The only thing better than a cookie is a cookie with filling. And, if you want to get really ambitious, the only thing better than a cookie with filling is one that also happens to be healthy. It’s your lucky day. This vegan gluten-free chickpea thumbprint cookie recipe is a delicious take on a classic that you can feel good about eating. Pinky swear.

It may seem weird to use chickpeas in a dessert recipe, but they actually work wonders. Chickpeas provide the bulk and density that flour, milk, and eggs would otherwise provide. Meanwhile, their taste is neutral enough to be manipulated by the recipe add-ins. That way, you can get the cookie experience without the animal protein, over-processed ingredients, and hard-to-digest fats without stinting on taste.

To make this cookie recipe even lighter, I tried omitting the nut butter. Even though the cookies tasted delicious, they were a lot more delicate to handle and didn’t hold together very well after being cooked. Because of the outcome I experienced, I recommend you stick to the exact recipe below for the best result.

Vegan Gluten-Free Chickpea Thumbprint Cookie Recipe

Makes 12-15 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
• ½ cup peanut or almond butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• ¼ cup coconut palm sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• ¼ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup sugar-free jam

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.

In a food processor, add the chickpeas, nut butter, vanilla extract, maple syrup, coconut palm sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend until smooth and then transfer to a medium bowl. Fold in the oats.

Roll the batter into one-and-a-half inch balls and place on the baking sheet. Press an indentation into the top of each cookie and fill with two teaspoons of fruit jam.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and firm. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before noshing. Enjoy!

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Macadamia nuts and white chocolate are like peanut butter and jelly – better together than apart. The following recipe for macadamia nut cookies banks on this classic combination, except in a healthier way.

Gone from the mix are white sugar, white flour, butter, and eggs. In their place are vegan alternatives that collectively bring you a dense and delicious cookie that doesn’t stint on flavor.

Ever since I began experimenting with vegan ingredients in my sweets and nixing refined flours and sugars, I’ve been having a lot more fun in the kitchen, resting assured that the product of my labor is a treat I can have at any time of the day, even breakfast. However, after awhile, my go-to recipes fail to excite me and I’m left starving for more.

I love vegan chocolate chip cookies, but it has long come the time to alter my base recipe so that it harnesses a unique twist. These vegan white chocolate macadamia nut cookies do just that. They’re buttery without the addition of any butter and sweet without the support of white sugar. And, better yet, their flavors are reminiscent of chocolate chip cookies but decidedly more mellow and calming.

If you have trouble finding vegan white chocolate chips, you can order some online in anticipation of making this recipe.

Enjoy!

Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Makes 12 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• ½ cup coconut palm sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Dash of salt
• ½ cup melted coconut oil
• ¼ cup almond milk, preferably homemade
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
• ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts
• ½ cup vegan white chocolate chips.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the coconut oil, milk, vanilla extract, and flaxseeds until evenly combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking power, sugar, and salt.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula. Add in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and mix well. The mixture will be thick and able to be handled with your hands.

Use cleans hands to roll 10-15 balls, placing them evenly apart on the baking sheet. Flatten each one slightly with the palm of your hand. Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the macadamia nut cookies are lightly brown. Let cool prior to serving.

Related on Ecosalon

Raw Vegan Linzer Cookies Recipe

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Macadamia cookies image via Shutterstock

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Vegan baking is an art of its own – what’s one to do without the butter, milk and eggs?

Vegan baked goods are just as delicious as their traditional counterparts, but they take a bit more honing in the kitchen to master, as well as a wider knowledge base of formerly unbeknownst-to-you ingredients and techniques.

Here are 21 vegan baking tips you should never enter the kitchen without.

1. For leavening, replace one egg with 2 teaspoons of baking soda mixed in 2 tablespoons of water.

2. For leavening, replace one egg with 1 teaspoon of baking powder mixed into 1 teaspoon of vinegar.

3. Also for leavening, replace one egg with 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds mixed in 3 tablespoons of water. Let set for a few minutes to thicken before using.

