Vegan Fudge Brownie Cookies

Before today, you may have heard “Baking is a science, not an art” or something along those lines.  I’m sure there is truth in the statement, but I do not live by it.  In fact, when baking, I am not perfect…I am practical.

For example, my relatively small kitchen does not have room for a lot of gadgets so I make do with what I have available. I do not have the patience or time to wash dozens (or what seems like it!) bowls because I was supposed to mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another before combining. I don’t sift or weigh by ingredients (gasp!). Shockingly, although I do not live by all of the baking rules, the desserts I make come out delicious. Maybe they could be better, but I don’t have to pull out my hair to make them and most importantly, my family enjoys eating them.

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I have been experimenting for a few years with vegan baking.  In the past I just subbed in vegan ingredients (soy milk instead of regular milk, vegan butter for regular butter, etc), but I am starting to branch out.  It was scary at first, but making my first flax egg for the cookie bars was surprisingly simple!

My next two goals will be to use Medjool Dates – they seem to be all the rage in vegan baking! – and to use gluten free products.  I hope to share my experiences with you so that if you decide to try these products it is less intimidating.

Anyways, the recipe I’m sharing with you today are vegan triple chocolate brownie cookies.  I used a brownie mix to save some time, but these took me a few tries – mainly because I initially used two mixes that seemed to be vegan upon first glance at the recipe list, but after writing to the manufacturer, were not vegan.  Lesson learned on my part to call BEFORE buying and baking. In the end, these turned out perfect and were gobbled up by my entire family.

Triple chocolate cookies that taste like little brownie bites of heaven.  These are a chocoholic’s dream.  While I’ve made these with all vegan ingredients, you can easily substitute other products to make them non-vegan (i.e., use regular brownie mix and real eggs).

VEGAN FUDGE BROWNIE COOKIES

Makes 25-30 cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 box (16 oz) brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker gluten free*.)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs (I used 2 flax seed eggs; 2 tablespoons of flax meal (Spectrum brand) + 6 tablespoons of water)
• 1/2  cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I used Wegmans brand*.)
• 3 oz of dark chocolate, chopped (I used endangered species, 72% cocoa.)
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (optional)

Directions:

Step 1: If using flax egg, mix 6 tablespoons water with 2 tablespoons flax meal.  Place in refrigerator while completing other steps.

Step 2: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 3: Line baking sheets with parchment paper. (I always use two baking sheets so that while one is baking, I can make the next round of cookies on the other.)

Step 4:  Whisk dry ingredients – brownie mix and flour – together in a bowl.

Step 5:  Melt chocolate chips in microwave, in three, 30 second increments and stir in between each to make sure they do not burn.

Step 6: Add all wet ingredients – melted chocolate chips, 2 eggs/flax eggs, 4 tablespoons of water – to dry ingredients and mix well.

Step 7: If cookie dough seems dry, add a little more water – 1/2 a teaspoon at a time – until dough becomes fully mixed, but not too sticky.  (I required about 1/2 tablespoon more, but I suspect this depends on the weather and the brand of mix used. If your dough gets too wet and sticky, just add a little more flour.)

Step 8: Chop up dark chocolate bar into medium sized pieces.

Step 9: Mix dark chocolate chunks into dough.

Step 10: Create even-sized balls of dough. Drop the dough on the prepared baking sheets. (I use a 2-tablespoon sized cookie scoop, which I absolutely love! It ensures that each cookie is approximately the same size and bakes at the same rate.)

Step 10.5 (optional): Roll uncooked balls of dough in granulated or powdered sugar before baking.

Step 11: Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are just set.  They will harden up a bit while cooling, so do not overcook.

Step 12: Let cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing to cool completely.  I placed on counter top lined with parchment paper to completely cool, but a wire rack would also work fine.

Notes:  *If you do not have access to the brands listed, you can just substitute them with your preferred vegan brand.

I hope you enjoy!

Wendy