Deer Tallow Chocolate Chip Cookies

We make it a point to kill a late season doe or two every year. These end-of-December deer almost always have a thick layer of silky white fat that can be over an inch thick on the hind quarters. We always render the fat from these deer, but we don’t usually have a plan for it.

We’ve been trying to incorporate deer tallow into more and more of our cooking in an effort to use the whole animal and have been surprised at how easy it is. No, you wouldn’t want to make a deer tallow buttercream frosting, but when the fat is incorporated into other ingredients, it loses the chalky texture that some people find so off putting.

Which is why we were curious about baking with it. Baking is more of a science than an art, and one little substitution can spell disaster, so we were a little hesitant to use the deer fat in a baked good. We had no idea how it would affect the end product, so we just went for a one to one substitution for the butter and hoped for the best.

It turned out better than best. You really don’t notice a difference, texturally or in terms of the flavor. These cookies would pass the most discerning palate. So we went nuts and made a ton of different cookies and passed them out to friends. No one questioned the lack of butter.

Deer Tallow Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup deer tallow, room temp 

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract (we use vanilla infused bourbon that we make)

1-3 tbsp water as needed (if dough is too dry)

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup coconut flake

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together tallow, sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

Add in eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla extract. If dough is too dry, add in one tablespoon of water at a time until correct consistency. Fold in the chocolate chips and coconut flake, mixing until combined.

Spoon out ~2-3 tbsp sized balls, and place on a parchment paper lined pan. Bake 375F 10-12 minutes, allow to cool for a minute or two, then transfer to a cooling rack.