- By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World
-
National Chocolate Chip Day
- Today is National Chocolate Chip Day! It’s the perfect day to bake. But what if you can’t tolerate gluten , butter, eggs, sugar and last but certainly not least chocolate.
- I couldn’t resist finding a recipe that at least included the chocolate chips in honor of Ruth Graves Wakefield who created the original chocolate chip cookie at her Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts in the 1930’s.
-
Ruth Graves Wakefield created the chocolate chip cookie - Ruth intended to bake chocolate cookies for her guests, but she ran out of baker’s chocolate. She substituted with chopped up semi-sweet chocolate morsels and discovered that the pieces did not melt into the dough as she expected. Her cookies were an instant hit. Today, 25% of all the cookies baked in the United States are chocolate chip!
- Well, not really. There is a growing distaste amongst many food savvy individuals who just want wholesome and nutritious not sugary cholesterol infused foods. I for one have never been able to tolerate sweets. In fact, I find most sweets so rebellious in terms of the amount of sugar that I prefer something tangy or tart. I’m a big fan of aged balsamic vinegar to which I add blue agave syrup. As a topping over fresh picked organic strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, it’s pure heaven.
- But if you are yearning for that freshly baked chocolate chip cookie here’s a recipe I think you really like.
Vegan and Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Thin, crisp, and chewy. While these aren’t your typical soft and doughy cookies, I loved them anyways. The almond flour gives them a taffy/chewy texture and it was hard to eat just one. The cookies firmed up quite a bit by the next day, so I would suggest cooking them a bit less than 12 mins (which was what I did). You can substitute carob chips instead of chocolate if you prefer.
Yield: 18-20 cookies
Ingredients:
- 7 tbsp Earth Balance + 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used organic)
- 1/4 cup organic cane sugar (or use white sugar)
- 1 flax egg: (1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup gluten-free oat flour (I processed 1 cup certified gf rolled oats into flour)
- 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour (add 2 tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour if you want a thicker cookie)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the flax egg and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the Earth Balance and oil until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Beat in the flax egg and vanilla extract.
3. Beat in the remaining ingredients and fold in the chocolate chips.
4. With wet fingers, shape balls of dough and place on the baking sheet. The dough will be very sticky but don’t worry! No need to flatten the balls down! Bake for about 10-11 minutes until slightly golden along edges. Allow to cool for 5-10 mins. on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes.
Serve and savvour these with a glass of freshly brewed, garden grown, pineapple mint iced tea.
Editor’s Notes:
I prepared these cookies and used carob chips and added organic walnut pieces and they were delicious.
Wow! These really expand, almost melt. LOL The dough is great! Can’t wait to taste the finished product. 🙂