Some days I get stuck at what to post and keep postponing the work after looking at the number of pictures to edit. 160 pictures for a post are not fun. Not this post, but another one. Basically, when I am not happy with the setting or cannot figure out the composition, I keep changing it and hence a boat load of pictures. I get obsessed I tell ya.
Some of my best pictures though have been when I took the pictures of the food right before the meal like the Hummus pizza. I took like 10 pictures and since there was no other options I had to go with what I had, and luckily it worked:) I need to hire a part time photographer whose perks will include being able to sample all the food 😉
Today’s total was 65 pictures. You would think that by now I would have nailed the cookie setting. But I decided to change it a bit. bad idea:)
These cookies can be easily made glutenfree. Substitute the Spelt with glutenfree Oats or sorghum flour. Add more flour or substitute half the spelt with coarse Oat flour for crinklier cookies. I didnt add any extra refined oil/fat. There is fat/cocoa butter from the chocolate and the nut fat from the almonds. Theo’s 85% cacao has only cocoa beans, cocoa butter and mild sugar.
For variations, Add mini chocolate chips to amp up the chocolate. Add a teaspoon of instant coffee powder for a bitter mocha version.
Cailtin made a glutenfree version with 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons brown rice flour instead of spelt. check the picture out on facebook here!
Another batch of these Vegan Dark Chocolate Chip cookies from Instagram.
Above batch is with Spelt, Oat and almond flours. Crinkles!
For more Cookies, glutenfree too, see Collection here.
Steps:
Dark chocolate chunks. Try not to eat them
Heat coconut milk, add chocolate, cocoa, raw sugar, salt
Whisk
Add flours, baking powder. Mix well and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
Shape and bake
Baked. Cool, eat!
mmmmm.. White stoneware glass in this post, grey pot and black plate in the previous Tomato chutney post, made by me.
Easy and delicious Dark Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Dairy, egg, soy free. Makes 16-18 small cookies.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut milk(So Delicious unsweetened) or non dairy milk
1/4 cup vegan dark chocolate or vegan chocolate chips (I used Theo’s 85% cacao)
2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder
2.5 Tablespoons raw sugar (3 for sweeter, 2 if using semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup Spelt flour (or Whole wheat flour, or Spelt+Oat flour)
1/2 cup Almond flour( ground raw almond)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
Method:
Heat the coconut milk in a pan or microwave till it feels hot to touch(not boiling hot).
Add the dark chocolate chunks, cocoa powder, salt and sugar and mix well.
In a bowl, mix the flour, almond and baking powder.
For more crinkles/cracks in the cookies, substitute half the spelt with coarse Oat flour.
Add the dry to the wet and mix using a spoon to get a stiff dry dough.(add more flour if needed, depends on the fat content in the chocolate and milk used. Keep the dough almost dry/non sticky to touch, but not overly crumbly)
Chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. (This will make the dough less sticky and firm it up. You can skip this step if in a hurry)
Make small flat balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake in preheated 350 degrees F for 16 minutes.
Cool, eat.
(To make gluten-free, substitute the spelt with gf oats, sorghum or brown rice flour. You might need a few teaspoons more or less. The sticky chocolate will keep them together)
These cookies are heading to Slightly Indulgent tuesdays, Hearth ad soul blog hop, Allergy free wednesdays, Rickis wellness weekends. Healthy Vegan Fridays
The below picture has been making the rounds on facebook. I dont have any proof that this is a volunteer taking pictures of death row dogs, but it is powerful picture, which captures the emotion and turmoil of the job.
Washington shelters might have low kill rate, but lots of others do not. Very adoptable, healthy dogs, pure breeds, even puppies are put down in several shelters, with some kill rates as high as 60%. That means, every other dog or cat going into the shelter might not survive tomorrow.
A good picture increases the chances of adoption by several folds. It is heartbreaking to take sweet and happy pictures of dumped pets, whose last day, might be the day with you.
Please Adopt! from shelters and rescues.
Please dont “Buy” a puppy from a breeder however reputable they claim they are. Find a pet on petfinder.com
xena
This recipe looks awesome with the dark chocolate Richa. I have a friend who has a nut allergy – is there something else I can substitute for the almond flour? Just want to say I love your blog – your recipes and pictures are not only delicious but also inspire me to eat healthier. THANK YOU!!!
