Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

These Double Chocolate Chip Cookies are from the Babycakes Bakery cookbook.  This is the fourth recipe I’ve tried from Erin McKenna and I’ve loved every one.  My whole family has devoured every sweet I’ve made, including Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Zucchini Muffins, Brownies and these delicious cookies.  (I’m not drawn as much to baking as I am to savory food, so my family feels so deprived……awwww)

I’ve been having fun sending care packages to my daughter at college as well as sending these delectable vegan baked goods to friends and family for birthday gifts.  What a delightful surprise to unwrap a present of yummy goodness!  Anyone interested in sending me such a gift, I’m open!

I’ve read complaints that Erin’s recipes contain unusual ingredients that may be expensive. In my mind, they are expensive only if I don’t use them all.  Since her recipes consistently call for these ingredients, I know I will have what I need and use what I have.  She uses coconut oil as her fat and a variety of flours that I was new to using, like garbanzo-fava bean flour and brown rice flour.  As most of her recipes are gluten-free as well as vegan, these substitutes for wheat flour fit the bill, and the taste.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup coconut oil

1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice (I used organic sugar)

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour

1/4 cup flax meal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthum gum

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, evaporated cane juice, applesauce, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla.  In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, flax meal, baking soda, and xanthum gum.  Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet with a rubber spatula and combine until a dough is formed.  Gently mix in the chocolate chips.

3. Use a melon baller (I used a tablespoon), drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, one inch apart.  Gently press the top flat with the bottom of a measuring cup to help them spread.  Bake the cookies on the center rack for 14 minutes, rotating the sheets 180 degrees after 9 minutes. (I just realized I had read this wrong and cooked mine a total of 23 minutes.  They were still extremely delicious, perhaps a bit more crunchy than they were meant to be.  I’ll try it Erin’s way next time as the finished cookies are meant to be crisp on the edges and soft in the center.)

4.  Let the cookies stand on the sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.  Story the cookies in an airtight container up to 3 days.  (I have put some in the freezer and they melt in my mouth like fudge when I bite into them, yum!)

Options:  Erin suggests adding minced fresh mint to the dough to make these taste just like Girl Scout Thin Mints!