In baked goods, eggs are used as a binder, emulsifier, and a thickening agent. But what do you do if you are unable to eat eggs? Flax "eggs" are a great substitute for the real thing and they are very simple to make. Use one flax "egg" as a one-for-one substitute for recipes that call for up to three eggs. Flax "eggs" (flegs?) work particularly well in loaves, cookies, and cakes. If you find that your baked good is not rising as much with a flax "egg," increase the amount of baking powder in the recipe by 1/2 teaspoon.
Is holiday baking fatigue setting in yet? It sure is for me. I always spend an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen, but between November and December, that inordinate amount of time seems to triple. Basically, I'm constantly covered with flour at this time of year. There are just so many things: classroom parties, cookie exchanges, pot lucks, and at least six or seven recipes that I MUST make for my family or all will be ashes and sadness.
Have you ever had great expectations for a recipe, and then had those expectations dashed dramatically? That happened to me the other day when I set out to make these cookies. I had an image in my head of what they should look like, and the resulting cookie was, visually speaking, dramatically opposite to what I had set out to make. In fact, these cookies - while delectable and fudgy - were possibly the ugliest cookies I had ever made. They were so unappealing in appearance, that I briefly wondered if I should start a "Cookie Wrecks" site.
I think my children are in what we call a "growth phase," although I have a sinking feeling that this is less of a "phase" and more of a "way of life for the next eight or nine years." We haven't even entered the teen years and my boys are already eating me out of house and home.
In my house, spring is cake season! Starting with my older son's birthday in March, and ending with my dog's birthday at the end of May, there is an occasion for a cake every three weeks. Hooray for cake!
However, even the most enthusiastic baker (i.e., ME) gets a little weary after the third or fourth cake. It's tempting then to just grab a box of cake mix and a container of frosting. I understand! It seems like the easiest solution: grab a box of mix, dump it into a bowl, beat it with some water, oil, eggs...but wait!
Let's set the scene: it's 9:00 pm. The school bake sale is tomorrow, and you just found out over dinner that you were "volunteered" to bring two dozen cupcakes. You've finished helping with homework, overseeing baths, getting the kids into bed, AND baking the required cupcakes. You pull the beautiful, fragrant cupcakes out of the oven only to realize that you have no frosting and are all out of butter and icing sugar.
There is nothing quite so wonderful as a fragrant, buttery cookie, still warm from the oven. It's a thing of beauty, a delectable treat - unless you cannot have dairy. For the dairy-sensitive or allergic, butter is a contraband substance.
Cookies and other baked goods - such as squares or brownies - rely on fats that are solid at room temperature - like butter, or certain margarines - to obtain the proper taste and texture. For those who are unable to eat dairy, coconut oil is a perfect substitute for butter in baked goods.
I know what you're thinking—do we really need another zucchini recipe? Why, yes, we really do. We need this zucchini recipe because it is rich, decadent, and oh-so-chocolatey.
Here we are, mid-summer, and I feel like I've reached the "kitchen fatigue" point. It seems as soon as I clean up the kitchen from one meal, the children are raiding the refrigerator or rummaging through the cupboards looking for snacks. Chalk it up to extra activities and growth spurts, I suppose.
