Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

The holidays are almost here! How the time flies. Here's a quick cookie recipe that tastes exactly like those old school peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from your childhood. No one can resist! 

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Nourish, Preserve and Flourish

Ingredients (48 cookies)

• 2 1/2 cups ap flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup Earth Balance or other (non-dairy) butter, at room temperature

• 1 cup peanut butter- natural

• 1 cup light brown sugar (packed)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 5 tablespoons ground flax seeds mixed with 6 tablespoons water

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips, whatever kind you have on hand

Directions

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix together ground flax seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside to thicken.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the "butter" on medium speed for a minute or two, until smooth and creamy. Add the peanut butter and beat for another minute. Add the sugars and beat for 3 minutes more. Add the flax seed mixture and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and, on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they just disappear. Mix in the chocolate chips. You’ll have a soft a pliable dough.
Scoop the dough into balls, using a cookie scooper or tablespoon. Place balls onto a cookie sheets, leaving a few inches of room between each cookie (you should fit about 12 cookies on a sheet).
Pour some sugar into a small bowl. Dip the tines of a fork and press into the ball of dough. Dip the times again, and then press the tines again perpendicular to the first indentation to create a crisscross.
Bake the dough for 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and from front to back at the midway point. When done, the cookies will be lightly colored and still be a little soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a minute before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool to room temperature.
Repeat with the remaining dough, making sure to cool the baking sheets between batches.