4. For binding, replace one egg with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed in 2 tablespoons of water.

5. For binding, replace one egg with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed in 2 tablespoons of water.

6. Also for binding, replace one egg with 2 tablespoons of instant mashed potatoes.

7. Replace 1 cup of buttermilk with 1 cup sweetened nondairy milk mixed with 2 tablespoons of either lemon juice or vinegar. Whisk until creamy.

8. Replace cow’s milk with equal amounts of either soy milk (for richer desserts), coconut milk (for richer desserts), almond milk or rice milk. Make sure all milks are unsweetened.

9. Use coconut oil in equal quantities as you would use butter. The best brand that offers that buttery effect without the coconut aftertaste includes Earth Balance and its many butter variations.

10. If you need to replace just one egg white, dissolve 1 tablespoon of plain agar in 1 tablespoon of water. Whip it, chill it and then whip it again.

11. One-half of a banana, mashed, also replaces one egg in baking.

12. Canola oil, or any light tasting oil, replaces butter well, just use slightly less than the measurement for butter. For example, if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of butter, use 1/3 cup of oil.

13. Vegan recipes often cook at cooler temperatures and for longer because they rely on sugars and starches for binding instead of dairy products. Keep this in mind when trying to turn a regular recipe vegan. Knock down the temperature by 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 5-10 minutes longer, keeping an eye on the baked good towards the tail end of its increased cooking time.

14. Buy organic and in bulk whenever possible. You’ll save money and support sustainable farmers.

15. Don’t be afraid to experiment – that’s how you learn!

16. High fat non-diary milks, like coconut milk, can stand in for cream in a recipe.

17. Always taste as you go – there are no raw eggs in there, so make sure you taste the mixture to determine any missing ingredients or whether you should adjust the balance of sweetness.

18. So-called “hard” flours have a higher protein content (all purpose, winter wheat and spring wheat) and are fit for studier baking, like for breads. “Soft” flours (pastry and cake) are better fit for fluffy recipes, such as pies, tarts, cakes and cookies. Gluten-free flours fall into the “soft” category, but you can always add in xantham gum when baking gluten free to offer the recipe more structure.

19. If you are worried about sugar, try a healthier sweetener, like agave, maple syrup or organic brown rice syrup. The proportion for substituting white sugar for liquid sweeteners, however, is not 1:1. Research how to strike the perfect balance.

20. Avoid vegetable oil, because it leaves behind an aftertaste. Stick to canola, which is light and aroma free.

21. Frost a cake when it is cold so you don’t mess up the amazing vegan baking job you accomplished up until that point.

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The post 21 Essential Vegan Baking Tips for the Egg and Dairy-Free Kitchen appeared first on EcoSalon.

15 Christmas cookie recipes, and a few classic candies, that are all vegan-friendly.

Just like Halloween candy, there are plenty of Christmas treats that are easy to make vegan versions of at home, which means you don’t have to miss out on gingerbread, and all the other seasonal delights. And even if you’re not vegan, your vegan friends will be happy that you made them a range of tasty holiday sweets.

1. Sugar Cookies

Would it be Christmas without a round of baking out sugar cookies? Hardly. Which is why you should put these on your holiday baking list.

2. Peppermint Patties

Like a candy cane dunked in chocolate. And these ones happen to be no-bake.

3. Rum Balls

Made with walnuts, these are a creative twist on the holiday classic.

4. Thumbprint Cookies

With a center of jam, these cookies always look festive on a holiday platter, this time made with a base of roasted almonds.

5. Muddy Buddies

Also known as puppy chow, this classic Christmas candy is a party staple that’s a sweeter version of chex mix. Make it with dark chocolate, coconut oil and a dash of cardamom for good measure and you have a sweet treat that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser.

