Earlier this week a few of my classmates and I spent the entire day trying to create a vegan, health-supportive version of the traditional Toll House chocolate chip cookie. We had some failures, but in the end came up with a pretty good product- it wasn’t quite as good as the buttery, sugary version, but it was darn delicious in its own right. Several of you asked for the final recipe, so here it is!

(Keep in mind that some of the ingredients are quite hard to find/expensive and the measurements are kind of random. I’m not sure how other sugars or substitutes would work, but if you give it a go and turn out with something better, let me know!)

Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe and the Natural Gourmet Institute

Prep time: 15 min, Cook time: 25 minutes. Yields about 24 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 7 tablespoons canola oil
• 6 tablespoons Rapadura or Sucanat
• 6 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple crystals
• 1 tablespoon ground flax meal, mixed with 3 tablespoons room temperature water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 7 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Sunspire or grain-sweetened chocolate chips

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl using a paddle attachment or hand mixer, cream together oil and sugars until well combined.

3. Add flax egg and vanilla; beat to incorporate.

4. In a separate bowl, sift together flours, baking powder and salt.

5. Beat flour mixture into wet ingredients in 1/2 cup increments until flour is completely incorporated.

6. Using a rubber spatula, fold in chocolate chips.

7. Using a small ice cream scoop, drop dough onto cookie sheets in golfball-sized shapes.

8. Cook 20-30 minutes, or until centers are firm enough to press lightly without spreading.

9. Remove from oven and let cool about 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Have you ever tried “healthifying” or veganizing a traditional recipe? How did it turn out?