Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

I consider myself a bit of a chocolate chip cookie aficionado. Once, my friend and I made 7 different chocolate chip cookie recipes in the span of 2 days because we wanted the find The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie (our winner? Serious Eats chocolate chip cookie).

The point is, I’m not speaking lightly when I say these chocolate chip cookies are indistinguishable from their non vegan counterparts. They have the soft, melty centers, crispy edges, and lightly caramelized flavor that I originally thought were inherent to the egg-and-butter cookies.

This recipe makes 20 massive bakery-style cookies (or approx 4 dozen more reasonably sized cookies), but I’m fully in support of double-batches if your mixer/arms/health can handle it.

The secret to these cookies is aquafaba, otherwise known as the liquid found in cans of garbanzo beans/chickpeas! Aquafaba is actually a fairly recent fad in the food blogging world, because it turns out that aquafaba can imitate egg
whites almost perfectly.  In this recipe, aquafaba is used to replace entire eggs, but it steps up to the job with zero hesitation.

One tip I have is to cream the shortening and sugar at medium to low speed. I’ve found that creaming butter and sugar until extremely fluffy works well for making light batters, but can make cookies a bit cakey and dry. In my opinion, it’s an absolute tragedy when this happens so I tend to err on the side of gentle creaming.

Besides that, these cookies are very simple to make, and follow the exact same process as most chocolate chip cookies. The dough was a little crumbly, which I was originally worried about, but baked up just fine. For gooey middles I baked the dough for 13-15 minutes, and for more chewy cookies I upped the time to 17 minutes. Both were delicious.

Anyhow, onto the recipe!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks, 10 ounces, 280 grams) earth balance shortening, slightly colder than room temperature
• 1 ¼ cups (240 grams) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 grams) white sugar
• 6 tablespoons aquafaba (liquid from can of unsalted garbanzo beans)
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 3 ½ cups plus 2 teaspoons (445 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 ¼ pounds (565 grams) vegan dark chocolate, chopped into pieces

1) In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2) Combine the shortening, light brown sugar, and white sugar at medium speed. Cream for 1-2 minutes, but be gentle since over-beating can lead to cakey cookies.

3) Whisk in the aquafaba and vanilla extract.

4) Fold in the flour mixture, and add the chopped chocolate when only streaks of flour remain. Stir the dough until there are no more streaks of flour; the dough might be a bit crumbly, but don’t worry.

5) Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours, but ideally 24-36 hours.

6) Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, divide the dough into ~18 portions. If the dough is a bit crumbly, gently mold the cookie dough balls into compact spheres so that they won’t fall apart. At this point, you can freeze the dough and bake individual portions as desired, or go ahead bake the dough right away.

7) Bake the cookie dough balls at 350 degrees for 13 minutes (15 minutes for frozen dough). They might look a bit underbaked in the middle, but will continue to cook for a bit even after they’re removed from the oven. Enjoy!

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Healthy Vegan S’more Cookies (made with…?)

A few weeks ago I was mindlessly scrolling through /r/food when I realized that I genuinely miss posting recipes. I am always playing with ideas for new foods in my mind, but I’ve seldom had the time and motivation to create them.

This is in part because college makes time feel like a luxury, but also because I have had an unlimited supply of dining hall food.

Well, summer has nullified both these things, for better or worse, and I have been itching to cook and bake the weird ideas that I’ve accumulated this past semester, starting with these vegan s’more cookies.

They’re soft, sweet, and delicious despite containing no cane sugar, eggs, or dairy. What do they have instead?

Garbanzo beans.

It sounds weird, I know, but trust me, garbanzo beans are incredible.

Blended garbanzo beans create the perfect cookie base, and the liquid that comes with them can be whipped into a delicious (and vegan) marshmallow fluff. I promise there’s no catch. I’m still a little blown away myself.

