vegan salted chocolate chip cookies + i used to hate yoga

Most people are surprised to learn that the first time I tried yoga I hated it. I don’t mean “eh, this really isn’t for me,” but wholeheartedly, emphatically, and unapologetically loathed it. There was no grit to it (actually, not true at all), I didn’t understand things like “puff up your kidneys” (and for the record, I still don’t get that one), and I thought those five minutes we were ~~guided~~ forced into savasana could be put to better use (oh, how the times have changed). I was a runner. I wanted to move constantly and feel breathless and, to me, pushing through pain meant badassery. I was “one and done” with yoga, and continued to challenge pain like the ~~bad~~ dumbass I am until one day, nearly a decade later, pain won and injury brought me right back to yoga.

A runner at heart, I walked into the studio in my running clothes with an old Target mat that my previous home owner had left behind, promptly had my ass handed to me (yoga is DEFINITELY gritty), and prayed for a gloriously sweaty death in savasana. I was hooked. Initially, it was for the rush of balancing on my arms or feeling the sweat drip into my eyes as I’m standing on my hands trying to give my legs a break, but somewhere between child’s pose and scorpion, the intricacies of the practice took over. Or maybe it was my inner geek taking over. Either way, I wanted to learn, and eighteen months, three pair of yoga tights, and a proper mat later, I decided to enter teacher training (YTT).

I was surprised, elated, and overwhelmed at the amount of work demanded of teacher trainees (which, as it turns out, is not nearly enough), but it was my favorite part. I loved the group discussions, examining variances among different bodies, and learning the art of actually teaching other humans. But more than that, I loved the study sessions between modules because it meant diving deeper than we can in class. It meant my friend and I spending entire mornings in Elemental Coffee Shop bouncing ideas off each other, developing and redeveloping sequences, and studying anatomy like we were Andreas Vesalius. It also meant almond milk lattes and salted chocolate chip cookies, which brings me to the point of this post. Finally, I know!

These vegan salted chocolate chip cookies are directly inspired by the ones we fueled those first YTT days with. I started trying to replicate them shortly after graduation, and though I couldn’t quite match the texture of Elemental’s, I’ve landed on something equally as good. I’ve been making these vegan salted chocolate chip cookies for about four years, now, and they are probably my most requested thing to bring for any sort of social gathering. They are lovingly known among friends as “those cookies,” and I’m happy to finally get the recipe in print for you all!

A couple of things to note: They are better if you make the dough, cover it tightly, and then let it rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours. If you’re having a cookie emergency, though, they’ll still be pretty yummy if you skip that step. Do NOT use regular sea salt for the top. It’s so fine and you’ll just end up with a weirdly salty cookie. Learn from my mistake. This is NOT GOOD. I use melted refined coconut oil, but if you don’t mind coconutty hints, you can use unrefined. Vegetable or canola oil will also work. And finally, I love the rustic look and feel of chopping up a quality bar of chocolate, but sometimes ease trumps effort, and a bag of good quality chocolate chips will do the trick!

vegan salted chocolate chip cookies
makes 12-14

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
6 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 1 Tbs melted refined coconut oil*
1/4 cup water
8 oz good quality chopped dark chocolate (72% or higher)
maldon salt for sprinkling

1) In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and both sugars.
2) Add the melted coconut oil, water, and vanilla extract, and stir just until combined. Fold in the chopped dark chocolate.

vegan salted chocolate chip cookies ingredients — salt & chocolate

all the good things in life

3) Wrap the cookie dough tightly and let it rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
4) When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5) You’ll likely notice the ball of dough looks oily after resting. I simply blot it quickly, before scooping, and it’s just fine. Using a standard #1 ice cream scoop, scoop out the cookie dough and place on the lined sheet at least two inches apart. Flatten slightly and sprinkle with maldon salt.

vegan salted chocolate chip cookies scooped — oven ready

and already delicious

6) Bake for 9-11 minutes. Start checking at 9 minutes. The cookies should look slightly underdone. Remove from the oven and let stand for five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

notes:
They are better if you make the dough, cover it tightly, and then let it rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours. If you’re having a cookie emergency, though, they’ll still be pretty yummy if you skip that step.
Do NOT use regular sea salt for the top. It’s so fine and you’ll just end up with a weirdly salty cookie. Learn from my mistake. This is NOT GOOD.
I use melted refined coconut oil, but if you don’t mind coconutty hints, you can use unrefined. Vegetable or canola oil will also work.
And finally, I love the rustic look and feel of chopping up a quality bar of chocolate, but sometimes ease trumps effort, and a bag of good quality chocolate chips will do the trick!

vegan salted chocolate chip cookies
makes 12-14

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
6 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 1 Tbs melted refined coconut oil*
1/4 cup water
8 oz good quality chopped dark chocolate (72% or higher)
maldon salt for sprinkling

1) In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and both sugars.
2) Add the melted coconut oil, water, and vanilla extract, and stir just until combined. Fold in the chopped dark chocolate.
3) Wrap the cookie dough tightly and let it rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
4) When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5) You’ll likely notice that the dough ball looks oily after resting. I simply blot it, quickly, before scooping, and it’s just fine. Using a standard #1 ice cream scoop, scoop out the cookie dough and place on the lined sheet at least two inches apart. Flatten slightly and sprinkle with maldon salt.
6) Bake for 9-11 minutes. Start checking at 9 minutes. The cookies should look slightly underdone. Remove from the oven and let stand for five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

notes:
They are better if you make the dough, cover it tightly, and then let it rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours. If you’re having a cookie emergency, though, they’ll still be pretty yummy if you skip that step.
Do NOT use regular sea salt for the top. It’s so fine and you’ll just end up with a weirdly salty cookie. Learn from my mistake. This is NOT GOOD.
I use melted refined coconut oil, but if you don’t mind coconutty hints, you can use unrefined. Vegetable or canola oil will also work.
And finally, I love the rustic look and feel of chopping up a quality bar of chocolate, but sometimes ease trumps effort, and a bag of good quality chocolate chips will do the trick!