Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Need a reminder of the wholesome things in the world? Need a hug?
Have a cookie.
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
*1/2 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
*2 vegan eggs
*1 heaping tablespoon applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup gluten-free baking flour
3 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
Process
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.
*In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter, white sugar, brown sugar on a medium speed.
In a separate bowl, combine the vegan eggs, applesauce and vanilla. Whisk together.
*Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vegan egg mix. Mix together on a low speed.
*Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the salt, baking soda, cinnamon, flour and chocolate chips by hand.
Mix in the oats.
*Drop the cookies by large spoonfuls onto the baking sheet and gently shape them into discs with your fingers. Place them 1-2 inches apart.
Bake for 12-13 minutes.
*Allow the cookies to cool on a baking sheet at least 5 minutes.
*Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
*Notes
Vegan butter - Earth Balance baking sticks are my go-to fake butter because they’re easier to manage and better for my grocery budget than the fancy-ass vegan butters (which I totally splurge on from time to time).
Vegan eggs - In my recipes, 1 vegan egg = 1 tablespoon milled flax seeds + 2 1/2 tablespoons water. Whisk these together in a small bowl and let sit for 5+ minutes before using in a recipe.
“Milled” just means ground. You can buy whole flax seeds and grind them into milled seeds if you can’t find pre-milled seeds at the store.
Applesauce - I add applesauce for extra sweetness and moisture. Applesauce can be used as an egg replacement as well (it helps things stick together) but when used alone as a replacement, it can take over the flavor of the whole recipe after it’s baked (everything tastes like graham crackers!?).
Mixing speeds/by hand - The speed at which you mix something can really affect the texture of the final product. I used a medium speed to cream the butter and sugars together so that they were thoroughly mixed. I used a lower speed to fold in the wet ingredients so that I didn’t obliterate them into the mix and cause the cookies to bake too thin. I mixed the dry ingredients in by hand so that the dough didn’t turn out tough.
Large spoonfuls - Because I don’t need to pretend to be a delicate lady about eating cookies. When I say “large spoonfuls”, I mean I use a full soup spoon to scoop and drop these onto the sheet. I keep it within reason, otherwise they won’t bake properly, but my cookies are about 2+ inches in size before I bake them.
Cooling on the sheet/Transferring to wire rack - This is actually really important. Cooling on the sheet for a few minutes helps cookies set. If you moved them to a wire rack immediately, they’d fall apart. Cookie crumbles, though still delicious by the handful, just aren’t as satisfying as taking the first bite into a whole cookie. After setting, transferring the cookies to a wire rack allows them to cool evenly. I’ve found that cooling cookies completely on a baking sheet makes them too crunchy, as opposed to soft and chewy like perfect cookies should be.
Let’s be real - a cookie can’t really come close to the feeling of being enveloped in your favorite person. But these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are rich, soft, warm and cinnamon-y, and wholesome enough to be your band-aid for the time being.