Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Treats (8 page)

½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
⅔ cup canola oil
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
(or your favorite nondairy milk)
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two large baking sheets.

2. Combine sugars, oil, almond milk, and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl. Use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until the mixture resembles smooth caramel. There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it’s important that you don’t get lazy about that step. Mix in the vanilla.

3. Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rest of the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will be a little stiff so use your hands to really work the chips in.

4. For 3-inch cookies, roll the dough into balls about the size of Ping-Pong balls. Flatten them out in your hands to about 2½ inches. As they cook, they will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes—no more than 9—until they are just a little browned around the edges. We usually get 16 out of these so we do two rounds of eight cookies. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks.

5. For two dozen 2-inch cookies roll dough into walnut-size balls and flatten to about 1½ inches and bake for only 6 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

⅓ cup nondairy milk
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
½ cup canola or peanut oil
⅓ cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon finely shredded orange zest
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup finely shredded carrots, lightly
packed
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, beat together the nondairy milk, flax seeds, oil, brown sugar, sugar, orange zest, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Stir to moisten ingredients and fold in the carrots, coconut, walnuts, and raisins. Dough will be sticky and moist.

3. Drop generous tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes until the edges are brown and the tops are firm. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to wire racks to complete cooling.

Morsels

 

For best texture,
use the smallest hole
on your shredder to
grate the carrots.

 

 

LEMON GLAZE

 

A quick and light drizzle to fancy up GINGERBREAD BISCOTTI (page 207) or any cookie.

 

1½ cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients using a fork or a wire whisk until smooth. Combine to form a glaze that’s thin enough to drizzle from a fork or be easily piped from a pastry bag with a small round tip.

2. If the glaze is too thick, whisk in 1 teaspoon at a time of either nondairy milk or water. If it’s too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar by the tablespoon until a desired consistency is reached.

 

2 cups quick-cooking oats
1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ cups sugar
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
⅔ cup nondairy milk
⅔ cup canola oil
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
¾ cup chocolate chips
1 cup dried cherries, chopped, or raisins
(optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium-size bowl, stir together oats, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, flax seeds, and nondairy milk until smooth. Add the oil and the vanilla and almond extracts and beat until well mixed. Fold in half of the flour mixture to moisten, then fold in the remaining half. Just before the mixture is completely combined, fold in the chocolate chips and dried cherries or raisins, if desired.

4. For each cookie drop 2 generous tablespoons of dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie. If desired, flatten slightly with moistened fingers or the moistened back of a measuring cup. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until cookies are firm and risen. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire racks to complete cooling. Store in a tightly covered container.

Morsels

 

Leave the dough unflattened
for more chewy cookies
or flatten a bit for a
firmer texture.