b'my kitchen is in after weve preparedball of dough, then defrost it the night the dough, but its always worth it tobeforeyouregoingtobake,oryou seethelookofamazementontheircan freeze individually wrapped single faces while they sit in front of the ovenserving size cookies so you can bake watching the cookies rise and chattingas many or as few at one time as you about how amazing the kitchen smells. would like. If youre new to plant-based bak- Ilene Moreno is the owner of Colorful ing, this recipe is a great place to startDinner Delivery, a plant-based dinner since its very simple to make and all ofdeliveryservicebasedinMaplewood, the ingredients should be familiar. Itsand the author of the Colorful Kitchen also a great recipe to freeze for cookiecookbooks and blog. Connect with Ilene emergencies. You can freeze an entireat colorfuldinnerdelivery.com.Vegan Chocolate Chip CookiesTotal time: 30 minutes Active time: 15 minutes Makes: About 24 cookies Ingredients:Chocolate ChipFlax Egg 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed 3 tablespoons warm waterCookiesDry 2 cups spelt flour2/3 cups coconut sugar1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/8 teaspoon salt A family tradition with a plant-based twist Wet2/3 cup coconut oil or vegan butter, softenedBY ILENE MORENO 1/4 cup soy milk (or almond, oat or rice milk)2 teaspoons vanilla extract I s there anything better than thewith my two daughters, but weve hap- Fold In 1/2 cup chocolate chips smell of chocolate chip cookiespily upgraded from the tube of cookieInstructions:baking in the oven? doughtoaplant-basedrecipethats1.Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a baking sheet or line it Growingup,myparentsmadewithfewerprocessedingredi- with parchment paper. didnt love to cook but my en- ents, yet still every bit as delicious as2.Prepare the flax egg by stirring the ground flaxseed and tirefamilydidlovetoeat,sothe original.warm water together in a small bowl. Let the mixture sit most of our family food tradi- Mydaughterslovetheprocessoffor at least 10 minutes before using. tions involved takeout, frozen food ormaking these cookies almost as much3.In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. other highly processed ingredients. (Itas they love eating the finished result. was the 90s!) First,westirtogetheraflaxegg,4.Inasmallbowl,stirthe wetingredientstogetheruntil I always looked forward to the dayswhichisaveganeggsubstitutethatsmooth. Add the flax egg and stir again. Transfer the thatmymomwouldbringhomeabindsthecookiestogether.Thenwecontents of the small bowl to the large bowl and mix un-tube of ready-made cookie dough andwhisk all the dry ingredients togethertil the wet and dry ingredients are thoroughly combined. we would gather as a family to wait for(cuemykidsmomentarilyfightingFold in the chocolate chips. the cookies to rise in the oven, thenover who gets to use the whisk first)5.Spoon out balls of dough, a little more than 1 tablespoon immediately eat the hot cookies rightand stir in the wet ingredients. Finally,each, and place them on the baking sheet. Use your hand offthebakingsheet.Itwasaritualwe add the chocolate chips (while myto flatten each scoop slightly. that we indulged in on holidays, dayskids secretly try to sneak a few hand- 6.Bake for 1113 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. off from school or anytime one of usfulsintotheirmouths)androlltheRemove from the oven and transfer the cookies to a cool-needed a pick-me-up. cookies into balls.ing rack. Let them cool or dig in while warm. Store in an Now, as a parent myself, Ive con- Since my sous-chefs are two and fourairtight container. tinuedthiscookiebakingtraditionyears old, you can imagine the state that 10/ matters magazine / hearth & home 2021'