Cookie's Cookies (vegan and gluten free)

I call these beautiful, crispy yet chewy cookies "Cookie's Cookies" after my Mother.
She is the very best baker I know.
But she is not vegan, nor does she bake that way.  So I had to find a way to replicate her famous chocolate chip cookies.  I adapted slightly, Erin McKenna's recipe from Babycakes, a vegan bakery here in downtown Manhattan.  Love that place!  Erin wrote a terrific cook book of all her delicious vegan and mostly gluten free treats from the bakery, and from the base of that recipe, I found my Cookie's Cookie vegan counterpart! 

In case any one was wondering...my mother's nickname Cookie was given to her by the nurse in the hospital when she was born. She has been called that name all of her life. And not because she bakes the most outstanding cookies.  Although in my heart,  I am sure that is why she can....

Cookie's Cookies

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper

In a medium bowl mix together:

1 cup of canola oil

6 tablespoons of unsweetened organic applesauce

1 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons best quality vanilla extract

1  cup evaporated cane juice

1/4 cup organic light brown sugar

In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients:

2 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour

1/4 cup flax meal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum

Then combine the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently incorporate with a spatula.

Gently mix in:

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Gluten free batters benefit from a few minutes of rest in the bowl while the xantham gum does its thing.  Wait 5-10 minutes and then using a cookie scooper, place the dough on the prepared pans 2 inches apart.  These cookies spread to be flat and crispy (and chewy!).

Bake 12-15 minutes or until the edges are crispy and the tops look golden.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Delicious warm! 

These cookies will keep in an airtight container for a few days. I always freeze half the batch in an airtight container for my husband, who likes to help himself to one or two before bed.  

He loves them frozen...I stick them in the microwave for 20 seconds and the chocolate melts a little...Yum!