Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ever since I tried milk chocolate oatmeal cookies and enjoyed the whole experience, I wanted to try the Nestle chocolate chip cookie recipe. So finally when I got around to making them, I thought of replacing the eggs with ground flax seeds (alsi - I've mentioned about it here)

I read about flax seeds as egg replacers on several websites and was very keen on trying this method out. I was specially motivated when I read about it in this book. Here is the equation as per the book -

1 tbsp of ground flax seed +  3 tbsp water to replace 1 egg.

Just dry grind a few tablespoons of flaxseed for 10 to 15 seconds. You can store the extra powder in an airtight container (in the freezer) for later use.

Take 3 tbsp very hot water in a bowl, add 1 tbsp flax powder and stir vigorously. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes. The mixture will turn thick and viscous like so - 

                                 (the picture shows 2 tbsp flax powder + 6 tbsp water)

Since the recipe calls for two eggs, I did the needful, creamed all the wet ingredients and reached for the all purpose flour. I had just about a cup! So good old atta (whole wheat flour) came to my rescue. The result - not too bad! The cookies were slightly denser and did not easily flatten out like (I presume) they should (the absence of eggs could also be the reason for this). But they tasted great and crunchy with that li'l chewiness in them - the main reason why I loved chocolate chip cookies since I was a little girl!

Since I was adding flax seeds, I added a little extra vanilla - just to make sure the nuttiness of the flax seeds did not overpower the taste of the cookies, but all was good at the end. Also, I added a little more baking soda since flax seeds do not have the leavening properties of eggs. I also used a little less chocolate chips than the original recipe.

So with all these changes, here's the recipe :

Ingredients :

1 cup all purpose flour (I used maida) + 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (atta)

[ OR 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour in total]
1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp flax seed

6 tbsp warm water

1 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Method:

Mix 2 tbsp ground flax seeds with 6 tbsp warm water and set aside for 10 minutes until the mixture turns viscous.

Meanwhile combine all purpose flour, wheat flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

In a separate (large) bowl, with an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add vanilla and flax mixture and beat further. 

Add the flour mixture little by little and fold in with a spatula. Since whole wheat flour is used here, mix gently - otherwise the cookies can become hard and dense; but make sure it's mixed well. 

Add chocolate chips and mix well.

Refrigerate the dough for about an hour. (Since it's winter now, I refrigerated it for just a few minutes. However if it is hot and humid, you need to refrigerate it for a longer time in order to roll the dough into balls. The original recipe doesn't call for refrigeration, but I do so since I prefer to roll the dough into balls). 

Preheat the oven to 375F.

With a tablespoon, scoop out the dough and make balls. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet, about two inches apart and flatten them a little with your fingers. 

Bake for about 11 minutes - till the the edges turn slightly brown. The center will be soft. Remove and allow to cool on the baking tray for two minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The center will harden once the cookies cool.

Like I mentioned earlier, the cookies were slighlty dense, owing to the whole wheat. But I have no complaints since whole wheat is definitely a better option, specially for kids.

The recipe yields about 5 dozen cookies (great solution for a potluck party!), if you can refrain yourself from sneaking in some cookie dough to yourself. But I guess with the absence of raw eggs in the dough, it may not be too easy!

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