Vegan Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies from Isa Moskowitz at the Post Punk Kitchen

These chewy, chocolaty cookies are completely vegan. Be careful not to overbake them. Recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Equipment

Blender or coffee grinder, 2 large bowls, mixing spatula, cookie sheets

Ingredients

3/4 cup canola oil

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon whole flax seeds

1/2 cup soy milk

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. Grind the flax seeds in a blender or coffee grinder until they become a powder. Add soy milk and blend for another 30 seconds or so. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
  4. In a separate bowl, cream together oil and sugar. Add the flax seed and soy milk mixture. Mix well. Add the vanilla.
  5. Fold in the dry ingredients in batches. When the batter gets too stiff to mix with a spatula, knead the dough with hands and mix in chocolate chips.
  6. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into discs. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet about an inch apart.
  7. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then set them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Variations

For chocolate chocolate chip cherry cookies, replace 1 teaspoon of the vanilla with almond extract, and replace 1/2 the chocolate chips with dried cherries.

For chocolate nut cookies, replace 1 teaspoon of the vanilla with a nut extract (almond, walnut, what have you) and replace the chocolate chips with 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts like hazelnuts, almonds or walnuts.

The Vegan Lifestyle

When Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson first used the word "vegan" to describe fellow nondairy vegetarians in November 1944, the diet and lifestyle were both decidedly uncool. Unsympathetic vegetarians even refused to associate themselves with the radical movement. Veganism developed a clubby, health-crazed reputation. The diet eventually became popular with countercultural movements -- most notably hippies -- but still maintained its air of exclusivity. Nowadays, many vegans try to play down the self-righteous reputation and promote veganism as a fun and even trendy lifestyle.

Vegan cooking has been, until recently, synonymous with mushy tofu and nutritional yeast. A growing interest in ethnic cooking, however, has made budding chefs realize that many cultures have delicious vegan meals built right into their cuisines. Middle Eastern foods like hummus, tahini and falafel, North African stews and tagines, Indian vegetable curries and adaptable Asian stir-fries let vegans enjoy eating and sharing their plant-based diets with nonvegan friends.

Vegan baking, on the other hand, seems like an ­impossibility. How do you make cake or cookies without milk, butter or eggs? Soy, rice or almond milks easily replace dairy milk. Ground flax seeds, silken tofu, soy yogurt, a vegan egg substitute or even bananas can stand in for eggs, while unsalted margarine or canola oil can replace butter. Vegan baking also appeals to people with egg allergies or lactose intolerance.

Vegans also abstain from wearing or using animal products -- leather, wool, silk and animal-based glues, dyes, cosmetics and chemicals. Trading in nice leather shoes, silk blouses and wool pants for Payless kicks and earthy-looking hemp shifts used to be one of the major sacrifices of veganism. But now vegan designers and stores cultivate a new aesthetic -- one that is cruelty-free, well-made and chic. The popular fashion designer Stella McCartney, a vegetarian, uses only natural fibers and imitation leather in her clothing.

The vegan lifestyle is transforming from one based on self-sacrifice to one centered on conscientious fun. Potential vegans attracted by the lifestyle's cachet or its ethical, environmental or health benefits should not, however, neglect their research. The diet is still a complicated one that requires professional consultation.

To learn more about food, dieting, vegetarians and other related topics, check out the links on the next page.