One of the easiest (and tastiest) cookie recipes to veganize is that of snickerdoodles. I’ve always loved these cookies, because they are like sugar cookies, but more interesting (with cinnamon) and better! They require a lot of ingredients, but none are too unconventional or hard to find:
Wikipedia tells me that (according to The Joy of Cooking) snickerdoodles might be German in origin, based off the name Schneckennudeln. I personally think this is total garbage, since I have yet to meet a German who knows what these are, or an American who doesn’t.
Yet as much as I love snickerdoodles, there is one thing I love more, and that’s mexican hot chocolate snickerdoodles. This recipe, which comes from the book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, is like the traditional snickerdoodle, except it includes cocoa powder and one super awesome special ingredient: cayenne pepper. Although a minimal amount, the cayenne gives the cookies a (sometimes not-so) subtle kick, which is what makes them so unique.
In my time in Germany, I’ve made snickerdoodles a handful of times, but it wasn’t until today that I decided to make this variation, something which was prompted by the fact that the boyfriend is just about to run out of his favourite cookies, the seasonal Gewürze-Spekulatius ones. Since he prefers spiced cookies to overly sweet ones, I thought I’d try to win him over with this recipe. Whether or not it works remains to be seen…
As for this recipe, I made no changes to it, except that I doubled the recipe, so that it would yield between four and five dozen, as opposed to the listed two dozen.
Directions:
-Mix together 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, 3 tablespoons soy milk and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
-Add in 1 2/3 cups flour, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, stirring as you go.
-Roll dough into small balls, and then flatten into a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Once thoroughly coated, lay them out on a baking sheet.
-Bake cookies at 350 F (~175 C) for 10-12 minutes. Let cool, then enjoy!
