Chocolate chip cookie attempt #2

While my first attempt at veganizing chocolate chip cookies didn't go too badly, I still need something better.  I wasn't crazy about the aftertaste from Ener-G egg replacer, plus I didn't feel the cookies had enough depth of flavor.  So on with my search for a better vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe I went.

Surfing and googling led me to this recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies that looked promising for several reasons. First of all, no Ener-G egg replacer; instead it calls for 1 flax "egg" (1 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water), so it hopefully won't suffer from that chemical-y aftertaste.  Second, the flour component is a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour - I was interested in what extra flavor interest the use of whole wheat pastry flour might impart, plus with a lower gluten content relative to all-purpose, I wondered how it might also enhance texture. Third, it calls for cinnamon and molasses - great ways to improve the depth of flavor which was lacking in my previous attempt. Very promising recipe!

It's very straightforward in assembly. No biggie there. My only substitutions were regular vegan cane juice sugar for the brown sugar it calls for, so I added a little bit of extra molasses to create "instant brown sugar" in the mixer. It also calls for vegan buttery spread, but since I had Earth Balance in stick form I used that instead.

After 14 min (just as advised on the recipe if you're baking them on a Silpat), they were ready.

Texture-wise, they were chewy and moist without feeling too greasy, unlike my veganizing of the Nestle's Toll House cookie recipe. I'm not sure that the whole wheat pastry flour made a huge difference as far as texture goes. These weren't any lighter than a regular chocolate chip cookie, which in itself isn't a tough cookie at all to begin with (well, unless you over-bake them).

Flavor-wise, I was very pleased with these. The best way I can describe the cinnamon is "I could hear it in the background, at a distance." These were not cinnamony, which I was glad for because I tend to be a traditionalist for traditional things - too much changing around of a classic and it's no longer the classic; call is something else, then.  I felt the same way about the molasses. Both of these ingredients weren't the least bit overpowering to where they took center stage. But together they added a certain depth of flavor that made these anything but bland. The flaxseed "egg" could be detected but again, nothing overpowering. The cookie had a very nice, hearty flavor, and not too sweet, either.

If I were to change anything about these, I would change baking soda and use baking powder instead to see if they would rise a little more.  After all, the original Toll House recipe calls for baking soda but it also calls for eggs which contribute to leavening. While the flax "egg" helps with texture and binding, as far as I know it doesn't contribute anything in the rising department.

Overall, I found these better than the straight veganizing of the Toll House cookie. I'm hanging on to this printout!