Guess what?!?! Yesterday was the first day of spring!! You have no idea how much joy I have in announcing that. This winter has been long. Too long.
There’s so much about spring that I love: gardens, short sleeves, flip flops, green grass, flowers, and fresh produce. One thing I’m especially looking forward to (and already enjoying) this spring is picnicking. I love simple picnics with my family in the open air on gorgeously sunny spring afternoons.
What makes a good picnic a great one? Why cookies, of course.
In my humblest of opinions, everyone needs a good vegan cookie recipe in his/her repertoire. And, I must admit, this recipe is currently at the top of my vegan cookie list.
Here’s why:
I’m kind of picky when it comes to cookies (well, and everything else too–hello, pregnancy!). I want my cookies to be sweet, but not too sweet, chewy, not too crumbly, not too soft, not hard as rocks, contain morsels of crunchiness, not be too crunchy overall….I could go on and on.
You know what? I think these cookies fit the entire bill—at least so far.
Some of you may be wondering why I would even mention “carob” in the title of this post. “Isn’t carob that fake chocolate stuff that tastes awful?”
And to that, I would say that yes, some carob doesn’t taste so great, but I try to limit my chocolate consumption just because most chocolate contains small amounts of theobromine and caffeine in it–something I usually try to avoid. I’ve found that if you can find the sugar-sweetened carob chips, they actually taste really great. That’s what I’ve used in this batch of cookies. Of course, if you couldn’t care less about caffeine and theobromine, go ahead and use vegan chocolate chips. The cookies will be delicious no matter what. :)
So go on, turn on the oven and get started. You won’t be sorry.
Vegan Carob Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegan margarine softened (or oil of your choice)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons ground flax meal
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup quick oats
- 1 cup walnuts ground in a blender or food processor until there are a few bigger pieces, but mostly a crumbly meal
- 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder I use Rumford brand. (or 1 teaspoon baking soda, if you don't have the aluminum-free variety.)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch cinnamon optional
- 3-4 tablespoons cold soymilk or nondairy milk of your choice
- 1/2 cup vegan carob chips or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, whisk together vegan margarine, sugar, maple syrup, cornstarch, flax, vanilla, and lemon juice until thoroughly combined.
- Add flour, oats, ground walnuts, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Then, use a spoon to stir together until a crumbly dough forms.
- Gently stir in carob or chocolate chips.
- Add cold soymilk 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft and malleable, but not soggy wet.
- Form 2 tablespoon sized balls with dough, and place on lined cookie sheets, using a fork (or your fingers) to mash into thick patty-like mounds.
- Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are just getting golden brown in the bottoms--you shouldn't see the brown climbing the sides of the cookies.
- Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
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http://fittingintovegan.com
Just finished eating one of these cookies…and boy are they DELICIOUS!!!
Thank you so much, Lindsay!
I have never heard of adding cornstarch to a cookie recipe – does it make them softer or something?
Hi Lindsay, Might want to look into ingredients used in vegan carob chips. I have not been able to find one that doesnt use fractionated palm kernel oil, or saturated palm kernel oil, or something pretty unhealthy fat-wise. Do you know of a brand that is truly healthy? I love carob but the chips are not a substitute for good quality dark chocolate in my opinion, so I gave up on buying them years ago.
Hi Lindsay!
Thanks for this!
I am planning on making these tonight.
I don’t have any ground flax meal, do you think I could use almond flour?
Or is there anything else you would recommend?
I am not strictly gluten free so if almond flour doesn’t work could I otherwise use stone ground wheat flour instead?