Classic cookies

hands up who has a food allergy.

hands up who misses eating delicious home-baked chocolate chip cookies.

this is probably an american thing, but something about a chocolate chip cookie (especially the smell in the kitchen while they bake!!) puts a smile on anyone’s face. but when you’re allergic to eggs, dairy, and soy (or wheat or gluten or yeast or sugar….), you probably haven’t experienced it in a while.

i decided to make cybele pascal’s version of the classic choc chip cookie for a party on saturday night – and while i made one pretty obvious mistake, i will definitely be making these again. the woman is a genius. if you haven’t yet, you should certainly pick up a copy of her allergen-free baker’s handbook.

last time i tried one of her recipes, the results were heavenly. but cookies (especially allergen-free ones) are difficult to get perfect. one thing that i think helped me out was actually finding a bag of dark chocolate chips (not just chopping up a bar of chocolate) – add this to the list of food items which aren’t readily available in british stores. but i got lucky on saturday, randomly finding some at a morrisons! made all the difference, i swear.

below, you’ll find the recipe with my slight tweaks (and using british ingredients as opposed to the brands pascal recommends in her book). the mistake i made was to make only one batch of large cookies, rather than two batches of smaller ones. while baking, they all ended up spreading into each other, which meant i had to cut them apart with a knife, making them into weird shapes. in future, i’ll read that part of the recipe

classic chocolate chip cookies

from the allergen-free baker’s handbook by cybele pascal

the particulars:

3/4 cup pure sunflower spread
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp orgran “no egg” egg replacer mixed with 4 tbsp warm water
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips


preheat the oven to 350F / gas mark 4. line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
in a bowl, add the pure spread (or other dairy-free margarine / shortening), caster sugar, and light brown sugar. using an electric mixer or stand mixer, mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. add the vanilla and egg replacer and mix for about 20 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
add the flour mixture to the creamed batter in two batches, mixing on low speed, just until the batter comes together, about 20 seconds.
gently fold in the chocolate chips.
place heaped tablespoons of the batter onto the baking sheets, 8 per sheet (3 down each side, 2 in the middle). roll into balls, spacing the cookies a couple of inches apart. flatten them slightly with the palm of your hand. bake for 11 minutes in the center of the oven, or until lightly golden around the edges. let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. repeat with the remaining dough.

lesson learned: next time, i need to remember to save some for myself