Chocolate Is Healthy

We can’t wait to try this vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe, courtesy of the Miami Herald.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice (such as Sucanet)
• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
• 1/4 cup flax meal
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325 degrees and place racks toward center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix the oil, applesauce, salt, vanilla and cane juice, blending well.

In another bowl, whisk the flour, flax meal, baking soda and xanthan gum.

Using a rubber spatula, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ones, stirring until a grainy dough forms. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Using a melon baller or 1-tablespoon measure, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 1 ½ inches apart. Gently press each with the heel of your hand to flatten slightly and help them spread.

Bake 15 minutes, rotating pans 180 degrees after 9 minutes. The finished cookies will be crisp on the edges and soft in the center. Cool on the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Source: Adapted from BabyCakes: Vegan, Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery by Erin McKenna (Clarkson Potter, $24).

Per serving: 118 calories (50 percent from fat), 7.5 g fat (5.5 g saturated, 0.7 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 0.9 g protein, 15.3 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 100.1 mg sodium.

Vegetarian Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies – Vegetarian Fare – MiamiHerald.com.