Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

I hope no one minds if I'm posting cookbook reviews here. Please let me know if you feel it is inappropriate for the Bookworm Collective. In my defence though, I have to say that with Isa & Terry's cookbooks I tend to sit down with them and read them through to the first recipe. I find their insights interesting and entertaining. With a cookbook, as opposed to a recipe from the web, I enjoy it like any other book, appreciating the physicality of the book as well as the content.

So yes, this is another great cookbook from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar is a pint-sized book containing 100 vegan cookie recipes broken down into catergories such as, “Drop cookies”,“Fancy Cookies,” and “Sliced and Rolled Cookies.”

Just like other books written by these two,the writing style is conversational, and the recipes are clearly written and easy to follow. Before you bake you should read Part One on "Cookie Science," which contains a section on the tools recommended and required, a section on ingredients (there's a gluten-free flour blend that can be substituted), and a troubleshooting section to help with common cookie problems should your cookies not turn out as you had hoped.

Throughout the book there are “morsels”, which are bite-sized suggestions to enhance your recipe. Of course there are lots of glossy mouthwatering photos to inspire as well. I even appreciate the size of this book (about half the height of an average paperback cookbook), making it easy to fit in a small working space with all of your ingredients.

There are a wide range of spices and flavours used. Imagine Sweet Wine biscuits with Sesame, or Chocolate Chip Chai Spiced Shortbread. Or how about a Whole Wheat Fig Bar or Caramel Pecan Bar? If you can't make up your mind you could just start with the Banana Everything Cookie, which the authors describe as “a clean out your cupboard kind of cookie.”

I tried the recipes for Citrus Glitters, Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles (with cayenne & cocoa), Linzertorte Thumbprints, Old-Fashioned Pie Plate Shortbreads, and the Lemon Bars. I had success with all of the recipes, and felt like a pro when I pulled each tray from the oven to reveal the bite-sized wonders.

This book will definitely make you the cookie queen or king in your household.