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found in most grocery stores) is a good all-purpose egg replacer, but I've found it tastes best in crunchy cookies.

-Butter can be replaced with vegan margarine (be sure to check the label) or vegetable oil spread. I find the latter to be much easier to work with, but margarine often tastes more traditional. Similarly, there are also vegan shortenings on the market. Check the baking aisle of most health food grocery stores.

-Honey can usually be replaced with maple syrup, but agave nectar also works well.

-Gelatin, made from ground animal bones, is avoided by the majority of vegans. However, boiled agar agar can be used instead and works just as well, if not better. There are also commercial vegetarian gelatins in packets; just make sure that it says 100% vegetarian before purchasing/using.

-Vegan chocolate is pretty easy to find, even in the least vegan-friendly supermarket; just look for dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. Chances are, it's probably vegan, too.

With all of these options, it's hard to find any recipe that can't be veganized. On top of that, they taste almost identical to their dairy and egg containing equivalents. I had my dad, a discerning chocoholic, try some of my vegan brownies; he admitted that he liked mine better than most of the kinds he'd had because the chocolate taste was not only richer, but the texture was lighter and tasted less fattening. He also said that he would have had no idea that they were vegan if I hadn't have told him.

Vegan baking is easy, fun and delicious. It's great to make something that everyone can enjoy, especially knowing that it can be beneficial to animals, the environment and your own health. There are tons of vegan cookbooks out there; and if you're not up for spending the money, test out some of the replacements mentioned above in a non-vegan cookbook. I'm sure you'll find that vegan cooking can be quite a joy!

Learn more about this author, Caroline Fraissinet.
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