I know that I’ve been posting a lot of chocolate recipes lately, but in my house Valentine’s Day requires a lot of chocolate; it’s the way to my husband’s heart!
3 teaspoons egg replacer + 4 tablespoons warm water (I used Ener‑G Egg Replacer – it’s available at Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme and Amazon) – If you aren’t vegan or allergic to eggs you can use 1 egg + 1 egg white
1 cup vegan chocolate chips + ¼ cup chocolate vegan chips set aside (Use Lily’s Baking Chips to make a sugar-free Paleo cookie since they are sweetened with stevia, or Enjoy Life chips to make them vegan)
Add the banana and continue to mix until combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop tablespoons of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet. I used a knife to get the dough out of the tablespoon. because they were very sticky, and then gently smoothed the top. If you don’t smooth the top – they will look jagged.
Bake for 14 – 15 minutes until they are browned and firm to the touch. (I baked them for 15 minutes)
Cool for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Put ¼ cup of chocolate chips in a glass bowl and microwave for 30 second increments stirring in between sessions until melted and smooth.
Every year we made an icebox cake for Christmas. My daughter wrote all about it in her tradition story project at school. That’s when I got scared. This was the first year with the kids being wheat, egg, and dairy free. How was I going to make a gluten-free and vegan cake without the Nabisco cookies and whipped topping? I couldn’t break the tradition. See how sweet they are making this cake! My son was 2 here.
Last Christmas, we traveled to Florida to see my mother-in-law, so my husband and I went to the local Walmart on Christmas Eve, in attempt to get Christmas gifts and the ingredients to recreate the treasured icebox cake. Peace & Calming to the rescue; seriously it helped me survive the crowds and chaos! I deserved the mother of the year award for a trip to Walmart, followed by Toys “R” Us on Christmas Eve!
While at Walmart, I bought Pillsbury Best Multi-Purpose Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend, Smart Balance (Vegan Butter), and Hershey’s Cocoa Powder. I was sincerely surprised at how delicious and crisp these gluten-free vegan chocolate wafers were, and very inexpensive! FYI, I don’t recommend the heavy coconut cream from Wal-Mart, it has tons of sugar and water, because of the dilution it doesn’t whip well – it tastes like marshmallows. I prefer the Trader Joe’s Brand or Tai Kitchen full-fat coconut cream. Or, if you’re lazy, you can use the CocoWhip!, but it will taste more like Cool Whip.
Since it was Christmas, my mother-in-law requested that I try to stick to traditional cane sugar and cocoa powder instead of cacao and coconut sugar. I get it, she didn’t want to “ruin” the cookies with my typical healthier experimentation. I’ll have to experiment another time and report back!
Regardless, my mother-in-law (who had wanted to go buy the Nabisco cookies and make her own separate cake) declared, “These are really really good! Are you going to put these on your blog? You should!” I take that as a vegan gluten-free win!
14 tablespoons vegan butter, slightly softened (I used Smart Balance)
3 tablespoons coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk (I prefer Trader Joe’s brand)
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
Directions
Combine the gluten-free flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
Using a pastry cutter, scoop 1 tablespoon of vegan butter at a time into the bowl, continually combining with the pastry cutter as you incorporate each tablespoon. (If you don’t have a pastry cutter, you could put them in a Vitamix or a food processor).
Combine the coconut cream and vanilla in a small cup.
Add the liquid mixture and continue to combine with the pastry cutter until it is fully combined.
Knead a few times to make sure that it is evenly blended with your hands.
Transfer the dough onto a cutting board lined with wax paper or foil.
Form the dough into a log about 14 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter.
Wrap the log in wax paper or foil and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour, or until needed.
Place your oven racks on the top and bottom slots.
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Using a pastry cutter (the Betty Crocker with measurements printed is great for this), slice the cookies as thinly as possible.
Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper approximately 1 inch apart. The first time I placed them too close like this and they grew together but were easily separated. The next time I placed them 1 inch apart and they were perfect.
Cook for 6 minutes on the top rack of the oven. After 6 minutes, transfer them to the lower rack and cook for another 6 – 9 minutes.
Makes ~60 cookies if you slice them very thin. What’s good about these cookies is that they are flat at the bottom and are perfect for making an icebox cake!
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Icebox Cake (Gluten-Free & Vegan)
Ingredients:
Chocolate Wafers
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 can coconut cream or full-fat milk (refrigerated overnight)
Directions:
First, make the vegan coconut whipped cream. Since I made this dairy free, I used 1 can coconut cream (you can also use full-fat coconut milk) that had been in the fridge overnight and ¼ cup powdered sugar. Mix with a mixer on high until fluffy. If you don’t have a good mixer, you can use a Vitamix, or put your metal bowl in the freezer before whipping the cream.
Then, ice your gluten-free vegan chocolate wafers and create a stack of cookies.
After four sandwich cookies lay them on a wax paper covered tray, and continue to put a layer of whip cream on each chocolate wafer, lay it down on the tray creating a row of cookies. Repeat this for three rows. If you’re fancy you can try to make a design – like a Christmas tree with your icebox cake, but I’d try traditional rows for the first time.
Carefully push the chocolate wafer rows together with a cookie inside the filling of another. Then, smooth the vegan whip cream around the entire outside of the cookies.
The icebox cake needs to sit overnight. The wafers will soak up the cream and become soft. Note how the chocolate wafers absorb the coconut cream.
