The *NEW* Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie!

Anybody remember this post from a year ago? The one where I touted a certain chocolate chip cookie as being "the best?" Yeah, well that was a good cookie - don't get me wrong - but it has now been replaced by these! This is the "Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies" recipe from Dreena Burton's cookbook, Vive le Vegan!(published by Arsenal Pulp Press).

If you don't already own this cookbook, you should get it, especially if you're the parent of a young child - it's chock full of kid-friendly recipes and tips. I pull this one down off the shelf at least twice a week. And I have owned this cookbook for well over a year, but I never tried the chocolate chip cookie recipe until yesterday.

I am seriously lamenting all the months I spent not knowing how fabulous these cookies are. These are easily the best vegan chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten. I just had to share this recipe! The problem with most vegan cookie recipes is that they are too cakey, not like their omnivorous counterparts whose massive infusions of butter make them so ooey-gooey soft on the inside and crispity-crunchy on the outside. I don't know how Dreena Burton did it, but she came up with a magical combination of ingredients that makes these cookies seem like they're baked with two sticks of butter. And she keeps the refined sugar to a minimum as well. Thank you, Dreena Burton. You are my new hero!

Be sure to follow the directions exactly as they are written. If you don't, your cookies may not turn out right. I know this because my first attempt at this recipe failed miserably when I went my own way with the mixing method.

Oh, and just a warning - you might want to put a lock on your cookie jar. My four-year-old loved these cookies so much she kept traveling back and forth to our Doctor Who Tardis Cookie Jar. I know this because the jar makes a sound every time it's opened and I heard that sound a lot yesterday!

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (or 1 1/4 cup spelt flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil (a little generous)
1/3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• In a bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the sugar and salt, and stir until well combined. 
• In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup with the molasses and vanilla, then stir in the oil until well combined. 
• Add the wet mixture to the dry, along with the chocolate chips, and stir through until just well combined (do not overmix).
• Place large spoonfuls of the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten a little.
• Bake for 11 minutes, until just golden (if you bake for much longer, they will dry out). 
• Let cool on the sheet for no more than 1 minute (again, to prevent drying), then transfer to a cooling rack.

Visit Dreena Burton's website, Plant Powered Kitchen!

Other cookbooks by Dreena Burton:

Let Them Eat Vegan!

Eat, Drink & Be Vegan

The Everyday Vegan