Question for Bakers... Binding Options?

[SourRoses]

Hi

Hoping someone or someones can answer this question for me.

What other options are there for binding something... say a cookie... without egg?

By "Binding" (I don't know the right terms) I mean the glue that holds the cookie together.

I have been using flour for this recipe.. but that requires the flour get wet, and it would be best if there were minimal moisture in this cookie, one of the main ingredients is not at it's peak after so much exposure to moisture.

These cookies have to be Vegan (tho I'm not, so no experience) so egg is impossible.

Is there a way to make a cookie without baking? LOL

Some of the nutrients, of course, are lessened by the cooking.

Grrrr! I wish I could just combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and PRESS them into some cookie-like things.......

Thanks for any help.....

PS - I did see a granola bar type thing on a holistic site... they listed the 4 food ingredients and there wasn't any binding... they said it was done by a proprietary process.

That's why I started to think there must be a better way to do this.... Like squeezing the **** things into obedience LOL!

 

[bigmike&nan]

Well Chef,

You caught me just before taking off for Chi-town to see my Mom. Of Course we have just the resolution for your problem, may I introduce you to Mr. Alton Brown, you can skip ahead to about the 5 minute mark... Cookies, heck make GRANOLA BARS

I've made these many times, they are quite addicting. The BINDER as he also calls it is honey, brown sugar and a 1 oz pat of butter. You don't have to tell anyone. LOL


Good luck !!

 

[urban escapee]

Also, try this website for raw cooking, vegan style. I have tried several of her recipes and love them....even though we are not vegan.

www.mamainthekitchen.com

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

Xanthan gum is a binder used to replace egg, it is vegan but spendy unless you can buy just a small amount in bulk section. Or there is Energ-G brand egg replacer which is a commercial egg replacer (also available in health food section) Both of these options are completely dry powder.
Or you could use ground flax seed with a touch of water, let it sit and get thick before using.

Hope that helps, if you posted project recipe maybe we could help more

or what type of cookie you are looking for, due to food allergies I use these type of ingredients all the time.

 

[Oregon Blues]

The usual substitute for egg is applesauce.

Xanthan gum is used as a substitute for gluten. I don't think you can use it as a substitute for a liquid. It isn't all that expensive because you only use a teaspoon at a time.

There are lots of cookies that don't use egg and are no-bake, although if you don't use milk, that limits the number available, because a lot of them use canned milk. You can use the rice crispy bar recipe to make granola bars, substituting the granola for the rice crispies. Read the label on the marshmallow cream. I don't believe it contains egg, and if it does, you can make home made marshmallow cream without egg.

The moisture in the final cookies comes from the fat, but flour won't do anything for you unless you get it wet. You have to get it wet and work it to develop the gluten. Bake it dry and all you will get is toasted powder. The gluten is what holds it together, not so much the egg. The egg gets the flour wet to develop the gluten.

 

[Oregon Blues]

You can make pie crust, which is basically flour, fat, and water. Roll it out thin, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and roll the dough up like a jelly roll. Slice into slices and bake. You will get a very nice little cinnamon whirl.

For cookies I would use butter for the fat, but since you need vegan, you could use margarine.

 

[SourRoses]

Thanks All!

Thanks Mike... Great to see you too!

The recipe is for Horse cookies!

I didn't want to post the recipe in case some enterprising google searcher decided to steal my pretty unique recipe before I've perfected it, LOL! We BYC'ers are pretty visible on google these days!

All of your suggestions were really helpful... they pointed me in some better directions in my search... and I found Chia Flour.

I might use the ground Flax instead of the Chia depending on cost... Flax is really great too.... but I didn't want any other junk in the cookies.... these are, uhh.... 'special' healthy horse cookies. No added sugar, ect. So I didn't want Molasses in them like my previous cookies have had.

On that note, though I call them cookies, a granola funtion might be more what it ends up like with the size particles of one of the main ingredients

So I can't use egg or substitutes, butter or substitutes, milk or substitutes.... it needs to be completely horse tummy friendly and natural. If an oil is needed, I know of some I can use safely

The cookies should be very nutritious IF I can figure out how to not bake them into oblivion.

Can anyone help me on ideas for that? The only reason I think it needs to be baked at all, is that I want the cookies to be solid cookies... and not gooey or difficult to feed. That requires that they stick together (like with chia flour and carrot juice) and become hard in some fashion.

Would dehydrating them serve the same function and preserve more of the nutritional qualities? Not that I have a dehydrator....

But any other ideas?

For the part of the recipe I want to keep dryer... I think I will first mix everything else into a batter... THEN add that, or roll each peice of batter in that so it formas an outer "crust" or something.


Sorry for all the questions... but thanks for the great suggestions

 

[Oregon Blues]

Horses can eat eggs.

 

[SourRoses]

Horses are purely herbivores. Yes, people do feed their horses all kinds of stuff without seeming harm... but that doesen't mean it's good for them, digestable for them, or easy on their tummies.


I appreciate your post and your help though

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

Ground flax sounds like the best option so far, possibly a little gelatin might make a good binder but is it okay for horses to digest?
I would try two methods I would bake at regular cookie temp say 350-375 for 10-15 minutes? Then I would try super low like 200 for several hours (which I suspect will give you a harder "cookie", and basically do the same thing as a dehydrator) to see what makes a better structure of cookie.
Since they are going to be pretty dry I would use parchment paper to keep them from sticking to your pan.
Good Luck, sounds like a fun project!