I am constantly on a hunt for desserts without dairy since my father in law is lactose intolerant. Here is a recipe I created this morning, modified from a goodie from Cook’s Illustrated.
Dairy Free Molasses Spice Cookies
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1.4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c vegetable (canola) oil
2-3 tbsp orange juice (I squeezed 1/2 an orange to get this)
1/3 c brown sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c molasses
1/2 c zante currants (small black raisins), optional
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Mix the flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl. Beat oil, sugars and orange juice with an electric mixer until the mixture thickens. Add the egg and the vanilla extract. While beating, add the molasses. Mix in the dry ingredients into the egg/oil mixture until just combined. Add in the raisins if using.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper (or I use the Silpats which work wonders and are reusable). Using 2 spoons (the dough will be soft and very sticky), plop 6 dollops of dough on 1 baking sheet and 6 dollops on another, at least 2 inches apart. These cookies will spread quite a bit. Bake for about 11 minutes, until the cookies are cracked all over and set in the middle. Take out of the oven and let cool before removing from the baking sheets.