Vegan NY Bakery Style Almond Chocolate Drop Cookies

I decided to veganize one of my childhood favorites which is a large crisp but still chewy almond flavored cookie that has a huge chocolate drop in the middle of it. These were available in many of the bakeries in New York. I always loved them. Sometimes they would be a marble cookie and sometimes they would even have chocolate chips, but my favorite was the plain one with that huge chocolate drop in the middle. How to make it vegan though and still taste like how I remembered was the challenge.

In doing my research, I came across many recipes that used ground nuts (mostly walnuts believe it or not). I decided to go one better and although I’m sure this was not a traditional ingredient in these cookies, I’m using almond flour. Just a bit of it to give that sandy crunch to the finished cookies. I also tried a combination of vegan butter and shortening and it made the cookies spread too much. Butter will often do that in a cookie recipe, so using all shortening was the answer. I am also using aquafaba and flaxmeal. I like the combo of the flax and aquafaba but you can use water and flaxmeal if you don’t have the liquid from canned chickpeas.

To amp up that almond flavor, you need good almond extract. Just 2 teaspoons was enough to give it that perfect flavor. Too much almond extract can make baked goods taste medicinal so measure accurately.

I take it for granted that a lot of people know about baking and how to create structure in baked goods but I realize that many don’t. When creaming the fat and sugar together you need to do it for at least a few minutes by using either a hand mixer or a stand mixer. This will allow air to be incorporated to get a light fluffy texture which will result in a high-rise in your final baked goods. If you skip this crucial step your final product will be flat. When adding the eggs and extract, make sure to keep mixing for another two minutes to make sure everything is well combined and light and airy. I know not everyone has a stand mixer, but make sure to use a hand mixer for these cookies and do not mix them by hand otherwise you will not be able to get the structure needed. My old friend cream of tartar also makes an appearance in this recipe. When used in combination with baking soda it gives a great lift to baked goods.

You do need to flatten these cookies a bit before baking but don’t flatten too much and make sure that the edges aren’t thin but are the same thickness all around to get an evenly baked bakery style cookie.

Vegan NY Bakery Style Almond Chocolate Drop Cookies

Recipe by Kreg

5.0 from 2 votes

Cuisine: Cookies, Dessert

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

12

minutes

These huge crisp almond cookies are like you remember from your favorite bakery!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups vegan or organic cane sugar

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup trans fat free vegetable shortening

• 1/3 cup Aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas) mixed with 3 tablespoons flaxmeal

• 2 teaspoons almond extract

• Chocolate drop topping

• 1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chopped or chips

• 1 teaspoon unrefined coconut oil

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 375°. Prepare two large baking trays and line with parchment paper or silpat mats.
• Using a stand or hand mixer, combine the sugar and vegetable shortening and mix well on medium speed for at least two minutes stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. The mixture should be light and fluffy.
• Add the flax to the aquafaba and whisk well. Let sit for 3 minutes to thicken. Add flax mixture to bowl with the almond extract and mix well for another two minutes until everything is well mixed.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. do you want to whisk together to break up any lumps that may be present in the almond flour.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix for a few minutes scraping down the sides once or twice to make every sure everything is incorporated well.
• Chill the dough for at least one hour or overnight.
• Using an extra large ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, scoop out six cookies per baking sheet. Flatten evenly with the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes (depending on your oven). The cookies should be slightly browned at the edges. Cool completely.
• Chocolate drop topping
• In a small bowl combine the chocolate chips and coconut oil and microwave in 15 second intervals until almost completely melted. Take out of the microwave and continue to stir until completely melted.
• Once cookies are completely cooled add a large dollop of chocolate on top of each one in the middle. You can use a pastry bag or spoon. Cool until set.

Notes

• If you don’t want to use chocolate you can place a whole almond on each cookie before baking.
• You could use white whole wheat flour but I would only use up to one cup in this recipe and make sure the rest is all purpose flour.

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