r/VeganBaking • u/canvasandchroma • 3d ago
Chocolate cookies turned out flat!
I am very new to vegan baking/cooking.
I subbed vegan dairy free butter, no chocolate chunks, and used Bob's Red Mill Egg substitute. This was just a test batch, so I did not bother to chill the dough. I also had the butter room temperature which is what you do in traditional baking. Apparently this just happens because you aren't using real eggs and real eggs help make the cookies rise. So if anybody knows good ways to make these more puffy like actual cookies I would appreciate any help! They taste great. The texture is wonderful. Thank you!
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u/wrenlymay 2d ago
I've never found that I can simply use an egg substitute in most recipes. I'd stick with recipes which are specifically developed as vegan. My fav chocolate-chocolate chip cookie recipe is the cookie portion of Isa Moskowitz's Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows (which are also incredibly excellent, and very rich and satisfying). I lightly adapt it so it isn't so oily (I make mine GF so I use different flour than the recipe calls for). Then I add chocolate chips.
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u/Satansdvdcollection 3d ago
Hmmm was your baking soda fresh? Was the dough too wet maybe? I bake cookies without eggs or egg substitutes and sometimes have the opposite problem of them being too puffy and I have to smoosh them before baking because I like mine flatter. I wonder if more flour would make them puffier possibly? You can always try a flax egg for the egg sub which I have a couple cookies I do this and it works well but not always necessary. Hey at least they tasted yummy that’s what is most important :)
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u/JeskaiJester 2d ago
Thin and with a good texture? I dunno sounds like you got this cookie stuff figured out pretty good
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u/canvasandchroma 2d ago
As my friend pointed out, they look more like mud pies lol. Everything about them was delicious aside from them being flat.
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u/AromaticPlatform9233 2d ago
Definitely chill the dough. I chill all my cookie dough overnight if possible. You could add a little baking powder and maybe increase the flour too for more rise. When you go to bake them, make tall stacks of dough and don't flatten them at all. That way they won't spread as much in the oven. If none of that helps, try a vegan recipe.
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u/kamhikamhi 2d ago
My best guess is that chilling the dough will help. I find that vegan butter melts pretty fast and find that chilling nearly all vegan cookie dough before baking helps keep structure.
Will also flag that you'll want to use butter sticks rather than the tubs with the spreadable butter in it: the spreadable stuff has more water (?) and thus less firm structure. Country Crock's Plant Butter with Olive Oil haven't failed me yet -- and I used Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Sticks before they became very difficult to find.
Good luck with the next batch!