Does anybody really need another recipe for chocolate chip cookies? The answer is a resounding YES if it's these Vegan Salted Chocolate Chip babies from The Ovenly Cookbook and bakery, today's delectable focus of this week's Famous Fridays! If you like a little salt with your sweet you will adore these. And if you're vegan and have trouble finding cookies that taste as good as those made with butter and eggs, you will die and swear you've gone to vegan heaven!!

Ovenly (both the cookbook and the Brooklyn-based bakery) is the creation of Agatha Kulaga and Erin Patinkin. The offerings are hip and adventurous, focusing on the re-imagining of classic bakery treats with a decided slant towards the blending of sweet, salty and spicy. There are recipes for Mustard Spice Cookies, Strawberry Basil Loaf, Bloody Mary Scones, Black Chocolate Stout Cake etc. and these very popular salted chocolate chip beauties. 

In general, I'm not a huge fan of the trend towards putting salt in everything sweet. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and don't even get me started about the addition of bacon to every dessert under the sun! Let's just say it's not my thing. But all that aside, I LOVED these cookies--everything about them--the consistency, the flavor, the slight saltiness. I would make them regularly if I could be trusted to control myself around them. But alas, there are certain foods against which I have no willpower!!

The cookies are easy to put together but as Agatha and Erin state very explicitly, you must follow the recipe "to a T". That means not only refrigerating the dough for at least 12 hours and up to one day but also freezing the balls of dough for 10 minutes before baking. Now, I know it's hard to wait, but if you can manage it, you will be rewarded with a large, thick, chewy cookie filled with salty chocolatey goodness! Mrs. Tollhouse, move over, I think you may have been replaced for good!!

Have a great weekend, bake up a batch of cookies and if you happen to be in Brooklyn, check out Ovenly in person and pick up a copy of this fun, inventive cookbook!

Ovenly's Vegan Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies-Famous Fridays

Makes about 18 cookies

Prep Time:  15 minutes (plus at least 12 hours of chilling time); Bake Time:  12-13 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
• Coarse grained sea salt or flaky sea salt like Maldon, for topping the cookies

The Recipe

1.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda and salt int a large bowl. Add the chocolate chips and toss to coat them with the mixture. Set aside.

2.  In another large bowl, whisk the sugar and brown sugar briskly with the oil and water, until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until flour is barely combined. Don't over mix.

3.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours and up to one day. Do not skip this step!!

4.  Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

5.  Scoop the cold dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place them onto the sheet. Place the pans into the freezer for about 10 minutes.

6.  Remove from the freezer, sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the sea salt and bake for 12-13 minutes, or until the edges are just golden. Don't over bake or the cookies won't be chewy. Transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.

7.  Cookies last for 3-4 days, stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Note :  Recipe adapted from Ovenly by Agatha Kulaga and Erin Patinkin.