Vegetable shortening (Recipe: granola cookies)

I'm a Motown, pre-1975 rock 'n roll, granola kind of girl. I don't bake much — I've already owned up to keeping storebought pie crust in my refrigerator — but oooooh, baby, I love love love granola cookies, and that's why vegetable shortening resides in The Perfect Pantry.

A solid fat made from vegetable oils, such as soybean and cotton seed oil, shortening has been chemically transformed into a solid state through a process called hydrogenation.

Why use shortening in baking? Shortening melts at a higher temperature than butter, so cookie dough holds its shape longer in the oven, allowing the flour and eggs to set before the cookie collapses and spreads. Using butter or margarine (which has a melting point only a degree or two above butter) produces a cookie that spreads out more. Vegetable shortening is ideal for pastry, too, since it blends well with the flour.

I never mastered the art of using measuring cups to extract shortening from the can, so I'm a huge fan of Crisco vegetable shortening sticks. Wowie zowie...they're mess-proof and easy to use, and allow for more exact measuring. Shortening can be stored at room temperature, but once I've opened the package, I usually keep it in the fridge, and return it to room temperature before using.

By the way, there are good reasons to limit consumption of hydrogenated oils and the trans fat that has been proven to wreak havoc on serum cholesterol. If you're a frequent baker, you might check at your market for Spectrum Naturals' organic shortening, free of hydrogenated oils and trans fat.

Granola cookies

Makes 4 dozen.

Ingredients

2 cups unsifted unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups granola (I use Quaker Natural with raisins, but any granola-type cereal will work)
1/2 cup golden raisins, optional (if, like me, you really like raisins)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt on wax paper, and stir to blend. Cream shortening and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat well. Stir in blended dry ingredients, granola and raisins. Mix well.

Refrigerate 30 minutes or until dough is firm enough to handle. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Let stand for a minute or two, then transfer to cooling rack.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

Comments

I have a stick of Crisco left from the mincemeat cookie recipe I shared with the Wed. Lunch Group. Now I'll have to try this granola recipe.

I haven't made these cookies in a while, but just writing about them made my mouth water. Enjoy!

I just read that Crisco has introduced a zero trans fat shortening, but it is not yet widely available.

See Boston Globe article: http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2006/07/19/going_back_to_lard_for_old_time_pies/

Anna, welcome to The Perfect Pantry. Thanks for sending the article. I'll look for this in the market.

I am on a low sodium diet. Can I omit baking soda? I have a sodium free baking powder. Will taking out the baking soda affect the cookie quality?

Elena, look for a sodium-free baking soda such as Ener-G: http://healthyheartmarket.com/ener-gbakingsodasodiumfree.aspx.