Flax Seed "Eggs"

I posted my favorite Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies a little while ago and they are still my favorite cookies (just ask my pants).

I was making them the other night and realized I was out of eggs.

Oh dear!  What was I to do?

Try them vegan style of course!

(apologies for the weird pic.  it was late.)

I pulled out my sprouted flax and gave it a go.

Guess what?  The cookies turned out better than I expected.

I couldn't tell a difference.

So how do you turn flax into eggs?

I'll tell you...

In a bowl whisk together:

1 tablespoon ground flax

3 tablespoons water

(This will equal 1 egg.)

Let it sit for about 10 or 15 minutes,
until it has an egg-like consistency.

I stirred mine a few times while I was waiting.

I was verrrrry curious.

Why did I use sprouted flax?

It was 10:00 at night.

I was too lazy to pull out my flax seed and coffee grinder, although it probably would have taken about 16 extra seconds to do it that way.  :)

Give it a try.

I promise, you won't be able to tell a difference!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

For the past two years I have tried, tried, and tried again to tweak the Nestle Tollhouse Cookie recipe to be.....hmmmmmm, maybe a bit less "bad for me".  I have made a few batches of cookies that went straight into the garbage.  Some of the batches were edible.  Others were eaten only by me.

Imagine my excitement when I came across this recipe last fall.  It at least had whole wheat flour.  And the cookies were not flat pancakes.  I decided to give them a try.

I am so glad I did.  (Well, maybe I'm not.  I ate 14 of these little bad boys the other day.  That is not an

exaggeration - or lie, if anything I am underestimating the number I ate that day.  I try to keep it under 10.)  I have played around with this recipe a bit - replacing the sugars and butter - and they are still delicious, and not at all like a pancake.  So, if you want the regular version of these cookies, click on the link above the picture.  If you want my made-over recipe, read on.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

{printable recipe}

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup coconut oil (not melted)

1/2 cup Turbinado sugar

1/2 cup Sucanat*

1/2 cup agave

2 cage-free, organic eggs**

2 teaspoons vanilla

semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use about 1/2 bag of the chunks or 1/3 bag of the mini-chips.)

* I have been using coconut sugar in place of the Sucanat.  I have also used more Turbinado and less Sucanat.  Play around with it but keep the total sugar to about 1 - 1 1/2 cups.

**I am going to try using flax seeds or chia seeds in place of the eggs in the future.  I'll let you know how that goes.  

{I have tried this recipe using flax seed as eggs.  So yummy.  I couldn't tell a difference - for real!  You can check out how to substitute them here.}

Preheat the oven to 350.  

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Set aside.

Beat coconut oil and sugar together in large bowl, or in bowl of a stand mixer, until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat to combine.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two batches and mix.  Add the chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.

Using a cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon), scoop dough and place on nonstick cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-8 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

I made a double batch of these cookies the other day and lined a baking sheet with wax paper/parchment paper.  I scooped balls of dough onto the sheet and then placed it in the freezer until the balls were solid. Then I put the dough balls (is there a better name for them???) in a ziplock bag.  Now we can pull them out and bake a few at a time.  I'll just cook them a minute or two longer.

No Bake Cookies

 I went to a retreat a few months ago where I was able to learn how to "cook" raw food.  Three amazing women shared some of their recipes:  Raw Melissa, Green Smoothie Girl, and Gluten-Free Desi.  I ended up buying some of their cookbooks and am soooo glad that I did.  The recipes I have made have been delicious.  I was desperately in need of chocolate yesterday, so I whipped up some of these No Bake No Bakes from Raw Melissa's cookbook "FAVES".  They are so yummy, and taste so much like regular "cooked" no bake cookies.

Raw Melissa's No Bake No Bakes

makes 15-20 cookies

4 cups rolled oatmeal

1/2 cup almond butter (I used Kirkland organic peanut butter)

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

3/4 cup agave

1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon salt

Mix by hand in a bowl.  Drop by spoonfuls on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Put in freezer until hardened.  Eat and enjoy.

**Once mine were hard, I put them in a ziploc bag in the fridge.  Next time I might try mixing the dry ingredients together first and then adding the wet.

The kids like them too.  I have a hard time finding "healthy" snacks that they will eat.  Especially since we have eaten so much candy the past few weeks.  Hello!  Comfort food!  I think these will become a staple.

I hope you enjoy!!