Vegan S'mores Cookies
Ahh S'mores! Is it really a complete summer without a campfire and some s'mores at some point ? Or maybe it's the dead of winter when you're reading this and you're craving a little summer inspired pick me up! No matter the season though, these s'mores cookies are delicious !
Now before I get to the cookies, let's talk methods.
Its been a little over a decade that I've been cooking and baking vegan. And during those years I've learned a thing or two!
In 2016, I created my own recipes like my famous GYR Burgers, sausages, chocolate chip cookies, deep fried avocados and more to sell at my farmers market stand. Most of those recipes carried onto my full service restaurant in 2016 in addition to many more I added upon opening as well as over the next four years after that.
In late 2020, I then challenged my recipe development knowledge and came up with a line of dry food mixes that were inspired by those existing recipes. Then is when I learned the power of using weighted measurements (grams) for recipes, flour and sugar mainly. As well as different methods and the importance of certain instructions for recipes.
Then finally, in 2022 I took time to really use my experience and knowledge to reinvent and refine many of my existing recipes to make them even better, but also create new ones that reflected my years of experience.
Now, in 2023 I want to continue to improve my existing recipes and share that knowledge with you all in addition to using it and building on it in my career as a chef/baker.
Since this post is about cookies, here's what I have learned and know about making cookies from scratch.
Creaming the butter and sugars
Ill be the first to admit, I use to rush through this process and not cream long enough. But I've seen the difference this small tip makes. Creaming your butter and sugar together not only helps dissolve the sugars better, but it also allows air pockets to get into your butter which makes for a more light crisp cookie, instead of a dense hard/crunchy one.
Measuring your flour correctly, ideally using a scale
Too much flour will result in a crumbly more cake like cookie. And it's so easy to over add flour into any recipe if you're not measuring properly. Using a scale to weigh your flour is the best way and allows you to maintain consistency with the recipe and for each time you make it and keeps you from over measuring.
If you don't have a kitchen scale, just be sure you're measuring your ingredients properly . To measure flour correctly, first fluff up the flour in your bag or container just using a spoon. Then use your spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup until it is full with a little mound on top, then use the back of a knife to level it off. I promise it's worth the extra 45 seconds 😉
Chilling the dough overnight (24 hours)
Okay... as a cookie addict myself, I know just how hard this step can be! The difference it's makes is night and day! As the dough sits in the fridge overnight the moisture from the flax egg and the oils in the butter penetrate the flour allowing for a more moist and chewy cookie. And just like most things, allowing the flavours to sit and mingle means we end up with a more flavourful delicious outcome from the recipe in each cookie! In this particular recipe, you'll scoop the cookies then add the extra toppings just before baking.
You only need the dough to sit out of the fridge long enough to scoop and add toppings. So make sure your oven is preheated and ready to go and your baking sheets are lined!
If you really can't wait to try it, bake off one tray right away, then save the rest of the dough to chill overnight and bake the next day!
Lastly, always take your cookies out of the oven just before they look like they're done!
And remember that all ovens cook differently so your oven time will vary!
Back to our S'mores cookies ! These babies are perfect to bring to a summer BBQ or your kids summer sleepover or heck, anytime really !
They have semi-sweet chocolate chips (of course), marshmallow chunks inside and on top, and are finished off with a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs!
This batch makes a fairly large amount which is great for a crowd, but you can also freeze some of the dough to bake off later.
If you're freezing your cookies, portion then into dough balls first, then freeze rather than freezing in one huge dough ball.
To bake cookies from frozen, remove your dough balls the night before and allow
to thaw in the fridge overnight then bake off the same as you would the next morning.
