Happy Holidays Blogging Family!

This weekend I had a blast baking cookies and having friends over to kick off the winter holiday season. It’s so beautiful to see my friends and family celebrate their Jewish and Christian heritage together. We watched Elf and Little Fockers, did some paper crafts, drank chai tea lattes and apple cider (I’ll post the recipes soon), and shared our favorite cookies. Its how the holidays should be!

That being said, I wanted to mix things up a bit and try out some new flours and vegan butters. I am baking and eating eggs now due to a B12 deficiency but feel free to substitute the eggs with your favorite egg substitute.  I found Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking flour as the best substitute for all-purpose flour. My favorite vegan butter by far is Miyokos’ European Style Butter. I hope the tips below help with making wonderful baking memories this year into next.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 18 cookies     Prep Time: 20 minutes       Bake Time: 8-10 min

Ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 flour
¾ teaspoon of Morton kosher salt (omit if using salted butter)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted vegan butter, softened at room temp.*
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg and 2 large egg yolks (or 2 servings of your favorite egg substitute)**
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder.
3. In a mixer, cream together butter and sugars until combined.
4. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
5. Mix in the dry ingredients until combined.
6. Add half of a 12 oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Stir well with a wooden spoon.
7. Roll dough into balls and place them evenly spaced on non-stick cookie sheets.
8. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes. Take them out when they are just starting to turn a golden color.
9. Let them sit on the baking rack for 2 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack. Enjoy warm from the oven!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Yield: 18 cookies        Prep Time: 20 minutes       Bake Time: 10-12 min

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup extra light tasting olive oil
2 large farm fresh eggs or egg substitute of your choice**
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking flour or baking flour of your choice
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Directions:
1. With a whisk, whip together sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla extract, and eggs (or your favorite egg substitute).
2. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Mix well.
3. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 2 hours or if you’d prefer overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F.
5. Shape cookie dough into balls and place on a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
6. Once cookies are slightly cooled, move them to a wire rack to fully cool down. Dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Tips:
* The only vegan butter that I use is Miyokos. I usually get the European Style without salt. This time I got the hint of sea salt because it was the only option at my local grocery store. If you get this kind simply remove the salt from the recipes above.
** When picking out eggs go local if you can and check the certifications. If it is certified humane like Vital Farms then I’ll buy it. I’m lucky to live by so many little family farms and often will go there to pick up fresh eggs.