Vegan S’more Cookies 

Marshmallow Fluff:

• liquid from 1 13.4 oz can of garbanzo beans (~½ cup liquid)
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

1. To create the marshmallow fluff, beat the liquid from the can of garbanzo beans with an electric mixer or blender until foamy
2. Slowly add the coconut sugar and keep beating for around 10-15 minutes, until the mixture thickens and looks like meringue.
3. Try not to eat the entire bowl as you prepare the cookies 😉

Cookie base:

• 1 ½ cups cooked garbanzo beans
• ¼ cup sugar or coconut sugar (increase to 1/3 cup if you prefer sweeter desserts)
• ¼ cup liquid sweetener such as agave or maple syrup
• ¼ cup + 2 tbs unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbs oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup spelt flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt

1. In a blender or food processor, combine the garbanzo beans, coconut sugar, liquid sweetener, unsweetened almond milk, sour cream and oil.
2. Stir in the spelt flour, baking soda, and salt. Tada, that easy!

Assembling the cookies:

1. Scoop 1/8 cup portions of the batter into a greased whoopie pie or cupcake pan. I used the former because I had one lying around, but I’m sure a cupcake pan would work too!
2. Create an indentation in the middle of the batter and add a dollop of marshmallow cream on top.
3. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
4. Bake the cookies at 350 degree for 12-15 minutes.
5. Try and fail not to burn your tongue as you eat one straight out of the oven, then eat another ten minutes later when it’s semi cool-ish.
6. Eat another one–just to make sure it’s still good (it is). Repeat.

Three Ingredient Banana Cookies

These are quite possibly the easiest cookies to make, ever.

They are vegan, gluten free, and sugar free, yet still taste great and are fun to eat. I added some cinnamon and chocolate to make them even more fun.

When it comes to baking on school nights, I’m super lazy, so these were an easy way to use up ripe bananas. Plus, my dad was able to try them, something he isn’t usually able to do because he’s still on his raw food + fish (+ chocolate ice cream, but he’d deny it if you asked) diet.

If you have bananas and want an easy recipe to try, make these cookies. They’re not thick and buttery like most cookies, but they’re still delicious! I ate them with ice cream and melted chocolate – just because.

Three Ingredient Banana Cookies

• ½ cup mashed bananas
• ¾ cup old fashion oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Optional Ingredients (I added all):

• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 cup chocolate chips

1. Mash the bananas.
2. Add ½ cup oats.
3. Grind the remaining ¼ cup oats in a blender or food processor to create a fine powder, then add. OR, simply add the remaining ¼ cups whole.
4. *OPTIONAL* Add in the vanilla extract and chocolate chips.
5. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.
6. Scoop into round balls onto a baking sheet, flatten with your fingers, and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Malawi Peanut Balls (Mtedza)

I’ve never really liked peanut butter. Peanut butter is just so rich and sticky, and only really tastes good when paired with lots and lots of jelly and bread. However, these cookies are crumbly and buttery and just taste so good. They remind me of peanut shortbread.

I originally intended for this post to go with “Alphabet Around the World,” but these were too good to wait until the letter “M”. They’re cute bite-sized treats – perfect for a tea party or the like.

Malawai Peanut Balls

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ¾ cup roasted peanuts
• 1 tsp vanilla
• pinch salt
• 1 cup flour
• Powdered Sugar

1. Chop the roasted peanuts into fine pieces. (I think a food processor might work for this, however be careful not to over-process, or you will end up with peanut butter.)
2. Cream together the butter and sugar.
3. Stir in the vanilla, salt, and crushed peanuts.
4. Stir in the flour.
5. Divide into 2 tablespoon sized portions (easiest with a small ice cream scooper) and roll into balls.
6. Bake at 350, for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. While they are hot, roll in powdered sugar.
8. Place on a rack and allow to cool completely.
9. If desired, roll in powdered sugar again.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve made countless versions of chocolate chip cookies: some calling for bread flour, others for egg yolks, some even for vanilla beans and brown butter and the like, but I’ve found, when it comes down to it, simplicity is best.

These cookies are good. They’re not too thin, not too thick, not too crispy, not too soft. They’re not the most extravagant cookies – they’re far from it – but they’re buttery and chocolatey, and sometimes simplicity is best.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe adapted from here.

