When it hits 4pm end your energy plummets to an all-time low at the library, your body is calling for a nutritional boost to go with that caffeine – so in celebration of national baking week, here’s our favourite afternoon snack which tastes as comforting as a Starbucks cookie, but is good for you too! This is the perfect opportunity to dust off that mixing bowl and give these vegan flapjack cookies a try!

These cookies are packed with moreish dark chocolate chips and sweet apricots but still relatively low in sugar making them much healthier than your average chocolate chip cookie.

Our vegan secret to the soft yet chewy texture is Aquafaba.

Aqua-whah??

Aquafaba is the liquid you normally drain off from tinned chickpeas. This super liquid can be used to make vegan meringues by mixing with icing sugar and cream of tartar which taste so similar to the egg white ones (and cheaper too!).

For these vegan flapjack cookies, the aquafaba was used to make a meringue foam which was then stirred into the cookie mixture. The result? Super Crispy, chewy and light cookies without the need to use excess oil or any egg.

You can be as creative as you like with what you add to your cookie (but try to keep it healthy!). You can experiment with different flavour combinations like dried cranberries and desiccated coconut or chocolate and orange zest!

Ingredients

• 80 g plain flour
• 70 g rolled oats
• 20 g desiccated coconut
• 30 g dark chocolate chopped
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 50 g brown sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup or maple syrup
• 60 ml aquafaba liquid (from 1 can of chickpeas)
• 1 tbsp cream of tartar
• 30 g peanut butter
• 3 tbsp sunflower or coconut oil
• 20 g dates chopped
• 20 g dried apricot chopped
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C and line a baking tray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, oats, coconut, dark chocolate, dried fruits, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, beat aquafaba with cream of tartar (using a handheld whisk) until light and fluffy and loose peaks have formed.
4. To the aquafaba meringue, add the peanut butter, oil, and vanilla and whisk to combine.  Add to dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
5. Scoop the chilled dough with a tablespoon and form into small discs. Place on baking sheet with about a fair gap in between each cookie to allow for spreading.
6. Bake for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

For more student-friendly vegan recipes, visit www.basilandvogue.com

Andri Neocleous

Images: Andri Neocleous