The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (For Real, Though)

These chocolate chip cookies are probably my favorite homemade cookies ever. They're soft and full of gooey chocolate chips.These are the kind of cookie you have to stop yourself from eating a dozen at once. The kind of cookie you want to eat warm right out of the oven. The kind of cookie that might not even make it into the oven because even the dough is irresistible (and hey, since they're vegan there's no raw eggs to worry about; although if you do happen to devour the entire recipe of dough, don't blame me for the ensuing stomach ache).

But enough of my obvious chocolate chip cookie obsession and on to the recipe. There 're only a couple things to remember with this one. Most importantly, don't be lazy when mixing the sugar with the milk and oil. There is a chemical reaction that occurs when mixing the sugar and oil and it is crucial to the recipe. The next thing is if you do not have tapioca powder, you can substitute equally with arrowroot or cornstarch. As far as chocolate chips go, most semi-sweet chocolate chips are going to be vegan, but double check the ingredients to make sure there is no hidden milk ingredients. I used Trader Joe's brand in this recipe, but another favorite is Ghirardelli or Enjoy Life.

Here it is, y'all:

The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
Adapted from a recipe in Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Brown sugar (I use this method to make mine from white sugar)
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour (see above for substitute)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups chocolate chips

First, preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Take a medium sized mixing bowl and in it combine both sugars, canola oil, milk, and tapioca flour. 

Now, take a fork and mix the ingredients really well. It takes about 1-2 minutes and in the end, you'll be left with a caramel-like substance that looks like this:

Now, mix in the vanilla.

Next, add the flour, baking soda and salt.

Mix until incorporated with your caramel-like mixture.

Finally, fold in those delicious little chocolate chips. Below is a picture of the finished  dough along with literally the only dishes I dirtied while making them (for those of you that do not know, I handwash my dishes so recipes like this always get me a little excited at the prospect of awesome cookies with minimal cleanup).

Roll those cookie morsels unto teaspoon-sized balls and slightly flatten them on the baking sheet. Place in your preheated oven and bake for 6-7 minutes. The cookies will look a little underdone, but as long as the edges are golden, they'll finish on the baking sheet once you remove them from the oven. Wait about six minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. 

I usually get 25-30 cookies out of this recipe and therefore I recommend baking two-three seperate batches. Putting more than one sheet in the oven at a time might make the cookies bake unevenly

That's it! Try not to eat them all at once!!

Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

Those of us here in Texas understand what it feels like for the weather to be 85 degrees one day, and then 35 degrees the following day (then probably 85 again the third day). Now, I don't know about you guys, but when those cold days do roll in, I crave some serious comfort food; usually in the form of a nice, hot bowl of soup. 

This creamy, potato-ey soup really hits the spot when that cold front decides to roll through; even if it is only for a four hour period. It's super simple, has limited, easy to find ingredients, and comes together very quickly and in one pot (a huge plus if you're like me and handwash your dishes because the dishwasher never can seem to clean them anyway). 

Now, here are a couple tips before we get started. 

We'll start with cashew soaking. It's a pretty crucial step unless you have a super fancy blender. Soaking the cashews helps to soften them and therefore gives you a smoother, creamier sauce. If you are unlike me and can manage to remember to soak the cashews overnight, you'll end up with an even easier to blend, probably even smoother sauce. I probably soaked these for four hours before making the cream and it turned out awesome. The cashew soaking is the only thing that requires pre-planning; and if you're able to toss some cashews in a bowl of water before heading to work, you've already one step ahead of the game. 

The next thing I want to address are the leeks; specifically, cleaning the leeks. If you've never cooked with leeks before, they can hide a lot of dirt. I've found the most effective way to clean them is detailed here. 

Alright, here's the super simple and delicious soup adapted from another one of the wonderful Isa Moskowitz's recipes. 

Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

Ingredients for soup:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large leek - white and light green parts - sliced thin
• 1 small yellow onion - diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 pounds yellow potatoes - peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme - rubbed between your fingers
• Several pinches of freshly ground pepper
• 4 cups vegetable broth

Ingredients for cashew cream:

• 1/2 cup cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
• 1 1/2 cups water 

First, heat the olive oil in a 4-quart pot and sauté the leeks and onions with the salt for about 10-15 minutes.

While the leeks and onions are cooking, prepare the rest of the soup ingredients; peel and dice the potatoes, and gather the spices and vegetable broth. Make sure to periodically stir the leek/onion mixture! 

Your onions and leeks should be soft and golden by now. Add the rest of the soup ingredients - potatoes, vegetable broth, thyme and pepper - and cover the pot. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. 

While the soup is cooking, drain the cashews and blend together the cashew cream ingredients. It might take a couple minutes to get a smooth cream depending upon your machine. 

It ends up looking like this milk-like substance:

After the potatoes are tender, use a potato masher to mash up the potatoes until the soup is creamy. Mix in the cashew cream and heat through. Taste for salt and you're done!

Spaghetti with Vegan Tempeh Balls

If we're going to start somewhere, what better place than spaghetti? It's always an all-around crowd pleaser, and a toddler approved meal (which makes mealtime way easier in our house). We made this version tonight, adapted from a recipe in the queen of vegan cooking's amazing new cookbook; Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "Isa Does It". 

This recipe uses a sweet, caramelized onion tomato sauce topped with savory, protein packed tempeh balls (vegan version of meatballs for all you newbies). I've changed the recipe slightly from the book to ensure the sauce isn't spicy to make it toddler-friendly. The sauce is super versatile so you can add any of your favorite pasta sauce add-ins to suit your taste. My toddler slurped up a huge plate of this spaghetti, and he never dropped one bite! 

Spaghetti with Tempeh Balls

Ingredients for tempeh balls:

• 1 pound tempeh
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Bragg Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Several pinches of fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• Olive oil - for panfrying 

Ingredients for marinara sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion - finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic - minced 
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 28 oz can of diced tomatoes 

Everything else:

• 8 oz whole wheat spaghetti

First, we're going to start cooking the tempeh for the tempeh balls. Crumble the tempeh into a sauce pan and add water, Bragg, and olive oil. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Make sure to leave the lid ajar while simmering to let steam escape.

While the tempeh is cooking, start preparing the sauce. Preheat the oil in a two quart pot over medium-low heat. Sauté the onion in the olive oil until translucent and slightly browned; about 10 minutes. 

Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the brown sugar and cook for about one minute until the sugar is dissolved and coating all the onions. 

Mix in the thyme, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.

Add the tomatoes and stir. Cover the pot, leaving a space for steam to escape, and cook for 15 minutes. 

At this point, the tempeh should have absorbed all or almost all of the water in the pan. Drain the tempeh if there is any excess water, then place the tempeh into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Put the bowl of tempeh into the freezer to cool. It takes about 10 minutes. Stir it about halfway through to make sure everything cools evenly. 

Start to boil a large pot of salted water for the spaghetti, and cook according to package instructions once boiling.

Once the tempeh mixture is cool, add the garlic, ketchup, mustard, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Mix and then add the onions and mix again. Add the panko and mix once more.

Use your hands to incorporate all the ingredients until the mixture holds together. You can add more panko by the tablespoon if the mixture isn't holding together well. Roll golf ball-sized amounts of the mixture into very tight, compact balls. 

Now, preheat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the tempeh balls and roll them in the pan to coat them in oil. Panfry for about 10-15 minutes, making sure to frequently roll them to cook evenly.

That's it! Now top your noodles with the pasta sauce (I purée ours in a blender to make the consistency smoother) and three or four tempeh balls a piece!