These have become my go-to vegan cookies - I bring them to gatherings and parties and I make them for myself when I want a really good chocolate chip cookie. They are really that good and my family tells me they can't tell that they are egg and dairy free - WIN!
I do want to emphasize this - it is important to use one of these two types of vegan butters (I have tried all of them and they are not all the same when it comes to baking). My number one pick for baking is Country Crock with Avocado Oil (sometimes it is hard to find, so stock up when you do because it is the best). My runner up pick for vegan butter to bake with is Earth Balance (in stick form). This is a much easier butter to find and it'll substitute it in a pinch for Country Crock. If you use a different type of butter, this cookie might not turn out as ULTIMATE as mine! Just sayin'......
On another note, I make these cookies with gluten free flour all the time. I ONLY use King Arthur GF Measure for Measure. You can try another brand (I have tried them all), but again, they might not turn out as ULTIMATE as mine if you aren't using the brands I bake with.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 sticks vegan butter, softened (Country Crock with Avocado Oil OR Earth Balance)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 flax egg (1 TBL ground flaxseed + 2 1/2 TBL water)
1 Tbl molasses
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups oats (use GF oats for Gluten Free- I use Bob's Red Mill)
1 + 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (for GF use King Arthur Measure for Measure GF baking flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves OR ground nutmeg (I use cloves)
1 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (I use 1/2 cup of the mini chips and 1/2 cup of the mega chunks)
Preheat oven to 350 F
Prepare the flax egg. Combine ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl. Stir together, then set aside for 5 min for it to thicken.
Add the softened vegan butter, brown sugar, and sugar to a large bowl. Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy using a handheld mixer. Add the flax egg, molasses, and vanilla extract. Blend until combined.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix together until just combined. Add the oats and stir again. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop the dough into round balls and transfer to the baking sheet- I used a 2 Tbl cookie scoop. Gently press the dough with your hands to flatten them a little bit. Bake for 8 - 12 minutes until lightly golden. I know this is a large window of time - but everyone's oven bakes differently. Watch the first batch to get an idea of how long they need to bake. Generally, I bake the cookies in my convection oven for 9 to 10 minutes. I like to slightly underbake my cookies so they stay soft. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool and firm up on the sheet for about 20 minutes.