacer + 2 tablespoons water
¼ cup raisins
½ cup shredded carrots
¼ cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
3 tablespoons maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees and line a pan with parchment paper. Mix the egg replacer with the water an allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. Follow the directions on the back of the cookie mix box – combining the warm coconut butter, bloomed egg replacer, maple syrup and cookie mix in a bowl. Sprinkle ½ of dough over the bottom of the prepared pan, then sprinkle the raisins, carrots and pecans, then sprinkle the remaining ½ of the dough. Press into the pan and bake until golden brown, cool completely, cut and enjoy!
Blueberry + Banana Cookie Bars
1 very ripe banana
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup fresh blueberries
Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees and line a pan with parchment paper. Mix the ground flax seed with the water an allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. Follow the directions on the back of the cookie mix box – combining the banana, bloomed flax, coconut oil and cookie mix in a bowl. Sprinkle ½ of dough over the bottom of the prepared pan, then sprinkle the blueberries, then sprinkle the remaining ½ of the dough. Press into the pan and bake until golden brown, cool completely, cut and enjoy!
Vegan Peanut Butter + Jelly Bars
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons water
1/3 – ½ cup of your favorite marmalade or jelly
Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees and line a pan with parchment paper. Mix the ground flax seed with the water an allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. Follow the directions on the back of the cookie mix box – combining the peanut butter, bloomed flax, water and cookie mix in a bowl. Sprinkle ½ of dough over the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing down a bit to make a bed for the jelly. Then, dollop the jelly over the bottom cookie dough layer. Lastly, dollop the jam and sprinkle the remaining ½ of the dough over the top. Press into the pan and bake until golden brown, cool completely, cut and enjoy!
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