Margaret’s Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

I literally grew up on Chocolate Chip Cookies! My best friend and I would make them in California NO MATTER WHAT each year on the first day it rained in the Fall and would continue to bake them throughout the winter.  It was a HUGE staple.  So nailing this recipe down has been a big investment on my part. I am tossing in a couple of links to some videos we posted on our Facebook page in Fall of 2018.  Those may help you get a visual on the cookies in case you are in need!

A Work In Progress

I am constantly tinkering with the types of flour. I really love using sorghum flour and will often mix 1 Cup Sorghum and 1 Cup Sweet Rice Flour.  It has a sort of grittier graham cracker flavor, but if you like just straight up Chocolate Chip Cookies…this recipe works great especially with King Arthur’s GLUTEN FREE Flour mixes. I tend to have the one with the waffle picture on it at my home most of the time as I LOVE that mix for pancakes and waffles.  It works great.  But you are welcome to try some other mixes as well.

Getting Them To Hold Together

I also always add 1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour in as with any gluten free recipe…it’s one of the keys to getting them to hold together. Additionally – my big tip is that you HAVE to let them cool before trying to get them off the baking sheet. I know, I know…we all get SOOO excited to try one, but honestly…wait until they are cool enough that you can slide a spatula under there easily and it will pull up.

Butters/Alternatives

In general, at YAO we normally recommend using Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread which I have pictured here; however, if you can get your hands on some Miyoko’s Butter! OMG…Please do that. You will be in for a treat. Both will work well for this recipe.  One of the keys is that you can not OVER beat the butter. If it gets too soft, you may have to refrigerate your dough for say 30 mins and then pull it out to create your little cookie dough lumps before you put them in the oven.

Chocolate Chips

I am pretty picky when it comes to the texture and flavor of the chocolate that goes in the cookies. Just one of those things about me! It can be difficult to find a good vegan baking chocolate chip.  My very favorite is Trader Joe’s! They are super inexpensive and truly delish! We use these to mix in our trail mixes…grab a couple of quick hits of chocolate AND…definitely use them in this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe!

Sugars

I am incredibly sensitive to too much sweet now a days, but I know that not everyone is there with me.  You can ALWAYS decrease the sugar in this recipe.  Just play with it. One recommendation that I can make is to use 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup of each.  The other option is to use only Coconut Sugar for the whole recipe – that means using a total of 1.5 cups of Coconut Sugar in total and not adding White or Brown sugar. I find that it’s not so so so sweet when I do this. And it has a lower glycemic index which means you won’t be completely sugar bombed!  Just a thought! You can now find Coconut Sugar in larger bags at Costco!

Egg Alternatives

I generally like to use Energy Egg replacer, but I have been finding this harder and harder to find in the stores. The egg replacement ratio is on the box: 1.5 tsp Energy to 2 TBSP of water. The other option would be to use the VeganEgg by Follow Your Heart. I would use only half of what they say to do for one egg.

INGREDIENTS

• 2  Cups All Purpose GF Flour (Margaret’s Fave is King Arthur’s)
• 1/4 Cup Tapioca Flour/Starch
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 Cup Miyoko’s Butter or Earth Balance Soy Free Organic
• 3/4 Cup Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 Egg – Replacement Equivalent for 1 Egg (NOTE: for VeganEgg use half of the recommended amount for 1 egg)
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 12 oz package of Trader Joe’s or other Vegan Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 Farenheit
2. In medium bowl, mix the flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, and salt. Use a wire whisk to mix the dry ingredients together.
3. In your mixer’s mixing bowl, add your butter replacement and the sugar. Cream those together…but do NOT over cream. You want it to still be firm, not smushy. If it gets smushy, don’t worry…you will just have to refrigerate your mixture prior to putting them on the baking sheets
4. Once it has been creamed together, add in the vanilla and egg replacement of choice. Mix lightly.
5. Slowly add in the dry ingredients from the other bowl. You can turn your mixer on low and add in 1/2 cup at a time until it has all been added.
6. Add in the Chocolate Chips! If you are feeling like the ratio of dough to chocolate chips is perfect for you as you are adding them and there are still more chocolate chips to add…STOP. Don’t add them all. Sometimes I don’t like to add the entire package. Mix on low until all stirred in.
7. NOW – if your mixture is firm, then keep going. If your mixture is NOT firm, then put in the refrigerator for 30 mins. OR…put whatever you DON’t want to bake at this time in the refrigerator and save to bake later!
8. Pull out some cookie sheets and make cookie balls about 1-1.5″ in diameter…If you like bigger…make them bigger. I like them about this size. Separate by a couple of inches. I usually go about 5 across on an average sized cookie sheet
9. Place in the oven for 10 mins. Check at 10 mins, but they may need more. You will have to play it by ear here. If you like soft baked cookies you will pull the trays out sooner than later. If you like them crunchy, you will leave them in. I usually have to leave them in about 12 mins for soft baked at least. The crunchy ones will be definitely have a browned outside.
10. Remove from oven when you are done and let cool. When cool…pop them in your mouth or enjoy while dipping in a nice tall glass of Almond Milk or dipping in a fine YAO Tea!

 

VIDEO CLIPS FROM YAO FACEBOOK ON THIS RECIPE