Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies!

The BEST chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies

I am by no means any sort of chef. In fact, the less cooking I do, the happier I am:) We have a great system down in our household…my boyfriend cooks and I clean up after. No complaints on either end. However, when it comes to BAKING, I’m all in. I found this awesome recipe from Hell Yeah, It’s Vegan!–cool name for a site, right? This is about the 5th time I’ve made these cookies and they have been a complete hit each time. Even when I burned a batch at our Super Bowl party, yup, all the charred and crispy cookies were DEVOURED!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 c brown sugar
• ¼ c maple syrup
• ½ c oil (I use coconut oil..it comes in a more solid consistency so pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds before mixing)
• ¼ c applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 c flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• dash nutmeg
• 1½ c chocolate chips (I found these dark chocolate vegan chips at whole foods)

1. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, syrup, and oil. It will become smooth and even in consistency after a little while; don’t skimp on this step!
2. Beat in vanilla and applesauce.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, salt, and nutmeg.
4. Add dry mixture to wet; mix well.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Form into 1″ balls (or whatever size you prefer) and bake on greased sheets at 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes.

A note on the oil: I’ve been really big into coconut oil recently. Here’s a little excerpt from Dr. Oz that’s pretty convincing:

Coconut fats have special fats called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). It has been shown that breaking down these types of healthy fats in the liver leads to efficient burning of energy. One 2009 study found that women who consumed 30 milliliters (about 2 tablespoons) of coconut oil daily for 12 weeks not only did not gain more weight, but actually had lowered amounts of abdominal fat, a type of fat that is difficult to lose, and contributes to more heart problems.

Yay to skinny abs! You absolutely NEED healthy fats to help break stuff down. You can buy coconut oil with a slight flavor (I prefer this…I LOVE the taste of coconut) or you can buy it unflavored and still get the benefits.

Make sure you mix the oil, sugar and syrup well! Also, it’s best to go for a good high-end maple syrup. Better for it to be pure than a syrup with lots of added ingredients.

This is definitely my favorite step! And what’s so magnificent about this recipe being vegan…you can eat the dough! That’s right, since there’s no eggs involved (applesauce is what replaces the eggs) you can get down on your tasty vegan goodness before it goes in the oven!

Voila! Why not try your vegan cookies with a little almond, hemp, coco or soy milk? Or add the dough to some cashew ice cream and make a shake–deeeelish!

 

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