Enjoy Life's Chocolate Chips - AMAZING! (& chocolate chip cookie recipe)

Yesterday, I ventured into the world of chocolate chip cookies for the first time since going dairy-free - and let me tell you, these chocolate chips made a world of difference! In contrast to all of the chocolate I've used in recipes before, Enjoy Life's chocolate chips do not taste super dark. Rather, they taste like normal semi-sweet chocolate chips. Amazing, right?

As for the cookies, I used my beloved Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, but substituted to avoid dairy and gluten. My altered version is as follows.

Ingredients 

2 1/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup Earth Balance or butter ghee
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs (for vegan version, 2 eggs' worth of egg replacer*)
2 cups (or one 10-12oz package) ENJOY LIFE semi-sweet chocolate chips (or morsels)
Optional:
1 cup shredded coconut (adds texture and taste - I HIGHLY recommend this)
1 cup nuts
1 cup oats


Directions


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

COMBINE gluten-free all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat Earth Balance/butter ghee, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and any optional choices (again, I highly, highly, recommend you add the coconut). Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for appx. 5 minutes; remove to wire racks or wax paper and cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes appx. 4 dozen bars.

Cookies may be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week of in freezer for up to 8 weeks - I think they'll be long gone by then, though!


*I recommend Ener-G Egg Replacer, generally available at Whole Foods, Jewel Osco/Albertson's, or Mariano's.

What is...Butter Ghee?

As stated by WhatsCookingAmerica, "Clarified butter and ghee are not the same. Ghee is clarified butter that has been cooked longer to remove all the moisture, and the milk solids are browned (caramelized) in the fat and then strained out. This gives a rich nutty taste. Ghee has a longer shelf life, both refrigerated and at room temperature."


Butter ghee, like Earth Balance, can be used in place of regular butter. However, unlike Earth Balance, butter ghee does come from a cow. The milk solids have been removed though, so for all us dairy-free people out there, this is a can-do for you.


While Earth Balance has more of a margarine-like texture, the consistency of butter ghee is more like...well, butter. I recommend using it as a substitute for butter in recipes where you want a thicker texture and taste than one would get with Earth Balance.