VEGAN DARK CHOCOLATE & ALMOND COOKIES
These lovely cookies are based on one of Pret A Manger's cookies, which is incidentally vegan. When I first tried it, I rushed home to try and recreate it, and this is the result! I think it's important to be able to cater to a variety of dietary requirements, so vegan or not, this is a great cookie recipe to have on hand.
INGREDIENTS
Makes 12 cookies
110g vegan baking block, at room temperature
120g almond butter
200g soft light brown sugar
1/2tsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in 3tbsp warm water
1tsp vanilla extract
130g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4tsp salt
100g dark chocolate chips (be sure to check they're vegan)
50g roasted, salted almonds, roughly chopped
METHOD
1
Beat the vegan baking block until smooth and creamy. Add the almond butter and cream together until smooth.
2
To the almond butter mixture, add the sugar. Mix briefly to combine, then follow with the coffee mixture and vanilla extract.
3
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Mix until just combined, then fold in the chocolate chips and almonds until uniformly distributed throughout the dough. The dough will be quite soft.
4
Pop the dough into the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up slightly. This ensures once you bake your cookies, they don't spread too much. Use this time to clean up.
5
Preheat the oven to 190°C, Line two large baking trays with baking parchment. Using a mechanical ice cream scoop (my weapon of choice, though of course you can use a spoon), scoop out even amounts of dough and roll between clean hands into a ball. Place the balls onto the baking tray at least 10cm apart, and do not flatten them - the oven will do all the work for you. If needed, you can bake these in batches, just be sure not to overcrowd your tray otherwise you will end up with a giant cookie puddle.
6
Bake for 12 minutes exactly - no more, no less. Once you remove them from the oven, they will appear slightly underbaked, but they will continue to set with the residual heat. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before attempting to move them, otherwise they will fall apart. Then, they are ready to serve! These will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
icheffedit Tip #1
Feel free to try this recipe out with other nut butter/nut combinations - this recipe also works well with peanut butter and peanuts, so feel free to try with others too!
icheffedit Tip #2