I was a little nervous baking out of a box, seeing that I haven’t baked anything out of a box in a couple years. Kind of funny since I was never a from-scratch baker before writing my blog Fitting Into Vegan. But I was given the opportunity to review these free boxes of gluten-free cookie mixes and, hey, free is free, so here I am veganizing these cookie mixes! Here is my review of these super-easy, only-one-ingredient-needed Ardenne Farm Gluten-Free Sugar and Oatmeal Cookie mixes.
First off it is nice to see – right on the box – that there is a way to veganize a boxed baking mix! Lots of boxed mixes have some type of milk protein in them so there is no real way to safely eat them. But this mix was only gluten-free flours with specific add-ins. On the side of the box it shows to just add egg and butter, and then an option to veganize by just using vegan butter. Uh, easy right? A packet of spiced up flour and butter? Who wouldn’t want to gobble that up before it’s even baked? Well, me, since I of course had to try it before they went in the oven. And since it’s vegan with no eggs, it’s okay to go ahead and eat the pre-baked batch if you want!
I started with the sugar cookies. I had made sugar cookies once before and it was my very first baking fail, so I was a little hesitant to make these cookies. But, it’s actually really hard to mess up a cookie, because even though my own recipe failed, it still tasted good. I followed the directions which were really simple, beating the softened stick of butter until whipped then adding the dry packet. While beating it I added about 3 tablespoons water, which was recommended on the box. Now this is where it gets tricky – the dough is not really a dough, it’s more powdery in texture. Which was a little annoying to me, but it turned out to be easier to handle then I thought it would. Have your lined or sprayed baking sheet ready and next to you, then spray your hands with non-stick spray. Using a spoon, take out a small portion and put in your hand then squeeze it into a ball. The dough looked like big lumps and were pretty ugly, but once they baked they flattened out into pretty cookies. They tasted just like what a sugar cookie should taste like – sugary goodness!
For the oatmeal cookies I did exactly the same as the sugar cookies and followed what the box instructions said. I wanted to know what the cookies tasted like so I didn’t want to add anything to the original. Start by whipping the softened butter then adding the dry packet and mixing; add 2-3 tablespoons water as needed. The oatmeal cookie dough was a ton easier to handle than the sugar cookie, but I still sprayed my hands with non-stick spray to ensure I wouldn’t get sticky hands. I rolled them into balls then flattened them in my hands into little patties. They held up while baking and didn’t melt out into each other. These cookies were good and not too sweet, which is what I love so I could have eaten them all by myself.
Yum! I love the ease of having a go-to for boxed cookies when I need them in a pinch!