Get a load of these...

Howdy peoples of the world,

Hmm, so this is my first blog on Blogger... I own a seperate website, but I got tired of taking care of it, so Imma just hang out here for now.

So, this blog will be for anything that tickles my fancy, and since recently I've been baking more than Mrs. Fields, I'll be talking about that every so often.

See, here's the thing with this whole baking business... A vast chunk of the world's population is lactose intolerant as far as I am concerned, and since I look up statistics quite obsessively, let us trust my information. So, why the hell are there so few dairy free options for us? How many places serve baked foods sans milk? How about caffeinated drinks? Unless you live in a hipster neighbourhood, probably very few. 

Now, I'm currently in a long term relationship with Starbucks, we might get married sometime... Starbucks is like El Dorado for me, in a country stuffed with Tim Hortonses, which do NOT serve dairy free drinks (ARGH), it is the only way. I can get a latte, frapuccino, coffee with soy milk... Heh, it makes me tear up just thinking about it.

Anywho, point being is that lactose intolerant people get the ass side of everything food. Well, Imma do something about it! I've been baking sweets lately, and I bake them always dairy free, and sometimes completely vegan. I'm not a vegan, but I'm a lactose intolerant vegetarian, which is almost the same thing, so yes. So, anytime I have a new recipe that I tested out, I'll just post the sucker up, and you guys can try it out yourself, mmkay? I will also post a bunch of useless crap in-between, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Today is my elder brother's birthday, he turned 22, HOORAY!!! He's old(er). He doesn't get any special privileges anymore though, 16 is when you can get your license, 19 you can drink, 21 you can drink and gamble in the USA, and 22... You're one step closer to 30 I guess. But point being, that I baked him some chocolate chip cookies this morning, which look delicious if I do say so myself.

The recipe is borrowed from Bakerella and re-modeled to be dairy-free.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tpsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs (you can use egg replacer, if you're a vegan)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips

Some brands of chocolate chips do not use milk, or just buy dairy-free dark chocolate (e.g. Lindt Excellence 70% Cacao chocolate) and break it into small chunks, works just as well.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 Celsius)
2. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. With a mixer beat the butter and sugar until well blended.
4. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
5. In halves, add the flour mixture until combined.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
7. Scoop the cookies onto parchment paper covered baking sheet, keep 2 inches apart.
8. Bake 8-10 minutes, if you bake for 10 minutes the cookies will be very soft and chewy, if you bake for 15-20 minutes they will be crispy on the outside and soft inside, so it depends of your preference.

* If you don't have a mixer, you are welcome to stir the dough with a spoon, just use the back of the spoon to help you blend the sugar and the margarine. The cookies will have a rougher texture, which is not a bad thing at all, they will taste the same anyway.

Alright, well I'm tired of typing, and I want more cookies. I will bake something tomorrow as well, and I'm going to Ottawa on Sunday, so more photos next time. Toodles peeps.