How to Make Vegan Cookies, Bars, and Brownies

Making delicious cookies, bars, and brownies can be a challenge for those on a vegan diet. Most recipes call for eggs, milk, and butter. However, there are some plant based replacements you can use to preserve most of the flavor and texture of your favorite recipes. Maybe even make them better! Here are the most common substitutions and tricks.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• silken tofu
• soy milk
• bananas
• applesauce
• oil
• maple syryp
• molasses
• spices and nuts

1. 
    

   For every egg used in recipe, you can replace it with 1/4 cup silken tofu and a splash of soy milk or oil. Blend it until creamy and you will have a high protein egg substitute that has the same consistency of beaten eggs. In recipes that call for just egg whites or egg yolks, you can estimate that the white and yolk are about half an egg each.

2. 
    

   Egg can also be replaced with mashed banana. Substitute 1/4 cup for every egg the recipe calls for. It makes for a delicious vegan sweet snack.

3. 
    

   Cows milk can be replaced with soy milk or even almond milk. Use the same amount as you would regular milk. If a recipe calls for something thicker, such as cream or yogurt, try a combination of soy milk and banana blended together.

4. The fat in butter is what gives many desserts their rich flavor. But you can make a substitution that adds flavor without the fat and it's vegan. For every 1/2 cup butter (one stick) the recipe calls for, replace it with 1/2 cup mashed banana plus two teaspoons oil. For this you can also try 1/2 applesauce plus a little oil.

5. 
    

   Honey is not considered vegan even though it is a great substitute for refined sugar. If your recipe calls for honey, you can replace it with the same amount of pure maple syrup. You can even try molasses if you want a more interesting flavor. Maple syrup as a substitute is versatile in the kitchen, you can even use it to sweeten coffee and lemonade.

6. Since replacing some of the animal fats in recipes will make your cookies, bars, and brownies lose some of their flavor, you can enhance them by adding extra spices and nuts.

Tips & Warnings

• The proteins in eggs and wheat gluten are what hold the cookies together. Make sure to use wheat flour if you are using egg substitutes, otherwise your desserts will be piles of crumbs.
• Applesauce is slightly acidic which may interfere with some leavening agents.
• Experiment with different substitutions to see which ones you like best in different recipes.

[GreenMomma]

on 1/9/2009 I really love agave syrup over maple syrup. Thanks for the tips! I'm going to try banana in a brownie recipe and see how it comes out!