6. Pfeffernusse

This German gingerbread – “pfeffernusse” translates to “pepper nuts” – is spicy and full of the rich flavor of molasses.

7. Fruitcake

While many people joke about it, this rum infused one is sure to be dense, moist and hard to pass up.

8. Soft Ginger Cookies

Big, candied ginger filled cookies paired with a hot mug of tea? You’ll never want December to end.

9. Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

Crinkle cookies are fun because of how they look. It’s hard not to want to bite in.

10. Raspberry Filled Butter Cookies

Essentially a tasty gluten-free and vegan shortbread filled with raspberry jam. Yes, please.

11. Gingerbread Cookies

This mostly raw version gets all the gingerbread spices into one simple and tasty cookie.

12. Fudge

Vegan fudge? Oh yes, it can be done, and with only five ingredients you will probably be making several batches.

13. Florentines

This delicate and crispy almond cookie (which is vegan and gluten-free) is laced with chocolate and infused with orange zest.

14. Snickerdoodles

Topped with cinnamon, this a good go-to cookie that almost everyone loves, and in a vegan version, even more people will love it!

15. Raw Vegan Egg Nog

You have to have something to go with your cookies after all, right?

Related on EcoSalon:

8 Vegan Substitutions for the Most Common Kitchen Ingredients

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Image: mnolte, Anna Brones, Jennifer Barckley, VeganBaking.net

The post 15 Vegan Christmas Cookie Recipes (and Other Treats) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Almost every family has its own chocolate chip cookie recipe scratched on a piece of paper, smudged and smeared by flour, eggs, and butter, handed down through generations. But what’s that delicious baked-good doing to your insides?

My grandmother always added a pudding flour mix to her batch, which gave her chocolate chip cookies a special flavor I still dream about. While there are many variations, most chocolate chip recipes have one thing in common: they aren’t good for your physical health.

Not that a cookie has to be good for you in order to enjoy it fully, but if you are the kind of person who loves cookies and would like to eat them as a regular treat, making a few ingredient tweaks could be the difference between a cookie every week or a cookie every day. I’m all about the latter. Before we get into the chocolate chip cookie recipe that will make this dream come true, let’s breakdown the nutrition of this timeless treat.

What’s In A Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe?

One medium-sized traditional chocolate chip cookie has about 60 calories, 2.7 grams of fat, 3 milligrams of cholesterol, 8 grams of carbohydrates (with only .2 grams in the form of dietary fiber), and not much else going for it, nutritionally speaking. Sure, there it’s got eggs and milk, which have their host of health benefits, but their positive contribution ultimately drowns in the empty nutritional value of white flour, sugar, and chocolate – to say nothing of the detrimental effects of low-quality eggs and milk.

On the whole, a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe isn’t the end of the world. Even with all those calories a chocolate chip cookie isn’t going to ruin your dietary goals if eaten every once in awhile. And the comfort of warm chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven is such a source of calm and happiness for the soul, the gratification almost outweighs the health setback.

If only we could bring the two together – to get the warm, bubbly feeling of chocolate chip cookies without that looming sense of having to hold back after one bite? Well, I’m here to tell you that we can.

This chocolate chip cookie recipe is vegan and replaces white flour with whole-wheat flour and white sugar with turbinado sugar, which is a minimally-processed with more texture and a taste akin to brown sugar. The result will surprise you, as the cookies are firm but soft on the inside and give you all the satisfaction of having had a cookie, but all in good conscience. Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Makes 15-20

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2-3/4 cup carob chips
• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup water

Directions: Mix the dry ingredients with the carob chips. Add the oil and vanilla and then mix until evenly combined. Roll into tablespoon-sized balls and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes. Dip in almond milk!

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Vegan This: Gluten-Free Raspberry-Filled Butter Cookies

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EcoSalon Recipes: Oatmeal Harvest Recipes

Image Credit: GlowKitchen

The post Finally! A Delicious, Guilt-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.