These double chocolate chip cookies are not your average cookie. For one, there’s no flour, refined sugar, or processed oils in this seven-ingredient recipe. The best part is that they actually taste good! Some gluten-free, vegan recipes are hit-or-miss. A lot of them just taste bland. These do not — they taste delicious and have a decadent texture. The combination of almond butter and cocoa powder produce the dense, soft, chewy consistency that double chocolate chip cookies are known to have. If you’re preparing these for an event, don’t forget to taste one when they’re fresh out the oven — the center is still a little gooey while the edges are lightly crisp.

For this recipe, you’ll need the new, vegan egg-replacer: “aquafaba.” It sounds exotic, but it’s probably something you unknowingly throw out if you ever eat chickpeas.

What Is Aquafaba and How Can You Use It?

Aquafaba is the viscous brine left behind after boiling chickpeas. If you buy canned chickpeas, it's the water or juice many recipes instruct you to drain off. Save this liquid next time you make hummus; it’s an incredible egg substitute. When whipped, it foams up exactly like egg whites. In fact, whipped aquafaba actually makes a more stable meringue than the traditional, egg-based recipe.

This wonderful ingredient, once thoughtlessly discarded, rose to vegan-baking prominence because of Joël Roessel’s molecular gastronomy experiments. He was searching for a vegetable-based replacement for eggs and tried several other types of legume brine before realizing that chickpeas produced the best results. The liquid was coined aquafaba, meaning “bean liquid” by Indiana-based software engineer and vegan cook Goose Wohlt. The reason this unlikely ingredient works so well is still a bit of a mystery. Food scientists think it may have something to do with the naturally-occurring mixture of starches, hydrophilic (“water-loving”), and hydrophobic (“water-hating”) proteins in aquafaba.

Substitute aquafaba for any recipe that calls for eggs as a binding ingredient. You can make egg-free, vegan macaroons, cakes, meringue, pancakes, buttercream frosting, even cocktails! According to Wohlt, add two tablespoons to replace an egg white, or three for a whole egg.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Prep time: 10-15 minutes
• Cook time: 10-12 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Servings: 12-16 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons organic cocoa powder (if available)
• 3/4 cup organic coconut sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon of organic baking soda
• 4 tablespoons aquafaba from organic chickpeas
• 1/2 cup of organic almond butter
• 2 teaspoons organic vanilla
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

Equipment

• Two mixing bowls
• Parchment paper or Silpat®
• Silicone mini spatulas
• Whisk
• Baking sheet
• Cookie turner
• Cooling rack (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine wet ingredients (Aquafaba, vanilla, and almond butter) in a small bowl with a mini spatula. Stir until combined. Resist the urge to add more liquid, and just keep mixing for a minute or more until thoroughly combined.
3. Mix cocoa powder, coconut or beet sugar, and baking powder together with a whisk.
4. Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until dough forms. You may need to use your hands to knead at this point.
5. Add the chocolate chips to the dough and continue stirring until evenly distributed. (See instructions below if you want to use a cookie cutter for this recipe.)
6. Line your baking sheet with either a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper.
7. Roll about 2 tablespoons of dough into balls and press down slightly into a cookie shape on your baking sheet.
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
9. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Can I Use Cookie Cutters for This Recipe?

You can use this recipe for a healthier alternative to the traditional flour-based cookie-cutter cookies, but your cookies will rise and spread while baking. It can be difficult to get them to look right, but if you’re determined, go ahead and halve the measurement of chocolate chips. I also recommend lining your work area with parchment or wax paper, then covering the dough with another sheet before rolling it out to keep your rolling pin clean.

Cookie Cutter Instructions

1. Roll your dough out to about 1/4 inch thick sheet.
2. Cut out your cookies and gently place on Silpat® or parchment paper before baking.
3. Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes.
4. After they bake (and swell), you’ll need to re-cut the forms after they cool down. Wait for about ten minutes and firmly press cookie cutter down over baked cookie. You may need to use a chopstick or coffee stirrer to gently poke any cookie edges that try to stick to the cutter.
5. Let cookies cool for at least 15 minutes to preserve shape. Enjoy!
6. To store: stack cookies in a container, with wax paper sheets between layers for up to a month.

• 1 scoop Garden of Life Raw Organic Chocolate Protein Powder
• 700ml chocolate-flavoured almond milk
• 5 pitted Medjool dates
• Optional toppings: Chopped banana, chia seeds, raw cacao nibs

• Heat the almond milk on the hob for around five minutes – take care not to let it boil
• Pour the warm milk into your blender along with the other ingredients (check that your blender can tolerate hot liquids first)
• When smooth, pour into a glass
• Add your choice of toppings, or get straight stuck in and enjoy!

