Chocolate chip cookies (dairy free)

Today is cheat day. I need chocolate chip cookies! Yep, I said Need.

On a recent trip to my parent's house my dad picked up a few grocery items for some baking and found dairy free chocolate chips for me. My regular grocery store does not carry them, I quickly suggested we go back and buy another 10 bags. We went to the mall instead ... however, I will scout out my local superstore for my precious chocolate.

Now on to the recipe. This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies and is amazing when you use butter. I do not get the same results with margarine, vegan margarine, or vegan margarine with half coconut oil. I'll play with the recipe and update. As a dairy free recipe the result is a cakey cookie. I prefer a chewy flat cookie.

Another thing I will mention is the measurements are great and you can get away with using just your 1/3 dry cup measure and a set of measuring spoons.

2/3 vegan Bacel(you can use half coconut oil)

2 Cups brown sugar ( I try to measure just shy of the 2 cups)

2 Eggs

2 Tbls hot water or coffee

1 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cups flour (you can get away with using whole wheat)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Half a bag of dairy free chocolate chips

Set the oven to 375 F

Cream the margarine and sugar till smooth, add eggs, water and vanilla mix till smooth.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Mix till the wet and dry are combined, do not over mix. Add chocolate chips mix till evenly distributed.

Drop by tablespoon on to ungreased cookie sheet. Press flat before baking if you prefer less caky and more crunch. Bake for about 4-10 mins depending on the size of the cookie.

I baked 26 small cookies and the other half was wrapped in plastic wrap in a sausage shape and put into the fridge for later. To bake the cookies out of the refrigerated dough slice the dough in to disks and place on cookie sheet.

Dairy free pumpkin muffins/ cupcakes with dairy free "cream cheese"icing

This is the beginning of our adventures of a dairy free, mostly soy free lifestyle.

During the week I make dinners that are following (most) of the guidelines for 4 hour body diet (4hb). Most of the baking is not 4hb cooking and would be fine for the *cheat* day.

It's fall and in Canada that means Thanksgiving in October, canned pumpkin purée is abundant so I've been making everything I can pumpkin. Pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin spice latte syrup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins with creamcheese icing, and pumpkin pie - All dairy, soy and nut free and all delicious you'd never know it was.

Pumpkin muffins/bread


(this recipe works for mini muffins (24), regular muffins and even pumpkin bread (one loaf)

Set the Oven to 350 f

Wet Ingredients
1. C Pumpkin Purée
3/4 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C Water
2 Eggs
1/2 C Canola oil
3 Tbs Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Tbs Vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 C Flour (Whole wheat works great)
1/2 tsp Salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
(or 1 tsp baking soda)

Mix the wet ingredients, you can then mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to the wet. If you are in a rush or don't want to dirty another bowl this recipe is forgiving enough to mix everything in one bowl. Keep in mind that once you add the flour you are dealing with gluten so don't over mix just mix to combine the ingredients. Once the baking soda is added it needs to be baked promptly, as the baking soda is the leavener and will start reacting as soon as it becomes wet.

Fill the muffin tins. I filled the tins almost full and got very cute tops on my mini muffins. I used a non stick pan and did not use liners they popped out after I slid a toothpick around the outside.

Bake in a 350 oven for 10 mins for mini's, or 40 mins for a loaf. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

These keep in the freezer quite well. I sliced the loaf froze it between sheets of parchment paper and popped it into the toaster to thaw. It comes out like it was just baked.

Dairy free cream cheese icing

1/4 C Vegan Margerine (I like vegan bacel, I used half margerine and half coconut oil)
1 C icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Vanilla extract

Soften the margerine, slowly add about 1/4 c the powdered sugar and mix till lump free, add the vanilla and lemon then continue to add the powdered sugar 1/4 c at a time until all the powdered sugar is added.
This has the same tang as creamcheese icing, it is slightly softer, if you used half coconut oil if you put it in the fridge it will be quite hard.