no substitute

Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:


Our lesson: DO NOT use SmartBalance shortening substitute!! (Sorry, SmartBalance people.)

Damn, those cookies in the magazine looked so tantalizingly chewy and rich! Admittedly, I also did not properly let the butter arrive at room temperature before trying to cream it with the sugar. God, I hate wasting all those ingredients! The picture doesn't do my version justice: These were a hard and somewhat gritty disappointment.

No recipe, since I have NO idea if these are any good. Better luck next time!

Postscript: Once I recovered from the shock of the crisp texture of these, I realized they aren't all that bad.

Baked with the substitute fat (SmartBalance), these have a texture akin to ginger snaps, and would actually--as my deskmate Debra pointed out--be great for ice cream sandwiches or just crumbled over vanilla or mint ice cream!