Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
For anyone who knows me, they know I strive for a very balanced lifestyle. I typically workout between five and seven days a week, I don’t have the heart to say no to dessert, and I continuously challenge myself to tweak the ingredients in some of my favorite recipes to make them a tad bit healthier. I mean really… who can truly say they’re genuinely happy if they don’t have pasta in their life? Not many, and if they do I’d put money on it they’re either lying or crazy! So that, right there, is motivation enough for me to make sure I kick ass in the gym so I can kick ass in the kitchen later!
With that said, I recently made VEGAN chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies. So, to me, my brain instantly goes, “Uhhhh Hannah, you found healthy cookies!” Granted, for those of you who don’t know me that well, I do completely understand that this doesn’t mean that these are, by any means, that much healthier than other cookies but hey, it’s all about how you put things in perspective sometimes, right?
So, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this. How are these vegan? I just replaced the eggs with apple sauce. EASY! But, are they tasty? Hell, yes! Literally everyone who has tried them has then tried to steal them all. Not to mention the morning after I made them I ate four before 10 am (as I whispered to myself “I deserve these, I went to barre this morning”). So, if you’re up for making these totally delicious cookies and bringing out the inner hipster in yourself, let’s get to it!
Please note: Once you make the dough it needs to sit in the fridge for four hours. Yes, FOUR HOURS. I didn’t realize this when I went to make them at six o’clock at night on Saturday so, I postponed making them until Sunday.
First you need to measure out your flour, salt, and baking powder. Combine all three ingredients and set aside.
In a slightly larger bowl, measure and mix together the cocoa powder, sugar, applesauce, oil, and extracts until well blended.
Crush a handful of peppermints and fold them into the wet mixture.
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture bit by bit until everything is combined.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours (Extensive, I know! But you gotta do it!)
Once the four hours are up you can preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a few of your baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the granulated sugar and powdered sugar in two separate bowls. Remove the dough from the fridge and begin to roll into balls, about one tablespoon each. For some reason my cookies got bigger as I was making them... Toss the dough balls into the granulated sugar first, and then the powdered sugar, coating fully before you place on the baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes, they should be slightly under-baked. Allow to cool fully before transferring onto a wire rack. I honestly thought the cookies tasted even better the next morning! Give them a try and let me know what you think!
Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Makes between 30-36 cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3-4 tablespoons of peppermint candies, crushed
Sugar Coating:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Recipe:
- Measure and combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a larger bowl mix together cocoa powder, sugar, applesauce, oil, and extracts until well blended.
- Crush a handful of peppermints and fold into the wet mixture.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture bit by bit until well combined.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the granulated sugar and powdered sugar in two separate bowls.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll into balls about one tablespoon each. Toss first in the granulated sugar and then in the powdered sugar, coating fully before placing on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
This recipe was originally found and adapted from My Darling Vegan.