Vegan oatmeal cookies are a kind of baked dessert treat that does not contain any animal products. There are many different recipes that might be used to make vegan oatmeal cookies. In vegan baking, some recipes are created vegan and some recipes that traditionally use animal ingredients can be made vegan by substituting plant-based ingredients for animal-based ingredients.
Eating a vegan diet involves avoiding consuming any food that was part of an animal or produced by an animal. This includes meat, milk, eggs, honey, and substances produced using animal by-products, such as gelatin. A vegan diet can be adopted for many reasons, such as healthfulness or concern for animal welfare. Many recipes for baked goods include ingredients such as butter or eggs, but vegan baking omits or replaces these ingredients.
Some recipes for oatmeal cookies as well as other recipes call for milk ingredients, which are easy to replace in vegan oatmeal cookies. Vegans frequently use soy, almond, rice, or hemp milk in the place of cow or goat milk, and vegan margarine in the place of butter. These ingredients are available at most grocery and health food stores.
Replacing eggs is generally considered to be more of a challenge for people eating vegan, but there are many options available that can be made at home, and commercial vegan egg replacements can also be purchased. Bananas are one common substitute for eggs, but they will make the vegan oatmeal cookies banana flavored, which could be a positive or a negative depending on the results desired. Applesauce is often used, or crushed flaxseeds mixed with water, which gives the cookies a nutty flavor. Silken tofu, vegan yogurt, pumpkin, or fruit preserves are other options.
The particular egg substitute that should be used depends on the function of the eggs in the recipe. Eggs are usually used in non-vegan cooking to thicken and bind the other ingredients or as a leavening agent rather than to add taste to the food. For vegan oatmeal cookies, the egg substitute needs to hold the other ingredients together and add denseness, so wet but not watery and somewhat sticky is an ideal texture for an egg replacement in this case.
There are many different modifications that can be made to vegan oatmeal cookies. Adding raisins, nuts, or other fruit is common, and chocolate chips can also be added if they are a type of chocolate chip that is not made from milk. The egg replacement itself can be changed in order to vary the taste of the cookies, and vegan bakers often experiment.