Vegan chia chocolate chip cookies
Should I be feeling guilty over the inherent laziness in what is essentially a re-post...again? If yes, then maybe I can bake you some of these and all will (hopefully) be forgiven. Or maybe not. I've been marveling recently at the satisfying effectiveness of consciously bringing mindful eating behaviors to the table, literally. Food tastes better and less is more satiating. These cookies could threaten to hijack the zen from my personal slow food movement experiment at home.
I love the concept of mindful eating, and generally would have thought myself to abide by the principles. Except a few weeks ago, I started to catch myself enacting certain habits I hadn't realized I'd created over the past few busy years, like racing through dinner to get on with clean-up before Little Chef bedtime routines, or grabbing handfuls of food on the fly. Slowing down and checking in with myself refreshed energy levels I hadn't even noticed had gone stagnant. I've been a little awed by the power of being just that little bit more conscious, since.
Then there are these cookies. They're just so scrumptious. Easy to relish slowly, but just as easy to gobble...a little bit tougher to keep from relishing too much, maybe.
I loved the original version, but I haven't been baking them. Because, despite how it may appear, we don't eat cookies that much. And while the originals are "healthier" than your typical cookies, they aren't even close to being as close to actually healthy as other also yummy options.
Rather than ramble about all the things behind the 'why'of not baking chia chip cookies...back to this vegan variation. My friend Angie had a surplus of chia seeds and kindly gave us a jar. Her husband further graciously blew out our sprinklers. And I wanted to experiment with vegan chocolate chip cookies because, fun. See where this is going? I wasn't sure whether subbing in two flax eggs for one real egg would work, or if a coconut and olive oil combination would beat out butter, but what came out of the oven was divine. Better than the original, even.
I used One Degree Organic's sprouted whole wheat flour for these. Since discovering their quality, sprouted whole grain, organic flours about a year ago, I've been using them almost exclusively...the *almost* being for the notable exceptions of chickpea and almond flours (which aren't carried by the brand). Baking with these quality flours, we experienced immediate benefits like (significantly) better digestion and delicately enhanced taste and improved texture of baked goods. Over the course of the year, I've learned so much more about the health benefits that come from carefully sourced, trusted grains, as well as from thoughtful methods. Sprouting, for instance, naturally unlocks nutrients, making them readily available and easily digested. Sprouted grains seem to deliver a special lightness and milder, but more delicious flavor, too.
Little things making a big difference is common knowledge enough to be cliché , which is maybe part of why the impact of those little things still comes as such a pleasant surprise. Mindful eating, sprouted grains. Slashing back on smartphone time...may as well throw that in there, being both tough and worthwhile enough. And cookies. Sometimes you just can't underestimate the power of a cookie for brightening a day. :)
Chia chocolate chip cookies
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup sprouted whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup flax meal
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
dash salt
1/4 cup liquid coconut oil
1/4 cup olive or canola oil
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup aquafaba (drained chickpea water)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate pieces or semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl mix together flour, baking soda, salt, flax meal and chia seeds.
In a small saucepan, combine oil, coconut sugar, brown sugar, aquafaba and vanilla; add to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in chocolate pieces or chips.
Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls, at least 1 inch apart, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies until firm around the edges and golden on top, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.