As a vegetarian (mostly vegan at home), I spend a lot of my time in the kitchen. It’s easier to control what you eat at home. Plus I enjoy cooking and baking on a regular basis. There’s something therapeutic about it, isn’t there?
Because I avoid dairy and eggs, my friends often ask about my baking habits. Mainly: How do you bake without eggs? Every recipe seems to have eggs in them, so what do I use instead?
Eggs are a binding agent. They help hold the batter together.
If you’ve ever worked with chia seeds before, you know they become sticky when you soak them in water for a minute or two. (Ever had to floss them out of your teeth?) So chia seeds work very well in place of eggs in all of your baking needs.
While you can use other substitutes – some prefer flax seeds, others prefer the egg substitutes you can buy in your favorite health food store – I’ve been using chia seeds for several years with great results.
Since I was a little girl, baking holiday cookies have been a part of our tradition. I didn’t want to give that up just because we’ve improved our eating habits. A girl’s gotta live, right? And I’ll never – NEVER – be without chocolate. That’s just not right! 😉
Oatmeal cookies have always been a favorite. So you’ll find my Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies on every platter that leaves my home this season. (And on many plates that stay at my home too.)
Give them a try. What do you think?
Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 20-30 cookies
Dry ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats (look for gluten free to make this recipe gluten free)
¾ cup flour (select what works best for you: all-purpose, whole wheat, gluten free, etc)
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
¼ cup melted coconut oil
¼ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup agave or pure maple syrup
2 chia seed eggs (2 heaping tablespoons chia seeds + 6 tablespoons water, whisked together and set for 10 minutes)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
Add in ingredients:
¾ cup vegan chocolate chips
¼ cup cacao nibs (optional)
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: oats, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients: coconut oil, coconut sugar, agave or maple syrup, chia seed eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Fold in chocolate chips and cacao nibs.
5. Drop a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a fork to flatten the cookies into round disks as they will not spread during baking.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Or freeze in a freezer friendly container for up to 2 months.