Margaux
Your photos always have so much depth and character to them – always a visual treat! 😀 But your instructions hit hard – the part about not eating all the chocolate chunks? That’s why I never make choc cookies! :p
I volunteer at a cat shelter and they don’t easily put animals down, but it still happens. There’s a farm nearby where the feral cats go, but it’s still heartbreaking to see older cats spend their whole lives in a cage whilst the humans walk by and squee at the kittens. That picture is so powerful because I think anyone who works with animals has felt that utter despair that what they’re doing is not enough, BUT I think if more *responsible* people adopted the world would be a truly blessed place. We have a few people drop off “difficult” animals or make up excuses for why they bring them to us, and then I have to go cry in the bathroom for a few minutes because an animal can’t negotiate for its family – the humans obviously stopped listening a long time ago. 🙁
Urmila
just quickly wanted to check with you. Whole wheat flour is the regular wheat flour right or is it some other kind of flour that you use for baking??
Richa
there are several types of whole wheat flour depending on where you are located. Here we get whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour and atta(indian whole wheat flour). In cookies, any of these can be used interchangeably. For chapatis, whole wheat flour makes a very dense dough, so whole wheat pastry flour or atta is a better option. in cakes, use whole wheat pastry flour and breads, use atta or whole wheat flour. whole wheat flour and atta have higher gluten content but are made with different variety of wheat.
chinmayie @ love food eat
WOW! This looks too good to be true 🙂 There is not oil in it!!! How did you do that?
Will have to make them asap 🙂
Nivedhanams Sowmya
Bookmarking this… They look delicious!!! If only I can be the photographer to taste the food you do:)
It will be great if you could link it to my Coconut Event – https://nivedhanams.blogspot.in/2012/08/taste-of-tropicscoconut.html
Thanks
Sowmya
Nivedhanams Sowmya
Bookmarking this… They look delicious!!! If only I can be the photographer to taste the food you do:)
It will be great if you could link it to my Coconut Event – https://nivedhanams.blogspot.in/2012/08/taste-of-tropicscoconut.html
Thanks
Sowmya
Harini
I would love to choose and edit, Richa, under those terms! If only we stayed closer.:) The cookies look delicious. Haven’t tried spelt yet.
Follow foodie
Yummy Cookies!
Todays Recipe-Homemade Garlic Bread
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Jaime
The list of ingredients are mouth-watering and so are the photos! I’ve tried spelt flour in bread (delicious!) but never in cookies. Looking forward to trying your recipe!
Richa
Spelt works really well in cookies too. its earthy and hearty and works well to make crunchy crackly cookies. Do let me know when you try them
Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes
I can totally see why Caitlin made these right away – they look amazing Richa, these are on my list to make!
Love the white board with the Dark cookies, I think the composition is perfect 🙂
Richa
Thank you Heather! i like the white board picture too. it doesnt have the eye catching oomph for the food photog sites, so i kept on clicking. kept on clicking. There are 3 more setting which did not make the cut 😉
glutenfreehappytummy.com
wonderful! simply wonderful!! i love the sounds of those:)
Swati Sapna
The solution to all our problems – a good batch of chocolate cookies! 😀 Your step by step pictures make it look super easy Richa! Must try this soon 🙂
Veena Theagarajan
cookies are so nice and yummy! I love the clicks tooo
Great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal
The photo is sad :'( I wouldn’t be able to take photos of death row animals, it’s just too heartbreaking so I can understand the pain. Sigh..
On a lighter note, the cookies look totally awesome!
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking
oh, I thought I’m the only one that takes tons of photos and changes the props and settings in the middle of the shooting, glad to read I’m not the only one.
These cookies look and sounds delicious Richa!
Richa
yeah, I am usually confused and not satisfied when shooting:)
Ingrid
The dark chocolate cookies look divine!
I have a huge soft spot for furries, and wish I could adopt the whole lot.
Richgail @AstigVegan
Thanks for posting that last photo. How heartbreaking. Hopefully more people will develop compassion towards animals. Btw, like I mentioned before, aside from your recipes, your photography inspires me. In fact, I’ve recently gathered some fabrics to add some texture and color to go with my dishes. 🙂 Anyway, I wish I’m a professional photographer just so I could sample your food hehe.
Richa
Thankyou RG!:) Thats amazing that you are collecting fabric. i have one too many scraps here and there. All the best! check out some of my pins on the food photography board.
Gabby @ the veggie nook
I just love Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and I love the ingredients you used just as much!
Your pictures are fabulous! I only hope one day to have half as much of your talent.
