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Vegan Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Feb 15, 2018

After an extended summer stay in the Hamptons filled with parties and lots of houseguests, I found myself in need of a little self-care at summer’s end. Not the Instagram inspired face-mask-selfie kind of care, but more of an everyday healthy ritual – something to jumpstart a routine that would keep my mind and body in balance.

The timing was perfect when I opened an invitation from my friends at Haute Yoga to join them in Costa Rica for their annual ladies’ retreat. I immediately accepted! The Haute Yoga tribe is quite a special and unique group. The women are genuinely encouraging of one another, and being with them is empowering in a very nurturing way. Owner and founder, Holly Miller Weston, lives life authentically, and she inspires everyone around her to do the same. Instructor Katherine Wilder’s joyful, playful approach to teaching and living is absolutely liberating and quite infectious. These ladies truly take their yoga off the mat and into their lives.

The Bohdi Tree is a little sanctuary in the jungle of Costa Rica where we shared nutritious, local food, daily yoga classes, meditation, a bit of surfing, and lots of belly laughs. Being ensconced in nature and living a little closer to the Earth where I could be a bit more in touch with myself was exactly what the doctor ordered.

The meals we shared at Bohdi Tree were delicious, and dinning alfresco added to the charm of our gatherings. The focus on fresh ingredients is something I embrace at home, but the emphasis on vegan options was particularly inspiring to me. Some of us newbies fell in love with the scrumptious vegan chocolate brownie cookies that appeared on the buffet at breakfast, lunch and dinner! The ladies who had been here before admitted to taking bagsful of cookies home. I took both the cookies and the recipe back with me.

My Cosa Rican jumpstart worked! I’m now practicing yoga regularly, meditating as often as possible, and more than seventy-five percent of my meals in any given week are vegan. But, I also reconnected with an idea I’ve often espoused – celebrate life often! Sometimes that means belly laughs with your girlfriends and sometimes it just means a hot cup of tea and a scrumptious chocolate brownie cookie, vegan of course!

Yield: Makes 35 cookies

Recipe Ingredients

4 tablespoons flax seed, ground

8 tablespoons filtered water

¾ cup coconut oil (room temperature)

1 cup raw or course sugar, ground

½ cup raw or course sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cacao nibs, ground

1 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1 ½ cup flour, sifted

Recipe Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 °F.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the flaxseed and water. Whisk until gelatinous, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes to thicken.

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the flax seed mixture, coconut oil, all the sugar, and vanilla. Then add the baking soda and salt.

Using your hands to combine the dough, add the ground cocoa nibs, and then add the cocoa powder one-third cup at a time. It will take a few minutes to combine. Then, add the flour one-half cup at a time until completely incorporated.

Using a cookie scoop or stainless steel measuring spoon, scoop out 1 tablespoon of dough and gently roll into a ball. Using the palms of your hands flatten the ball slightly, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat for all remaining dough, and space the cookies 1-inch apart as they will spread slightly. Bake for 12 minutes, or until cookies are dry around the edges and cracked on top. Allow to cool before serving.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 5 days.

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with the #anniefalk so we can all see it!

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