Damn Good Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's hard to find soft and chewy vegan chocolate chip cookies, but this recipe is pretty damn good. My husband is always my first taste tester. Not knowing they were vegan (but I'm sure he suspected) he ate a cookie and reported they were good. When I told him they were vegan he responded, "I knew there was something wrong with them," but proceeded to eat 2 more. I'll admit that they are not like traditional chocolate chip cookies, but they are the best vegan cookies I've ever had and better than most non-vegan cookies too.

You've got to make these cookies fairly big in order to get the right texture. They are crispy on the outside, despite their pale color, and chewy on the inside.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (usually semi-sweet is vegan but check the ingredients on the label)
• 1 cup raw sugar
• 3/4 cup canola or other bland vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. 
3. In separate bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Then mix this into the dry ingredients, but don't overwork the dough. 
4. Mix in the vanilla and water. The dough will be rather dry and crumbly, but you can add a little more water if it won't hold together.
5. Spoon large balls (smaller than a golf ball) of dough onto a greased cookie sheet or silmat, and flatten slightly. This should make about 20 cookies. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Note that they will be rather pale in color.