Baking cookies - 2 questions

[Anonymous]

What is the difference between vegetable spread oil vs. butter vs. margarine when baking cookies? The Imperial brand 60% vegetable spread is only .99 cents at Safeway - but do you get what you pay for?

Also, I'm out of vanilla extract. Will my cookies turn out ok w/o it? Is there a substitute I can use?

[Anonymous]

Replacing butter with vegetable oil with affect the taste and texture. I wouldn't use 60% vegetable spread in cookies, but I also think that real is better than fake when it comes to baking.

Lack of vanilla extract will affect the taste of the cookie. I don't know of a sub unless you have another flavored extract you think might taste good in you cookie. What type of cookie are you baking.

[Anonymous]

I would skip the vanilla if you have to, but if you have to use a low fat spread instead of real butter or margarine, then I would find another recipe. A lot of loaf recipes (banana bread, chocolate chip loaf) use regular vegetable oil instead of butter.

[Anonymous]

a lot of spreads and margarines aren't good for baking b/c they have too much water. Some will note on the package whether or not they are good for baking.

I can't comment on a particular brand b/c I'm an all butter, all the time girl.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

My neighbor just came home so I hope I can borrow some of the vanilla extract from her.

I only have Smart Balance and two sticks of vegetable spread in my refrig. The Imperial brand says "good for baking" so I'll give it a try.

FWIW: it's choc. chip cookies

[Anonymous]

1454 : I meant to say "it's the OP" but I hit Submit too soon

[Anonymous]

"expert" baker here -

I bake with margarine all the time as we have dietary restrictions that prevent us from using butter. I also bake with smart balance, specifically cookies/cake. I think the regular smart balance is fine, the light simply doesnt work as well.

I would never bake anything without vanilla extract.

Just an FYI - A few years ago Cooks Magazine rated all the vanillas and imitation vanillas and the CVS imitation vanilla rated really high - higher than some real vanillas and its only $.99.

[Anonymous]

On the Food Network someone once said you can use bourbon (not as in Bourbon vanilla, but as in whisky) in place of vanilla. I don't know if the measurements are the same.
I suspect that someone who doesn't have butter is unlikely to have bourbon around, but just in case . . .

[Anonymous]

I'm assuming you don't have almond extract, which would be my next choice, or vanilla sugar. If neither of these, you may use maple syrup in place of the vanilla. It will definitely affect the taste, but it's still good! I've used liquors (like coffee liquour or amaretto) in place of vanilla extract before with good results, though i've never done this in cookies.

Let us know what you do and how it turns out! maybe you'll stumble onto an amazing origial secret recipe.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I tried my luck with the vegetable oil spread so it wasn't "true" butter. The cookies turned out a mess - flat and almost burnt to the cookie sheet.

I walked to Safeway and bought margarine and the cookies turned out delicious. I also noticed my baking soda was old so I replace that too.

I didn't put any vanilla extract in. DH covets his Elmer T Lee bourbon so I couldn't use that as a substitute.

Thanks all for the great tips.