Try this fresh and flavorful salad dressing with any of the nourishing salads in The Body Ecology Living Cookbook — like the Asparagus, Green Bean, and Artichoke Salad; the Marinated Corn Salad; the Summer Spaghetti Salad; the Avocado and Grapefruit Salad; and much more.

Ingredients for ¼ Cup:

• 2 tablespoons organic, unrefined olive oil
• 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil or a flaxseed/evening primrose oil blend
• 1 tablespoon raw, organic apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt and/or Herbamare to taste
• ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum, if desired

This dressing is a Body Ecology favorite because it is so versatile! You can experiment with small amounts of flavorful oils, such as walnut or roasted pumpkin seed oil, a wonderful mustard, or your favorite herbs. For even more variety, try Sea Seasonings Dulse or Dulse with Garlic, a dash of homemade mayonnaise, a pinch of cayenne pepper, or ½ teaspoon EcoBloom (a prebiotic that encourages the growth of friendly bifidus microorganisms).

If you’re using xanthan gum as a thickening agent, blend it in just after adding the oil.

This recipe is easily doubled or even quadrupled. Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 10 days.

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, stalk removed
3 small Leeks, cleaned and chopped
4 ounces wild Mushroom blend, roughly chopped
1/2 cup shredded Non-Dairy mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Non-Dairy Parmesan 
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 
1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Break the cauliflower into florets and pulse in a food processor until fine.
4. Steam cauliflower in a steamer basket and drain well by putting it on a towel to get all the moisture out, then allow to cool.
5. In a bowl, combine the cauliflower with the mozzarella, Parmesan, oregano, salt, garlic powder and eggs.
6. Transfer to the center of the baking sheet and spread into a circle, resembling a pizza crust. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Sauté the leeks and wild mushrooms in a pan with olive oil, over medium heat, until leeks are translucent.
8. Spread leeks and wild mushrooms evenly over cauliflower pizza crust and bake an additional 10 minutes.

What ingredients come to mind when someone says, “tater tots”? Taters, of course. How about zucchini? No? Well, that’s about to change. This vegan recipe is healthy, gluten-free , and tastes amazing. It only takes four ingredients and you probably have them in your kitchen right now.

Zucchini tater tots are healthier and taste way better than those processed, frozen tots they served in your school lunchroom. Make some for your kids and, while you’re at it, you better make a few for yourself too. Otherwise, you may find yourself sneaking them off your child’s plate!

There are a couple versions of this recipe making the rounds on the internet. This variation is based on the recipe posted by Izzy at She Likes Food. Thanks, Izzy!

4 Ingredient Zucchini Tater Tot Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes
• Total time: 30 minutes
• Makes: 40 tater tots

Equipment

• Large pot
• Box grater
• Large bowl
• Cookie sheet with parchment paper
• Clean dishtowel or paper towels

Ingredients

• 3 large, organic russet potatoes, peeled
• 2 organic zucchinis (medium-sized)
• 1 ½ teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt or sea salt, plus a little extra for later
• Organic olive oil

Directions

1. Place organic potatoes in a large pot.
2. Fill pot with cold water until potatoes are completely submerged.
3. Bring water to a boil. Cook potatoes until you can easily pierce them with a fork.
4. Drain water. Let potatoes cool until you can safely handle them. They should still be warm.
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Grate potatoes and into a large bowl.
7. Grate zucchini. Zucchini retains a lot of moisture which could make your tots too sloppy so you’ll need to squeeze the liquid out of the grated zucchini with your hands and a clean dishtowel or paper towels. Discard the liquid.
8. Place the squeezed, grated zucchini into the bowl with the potatoes. Add 1½ teaspoons Himalayan salt. Mix everything together with your hands.
9. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. By hand, form small (tater-tot sized) cylinders from the zucchini-potato mixture. Approximately 1 tablespoon per tot. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes. This helps the tots become firm.
10. Remove from freezer. Brush each tot with a small amount of organic olive oil and sprinkle with Himalayan salt. Bake tots until brown and crispy, about 30 minutes. Flip the tots 15 minutes through. Serve with organic ketchup, if desired.

Quick Facts about Zucchini

These zucchini tater tots are a great snack, and they're healthy.

• Zucchini is low in calories, so don’t feel too guilty for indulging (within reason).
• Eating half of one zucchini can help you meet your daily recommended nutritional allowance for vitamin A 6%, vitamin C 30%, calcium 2%, and iron 2%.
• Zucchini is a good source of antioxidants.
• Zucchini provides zinc, sodium, potassium and magnesium.
• Zucchini is one of several vegetables that help support normal cholesterol levels.