So in the meantime, the kids didn’t want to wait. I took extra chocolate wafers, put them in a cupcake liner, topped them with coconut cream, and enjoyed them right away! They are little mini-icebox cupcakes!
What are some of your favorite holiday food traditions or recipes?
My Quest for the Perfect Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie
All the cool gluten-free kids talk about almond flour, because it’s low in carbohydrates, high in fiber and a high source of protein...blah blah blah. I felt like I should experiment with it, but I’d been sheepish because sometimes nuts bother my stomach. When I’m making a gluten-free vegan cookie, I want a nice texture so that you don’t know that it’s vegan and gluten-free. And, when I’ve experimented in the past with dense nut flours, they offer a different texture. I’m especially picky because I love Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend. It rises well, and is the most similar to actual wheat flour that I’ve tried; my cakes, cookies, and cupcakes rise light and fluffy. I buy it cheapest in bulk at Costco. However, it’s available online at vitacost.com if you don’t have a Costco membership or a store close, and don’t want to pay an arm and a leg.
Speaking of Costco, while I was there I walked by this bag of Blue Diamond Almond Flour. I figured if I’m going to experiment – go big or go home! There was a chocolate chip recipe on the back, so they must rise and make a decent cookie, right?! Here’s how I adapted the recipe to make it vegan and cane sugar-free. Note: I played around with it, and it could not be made completely vegan and not mushy without adding in another flour.
Oh, the decisions… I made two batches of chocolate chip cookies for a taste test: one with Blue Diamond Almond Flour and the other with my treasured Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend; then I let my family and friends say which one was best. The taste test was on!
Tips for Making them Vegan:
To eliminate eggs: You will need an egg replacer (I use Ener‑G Egg Replacer – it’s available at Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme, and Amazon) AND you will need half of a banana or ¼ cup applesauce regardless of using egg replacer. If you skip the banana or the applesauce, they will be too dry and crumbly.
To eliminate dairy: You will need an alternative to “butter.” I used Smart Balance because they had it at Costco, and I was on a shopping mission that day, but I’ve had great results withEarth Balance too. I love that Earth Balance comes in easy to use sticks instead of just a container.
Tips for Making Them Sugarcane Free:
Organic Pure Maple Sugar instead of brown sugar – you can buy the Coombs Family Farms Maple Sugar brand from Fresh Thyme or Whole Food. I also like Pure Indiana Maple Sugar that I get from a local co-op. It is a great flavor, it has a lower glycemic index than sugar, and contains important antioxidants and minerals like zinc and manganese.
Coconut sugar instead of cane sugar – coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than regular table sugar because it contains a fiber called inulin, which may slow glucose absorption. A lower glycemic index means that you don’t get as much of a sugar rush and insulin spike with maple syrup sugar and coconut sugar.
Chocolate chips –Lily’s Baking Chips are sugar-free and are sweetened with stevia. Vitacost has them for less than the store. They are awesome. If you can’t find any Enjoy Life contain cane sugar, but are vegan, dairy free, soy free, and allergy friendly option. My mom used carob chips growing up, but I just don’t like the flavor they provide.
If you aren’t sugar conscientious, then just throw in the brown sugar and the sugar cane. However, if you give these a chance, you will never taste the difference.
Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie With Almond Flour
Combine gluten-free and almond flours, baking soda, and Redmond’s Real Salt in a small bowl.
Prepare your egg replacer (take with 3 teaspoons egg replacer, 4 tablespoons warm water, and mix until it thickens)
Beat vegan butter, sugars, and vanilla in large bowl until creamy.
Egg replacer
Gradually beat in dry ingredients.
Add in the ½ banana and continue to mix.
Stir in the chocolate chips
Drop tablespoons of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet. I used a knife to get the dough out of the tablespoon because they were very sticky, and then gently smoothed the top. If you don’t smooth the top with your hand – they will look jagged like the top right image.
Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until they are lightly browned on top and firm to the touch. (I baked them for 12 minutes)
Cool for 2 minutes then move to wire racks to cool completely.
Combine gluten-free flour, baking soda, and Redmond’s Real Salt in a small bowl.
Prepare your egg replacer (take with 3 teaspoons egg replacer, 4 tablespoons warm water, and mix until it thickens)
Beat vegan butter, sugars, and vanilla in large bowl until creamy.
Add Egg replacer.
Gradually beat in dry ingredients.
Add ½ of the banana for vegan cookies
Stir in vegan chocolate chips.
Drop by small rounded teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. (I cooked them for 11)
Cool for 2 minutes then move to wire racks to cool completely.
Makes ~34 cookies
Taste Test Results
Both are delicious, and you would never know that they were vegan and gluten-free! The appearance is smoother and lighter with the Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend cookie; you must smooth out the top of the Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie if you want it to look like rounded and smooth. The Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie Cookie is denser and a tad sweeter, which is rare, because it has less sugar. I consider that a plus! It also has a crunchier browner outside. The gluten-free vegan chocolate chip cookie with theNamaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend has a softer texture, more like a normal cookie, and is a little lighter color. You really can’t go wrong with either one! After tasting the almond flour vegan chocolate chip cookie, I have visions of chocolate almond flour cookies dancing in my head!
About My Real Dish & Susan Ellen Minich
Look here for allergy friendly recipes that are gluten, and dairy and egg free, tips for baking vegan and gluten-free, traveling with food allergies, and health and wellness tips including essential oils. I explain more of my experiences dealing with extreme food sensitivities and gut issues in the About Section.
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