You’re right that picture is very powerful! It’s my dream one day to have a dog (I’m allergic and constantly moving around) but one day when I’m settled I’m definitely going to adopt one 🙂
Richa
Thanks Gabby!:) I keep trying. i used to be very bad at photography before. now i think there is hope:) hmm. you can probably try for a hyper allergenic breeds.
Kristy
These are right up my alley! Bring on the chocolate!
I know what you mean about ending up with a ton of shots! Chris always shoots like crazy and then narrows it down to about 30 for me to choose from. It makes me very thankful that he does most of the photography- I would be totally overwhelmed! Your pictures look fabulous, even though you did change the setting. I especially love the one with your white stoneware cup in the background.
Richa
lucky you:) I need to borrow chris for a while;) He has an amazing eye for composition.
Thanks for liking the pictures!
Karen's Vegan Kitchen
My favorite recipes are those using small amounts of ingredients and chocolate. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
GiGi
165 photos to choose from for each post aaaaand you made the pottery and the cookies? Now I am crying like the last photo.
Yes, I’ve seen that last photo, heart wrenching and powerful! Great post, Richa.
Richa
Calm down Gig, The pots from 6 years back when i did some pottery. I had hidden most of the pots so hubbs wouldnt break them. he managed to break a third of my creations. I finally moved some to an accessible location 🙂
VeganFling
These cookies look delicious! I love all things chocolate so I know I’d like these. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
The Cooking Actress
So….chocolatey……:D
And omg that picture of the photographer 🙁
Caitlin
you’re so hard on yourself with taking pictures- they are ALWAYS AMAZING! and i am really thinking of making these cookies for my mom’s birthday tonight 😉 she’s a big lover of chocolate.
Richa
Thank you Caitlin! I am hard on myself so u can heap praises on me 😉
let me know how the cookies come out. i hope you all love them!!
Caitlin
well, you deserve high praise 😉
i forgot to mention how beautiful your ceramics are! i was never any good at it.
Richa
Thanks Caitlin. my initial bowls were all misshaped and now i cant do pottery on the wheel, but i want to go back and so some molds
Leanne @ healthful pursuit
Oh man, I totally feel you on the photo editing. My trick – take the pictures, lock myself in the office, and edit them ALL. When I was in India, I had so many pictures to edit every single day, but I’m so happy I took the time to edit images in the evening before going to bed or I would have had so many to edit when I got home that it still wouldn’t be done.
Dogs in shelters – agreed. We got our German Shepperd at the shelter and were told later that she was a day away from being put down because she had an issue with other dogs and no one wanted her. If we had a larger home, we’d adopt endlessly. Perhaps when we own a home again, we’ll get a third. They all need so much love!
Richa
Good for you! I am so bad at organizing them too. Just lately i have been naming them and organizing folders. Looking up some old pictures without any name are a super pain.
i know right. the poor dog in a new environment with so many other anxious dogs around will not necessarily behave his normal self. So many dogs get put down because of that. our pom was returned to the rescue for being snappy, and now look at him getting stomped on by toddlers without a care.:)
Joyness Sparkles
Oh my goodness, what a wonderful recipe. And yes, that is a powerful picture, we did adopt our dog and cat from a shelter, but sadly, in our small apartment we can fit no more in. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Richa
I know. my dream house would have a big back yard where i could keep a bunch of the sweeties:) Our pom was dumped, then adopted and dumped again. luckily we found him:)
Ragini Sharma
Woww….this so good and easy to make also.
Joint Replacement India
cookingwithlysa
Beautiful pictures. You always make me hungry with your very tasty looking recipes. With some dark chocolate…this is just perfect!
Premalatha Aravindhan
wow delicious cookies,ur photography luks too gud…
Gauri
Hey Richa, thanks for stopping by and leaving your valuable comments!
The cookies look great…:)
The last picture really caught my attention (for once more than food) I have a dog at my parents place and can totally understand her emotions! So wish I could do something for all those helpless animals out there!
kankana
I hear you friend. I at times wish someone could edit and pick photos for me from the huge lot! The cookies sounds lovely and i love dark chocolate.
Richa
Kankana, your pictures are fabulous to choose from.. some of mine suck big time:)
dark chocolate love back to u
Hannah
Absolutely yes!
Richa
yes indeed
Vimitha Anand
They look so perfect.. Gonna try this soon…
Richa
Thanks Vimitha! do let me know when you do!