I loved Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and the copy I got two and a half years ago is mightily dog-eared. And when Veganomicon came out I was over the moon. But this just didn’t do it for me.
In fairness, I’ve developed some “issues” since I became a vegan. First, I can’t tolerate wheat, oats or corn (among other things), so I need gluten-free options. Second, one of my children is very allergic to nuts of all kinds. Third, another child is sensitive to sugar and therefore I need to use a lot of agave when I bake. It would, of course, be unfair to demand that a straight-up vegan cookbook address all of these issues, but they are actually pretty surmountable for the creative cook. I thank the authors for their gluten-free mix (including a non-almond flour option), but I was shaking my head when they were explaining agave substitutions. It’s not that hard!
I was able to put much of that aside when I got the book… and I was still pretty unmoved. Maybe it’s the photographs- they’re just not as gorgeously colorful as the cupcake book. And frankly, some of the products just don’t look that good. Deluxe Cocoa Brownies on page 132 look really, really dry, as do the NYC Black and White Cookies on page 161. (Although, in fairness, maybe Boston’s Black and Whites are traditionally creamier.) Having made my own vegan versions of these, I know that they can be vegan and luscious- and since these weren’t in the “wholesome” chapter, I don’t see why they’d skimp.
The “wholesome” chapter also seemed lacking, and not just in the photographs. It’s personal taste, of course, but then this is a personal review. I just had no desire to try something called Apricot Almond Quinoa Chews or 21st Century Carob Chip Cookies.
So why 3 stars? Because when these guys are good, they’re really good. The bar cookies are fabulous, and they’re reworkings of favorites like Oreos, Milanos (Minonos), Samoas and Stella D’oro Swiss cookies were just about pitch-perfect. Cookie aisle of the supermarket, watch out.
I think it’s still worth having, it just didn’t rock my world like their other offerings.This book is a great resource for vegan cookies. Cookies! That are vegan! That’s awesome. And there are very cool, original, and delicious ingredient combinations. The sweet wine cookies with sesame seeds are awesome! The Mexican hot chocolate cookies are awesome! The pine nut cookies are awesome! The photographs in this book are mouth-wateringly awesome! And another exciting aspect is that it’s perfectly doable to get cookies looking as beautiful as the ones in the pictures.
A big plus for me in this book is the successful balance of ingredients you already have in your pantry, ingredients you can get at a regular grocery store, fun ingredients for treats and parties (like different sugars, flours, extracts, wines, seeds, etc.) and expensive ingredients for an even more special treat.
What bugs me is that the cookies don’t actually taste that amazing. It’s not always worth it to get those special ingredients to use on these. A huge part of it for me is that almost all of these call for canola oil where a non-vegan recipe would call for butter and/or shortening. Canola oil by itself just doesn’t taste nearly as good as earth balance! If you’re worried about cookies tasting too “vegan” and basically too much like earth balance / margarine instead of butter to nonvegans, use half earth balance, half oil, or half earth balance, half 100% vegetable shortening (unflavored, I mean, unlike the earth balance) or whatever. And as an experienced vegan baker, my cookies usually only taste “too vegan” to grumpy non-vegans eating shortbread (AKA butter) cookies, in which earth balance is the main ingredient. If there’s chocolate or peanut butter or another strong flavor, the earth balance will just taste rich and flaky.
I’m sure that many people will appreciate that the oil makes these cookies healthier or lower in fat or whatever. I personally want a gourmet vegan cookie book to make delicious, rich, decadent cookies, not to be healthy! I would have appreciated a better balance of these goals.
Overall, definitely worth it. If you’re as bothered as I am by the canola oil, it’s not a big deal to switch it out for earth balance (though I would’ve appreciate that being in the book itself). The recipes are fun and there’s something for every skill level.
Also, this book is WAY better than the Joy of Vegan Baking. I LOVED Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, so I was excited to get this book. Except for one minor critique in VwaV, the cookies and treats were perfect in every way. I used a Christmas gift certificate to purchase this.
I enjoyed the recipe for the healthy chocolate chip cookies. The dough tasted like regular cookie dough (for all you dough fanatics out there, like yours truly, that’s awesome!) and the cookies were great. They weren’t too sweet. They were great.
The chocolate chip chocolate oatmeal cookies weren’t great. The dough was amazing, but the end result wasn’t great. It was like eating dog treats. And for those who question my cooking skills, I tried making these twice, just in case I futzed up the first time, but I just think this is a doozie of a recipe. Oh well. There’s plenty more recipes in this cookbook and I’ll update my review when I try more (problem is, I’m trying to lose weight, so baking cookies is probably not going to help me fit into that Ginger Rogers-style dress I’ve been coveting!). I absolutely love this cookbook! Living in rural America, oftentimes can make it hard to cook/prepare vegan goodness. But, with effort and driving to the “big cities” anyone can make the effort to be more cruelty-free. Mad props to Isa and co. for this awesome cookbook!!!!!!!!Like all the books from Isa and Terry (Vegan Brunch, Veganomicon, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and my favorite oldie Vegan with a Vengeance), this one is a winner. I just made a batch of the chocolate agave trailmixers (substituting carob for chocolate) and was very pleased with the result. They are like little brownie cookies with extra fun bits inside.
The format of the book is very much like the cupcakes book. It is easy to follow, has loads of great photos, and very handy tips all along the way. A big hit and a top rating from me. Now I’ve got to have a cookie with some almond milk! Don’t run. Don’t hide. Vegan cookies are going to invade your cookie jar, one delicious bite at a time. Join award-winning bakers Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (authors of the hit cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World) as they continue their world-domination mission—with da. continue reading