Happy Inaugural Tasty Treat Thursday! The 2nd to last Thursday of each month, I'll share a bonus "bite-size" recipe post that's both scrumptious and made with more sustainable ingredients.
With spring taking its time to keep the snow at bay here in Western New York, I've been finding it difficult to avoid heating up the oven. The sweet aroma of baking cookies also brings an incredible calm while social distancing and still trying to keep up on the COVID-19 news.
This recipe was a great discovery for me because although it's vegan if you use vegan chocolate chips, it doesn't require any unusual ingredients. Even when not trying to avoid the stores during a pandemic, I always feel my heart drop when I'm in the mood for trying a new treat recipe, but I don't have powdered sugar ... not that powdered sugar is unusual, but I never seem to have it! If you are ever in this pinch, regular sugar and a thickener like cornstarch thrown in a blender or food processor will work (All Recipies).
Lucky for me, this recipe does NOT call for powdered sugar.
It calls for the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe ingredients you probably have around your house right now!
Also, if you're a fan of easy recipes (I’m talking one bowl!), these vegan chocolate chip cookies are for you (based off of this recipe from ChocolateCoveredKatie)
I was amazed by how rich these turned out without using butter! This recipe is also nice because it makes a smaller batch (about 11 to 14) if you use rounded tablespoons. I adjusted for this by making the cookies a bit smaller, so they were the perfect little morsels—I was able to make nearly two dozen!
A note on the milk used for this recipe—I used oat, my preferred non-dairy milk, and one of the more sustainable choices which you can learn more about via one of my past posts.
Now, in full disclosure, I did not use vegan chocolate chips for this. However, I am sure they would be just as delicious!
I also added peanut butter to these because, well, peanut butter is one of my many food obsessions.Â
Ingredients:
• 1 cup white flour (My favorite brand is King Arthur because they are committed to working with farmers to make sure their products are grown and processed as ethically and sustainably as possible)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar, unrefined if desiredÂ
• 1/4 cup brown sugarÂ
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• About 2 – 4 tbsp of a dairy-free milkÂ
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons peanut butterÂ
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl—the flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
Then mix in the wet ingredients—the oil, vanilla, peanut butter, and milk. *An important note about the milk: I found I had to basically just keep adding tablespoons of milk until the dough reached the right consistency because even with the peanut butter it was dry. I found I added at least double the amount given for the original recipe, 2 tablespoons, but I bet it depends on your type of dairy-free milk, so don’t be afraid to experiment!Â
4. Place the dough either in the refrigerator for 2 hours or the freezer until it is nice and cold (at least 15 to 30 minutes)
5. Form the dough into balls about 1 teaspoon large and place on a greased cookie sheetÂ
6. Bake for around 11 to 15 minutes—they might look slightly underdone
7. Let them cool for around 10 minutes and enjoy!
8. Don't forget to share! Luckily there's little evidence that COVID-19 can spread via food, however it might not be a bad idea to disinfect whatever container you pass it along in :) (csis.org/FDA)
Please feel free to share your thoughts on this recipe, or any recipes you'd like for me to try in the future. Happy baking!
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