Low Sugar Vegan Levain Bakeryᵀᴹ Cookies
Are you browsing the net searching “recipe for vegan cookies”? Then look no further, we have your back.
Levain Bakery can be found nestled away in the corner of the New York City streets. But it’s no hidden gem. The Levain Bakery is well-known for their gargantuan, chunky cookies. Levain cookies are deliciously gooey, chewy, and delightful. With their soft inside, crispy edges, and hunks of melted chocolate chips in every bite, Levain Bakery is known for crafting the most addictive cookies in the world (according to us anyway).
Traditional cookies from the Levain Bakery are unfortunately not vegan. But we didn’t let that stop us from at least attempting to make them vegan. We’ve been working on crafting gluten-free and vegan cookies without sugar, Levain style. It may sound too good to be true, but if you’re looking to make some vegan sugar-free cookies from scratch this recipe is sure to please your taste buds the same way traditional Levain cookies do.
Here’s How We Make Sugar-free Cookies Taste Great
Coconut oil:
Coconut oil in this recipe is used to replace butter. In our vegan Levain cookie recipe, the coconut oil helps moisten the cookie's core. Keeping them soft and chewy from the inside out. Be sure that when adding the coconut oil to the mix that you let it cool slightly after melting. If you don’t, you risk melting the chocolate chips way before their prime time!
Coconut oil is a natural, plant-based oil that provides the recipe with healthy fats and a burst of nutrients unlike regular butter that contains unhealthy trans and saturated fats.
Plant-based milk:
As you most likely know, a vegan recipe means no dairy. So not only are we subbing out the butter in this recipe, but we’re also subbing out milk. Now, the choice of plant-based milk is up to you. In this recipe we used soy. Purely because it is creamer, higher in protein, and contains more of those healthy fats than other plant-based milk. Nut milk also works well, but if you want to go completely allergen-free, you can use oat or pea milk which works just as well. To keep this recipe allergy-free we left out the walnuts you would find in the traditional Levain Bakery cookie recipe. However, if you want that like-for-like Leavin cookie taste, keep them in!
Sweetener:
To make sure we create deliciously tasty sugar-free cookies, we used sweetener in replacement of sugar. We always like to use a sweetener that is extracted from natural sources, and after years of perfecting sweeteners in our own chocolate treats, we like to think we’ve got the art of sweetening nailed. We’ve experimented with every sweetener from stevia (from the leaf) to grape. Our favorite so far is a blend of stevia and erythritol. Stevia for primary sweetness and a happy stomach, and erythritol to balance the blend and eradicate any aftertaste for a blissful experience.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour (gluten-free if using) (220g)
- 3/4 cups 1:1 sweetener of choice (140g)- it's important you choose a like-for-like sweetener option
- 7 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
- 5 tbsp unsweetened plant-based milk of your choice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup MiiRO dark chocolate baking chips (75g)
- 1/ 4 Cup of finely chopped walnuts (optional)
Method
1) In a large mixing bowl, whisk the sweetener, melted coconut oil, plant-based milk, vanilla extract, and salt.
2) Into the mixture, sift flour and baking soda and mix to form a dough.
MiiRO Tip: If the mixture looks slightly dry and the flour not absorbing, add a splash more plant-based milk
3) Fold in your MiiRO chocolate chips and walnuts if using.
4) On a baking tray lined with parchment paper, scoop 6 portions of dough on the tray and press into a cookie shape.
MiiRO Tip: Make sure the cookies are at least 2.5 inches apart to avoid them baking into one!
5) Place the cookie tray into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours
MiiRO Tip: You MUST refrigerate the dough to keep the cookie's thick shape. If you put the dough in the freezer, allow it to warm on the side for 15 minutes before baking.
6) Preheat the oven to 170C/340F.
7) Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, or until the cookie's edges turn golden brown while the center remains soft.
8) Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
After you make these vegan Levain cookies for the first time, they may just become one of your favorite ever go-to recipes. The cookies are soft, sweet, thickly layered with chocolate chips, and all-around delightful. Which just shows you don’t need all the bad stuff for great taste and a healthier choice. Getting used to the ingredients is as simple as throwing it all into one bowl, mixing well, and baking beautiful batches your friends and family will adore.
