Egg Free Cookies

Egg Free Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies and Double Chocolate.  (information/results to come soon!) 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Egg Free)

My third take on the perfect egg free chocolate chip cookie recipe. These turned out very very good! I messed around with the same chocolate chip recipe, this time melting the butter and sugar together, in order to dissolve the turbinado sugar. I also altered the rest of the recipe quite a bit. Well, actually I suppose this is a completely different recipe. I used turbinado sugar, but didn't use any brown rice syrup. I'll have to experiment with brown rice syrup more, but for now... these are AMAZING Egg Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. Super soft and chewy. And they look lovely. I gradually added things while making the dough, hopefully I remember correctly the measurements of ingredients for the next time I make these. Because I will DEFINITELY make these again. 

My first test batch of these cookies ended up with the bottom of the cookie way too hard and crispy, and the top was left TOO soft/chewy and doughy. So I added a bit more flour and then tried to bake them on the next rack up. They turned out perfect! When these cookies are still somewhat warm, they seem oddly doughy yet, but once they cool and sit for an hour or so, they set very well and are great. Very very soft though. They kind of melt in your mouth... but it's a good thing. I used large real milk chocolate, all natural Guittard Chocolate Chips. YUUUUM! 

I'm going to bake some more and try to take some better pictures soon, so you can see the soft chewyness of the inside of the cookie. 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

So these didn't turn out well. They don't have a terrible appearance at least. However, I need to continue to experiment and alter this recipe. I think I may know how to make it work better. I used just a bit of turbinado sugar and also brown rice syrup. Something I definitely did wrong was not mix the sugar with the wet ingredients. By not doing this, the turbinado sugar was left in the larger crystals.. not allowing them to desolve. You can see and even taste/feel the texture of the sugar crystals. My cookies also turned out very hard. I'm thinking adding applesauce to the recipe may help add moisture and soft/chewyness. Also, it is said that Turbinado sugar is more moist than regular sugar, therefor if it was better desolved into the batter, maybe it would make the cookie more moist. I'm also not sure about the brown rice syrup flavor. Definitely need to experiment more. However, ONE of my friends said he actually thought this cookie was "solid" and said he prefered his cookies on the harder side and thought they were great.. He was very serious. But neither I or others agree.

However, the ingredients I used were very similar to that of my favorite store bought chocolate chip cookies by Back to Nature (Yeah I know! But they are sooo good! and HFC free, and all natural. And easy to satisfy my cravings while I continue to be frustrated and experiment with my own baked goods that I can eat). Anyway, these packaged cookies are made with brown rice syrup as a sweetener and they are perfect. I will continue to experiment.. I think I might try some altering right away tomorrow! We'll see what happens.

Now to test different sugar alternatives...

Soft Chocolate Chip Agave Cookies (egg free, sugar free)

My first attempt in using agave nectar..

I took a couple of recipes and kind of put them together, altering them based on amount of dry and wet ingredients. I wrote down my own recipe before hand, based on research. I replaced the sugar, decreased some of the other ingredients to what I thought would work well, and also replaced the egg. While mixing the batter, I gradually added more dry ingredients and more of other ingredients in order to give what I thought it needed for moisture, bonding/helping replace the egg, and I wrote down things as I went and crossed things out, to keep track of what I did. But, I figured ... this is definitely going to be a first run, there is no way these cookies are going to turn out and I should be okay with that. I expected them to taste awful.. and I'd have to go through many tries to come up with the right taste, or to get them to rise correctly... But.. They actually turned out pretty well. I think my research before hand and knowledge really helped me completely come up with a recipe that actually worked. 

I first tried them while they were warm and my impression at first was, "OH THESE ARE VERY BLAH AND NOT SWEET AT ALL. NO FLAVOR!" But once they cooled, they actually tasted like normal chocolate chip cookies, pretty darn good! They were maybe a bit too cakey for my liking, and I'd like to see if I can make them a bit chewier.. and maybe a bit more flavor to them. But they turned out surprisingly well.. and even look perfect. They maybe look a bit TOO perfect. They look like processed, store bought cookies... too round and not chewy looking.. which I don't find amazingly pleasing. But I am pretty satisfied with the results so far. Pretty tasty. 

The agave gives a bit of a different taste though, kind of a nutty, maple-ish taste. My friend Brett, someone who can normally have egg and normal ingredients, said they were very good. I'm thinking a double chocolate cookie or even brownies would be good with agave nectar, that way the chocolate would cover up the nutty taste... I want to try Brown Rice Syrup as an ingredient to experiment with next. I'm thinking that I would maybe like that better, for I'm not one for a nutty flavor. I'm analyzing too much! Overall, these were great! But I have an attitude where I always think things can be better. My mom always tries to tell me to stop trying to be perfect. . but.. well I like to try to perfect things. And if I like to do it, then so what! 

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie!

The NY Times has an interesting article about chocolate chip cookies, Perfection? Hint: It's Warm and Has a Secret. Ruth Graves Wakefield invented the chocolate chip cookie. Ruth, owner of the Toll House Inn, developed this recipe wether by mistake or experimenting in the 1930's. (Interesting! I never knew who this lady was!) This article also tells techniques for creating the perfect tasting and perfect texture of chocolate chip cookies. Well known bakeries mention their secrets to their special cookie. Even though the chocolate chip cookie seems simple - there are many ways it can go wrong and a lot of specific techniques that perfect the cookie! And it is good to experiment and find ones own techniques or additions that satisfies. I found this site from Joy the Baker.