Chocolate Chip Cookies

Was I forced to face a future without desserts? Was a cup of tea the only thing to look forward to after a meal? When you have dreams of eating cookies on your bed and relishing every morsel, then you know it's time for something sweet! Still in detox and anything with sugar was out of the question. I decided to put the vegan, gluten free cookbook Babycakes which I had received as gift to use.
Not only did I have to search for a simple enough recipe that could satisfy the sweet craving but I also had to find the ingredients that sounded like a science experiment. A visit to Down to Earth, a natural food store where the employees were more than happy to help me find my chemicals was the first step. After much reading and dissection of the recipe, I find that the ingredients are not chemicals but more natural than anything. Coconut oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids (these are healthy) and agave nectar is a natural sweetener from a cactus that takes longer to absorb into the bloodstream, so it doesn't shoot your blood sugar up the way refined sugars do.
$80 less but armed with confidence and excitement to start a new baking adventure, I gathered my vegan products to make chocolate chip cookies. First mixed coconut oil (eww..this looks like lard), applesauce (attended public school from K-12, ate school lunches everyday and never ate the stuff), salt and vanilla. Substituted agave nectar for evaporated cane juice because DTE did not carry the product and insisted I use the cane sugar but I was adamant about following the recipe to the letter. In another bowl, whisked the flour, flax meal, baking soda and xanthan gum. Added the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and gently folded in the vegan chocolate chips. It was actually easier than normal baking-no creaming of butter and sugars until fluffy nor alternating wet and dry mixtures into bowl, just good ole' mixing!
The cookie wasn't the only thing that satisfied the craving but also the act of baking. Scott liked it and said it reminded him of a cookie he had growing up in Pennsylvania but more importantly I liked it! More vegan recipes to follow.