Friday, November 2, 2012

Vegan Circus Animal Cookies


Some time ago I found a recipe for vegan circus animal cookies during an aimless stroll on Pinterest. They've been on my mind ever since, so when I found myself near Food Fight!, I made sure to pick up a bag of white chocolate chips*.

I modified the shortbread recipe a bit by replacing 1/3 cup of the flour with coconut flour, adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and pouring in a splash of almond milk to get the right consistency. Sadly, I do not have any tiny animal cookie cutters, but I do have a tiny star cookie cutter. Day saved.

After reading the warning about food coloring in the recipe, I decided to forgo trying to make any pink cookies. That was a good idea, because while attempting to simulate a double-boiler to melt the chips, I got a little water into the mix and the chocolate instantly went thick and grainy and unsuitable for coating a cookie. On my second attempt, I ditched the double-boiler idea and joyously dunked all the cookies into the melty coating and sprinkled some dreary-colored sprinkles onto them.

After popping the cookies into the fridge for a bit, my guy and I dug in. And while they probably wouldn't fool anyone in a side-by-side taste test with Mother's brand, they win at being awesome and delicious.

*Not a health food. ;)