Before I started exclusively vegan baking, I loved making chocolate chocolate chip cookies. The kind I made were small and very chocolatey and came from a healthy cookbook. I have not made them in years, but started thinking about them today when I was in the mood for something chocolate.

Of course I would need to veganize them, but I also decided to make them gluten free. My mom is gluten intolerant and I am going to visit her next weekend and wanted to come up with something new to take to her.

The cookies ended up tasting even better than the original, in part because I used almond extract and in part because I added a bit of soy milk. The original recipe was always somewhat lacking in moisture.

I made these using my toaster oven, which is great in the summer because it doesn’t heat my whole apartment. The recipe will work just as well in a traditional oven.

Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 18 cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar firmly packed
1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened (or other vegan margarine)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla extract if you prefer)
1 flaxseed egg (1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed whisked briskly in small bowl with 3 Tablespoons water)
1 cup Meister’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour*
3 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, cream brown sugar and Earth Balance together until light and fluffy. Add the extract and flaxseed egg and mix well.

Add the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt and mix well. Stir in the soy milk until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes or until set. Cool for one minute on the pan and then move to wire cookie rack.

* Meister’s already includes xanthan gum in it, so if you use another kind like Bob’s Red Mill, you will probably need to add xanthan gum, per the package instructions.

This recipe is adapted from the Pillsbury Fast and Healthy Cookbook, 1998.