Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (see note)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄4 cup unrefined sugar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1⁄3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1⁄4 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
  
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 cup canola oil
• 1⁄3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F (176 C).

In a bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the sugar and salt, and stir until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup with the molasses and vanilla, then stir in the oil until well combined.

Add the wet mixture to the dry, along with the chocolate chips, and stir through until just well combined (do not over-mix).

Place large spoonfuls of the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten a little.

Bake for 11 minutes, until just golden (if you bake for much longer, they will dry out). Let cool on the sheet for no more than 1 minute (again, to prevent drying), then transfer to a cooling rack.

Yield: 12 Cookies

Note: Unbleached all-purpose flour or spelt flour produces a more classic cookie taste and texture, but you can use whole-wheat pastry flour and still get a delicious cookie. For a wheat-free version, use spelt flour, but add an extra 2-4 tablespoons of the spelt flour to the dry mix (the amount needed varies with brand of spelt flour and whether you are using a refined spelt flour versus a less processed spelt flour).

Recipe by Dreena Burton