Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (vegan)

an homage to the favorited ice cream flavor

There's something incredible about the combination fresh mint leaves, creamy coconut milk, and crunchy chocolate chips that make mint chocolate chip ice cream so dreamy.

And unlike chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, this flavor is pretty much only found in the freezer. Yes, there may be mint chocolate lattes and girl scout cookies, but without the contrast of bright green  freckled with chips, the integrity is missing. Mint chocolate ≠ mint chocolate chip.

If I didn't box away my ice cream maker for the winter, I would have frozen over by now. Never fear, these chewy, gooey bars will hold you over until summer. These Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are very fudgy. So don't be fooled by the beans and oats - you will feel indulged!

Mint chocolate chip for all seasons

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Yields a full 13x9x2 pan

1 bunch mint leaves, blanched and shocked
1/4 cup coconut milk

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons ground demerara sugar (or any vegan sugar)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup light olive oil (or any baking oil)
1 tablespoon mint extract
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup white wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt


3/4 cup nondairy chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a brownie sheet tray and dust with flour.

To blanch and shock the mint, plunge the leaves into a small pot of rapidly boiling, salted water. Remove five seconds later and shock them in an ice water bath until cold. In a high speed blender, combine mint leaves with the coconut milk until smooth.

In a food processor, puree the beans with the agave nectar. Transfer to a large bowl and add in your coconut milk/mint leave mixture, sugar, applesauce, oil, mint extract, and vanilla extract. Stir well.

In a medium bowl whisk flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. (If you want the chocolate chips to be on the inside of the bars, like I did, add chips to dry ingredients.) Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients and combine well. (If you want the chocolate chips to stud the outside of the bars, add chips at this stage.)

Spread dough evenly on prepared baking sheet and bake until golden and an inserted toothpick removes clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool in tray before cutting up into bars.

Italian Anisette Christmas Cookies - Vegan, Gluten-Free

Cookie season continues.


Among the blizzard of vegan Christmas cookie recipes that are blanketing the internet, I couldn't find one Anisette Cookie recipe. I can only assume (sadly) that there are not enough vegan Italians out there. Because I know I'm not the only vegan anise fanatic.

The Anisette is a soft, cakelike cookie with a touch of anise and sometimes lemon. Sprinkles are necessary to provide the contrasting tiny crunch.
Traditionally, the cookies are iced too. I have yet to find a white cookie glaze that does not use powdered sugar, so I opted to forgo the icing and just top with sprinkles before baking.


I used two brands of sprinkles, one a generic holiday nonpareil mix and the other a vegan, naturally colored jimmy mix. 

Yes, the scents of candy cane and fresh evergreen will always carry that holiday spirit, but it can be easily overdone. Change it up by making your home smell warm like an Italian bakery on Christmas Eve.


Gluten-Free Vegan Italian Anisette Christmas Cookies
Yields about 20 cookies

Gluten-Free flour blend:

• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 cup arrowroot
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum

OR 3 cups white wheat flour (for non-gluten-free)

1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 cup baking oil (I used light olive oil)
2/3 cup light agave nectar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon anise extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Sprinkles

Heat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour blend (or white wheat flour), baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the oil, agave, applesauce, anise extract, and lemon extract. Add dry ingredients into wet and mix well until an even dough/batter is formed. Using a round tablespoon, drop cookies onto baking sheet. (Cookies will not spread, so they can fit in close together.) Pour sprinkles on top. (If they do not stick, dip a finger in water and wet the top of cookies before pouring on sprinkles.) Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookie bottoms are slightly golden. Remove from sheet and let cool.

"Lazy Samoas": Chocolate Coconut Cookies

 The "Lazy Samoa", a creation of the The Post Punk Kitchen, is known in the vegan cookie community as the alternative to the popular Girl Scout Cookie.

"Lazy" because, unlike its go-getting forefather who can only be obtained through ambitious small girls in funky green uniforms, these cuties feel more nourishing, as they are solely powered by coconut and chocolate. That said, they still will quite possibly be the most surprisingly yummy cookie that no one will believe are homemade.

For the chocolate and toasted coconut lover who wants a chewy cookie, put down the purple box and get you and your sweettooth in the kitchen.

The Lazy Samoas from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar will impress all of your omnivorous and herbivorous friends. (And I don't say that about every vegan dessert I make, remember those Beet Cookies that we agreed not to bring to social events with people who already are suspicious of a cookie without butter, let alone with beets in them?).

