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Unfortunately, it's darn near impossible to substitute for the solid fat (shortening or butter) in cookies and pastries without losing the texture. Liquid oils just don't work (I've had some serious disasters here) and you can't just use fruit purees as with cakes.

The best results I've had so far (and I'm playing with a gingersnap recipe right now) come from using half applesauce and half Spectrum spread. Spectrum is a non-hydrogenated canola oil spread found only in health food stores. I've used with great success in things like biscuits and pastry toppings. So far, it's working pretty well in cookies too. If you can't find it, use the healthiest soy or canola oil margarine you can find. The trick for the cookies is to try and lower that fat content while still keeping the crispy/chewy texture. Adding oatmeal can really help achieve this - you can actually grind the oatmeal to a fine powder in the blender first. This helps disguise that there is oatmeal in the recipe, but it still helps the texture a lot.

When I perfect the gingersnaps I'll post them. They're variation of my grandmother's traditional recipe, which I just love, and the revision is getting pretty good but it's still not equal to the original. Darn it!

- Heather

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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!

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