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 ¾ cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 bag (2 cups) semi sweet chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
2. In another bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients until there are no streaks of flour. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Refrigerate for at least an hour (or just skip this step – most of the time i do)
6. Divide the dough into 2 tablespoons sized portions, and then bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Bake for shorter or more time depending on personal preferences. 🙂

Snickerdoodle Cookies

This week I was looking up recipes to make as a post-finals celebration and I stumbled upon this recipe for funfetti cookies. Even though chocolate cake is my ultimate favorite (you can beat chocolate, really), I’ve always loved funfetti cakes. Funfetti specked foods are just so pretty, and of course, delicious. But mostly pretty.

Anyways I decided to make the cookies, and figured that I could make an extra large batch and give some to my teachers as a ‘thanks for putting up with me the whole year’ sort of deal. So I did. Wednesday. At midnight. (time management isn’t one of my strongpoints, obviously)

I was making the dough – had nearly finished making it actually – when I realized that I didn’t have any sprinkles. Since funfetti cookies without sprinkles are a no-go, I figured that I could just roll them in cinnamon sugar and call them snickerdoodles. Surprisingly, it worked out really well!

These cookies straight out of the ovens were just pillows of warm, soft, cookie goodness. Once they cooled they assumed a more traditional soft, chewy center, crisp edges cookie texture, but that was perfectly delicious as well. The recipe was really simple, and the results were delicious. Try it~

P.S. I’m thinking about incorporating some gifs into my posts. They’re fun to make and way cooler to look at that traditional pictures.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

adapted from here

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 ¾ cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ¼ cups cornstarch
• ¾ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

1. Cream the butter and 1 ¼ cups of sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg and two extracts.
3. In another large bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones until no streaks of flour are visible.
5. Using an ice cream scooper (or just by eyeballing it), make ¼ cup sized balls of dough.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ½ cup of sugar, and the cinnamon.
7. Roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture, and place on a greased baking sheet.
8. Bake for about 13 minutes at 375 degrees, or until the edges are light golden brown.
9. Let cool on a baking rack for several minutes (or be like me and just burn your tongue), and then enjoy with plenty of milk!

A is for Apple Pie Cookies [vegan]

I have this idea in my head, an idea which I’ve been considering for the past few weeks.  Since one of my New Year resolutions was to, I quote: “Bake different styles of food!,” I’ve obviously got to follow through on that!

To accomplish this resolution, my idea is: Desserts Around the World-alphabet style

Basically, every two weeks I will post a new recipe that originates from a foreign country.  Simple enough right?  The only other criteria is that there are going to be a total of 26 recipes, and each recipe name will begin with a letter in the alphabet.

To start myself off, here’s a recipe for Apple Pie Cookies, with the country being AMURICAAA.

These are essentially cinnamon oatmeal cookies, with an apple pie filling and a simple icing on top.  The cookies have almost a biscuity texture, which really enhances the idea of an apple pie.  These cookies are made for eating with a glass of milk (I’d even go as far as to say glasses of milk are made for drinking with these cookies), and if you’re aiming for a totally vegan dessert, a glass of soymilk is perfect too.  Eat these cookies to celebrate the United States- a mess of a country, but one built on honest ideals.

Apple Pie Cookies

For the cookies:

• ½ cup butter (I used vegan butter)
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 cup flour (reduce to ¾ cup for a less biscuity cookie)
• 1 tbs corn starch
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt

1. Cream together the butter and brown sugar.  Whisk in the vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the oatmeal, flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, and stir until a dough forms.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Take ¼ cup size balls of dough, and form into round disks on a baking sheet. Make an indent in the middle of each disk as a bowl for the apple filling.

For the apple filling:

• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbs butter

1. Melt the butter in the pan, and add the brown sugar.  Heat until bubbling.
2. Add the apples, and cook until they begin to soften. Reduce the heat and keep cooking until the apples caramelize and the filling is deep golden brown. Cook less for a more gooey filling (in my cookies, I cooked the filling until very golden brown, and it was almost like a chewy apple caramel in the final product).  Divide the filling among the cookies.
3. Bake the cookies for about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees, or until they are a light golden color.  Cool completely before adding the glaze.

