In honor of National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, I decided to make My New Roots‘s Salt N’ Pepper Chocolate Chip Cookies. I got this recipe from her wonderful cookbook by the same title. Her recipes are plant-based with a focus on health and wellness and so good! I’m obsessed!! I’ve cooked probably 50% of the recipes in the book since I bought it back in June. This book also inspired me to incorporate more plant-based meals (e.g. vegetarian, vegan) into my weekly menu.
I have been curious about these cookies since I stumbled upon it in her cookbook. I’ve grown up thinking chocolate chip cookies (CCC) are supposed to be sweet — sometimes, too sweet. When given the opportunity to put salt and pepper into a CCC, I got super excited. Finally a cookie that won’t be sugary sweet and may even be a little spicy! Thinking about it, this might be the cookie that embodies the awesome qualities of adding chili powder into your hot chocolate. A nice heat that just balances out the sweet and bitter notes of the chocolate. Hmm. Maybe I’ll try out chili powder in the next couple of batches!
These cookies were a major hit in my home and I have to make a second batch for family and friends who want to give them a try. Oh, and since these cookies have no animal product in them, feel free to lick the spoon clean. Give it a try and let me know what you thought about adding some spice to your chocolate chip cookies in the comments below.
Salt & Pepper Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-Free): Yields 16 cookies
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup brown rice syrup
- 2 tbsp almond milk (I chose almond milk to give it a nutty flavor, but you can use water or any other plant-based milk of your choice (e.g. rice, nut, seed))
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup turbinado/raw sugar (coconut sugar is the suggestion, but the raw sugar tastes really good too.)
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (at least 80% cacao. Trust me, it’s worth it!)
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over low-medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the brown rice syrup, milk, and vanilla. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Place the rolled oats into a food processor and grind until you have a rough flour. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the sugar, salt, pepper, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir in the rolled oats.
- Quickly whisk your coconut oil mixture, as it may have separated a bit. Fold in coconut oil mixture in with your dry ingredients. You will get a nice wet, slightly sticky mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon out roughly a tablespoon of batter and roll in your hands to make a rough ball. They are not super sticky, so it’s ok if they don’t make a perfect ball. Place your ball onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving 1-1/2 to 2 inches between each cookie (they will spread a lot). Garnish with a few flakes of flakey sea salt. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool.
- Store cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days, if they last that long. 😉
