In 2009, my husband and I discovered Babycakes, a gluten-free, vegan bakery that started in New York City and is now known as Erin McKenna’s Bakery – and I have the original Babycakes-branded cookbook to prove it!
Everything in Erin’s bakeries, which are now also in Los Angeles and at Disney Springs in Orlando, and in her cookbooks is amazing. Of everything on offer, my favorite is still perhaps the simplest: chocolate chip cookies. I’ve made them more times than I can count, and I’ve modified the recipe a bit to fit my family’s tastes. I’m excited to share my slightly modified but very much inspired by Erin recipe below.
With ingredients like applesauce, flax meal, coconut oil and dark chocolate chips, you can file these under “healthiest chocolate chip cookies ever.” To take them to the next level, nestle some of your favorite dairy-free ice cream between two and enjoy a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. Fair warning: You’ll want more than one.
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Equipment
- Two sheet pans
- Two medium bowls
- Melon baller
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut oil in liquid form*
- 6 tbsp applesauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups coconut sugar
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour
- ¼ cup flax meal
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1½ tsp xanthan gum
- 1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Line the two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix together oil, banana, salt, vanilla and coconut sugar.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, flax meal, baking soda and xanthan gum.
- Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until a grainy dough is formed.
- Fold in the chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.
- Using a melon baller, scoop the dough onto each cookie sheet. Be sure to space the cookies about two inches apart, placing 12 on each cookie sheet, for a total of 24 cookies.
- Bake the first sheet on the center rack for 13 minutes, rotating 180 degrees after 8 minutes.
- When they’re done, the cookies will be brown on the bottom and will hold their shape.
- Repeat with the second cookie sheet.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Optional step: When you’re ready to serve, scoop some of your favorite non-dairy ice cream onto one cookie, top with another and enjoy!
- Cookies can be stored for up to five days, and they freeze very nicely.
