Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another recipe for your vegan sweet tooth.  This cookie recipes is similar to the Vegan Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies but are chewier and richer due to the chocolate chips and lack of oats.

1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup agave nectar (or other natural sweetener, such as pure maple syrup or unrefined sugar)
2 T non-hydrogenated vegetable spread (such as Earth Balance)
2 T oilve oil
2 T peanut butter
1 banana, mashed and blended with 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup vegan chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350. 
• Combine flours and baking soda in a medium bowl.  
• In a large bowl, beat agave nectar, vegetable spread, olive oil, peanut butter, and banana mixture until smooth and fluffy. 
• Beat flour mixture into the wet mixture until well blended.  Add chocolate chips.
• Scoop dollops of cookie mixture on to a greased cookie sheet.  If you prefer thinner cookies, flatten the cookie dough scoops with a fork or your fingers.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookie dough just begins to brown on the bottom.
  
• Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then finish cooling on a wire rack.
• Enjoy!

I'd love to hear about any recipes, comments, or questions you have about vegan baked goods.  Here are a few tips from my experiences:

• Combining a solid vegetable oil or fat (such as Earth Balance or peanut butter) combined with a liquid vegetable oil (such as olive oil) works better than just using one or the other.  
• Natural sweeteners are usually liquid, which usually means adding more flour.
• Using fruit as an egg substitute is great, but don't forget to add 1/2 tsp. baking powder for every egg you are replacing.
• Oat flour seems to produce better baked goods than whole wheat flour.  Combining a whole grain flour with an unbleached white flour is a good way to transition to whole grain baked goods.

Thanks again for reading!