Do you want to know the sign of a bad sweet tooth? It’s when you already have a fresh batch of cupcakes in the kitchen and you decide to make cookies too. An even greater indication is when your pantry isn’t properly stocked and you desperately improvise to make baking the cookies possible. That happened to me today. I woke up feeling a bit under the weather and still found the energy to bake. I guess cookies are the true best medicine? Yes, I think that’s what researchers are saying nowadays…
Onto those cookies! My pantry really was lacking in the ingredient department. I had plenty of sugar (of course), but hardly any flour, cocoa powder, or vanilla. Originally I wanted to make ginger cookies, but without ginger, that doesn’t work very well. So, chocolate cookies seemed fitting for my needs. These particular cookies use an unusual ingredient: balsamic vinegar (which, incidentally, I spilled all over the floor). I was hoping it would provide richness and a bit of ooomph, but I can’t really notice it in the baked cookies. Maybe more sophisticated palettes will detect it?
December Photo Project 2012: Day #13
A quick note about these cookies: they are sweet. I consider these a great indulgence. You can reduce the granulated sugar by a 1/4 cup if you prefer, but I like how they turned out. They would be lovely with your favorite vanilla ice cream! Also, this recipe would most likely work with all-purpose flour, all whole wheat pastry flour, or a combination of both. I was using up the last of a few different varieties of flour.
Double Chocolate Balsamic Cookies
Makes about 1 dozen cookies
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 2 tablespoons warm water
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips (please use organic/Fair Trade, here’s why)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar for sprinkling on top, optional
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, vigorously whisk together oil and first two measures of sugar. Add in balsamic vinegar, vanilla, and flax mixture. Whisk until ingredients are well combined and smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Drop spoonfuls of dough (about 1 1/2 tablespoons per cookie) onto a baking sheet. You can use a cookie scoop if you prefer – I like them because they make uniform, round, pretty cookies. People will be amazed at their beauty!
5. Put the last measure of sugar onto a plate. Take a ball of dough, gently press the top into the sugar mixture, and place it back on the cookie sheet. Make sure the cookies are flattened slightly. They will spread while baking, but the extra little push at the beginning helps.
6. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies have flattened and cracked across the tops. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
I never heard of a cookie with balsamic vinegar, sounds interesting :) I have all the ingredients for them too, thanks!
I hadn’t either, but balsamic vinegar is such a lovely compliment to so many foods, including chocolate. :)
These sound so great! What a great idea to add some balsamic vinegar too. So creative and they look absolutely beautiful! When I bake for myself (waffles, muffins and cookies so far) I use oat flour instead of all purpose flour and it’s worked pretty well for gf baking! I want to experiment more too but gf ingredients are so expensive and I don’t bake for myself enough to make it worth it. I bet these would be delicious with oat and/or almond flour!
I love oat flour for baking too. It’s so light and fluffy! You are right, almond flour would be nice as well. Gluten-free products need to be less expensive! Maybe it’s because vendors take advantage of allergy sensitivities for profit. Someday all vegan/gluten-free stuff will be affordable. Let’s hope anyway!
Awesome idea. I love balsamic vinegar. I wonder if cutting back on the sugar would make the flavor more noticeable. They look so pretty too.
That’s a good suggestion! Next time I make them, I am going to try that. Thanks!!
I’m going to make these to bring to a party tonight. :)
Yay!!! I hope people will enjoy them!!!
MMMM,..your cookies look so delectable & apart too! I must make these with the balsamic vinegar. Maybe you must use a really old aged balsamic vinegar in here!
Perhaps an aged balsamic vinegar would work better! I think it’s worth a try. :) I also think less sweetener would help.