The Best Damn Chocolate Cookies Ever

So...I have this chocolate chip cookie recipe that, seriously, is the best damn thing ever.  I've been craving them recently because I haven't made them since ditching all things animal related.  I decided to try an vegan-ize the recipe this weekend.  And guess what?  They're just as good as ever!!

THE BEST DAMN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER

Cream together:

1 c. Earth Balance vegan "butter" spread
1 1/2 c. shortening
3 3/4 c. brown sugar
6 T. almond milk
3 T. vanilla

Add and mix in well:

3 flax meal "eggs" (1 "egg" = 1 T. flax meal + 3 T. water)*

Add combined dry ingredients and mix well:

6 1/2 c. flour
1 T. salt
2 1/4 t. baking soda

Add and stir in with wooden spoon:

2 (12 oz) bags of chocolate chips (I use ghiradelli because they don't use milk fat)

Preheat oven to 350.  Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.  Bake 12 minutes - until just barely golden and still a little gooey.  Cool on wire racks and enjoy!!

*It's best to mix up the flax "eggs" a few minutes before you start and let the mixture sit in the fridge to set up a little bit before you're ready to use it.

Peanut Butter Frito Deliciousness

Oh.  My.  Deliciousness.

Seriously.  This stuff is like crack.

Beware.

PEANUT BUTTER FRITO DELICIOUSNESS

1 1/2 bags of Fritos Scoops
1 c. light corn syrup
1 c. light brown sugar
1 c. creamy peanut butter
chocolate chips or M&Ms for garnish


Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Spread Fritos out on parchment paper.

In saucepan, over medium heat, melt corn syrup and sugar.  Stir constantly until sugar is disolved and mixture begins to boil.  Once boiling, remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter, until melted.  Pour over Fritos.  Sprinkle chocolate chips or M&Ms (if wanted).  Allow to cool.  Then enjoy!!

Thin Mints

So easy and SO GOOD!


THIN MINTS

1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
2 c. vegan chocolate chips (my fav is Ghirardelli semi-sweet)
2 T. shortening
1 t. mint extract

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave in 10-15 second intervals - stirring between each time - until melted.  Drop Ritz crackers one by one into the chocolate.  Once coated, use a fork to scoop covered crackers out and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Place cookies in fridge or freezer to let chocolate set up.  Then enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tweaked a recipe today to make these vegan.  And they turned out great!

VEGAN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 1/3 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 flax "eggs" (2 T. flax meal + 6 T. water)
2 t. vanilla
4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
12 oz. vegan chocolate chips

Mix up flax "eggs" in bowl and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream shortening and sugars.  Add flax "eggs" and vanilla and mix.  Add 1 c. of flour, baking soda, and salt and mix.  Then add second cup of flour and mix.  Then mix third and fourth cups of flour.  Can add 1-2 Tbsp of water if needed if dough becomes too dry.  Finally, mix in chocolate chips.

Drop 1" balls of dough onto cookie sheets.  Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookies are just barely turning golden.  Cool on racks.  Enjoy!!

Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Bars

This week's dessert was another hit.  At least in my book.  One family member who tried them, didn't like them, but others did.  They were easy to make and had a bunch of good stuff in them.  How can you go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter??

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER NO-BAKE BARS

1 c. peanut butter (I use Sprout's natural pb because it doesn't have a lot of extra "yucky" stuff in it)
2/3 c. honey
1/2 c. coconut oil (I use Whole Food's 365 brand)
2 c. oats (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free)
1 1/4 c. chocolate chips (as you can see in the pic: ghirardelli is my choice, they don't use milk fat)
3/4 c. Craisins

Melt peanut butter, honey, and oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Remove from heat and add oats, chocolate, and cranberries.  Stir until chocolate melts.  Spread mixture into a 9x13 pan.  Refrigerate (or freeze) until hardened.  Store in fridge or freezer.

I cut the pan into 24 squares.  But you can obviously cut them however big you want them.  Beware, though, they are kind of rich, so you don't want them too big or you'll get sick of it before you're done with it!

Flour-less Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I saw this recipe earlier this week on Facebook.  They looked good, so I gave them a try.

FLOUR-LESS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1 1/4 c. canned garbanzo beans, rinsed, patted dry
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. + 2 T. natural peanut butter
1/4 c. honey
1 t. baking powder
1/2 c. vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in food processor (I use a Ninja).  Blend until very smooth - scrape down edges periodically to make sure everything is blended.  Add chocolate chips and stir.

With wet hands form into 1" balls.  Place on parchment paper lined baking tray.  Press down slightly as cookies will not rise or expand very much.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Refrigerate.

Everyone tried them and everyone gave a thumbs up.  Even Dad!

Black Bean Brownies

For dessert I made a batch of my Black Bean Brownies that I found the recipe for a couple months ago and fell in love with.  Vegan and gluten free!

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 flax eggs (3T ground flax seed meal + 6T water)

3 T. coconut oil, melted

3/4 c. cocoa powder

1/4 t. salt

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 heaping c. raw sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 c. water

12 oz bag vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 12 slot standard size muffin pan.  Prepare flax eggs by combining flax and water in food processor or blender.  Pulse a couple times and then let rest for a few minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, except chocolate chips, and puree - about 3 minutes - scraping down sides as needed.  

You want it pretty smooth.  It should be slightly less thick than chocolate frosting but nowhere close to runny.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Evenly distribute batter into muffin tins.  Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top if wanted.  

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides.  Let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan.  Store in airtight container in the fridge.