Happy Friday! This work week ended with a generous helping of delicious vegan chocolate chunk cookies for me and my coworkers. When I'm not writing about food or managing Vitamin Valentine, I'm working a full-time job as a community nutritionist for a nonprofit organization. At our office this week we celebrated the month of march (which also happens to be national nutrition month) with healthy baked goods. Yes, there is such a thing as a healthy baked good. Although I wouldn't advise anyone to go on a diet consisting of only muffins, cookies, or cupcakes, baked goods can be made a little healthier with a few simple substitutions. I try to use whole wheat or whole grain pastry flour in place of white flour, which adds a little more fiber and b-vitamins. Using applesauce and almond milk in place of large amounts of oil or butter also helps cut down on calories and fat. There are many other ways to make ordinary cookies a little healthier with some creativity. These vegan chocolate chunk cookies were a big hit and I hope you enjoy them too! Each cookie clocks in at just under 150 calories and makes around 14-16 large, fluffy cookies.
Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup brown sugar (unpacked)
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup almond milk
- ½ cup apple sauce
- ⅔ cup Earth Balance buttery spread (or, use ½ cup coconut oil)- softened
- 1 cup Enjoy Life vegan semi-sweet chocolate mega chunks
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and then put a sheet of parchment paper on top
- In a large bowl, mix softened earth balance or coconut oil with brown and white sugars, add vanilla extract. Mix with a spoon until uniform in consistency.
- In a separate bowl, add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together until mixed
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then add the almond milk and apple sauce and mix
- Add the chocolate chunks and mix well
- Using your hands, mold the dough into balls and then flatten. This recipe will make about 14-16 medium-large cookies, or 20-24 smaller cookies
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. For larger cookies, time may be longer.
- Allow to cool, share with your friends, family, or coworkers, and enjoy 🙂
-Jess
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