Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies!

As promised, a post completely dedicated to these vegan chocolate chip cookies I am in love with.

My long long time friend Kristen works for a publishing company up in Philadelphia, and writes for their cooking blog from time to time. A post several months back really got my attention, in which she discusses vegan baking and its benefits—not necessarily extolling virtues of eating completely 100% vegan (of which, I'm sure, there are many), but just baking vegan. 

This piqued my interest, since my sweet tooth seems to intensify when I am baking babies in my uterus, but I don't want to consume too many empty calories. This put me on the hunt for some go-to vegan recipes, and I came across one on a blog called "Bankrupt Vegan." Here is the link —it's back up!

My friends. This is a winner no matter what your eating preferences may be. You don't even miss the butter and brown sugar...you can't even really tell!

But, don't be like me and buy the packets of turbinado sugar instead of the bag. Oops. Sure gives the cookies a nice crunch though!

The dough comes together easily in a bowl with a spoon, no mixer required.

Cookie dough that's safe for a preggie to eat! BONUS! (well...bonus, or intentional? perhaps both.)

I've probably made these cookies 5 times since first discovering them. Besides not using a mixer, some of the measuring cups/spoons overlap (which for some reason is a big plus for me), so you use less dishes making them. I can have the first pan in the oven about 16 minutes after starting. Chocolate chip cookies in your mouth in 30 minutes? Yes please!

They need to be rolled and flattened before baking to make them prettier. I've done it both ways, and this way produces a nicer, flatter cookie.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup flour (I've been using white whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unrefined (turbinado) sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (or 1/8-ish teaspoon table salt)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon molasses
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup canola oil (I've also used vegetable and olive, and both work fine but veg. is better)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (always use mini!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda together into a medium bowl. Stir in sugar and salt. In separate small bowl, stir together maple syrup, molasses, and vanilla. Then add oil. Add wet ingredients to dry, and add in the chocolate chips simultaneously. Stir until it just comes together.

Place rounded spoonfuls onto a lined cookie sheet and flatten a bit. Bake for 11 minutes at 350 degrees. Let rest on cookie sheet 1 minute before transferring to cooling rack. Makes 15-20 cookies.


Let me know if you make them and what you think. We love them!