For the icing:

• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tiny splash vanilla
• milk (or soy milk)

1. In a plastic bag combine the powder sugar and vanilla.
2. Add a tiny splash of milk, and squish the bag until a homogenous icing forms.  If needed, add another tiny splash of milk.
3. Cut a corner off of the bag and pipe the icing onto the cookies.
4. Allow the icing to harden, then enjoy the cookies with a glass of milk.

Blueberry Cornflake Cookies

*Disclaimer* If you are on a diet, trying to make lifestyle changes, or an enemy of butter and sugar, these cookies are not for you.  Perhaps these vegan cookies, this tofu chocolate pie, or this oatmeal cake will suffice, but I’ll warn you that nothing even moderately wholesome can substitute a warm cornflake and dried blueberry specked cookie.

……..

If you’re still reading this, I hope you’re a fan of sugar and butter and flour.  I figure that a recipe this decadent ought to be posted later in the year, especially because I assume most new years resolutions are still holding strong, but I can’t contain my glee with these blueberry studded treats.

I know-I know, these cookies don’t look special.  They don’t have the distinctive brown spots of chocolate chip cookies, or the crackled surface of molasses ginger cookies, but they have something special: outrageous flavor and texture.

Imagine a cookie with the texture of shortbread, combined with a chewy center that’s reminiscent of peanut butter cookies.  Drooling yet?  Now, imagine that every bite you get crunchy pecan pieces, hints of cornflake flavor paired with a slight crunch, and the chewiness and taste of dried blueberries.  Like I said, outrageous!

Dried Blueberry Studded Cornflake Cookies

originally found here

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 tbs molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 1 cup crushed cornflakes (not powdered, merely crushed)
• ½ cup pecans, chopped
• ½ cup dried blueberries
• 1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
• 3 ½ cups AP flour
• 1 tbs (yes, tablespoon) baking soda
• ½ tsp salt (I’m thinking that a little fleur de sel sprinkled on top would be killer!)

1. Cream together the butter, sugar, oil, and molasses.  Whisk in the vanilla, and egg.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the crush cornflakes, pecans, dried blueberries, oatmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones, until a dough forms.
4. Chill the dough for an hour or so (I made the dough at night and baked the cookies in the morning).
5. Scoop out 2 tbs sized portions of dough onto a greased cookie pan.
6. Bake for about 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the edges are golden brown.  Since the recipe makes so many cookies, experiment with baking times to get the exact texture desired. 🙂
7. Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Cookies

There is little to say about these little bites of chocolate bliss.  Well actually, I could talk about about their intense chocolate flavor, considering there is melted chocolate and cocoa powder in the batter.  I could also talk about the little punches of milk chocolate chips you get in every bite.  Furthermore, I could talk about the texture of these cookies, the chewy edges and soft, melty centers, but I won’t.  I’ll just say this- chocolate lovers, you need to make these cookies.  I don’t care if you have schoolwork (it’s the summer anyways, so you ought not to), have an important presentation at work tomorrow, or are on a diet (although admittedly, these are not diet food), you need to make these now. And if you do, send some to me, please?

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from here.

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup dutch cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, 2 ounces coarsely chopped, 4 ounces cut into ¼-inch chunks
• 2 ounces semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

3. Melt the 2 ounces chopped milk chocolate, 2 ounces chopped semi sweet chocolate, and butter together in a small, heatproof bowl set over boiling water.

4. Transfer the melted chocolate butter mixture to the bowl of a mixer. Beat in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla on medium speed.

5. Reduce speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients.

6. Fold in the remaining 4 ounces of milk chocolate.

7. Distribute batter on the baking sheet using a 1 ½ inch ice cream scoop.

8. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cookies are flat and the surfaces begin to crack.

9. Allow to cool, and enjoy!