ReadyMade: Instructions for everyday life

Issue 45
The Escapes Issue
Cook perfect pancakes
Build a modern rustic bench
Sew new life into a vintage dress
Check out the RM Photo Gallery

Vegan Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

At last: proof that a butter-less cookie needn’t taste like it.

by Sharlene Breakey

Photos by Kathryn Gamble & Rick Lozier

Krissy Welch wanted it all: a gooey cookie that was healthy, delicious, and nourishing, so she figured out how to make one. Greg Ainsworth just wanted a cookie, so he picked one up that Welch had baked for her sister’s engagement party. “I took a bite and literally stopped in my tracks because it was one of the best cookies I’d had in my life,” he says. “I didn’t even know it was vegan, I just knew I had to have the recipe.” Welch wasn’t interested in giving it up so Ainsworth became her business partner in the cookie business, selling the delicious line of shortbread and chocolate-y drop cookies to vegans and non-vegans alike.

(Advice from Krissy Welch & Greg Ainsworth of Krissy’s Cookies, Los Angeles: krissyscookies.com.)

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl stir together spelt flour, chocolate chips, baking soda, and salt. In another large bowl stir together agave nectar, safflower oil, peppermint, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the nectar mixture and stir until well combined.

    2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets. Using wet fingers, gently flatten dough mounds. Sprinkle each dough round with about ½ teaspoon crushed almonds.

    3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned and edges are set. Let cool on cookie sheet 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool. Eat at room temperature or, for best results, slightly chilled. To store, layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Vegan Cookies

ingredients

    • 3 c organic white spelt flour
    • 2 10-ounce packages grain-sweetened chocolate chips (SunSpire brand), or more if you can fit them in
    • 1 tsp aluminum-free baking soda
    • 1 tsp organic sea salt
    • 1 c light-colored agave nectar
    • ¼ c organic safflower oil
    • 1 tsp organic peppermint oil
    • ½ tsp alcohol-free vanilla
    • ½ c organic crushed almonds