This recipe started with a craving for a candy-like, samoa-like cookie around Halloween. I found a four ingredient almond joy cookie that called for sweetened condensed milk that checked off simplicity, whole food ingredients, and taste. Wanting to do a vegan version, I tried a coconut milk sweetened condensed milk that did not sufficiently reduce, so the recipe took another turn with chia seeds pulling it all together and saving the day. The result is a chewy, flour-free dessert or snack cookie. Store refrigerated or frozen, and they taste great cold too! Ounce measurements are by weight not volume.
Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk:
Note that this recipe works for this cookie but objectively as a sweetened condensed milk substitute, it doesn’t cut it. Takeway: use this recipe here but do not treat it as a finished recipe unto itself.
3 -14oz cans of coconut milk
1 C coconut sugar
Bring to a boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to medium low, simmer 40 minutes till reduced by half, whisking every five minutes.
Remove from heat to cool.
Can be made 24-48 hours ahead and refrigerated.
Cookie Ingredients:
1 recipe vegan sweetened condensed milk (above)
16 oz wide coconut flakes (regular shredded/dessicated coconut will also work, but change the texture slightly)
3 C chocolate chips
24 oz Brazil nuts, rough chopped
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups cooconut sugar
1 3/4 cup ground chia seed
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.
3. Mix well and scoop into heaping tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheets. Flatten cookies gently with two fingers in one direction and then the opposite direction..
4. Bake, 20 minutes until lightly browned.
5. Remove from oven and cool slightly on pan before moing them to racks to cool. They will be fragile while warm. Consider lining rack with parchment for more stability and easier clean up.
6. Store refrigerated or frozen.
Volume: Since this recipe went through some changes in its creation, I don’t have an exact volume yet. Makes a lot! At least 6 dozen. Plan to eat some and store some, or make for lots of sharing.
