Replacing ingredients.

[Massacure]

There was a good cookie called a Biscochito someone made for my Spanish class on our last day of school, and I got the recipe from them. The recipe is:

* 6 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 cups shortening
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 teaspoons anise seed
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup brandy
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Cream shortening with sugar and anise seeds until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in flour and brandy until well blended.
2. Turn dough out on a floured board and pat or roll to 1/4 or 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into shapes (the fleur-de-lys is traditional).
3. Dust with a mixture of 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.



Now I want to replace some ingredients.

* Can the all-purpose flour be replaced with whole grain?
* Can the shortening be replaced with something healthier and more flavorful such as canola or olive oil?
* Brandy is a big no no for school obviously. I don't know what the person replaced it with. I was thinking 1/4 cup orange juice + one tsp vanilla
* Some recipes recommend 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, I was thinking of doing that.

Also, I hear sugar effects how far the cookies spreads. Should I not tamper with the amount of sugar in the actual dough or would these substitutions require a change in it?

[Dora]

1. My thoughts...

I wouldn't replace all the flour with whole-grain, but you could probably get away with substituting one cup or two; I'd err on the side of caution, and I wouldn't recommend more than two, as it has the potential to dramatically alter your cookie's texture.

You can find palm oil shortening at many health food and grocery stores these days. I recommend you try that instead of substituting with oil. It's a non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening - no trans-fats.

Your OJ idea sounds good - you could also probably increase the vanilla substantially.

I do suggest that you leave the sugar alone until you see how this first round of substitutions works out.

Good luck!

[mtnester]

2. Try this link for alcohol substitutes..

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.pl?Action=ShowPost&Board=1sttime&Post=9&Idle=0&Sort=0&Order=Descend&Page=Session&Session=

and also another great link for substitutes of any kind:

http://www.culinarycafe.com/Substitutions_Equivalents.html

[Massacure]

3. I just made a batch of the cookies but I don't think they turned out well.

They taste alright, but they are not light and fluffy like they should be. Rather they taste like sugar cookies with a few seasonings added.

My ingredients list was:

* 6 cups all-purpose flour (I didn't use whole grain)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 cups butter (not shortening)
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 teaspoons anise seed
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup apple juice + 1 tsp vanilla extract (not brandy)

Plus the topping:

* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

I mixed the flour and salt and baking powder together by hand using a spoon. I made sure not to use any large chunks of flour, but I did not sift it. Then I put the butter in a bowl but it wasn't very workable because it was cold and hard from being in the fridge so I nuked it in the microwave. I put it in there too long though, it didn't look like it was doing much until I heard a pop, so I took it out and there was a puddle in the bowl even though most of the block was still left. I didn't realizing it was melting from underneath. So I went to add sugar and I accidentally added a cup to the flour instead of the butter. I tried to take as much out and put it with the butter, but I think about 1/2 cup was still left with the flour. Anyways I got the mixture real creamy and then mixed it with the flour and mixed it with a spoon by hand. Then I put 2 eggs in a separate bowl so I made sure not to get shells, then I dumped that into the large bowl followed by the juice and vanilla and I mixed it all together with a spoon again. I should have refrigerated the dough because it wasn't very sticky, but the fridge was full for my graduation party tomorrow, so I just tried rolling it out on flour, and it worked okay, but not great. Then I dusted them in sugar and cinnamon, and baked them for 12 minutes. I got 47 cookies, not 36, so I probably made them too thin.

I'm kind of disappointed.

I don't think my parents have anything that I can sift the flour with, but I'm not convinced that was the problem. I think my problem was with the melted butter. I also think I should beat the eggs before putting them into the mixture. Next time I think I'm going to use a mechanical stirrer thingy instead of mixing it by hand. I'll also chill it before rolling it out. When we make sugar cookies for christmas it is always easier to work with when it is cold. It's better than using flour.

Edit: And now I see an even bigger problem. I should have mixed the eggs in with the butter, not with the flour. Grr. That's probably my problem. I wish I could make another batch before my party tomorrow. Oh well.

[Duer 157099]

4. I'm not a baker, but I think the butter was the issue

if the butter is melted, the dough won't be as flakey. Best way is to let the butter come to room temp, then cream it with the sugar and then the eggs and vanilla and juice (keep all "wet" ingredients together, and keep dry ingredients together, then bring them together)

[Dora]

5. I'd like to add to Dotcosm's butter advice:

When creaming your butter and sugar together, the trick is not to overdo it. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the texture should be light, solid, and fluffy.

I learned the hard way that if you overcream the butter/sugar, then the cookie will get too much rise during baking, and then collapse into a somewhat oily flattened cookie. I'm infamous for doing this - usually as a result of oversoftening the butter in the microwave. Now I try to take my butter out of the fridge a couple of hours before I'll be baking, unwrap it, and leave it in a mixing bowl on the counter or in a dark cupboard.