Hi Everyone!
With yesterday’s news of me being Lactose Intolerant, I now have to experiment with my cooking and baking. I thought I would test out and make my traditional homemade chocolate chip cookies, but since I had to use Earth Balance Butter and dairy free chocolate chips, I thought why not just go vegan on this recipe? I can have eggs, but what the heck, let’s try something new and see how it turns out. I’ll let you judge by the picture.
What do you think? I have to tell you I am pretty proud of these cookies. They do taste like a chocolate chip cookie. You would never know that it doesn’t contain any dairy or eggs. They are crisp on the edges and soft in the middle. To me that is the perfect chocolate chip cookie. They even look professional, better than the chocolate chip cookies that I have made in the past!!
I was sadden by the fact that I can’t have chocolate chips anymore, well I think I can have dark chocolate chips and that’s nice but I really like semi-sweet chips. I was at Whole Foods and I found Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. I thought, I’ll try them, but they won’t be the same. I was wrong! They taste amazing, just like chocolate chips. I looked at the ingredients and all they are made of is evaporated cane juice, natural chocolate liquor (Non-Alcoholic) and non-dairy cocoa butter. Wow! That is way healthier than regular chocolate chips I normally get. They were a little pricey at Whole Foods, but I found them online at several places a lot cheaper. You can bet I will be ordering a bunch for holiday baking!
For the egg I made a Flax Egg. This was a first for me. I used 1 tablespoon of ground flax-seed and three tablespoons of water. Whisk together and let it sit for 15 minutes. Hmmmm, it worked! That’s also healthier than normal eggs! You have fewer calories and no cholesterol and added protein and fiber. Not that you get a lot of that since your making 60 cookies.
The rest of the ingredients are the same as my traditional chocolate chip cookies. As for my dairy readers, I also added in the recipe ingredients you can use to make your cookies. My Husband was not thrilled when I said I am making vegan chocolate chip cookies, but after one bite he said you couldn’t tell. I couldn’t tell!! And let me tell you I am chocolate chip cookie freak. Kind of wish I didn’t make these because now I know how easy and yummy they taste, I’ll be making these a lot!!!
Yes you can guess I am pretty stoked at these cookies! They are also pretty low-calorie for chocolate chip cookies. They come in at 92 calories a cookie. I think that’s pretty good for a chocolate chip cookie. After I made my batch of cookies, I let them cool and stored them in the freezer. To thaw out, just leave them on your counter for a few minutes. Perfect cookie!!
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 sticks Earth Balance (I used soy free) or Butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. ground flax seed or 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp. water (omit if using eggs)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)
- Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
- In a small bowl, add flax seed and water, whisk together and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, until thicken.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat; set aside.
- In a bowl add flours, baking soda and salt; set a side.
- In large bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and creamy. Beat in flax seed mixture and vanilla extract until combined. Gradually add flour mixture, beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips
- Drop by well rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 - 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 2 minutes, than move to a cooling rack.
- I store my cookies in the freezer, than place on the counter to thaw, which doesn't take long.
- Makes 60 two inch round cookies.
So am I going vegan? No! But I do have fun experimenting and trying different things in the kitchen. I just love when it turns out and no one knows it’s healthy or vegan. I get that warm, fuzzy feeling inside knowing I am serving my friends and family a healthy goodie!!
Well I hope you like today’s recipe. I really stepped out of my comfort zone with this one, and I am glad I did. I really did come up with a perfect chocolate chip cookie.
Do you like to experiment with different recipes and trying out new things? I really do think that’s what makes cooking fun. So many different ways to make something. So from here on out, my Husband will be getting vegan chocolate chip cookies in his lunch. lol I have to giggle because my Husband supports my dairy free life, but he said he is not eating vegan. Sorry Honey, but you are on this one!!
Have a great day!
Toodles,
Jennifer
