Chocolate Chip & Candied Ginger Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies have been a favorite of mine since my mom would made the recipe off the back of the chocolate chip package.  Also, I love how easy and non-fussy drop cookies are.  You don't have to worry about over-mixing like with scones and muffins or under-kneading like with bread.  You just make sure everything is well-smooshed-together, and you're good to go!

Anyway, considering all these factors, I clearly needed to come up with my own dairy and egg free recipe for chocolate chip cookies when I went vegan.

This week, I wanted to make some chocolate chip cookies to bring along on my (last ever!) spring break trip to Bend, Oregon.  But -- as I am wont to do in the kitchen -- I couldn't leave well enough alone.  As I pulled the baking soda out of the cupboard, I noticed a jar of just lovely candied ginger.  I thought about a delicious candy bar I had tried recently -- candied ginger in dark chocolate -- and I couldn't help myself: these cookies were born.  They're moist, chewy, and everything a homemade chocolate chip cookie should be-- with the added spicy-sweet bite of candied ginger.

Citrus-Macadamia Double Chocolate Cookies

Yesterday afternoon, I was inspired to bake cookies for the freshman class I help teach because it was the second to last class that day.  I started off thinking "chocolate chip cookies," and I probably should have stopped there in the interest of accommodating their teenaged palates.  But, as I am wont to do, I had to get fancy.

The students ended up inhaling the cookies, so the subtle citrus aroma was probably wasted on them.  These do make a tasty and slightly more sophisticated alternative to chocolate chip cookies, though, if you want to impress your grown-up friends.  They're soft and chewy and chocolatey and orangey and kind of addicting.