Favourite Cookies (updated Jan 2021)

It’s Bake Off time again!  Here’s a nice easy, delicious, dairy free recipe to accompany a cuppa or a coffee. 

Ingredients:

– 60ml (1/4 cup) soy mylk (or other dairy-free mylk)
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 200g dark chocolate (the Lidl one in the red packet is great), roughly chopped, hit with a rolling pin or dark chocolate chips

– 200g (1 cup) of soy margarine (I use Flora Freedom or Vitalite. Using 1/2 Trex Vegetable Shortening or melting it before adding will make the cookies crumblier.)
– 180g (1 cup) demerera sugar

– 270g (2 1/4 cups) self raising flour
– 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 180C (fan). Grease or line a baking tray.

In a medium bowl place the margarine and sugar. Mix until combined.

Add the soy mylk and vanilla.  Mix thoroughly; the mixture should be a creamy consistency (a hand whisk is easier here!)

Gradually add the flour and salt while mixing.  Fold in the chocolate.

Drop spoonfuls of dough (roughly a tbsp at a time) onto the greased or lined baking tray.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until edges are brown.  For chewier cookies, take out of the oven as soon as the edges turn light brown.

Variations:

#sourdough wankers special: use 60g sourdough discard instead of half the mylk and 30g of the flour for more depth of flavour

Double chocolate: substitute 1/3 cup (80g) of the flour for cocoa powder

Triple chocolate: replace 1/3 of the chocolate with vegan white chocolate – available in the free-from aisle, or Vego if you’re feeling fancy (contains nuts).

Ginger: add a handful of roughly chopped crystallised stem ginger to the double chocolate version

Lemon and hazelnut: instead of chocolate, use the zest of one lemon and 100g roughly chopped roasted hazelnuts, and replace some of the mylk with the juice of a lemon

Adapted from http://www.atiliay.com/best-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies-ever/