Vegan Dark Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

My aunt Sandy is an excellent hostess. At any function, whether it be a holiday party or a casual get-together at her lake house, she always provides an atmosphere that makes you feel at home. She really goes above and beyond not only to make sure that everyone's having a good time, but that everyone is well-fed... and amused while they're well fed. This past Thanksgiving, for example, she made penguins out of olives, cream cheese and carrots, a task I'm sure took hours— just for the presentation! Somehow, though, she manages it every time.

As an adult, I want to make sure that I elicit a similar feeling when someone comes to my house. I may not be at the point of making turkeys out of bell peppers and cucumbers, but I'd like to at least play the part of a good hostess. So, when I found out our friend was coming to visit from Chicago for the week, I took it as a sign to try out a new recipe for dark chocolate coconut cookies. Because, uh, everyone loves cookies and whenever my house smells like baked goods I know I've done something right.

And even though the majority of the food I cook is vegan, that doesn't mean other people don't love it. With any recipe, I want to make sure that it's not so out there as to be unappealing to people who aren't used to vegan food, and simple substitutions allow just that.

Which brings me to this recipe for dairy-free, egg-free dark chocolate chip coconut cookies.

What you'll need:

• egg replacer to equal to 1 egg*
• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 3/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup vegan dark chocolate chips

*I use Ener-G Egg Replacer

How to do it:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a food processor, blend the egg replacer, butter, sugar, vanilla and cocoa powder until smooth and set aside. 

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coconut, and chocolate chips. Add the butter mix and stir until well incorporated. 

 

Roll dough into balls and lay out on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Let them cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before taking them from the cookie sheet.

This recipe will make about 15 cookies, so double it if you have lots of guests!