Vegan Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies:

VEGAN COOKIES!!

Many hours or my life have been spent studying in the Barnes in Noble Cafe.  Any one who has been to a B&N cafe knows that their pastry case, in all of its Cheese Cake Factory glory, pretty much trumps most of the pastry cases in other commercial coffee shops.   As a vegan during my entire first year of college I was forbidden from trying the egg and dairy filled wonders that taunted me from behind the glass.  Forced to neglect what had become an overbearing sweet tooth, I found myself gluttonously fantasizing about things that I could not have.  However, after reverting back to a lacto-ovo vegetarian my sweet tooth began to subside, and the B&N pastry case began to tempt me less and less.  The only thing that I have ever tried from their pastry cases was the deliciously oversized peanut butter cup cookies.  For a brief moment I felt that all of my ridiculous vegan pining was justified, because this was one tasty cookie. 

With the exception of a handful of items (and when I say handful I mean the things that you could literally fit into one hand.  For example maybe a bagel and if you’re lucky, I mean really lucky, a muffin), the baked goods sold in corporate coffee houses have never been too vegan friendly.  I may still not be vegan by definition, but this fact still upsets me.  I love incorporating vegan foods into my diet, and with my passion for baking, of course I feel compelled to come up with delicious vegan alternatives to all of my favorite non-vegan foods.  

Although these cookies may not be an exact replica of the awesome peanut butter cookies from B&N, they could potentially make you forget those cookies ever existed!

On a side note: I work at Rooster's Beak, a locally owned restaurant located in downtown Augusta, and it is not particularly vegetarian (let alone vegan) friendly.  The owners of the place really love their meat, eggs, and dairy, but when I took these cookies to work they absolutely loved them!  I waited until they had finished their cookies before I dropped the vegan bomb on them, and they were baffled when they found out that vegan baked goods could be so awesome and delicious. Now they are considering incorporating vegan friendly deserts into their menu!! Hopefully I can go from being the Lil' (broke) Baker to the Rooster Baker (with a hefty pay check)!! 

What you’ll need: 

• 2 sticks ‘cold and cubed’ unsalted vegan margarine (Make sure you use sticks and not margarine from a tub. The sticks have more water content which will result in a moister cookie. I prefer to use Earth Balance margarine.)
• 3/4 cup raw cane sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar - lightly packed
• 3 tsp of Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked together with 4 Tbsp of water (You can use whatever egg replacer you would like. Flax seed would also work very well in this recipe. Just make sure you are making the equivalent of two eggs.)
• 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour- sifted to avoid clumps (add more if the dough is too sticky, or if the dough is too dry add a little water 1Tbsp at a time until you’ve reached the right consistency. The dough should feel something like cookie dough from a tube.)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 tsp baking powder 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups of vegan dark chocolate chips or carbo chips 
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons of creamy organic peanut butter (Its crucial that you use peanut butter that contains peanuts and nothing else. Additives such as salt or sugar can create an imbalance in flavor. Not to mention that peanut butter made purely from peanuts is much healthier for you.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large bowl use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add egg replacer and beat until well incorporated.
2. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Using a icing spatula or your hands gently fold in the peanut butter, swirling it into the batter. You do not want to completely mix the peanut butter into the dough, hence the peanut butter swirl. (If you do choose to use your hands during this step spray them with non cook spray. You don’t want cookie dough covering every inch of your hands... well maybe you do, but for the sake of this recipe lets say that you don’t.)
4. After the all of the ingredients are well incorporated divide out your cookie dough into 2oz portions (1/4 of a cup). You should get about 16 cookies from this recipe. You can always increase the size of your cookies to 4oz to get 12 monster cookies. 
5. Gently form the dough into balls, and then place them onto a large plate. Place your cookies in the freezer for about ten minutes, allowing them to become slightly hard. I find that my cookies come out more moist when I chill and partially freeze my dough. However, if you are feeling super anxious about your cookies you can skip this step and proceed to step 6.
6. Place your cookies on a lightly greased sheet pan (you can line it with parchment paper if you wish). Be sure to space out your cookies because they will grow. I recommend baking 6/8 at a time. 
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-23 minutes until very lightly browned. I wouldn’t recommend baking your cookies any longer than 25 minutes, because no one likes an over baked cookie. 
8. Let your cookies cool on the pan for about two minute on the pan before you transfer them to the cooling rack. This will help avoid breakage. Once on the cooling rack allow your cookies to cool for ten minutes for optimum flavor. Serve immediately or store in an air tight container. (If you don’t own a cooling rack you can always flip your cookies upside down on a plate to cool. Don’t leave your cookies on the hot pan because the bottoms will burn.)

Once your cookies have cooled EAT THEM!! then store the left overs in an air tight container. They should maintain optimum freshness for about  4/5 days.