Worthy of A Comeback, Soft, Gooey Vegan, Gluten free Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's almost that time of year for me.  My school session is coming to an end and the baking bug has bitten. I don't have a lot of opportunity these days to develop recipes, sadly.  But, there are always things I have in mind to test for you all.  Today it was actually the pleading of five kids who are a huge help when Dad is on the road.  I thought they might have earned it.

Truth be told, since we've gone vegan, I have a bit of fear associated with every recipe.  Plus it's so darn expensive to have failures.  Luckily the kids don't mind eating them.  But, the perfectionist in me just has to keep going until I get it right.  So, when they asked with pleading eyes for chocolate chip cookies, my heart dropped.  What if I didn't get it right?  What if they were a crumbly mess that didn't hold together at all, or had greasy edges that over-cooked?  (I've had that happen - trust!)  But, they really wanted cookies
had confidence in me.


This recipe makes about four baking sheets worth of cookies.  If that's too much, you may want to cut it in half.  I'll leave the math to you.  Maybe that's your strong suit!

Enough chatter.  Let's get to what you really want....

Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies 

2 1/2 cups of gluten free all purpose flour mix (as always I used Pamela's)

1/4 cup of Earth Balance (we use soy-free)

1/4 cup of non-hydrogenated shortening (Spectrum)

3/4 C brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar 

1 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP of ground golden flax + 3 TBSP water (set aside to thicken)

1/4 C almond milk (or whatever non-dairy milk floats your cookie crumbs)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 bag of semi-sweet non-dairy/vegan chocolate chips 

Note: I use TJ's because I'm a student on a budget.  You can use Ghirardelli chips in the gold bag, which - last I checked - didn't have dairy either.  Besides those, there are several options at the health food stores that are 100% vegan - your choice! 

Lest you think it's important to mix the dry and add the wet and alternate blah blah blah.  Guess what?

It isn't.

Leaving the chocolate chips out, put the rest of it into a mixer and turn it on.  It's that easy.  I promise.  

(But I'm warning you now - if Jacques Torres or Gale Gand come knocking on my door, I'll deny it!)

Once smooth and combined, hand stir the chips in.  This is the only "fussy" part of this recipe but it's worth it to not have shredded chunks of chocolate.  I need that bite of melty goodness!

With a small (think melon-baller) portion scoop, place cookie dough on a silpat (or parchment) lined baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 375°

Bake 8 minutes.

Now here's the thing... it will look raw-ish.  If you try to move them, they will break apart because they're very soft still.  Give them about five minutes to cool, they'll firm up, and you can easily remove them to a rack.  Plus, I'm not liable if you burn your tongue on hot chocolate chips!

And then... enjoy