Day 22 - Three Weeks & I Deserve A Treat!

I used to say this all the time.  And it would usually result in a trip to the grocery store for some high-fat, high-calorie sweet.  A box of Haagen-Daz coffee ice cream bars.  Some tortilla chips and nacho cheese.  A cinnamon and sugar morning bun.  Sometimes, I'd go even bigger.  An expensive steak.  A lobster tail. A pound of boiled shrimp.  Or a stack of containers from the deli that contained anything and everything that struck my fancy.  The permutations of the story were endless, but they always resulted in me feeling guilty for deserving a treat.

So, after three weeks of my new vegan lifestyle, I thought it was about time to dip my toe into the world of baked goods and make myself a treat!  I'd purchased the egg replacer.  I had the applesauce.  I'd made one disastrous attempt at fat-free, dairy-free whole wheat bread, but surely cookies would be much easier.  I needed a recipe that would be tasty and something that wouldn't give me too many leftovers to gobble up all at once.  I settled on fat-free molasses cookies and found a recipe on Raleys.com.  I cut it in half and decided to freeze the extra cookies so I couldn't eat them all.  I'll eat one when I deserve another treat!

Fat-Free Molasses Cookies

1/2 cup raisins 

3 T. hot coffee 

1/2 cup sugar

2 T. molasses 

1 T. egg substitute (replacement for 1/2 egg) 

1 cup plus 2 T. whole wheat flour 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. each: cinnamon and ground ginger 

1/4 tsp. ground cloves 

dash of salt 

2 T. sugar

Puree raisins and coffee in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup sugar, molasses and egg replacer. Stir in remaining ingredients except extra sugar; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours for easier handling. Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into tablespoon-size balls and roll in 1/4 cup sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets and press flat if you like a thinner cookie.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set, but still soft in the center. Cool for 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheets and let cool completely on a baking rack. 

The cookies, made with whole wheat flour, are hearty and deeply flavored.  I put a little slice of candied ginger in the center of each before baking and they turned out crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  Yummy with a chai soy latte on a cold winter night.