Life-Changing, Vegan, Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ugh. Gluten-free baking.

I don’t know how you people do it! Give me vegan baking any day of the week… that stuff I get! But gluten-free? Nope. So much more complicated.

In the past, I’ve pretty much defaulted to a gluten-free flour mix, but honestly, there are very few of those out there that are any good. They all just taste like chalk to me. Maybe that’s because I’m not a celiac and I’m not gluten free, but I struggle with the dry texture of many gluten-free baked goods.

Recently, I decided I was going to conquer my fears and I was going to create a recipe for an allergen-free Chocolate Chip Cookie. That meant no: eggs, dairy, flour or nuts.

Challenge accepted!

There’s also the issue of cost. You’d think a recipe that included “less” would also be less expensive to make, but that’s just not true. Gluten-free baking mixes are expensive, and many flour replacements, like almond meal or coconut flour, are not cheap.

So, my challenge was to come up with a recipe that was vegan, gluten free, contained no nuts, and ideally included cheaper ingredients.

It was a tall order, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing a cookbook, it’s that failure isn’t the end. Failure is just a stepping stone. I’ve been working on this recipe for a couple of weeks now, adding, subtracting, tweaking, and I finally got it to where I am satisfied.

Earlier versions crumbled like dust, but adjustments to the ratios of flours and a lot of research finally brought me to this.

These are really good. I challenge you to even be able to tell if they are gluten free. They are chewy and soft and really, really delicious.

I want to shout out Enjoy Life Foods. I have been a big fan of their allergen-free, vegan chocolate chips for quite some time now, but they just released a chocolate mega chunk that rocks my world. This stuff is the bomb.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegan butter or coconut oil
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp aquafaba
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp chickpea flour
• 1/4 cup sorghum flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (recommend: Enjoy Life Chocolate Mega Chunks)

Method

1. Place the oats in a blender and blend well until they achieve a flour-like consistency.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, place the vegan butter, brown sugar, coconut sugar, vanilla and aquafaba. Mix slowly at first, and then turn up the speed to whip it for a minute.
3. Add the baking powder and the salt, and mix briefly.
4. Add the rest of the dry ingredients, and mix at low speed until combined. Add in the chocolate chips and mix just to combine.
5. Place the bowl in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to rest.
6. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Scoop the cookies out and drop by tablespoons on to greased cookie sheets.
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a tightly-lidded container.

Save