Rich Chocolate Cookies
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegan margarine (I use 1 1/4 sticks)
1 cup vegan sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pure cocoa powder
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 cup chocolate chips, optional
1/4 cup chopped pecans for topping, optional
1/4 cup sliced almonds for topping, optional
powdered sugar, for garnish, optional
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. With a electric mixer, cream together margarine and sugar. Add applesauce and vanilla, and mix.
2. In another bowl, mix together cocoa, flour, soda and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix until combined.
3. Stir in chocolate chips, if desired. Place tablespoons of dough on a nonstick ungreased cookie sheet and top with pecans and/or almonds, if using.
4. Bake for 9 minutes. Let cool on sheet for a bit then remove and let cool on wire wrack or plate. If desired, once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.
Source of recipe: Modified version of http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/top-secret-chocolate-cookies-recipe/i...
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This are remarkably good cookies for a pretty simple recipe. I used brown sugar and whole wheat pastry flour, and incorporated chopped walnuts in cookie dough. Baked cookies for 10 minutes. I think it helps to cream wet ingredients with a mixer. The cookies were puffed up a bit when I removed them from the oven, but they settled down when cooling and developed a wonderful surface texture and soft inside.
This is a most excellent recipe!! I used Ener-g Egg Replacer for 1 egg instead of the applesauce (I dont keep applesauce handy - its for celebration only) & I also added a dab of coconut yogurt. Soo0o0o good!!
This recipe is almost the same as the "Awesome Chocolate Cookies," also on vegweb (http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6355.0). They are very good, but only after completely cool. They had no flavor right out of the oven but once cooled were great. Like a brownie taste in a cookie. I used whole wheat pastry flour and parts Smart Balance Light and Earth Balance Whipped for the butter. I had to bake them for about 13 minutes and probably could've let them go a couple more minutes if I wanted them crispier. I made 1/2 the recipe and got 12 cookies. Also, just used a fork instead of a hand mixer to "cream" the butter and sugar. I didn't add chips or nuts but these would be great with walnuts.
My niece wanted to make chocolate cookies and this was the first recipe on the list so we made these... and I am glad we did because they were awesome. Thanks for the recipe, this is a keeper.