Lazy Samoas / Chocolate Coconut Cookies
Yields 2 dozen

2 cups shredded coconut flakes, toasted
1/3 cup coconut oil (I used melted Earth Balance)
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup almond or any nondairy milk
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 1/2 teaspoon  vanilla extract
1 cup white wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegan chocolate chips
2 tablespoons coconut oil

Heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease or parchment-line two baking sheets.

To toast coconut, heat in a dry saucepan until lightly browned. They can go from brown to burned quickly,  so remove from heat as soon as golden and let cool.

In a large bowl, beat oil, sugar, almond milk, flax, and vanilla with a hand mixer until smooth. Sift in flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in toasted coconut.

Using a tablespoon, measure out cookies and place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Shape a hole in each; if your hands get sticky have a bowl of water nearby to dip your fingers in. Flatten down each cookie and bake for 8 minutes, until bottoms are light brown. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.


While cookies are cooling, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. Stir in oil. Turn off heat and let sit for a minute to cool down enough to handle comfortably. Have parchment-line baking sheets cooled in the fridge and remove when cookies are cooled and ready to be chocolated.

Using an offset spatula or spreading knife, lightly line each cookie's bottom with chocolate. Let firm in fridge while you transfer remaining melted chocolate into a pastry bag, then give each cookie some stripes of chocolate on top. Or you could just skip the whole pastry bag thing and use a spoon to drizzle some rebellious patterns over. Let set in fridge until chocolate is firm and enjoy.

Double Chocolate Cookies

How can I thank my hosts, for whom without I would not have been able to get this perfect internship experience in San Francisco?  Well, if I were offering my home to a baker, I would have expected some desserts. I told them I was theirs to be taken advantage of, and they ordered brownies. I couldn't find a deep baking sheet, so Double Chocolate Cookies it was. Soft, a bit chewy, light, and seriously chocolatey, these are a touch cakey, make them into bars and you'd have a brownie. Shape them into cookies and you have a pillow of heaven.

Double Chocolate Pillows

These were based off of the (never home)maker's Vegan Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies. I made some adjustments to fit. I used a light olive oil to bake with, which I was surprisingly amazed with the results, but feel free to use a canola or grapeseed if that's what you've been dealt.

Double Chocolate Cookies
Yields 50 cookies

2 3/4 cup white wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup light olive oil, or any baking oil
1 cup agave nectar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted in a double boiler
3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips to be kept whole

Heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper. Melt the 3/4 cup of chocolate chips in a small metal bowl over boiling water.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, agave, vanilla, and melted chocolate chips until well mixed. Add dry ingredients to wet, mix well. Fold in remained 3/4 cup of chocolate chips.

Flat, rugged edge

Use a tablespoon to measure cookies. For pillow-shapes, tightly pack a tablespoon with dough. Pop out of spoon, roll between hands into a ball, and transfer to baking sheet. For a flat cookie with rustic edges, scoop out a tablespoon of the dough, do not press or level off, and drop onto sheet. Use your fingers to flatten the middle. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned on bottom. Cool for 5 minutes before enjoying.

Carrot Sunflower Oat Cookies

It's hard enough to say no to a cookie. When I bake, I do everything possible to make it so you have no reason to pass. I'm sorry, but that whole "eat to taste" thing just doesn't cut it for me. I don't eat sweets as a rebellion, or to test my willpower. I'm here to help destroy their bad rep. These are packed with fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals, and taste. Not to mention the warming power of ginger! I swear my widget read 1 degree F this morning! I need all the warmth I can get.

This is adapted from these Carrot Oatmeal Cookies. I used sunflower seeds instead of walnuts to give them a more sunny glow, swapped the coconut oil for applesauce to give a crunchy outside, gooey inside. One more thing, I didn't grate the ginger too thin, I like the powerful burst in the unsuspecting bite.

I secretly call these Yes U Can Have Cookies.

Carrot Sunflower Oatmeal Cookies

Yields about 2 dozen

1 c whole wheat flour
1 c rolled oats
1 t baking powder
scant 1/2 t sea salt
1 c shredded carrot (I processed 1 and 1/2 large carrots)
2/3 c raw sunflower seeds
1/2 c maple syrup
1/3 c unsweetened applesauce
1 t freshly chopped ginger

Heat oven to 375F, line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, oats, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in carrot and seeds. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour into large bowl with dry ingredients, mixing well. Use a tablespoon to measure out each cookie, placing them 2 inches apart on the sheet. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until tops and bottoms are golden brown.

Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! Truthfully, I was not a fan of this holiday until I went vegan. Now, with the feast of yummy veggie food, I feel like it's my birthday. It really helps that I had 2 other wonderful vegans to celebrate with. The big hit for us was Chef Chloe's Harvest-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms and The BEST Vegan Mac N' Cheese that my sister made. I've tried other vegan mac-no-cheeses before, but this one could seriously fool an omni. I have never felt that way about other recipes. Not to say that the others do not taste amazing, but I'm the first to admit that my cashew and pasta recipe really should not be referred to as "macaroni and cheese."

Another favorite part of Thanksgiving is that I celebrate it all week. First you gotta test the recipes a few days in advance. Then, after their main event, there's the leftovers. And it's all judgement-free: this is THE time for seconds and thirds. These cookies were among the pre-party. That's not to say they didn't pass the first round and get that golden ticket to Thursday; we just had so many other things we wanted to try. Try. I tried to make those Cake Truffles/Balls that seem to be the new "it" dessert. You bake a cake, let it cool, then crumble it, mix in frosting, and cover in chocolate. Going for the Reese's truffle, I used a peanut butter cake, which was much too oily to yield a pretty truffle. The result was a rich, sugary PB-chocolate mush that filled you up before the second bite. Once I perfect the cake truffle, I promise you will be the first to know ;).

These cookies were based off one of Isa's peanut butter oatmeal cookies. They are that level of photogenic that I like to refer to as "editorial". Meaning, this cookie would be on the cover. This is why you bought the magazine.

It's whole wheat, almond, and oats. Dessert ... or sweet breakfast?

Yields 1 dozen monster cookies

2 c whole wheat flour
2 c rolled oats
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
3/4 c safflower oil, or any vegetable oil
3/4 c almond butter
1 3/4 c sugar
1 T maple syrup
1/2 c vanilla almond milk
2 t vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a separate, larger bowl. Add dry to wet and mix until just combined. Use a 1/3 dry measuring cup to measure each cookie. Pop dough out, form into a ball, and press onto baking sheet until 1/2 inch thick.

Bake until lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes. The cookies will not firm up until they are cooled, so don't be alarmed if you do the toothpick test and it's like popping an air bubble. Be patient and let them cool completely, wait 10 minutes to remove from tray.

The Black and White Cookie

"Oh look Elaine, the black and white cookie. I love the black and white. Two races of flavor living side by side. It's a wonderful thing isn't it? ... The thing about eating the Black and White cookie, Elaine, is you want to get some black and some white in each bite. Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate. And yet somehow racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the cookie all our problems would be solved." -Jerry Seinfeld

Look to the cookies! 

For those who are not familiar with this New York classic, the black and white cookie is a cakey, lemony bakery favorite. My friend known as Jersey and I are big Seinfeld (and NYC) fanatics and decided that it was time we paid homage to the show's wisdom by baking our own black and white cookie. We try to do what we can to add more harmony to this world.

We veganized and halved the recipe from these Black and White Cookies. The result tasted like a store-bought, no-one-will-guess-these-cookies-are-vegan cookies. Make these for your favorite NY vegans and they just might worship you.

Yields 2 dozen cookies

3/4 c plus 2 T sugar

1/2 c safflower oil, or any vegetable oil

2 Ener-G egg replacements (or you could try 1/2 c applesauce)

1/2 c almond milk

1/4 t vanilla extract

1/4 t lemon extract (scant)

2 1/3 c flour (we used 2 c all purpose and 1/3 c whole wheat flour)

2 T plus 1 1/2 t cornstarch

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

Heat oven to 375F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease with vegetable oil.

Mix the sugar and oil in a large bowl. Mix in the egg replacement, and then the rest of the wet ingredients.

Sift together the dry ingredients into a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and mix until smooth. Dough will seem too wet to form cookies, but I promise it works!

Drop big spoonfuls of the dough onto the cookie sheets, about 2" apart. Bake until edges begin to brown, about 25 minutes. Wait until completely cool until applying icing.

Icing

2 c powdered sugar

less than 1/4 c boiling water

2 T vegan chocolate chips (or half an ounce of any vegan chocolate)

Add sugar to small bowl. Stir in enough boiled water until sugar-paste is thick but spreadable. Add half of icing into a saucepan over low heat with the chocolate. Mix until chocolate is melted and remove from heat. Using a spreading knife, ice half of each cookie in the chocolate and half in the white sugar icing. Let icing completely set on cookies.