Stawberry Shortcake Cookies

So what do you do when someone you know is having a birthday, is far away, and you can't send their traditional strawberry shortcake through the mail...? Clearly a cry for the creation of a new recipe. Not to mention the abundance of summer fruit hovering out there like paints drawn to a blank canvas. Or moths to a flame. Well, you get the idea.

This is the season for luscious, beautiful strawberries, as well as for a more portable means to enjoy them. Classic strawberry shortcake may be ill suited to picnics, backpacks or roadtrips, but the same cakey-creamy-strawberry-ey goodness all rolled up into a cookie makes for a better companion to summer adventuring. Not to mention a better way to send "strawberry shortcake" by post to friends and fans of the original concoction.

In turning strawberry shortcake into strawberry shortcake cookies, I did have to have a think on how to translate the light, rich and creamy contribution of the whipped cream, as if you put whipped cream into cookie batter, it doesn't much resemble whipped cream anymore. I thought of marshmallows but that smacked more of strawberry-flavored s'mores. Then I hit on white chocolate chips: light, rich, creamy, and with the bonus of imparting an extra boost of vanilla goodness back into the mix. Vegan white chocolate does indeed exist, and is much easier to find than it once was -- the easiest way being to order it from an online source, though if you live in a larger, more enlightened city you many get lucky at specialty or super health-aware groceries. My favorite -- both in taste and in principle -- for vegan white chocolate chips are the VeganSweets brand made by Pangea, an internet-based vegan shop that not only sells vegan products but adheres to a vegan code of business ethics; I'm also fond of the ones carried by Food Fight Vegan Grocery in Portland, Oregon.

Because of the fruit puree and pieces, these are moist, cakey cookies -- any that have not disappeared within a few days should be refrigerated or frozen (and these do freeze well) to prevent molding.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
yields 36 standard or 18 large cookies

1 16-oz package fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
1 cup vegan sugar
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
1/2 cup Earth Balance non-hydrogenated vegan butter
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
5-6 oz white chocolate chips (one-half package)
2 Tbsp Ener-G Egg replacer powder + 1/2 cup water

1. Set aside about two-thirds (approx 11 oz) of the berries. Dice the remaining third into tiny uniform cubes. Spread the cubes out in one layer on a dish, cookie sheet or pie plate, then place in the freezer while you prepare the cookie dough.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Place the remainder of the berries in a blender and puree until completely smooth. Add the sugar, shortening, butter and vanilla, and blend until smooth. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. Make a well in the center and pour in the strawberry mixture. Using a sturdy wooden or silicon-tipped spoon, fold the ingredients together until only a few lumps of flour remain, trying not to overmix.

4. In a small bowl, beat the Ener-G and water until thick and foamy. Fold lightly into the cookie dough along with the white chocolate chips, again trying not to overmix.

5. Remove the diced strawberries from the freezer and use your fingers to break apart any pieces that might have frozen together. Fold into the dough until batter, chips and strawberry pieces are uniform.

6. Drop 36 heaping tablespoons (or use 16 1/4-cup measures if making jumbo cookies) onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes (25-30 minutes for jumbo cookies), until just starting to become golden and firm but still a bit soft to the touch. Remove to wire racks and allow to cool completely.

Nutrition per cookie (when recipe makes 36): 124 calories, 5 g fat, 19 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 9 g sugar, 2 g protein