AS i cannot have 'brown 'chocolate, i am considering White chocolate chunksl Do you think White would be Ok. Pecan flour Yum, will find some.

Leslie VB
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Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies With Maple & Olive Oil
Recipe question for: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies With Maple & Olive Oil

5 Comments

Lori T.
Lori T. May 31, 2019
As long as you are certain you can safely tolerate white "chocolate", there is no reason why you couldn't use them in place of the regular sort called for. If you want to keep this vegan, you will also need to be sure you specifically purchase a vegan type as well, because aside from the cocoa butter, they usually include butter as the other fat component. White chocolate has a lower burn point than regular chocolate as well, so you would want to seriously eyeball that during baking time. I'm not sure where the pecan flour comes in at, but you could not substitute it for all of the flour and end up with cookies. The flour provides the framework which holds the chips together. You could substitute in some, but not all, and you would need to play with the liquid part so you didn't end up with white chocolate chip pucks. Making your own is not a big deal, if you have a food processor. You don't even have to add flour or sugar to do it, just use room temp nuts and pulse in short bursts until you get a finer consistency. I find toasted nuts pulse down easier than untoasted as well. Just be sure you cool them completely before trying to grind them. You can order pecan flour or meal, of course, and that's often finer than what you can make. Nut flours also do best stored in airtight bags in the freezer, not on the shelf, because the oil tends to go rancid with exposure to light and heat, and over a short time.
 
Smaug
Smaug May 31, 2019
I believed that white chocolate by definition contains milk solids, which would let it out as a vegan ingredient. It's also generally quite sweet, which could be a problem here. I find that adding a bit of flour or sugar (taken from the recipe amount, not an added ingredient) when grinding nuts makes it vastly easier and allows a finer grind, as it prevents clumping.
 
Lori T.
Lori T. May 31, 2019
It depends on how strict you are with what label you apply, but there are actually vegan forms of "white chocolate". Technically it can't be sold as that, because by law true white chocolate must contain dairy products. However, the dairy can be replaced with other things like soy milk powder, and the fat of the butter replaced with coconut fat. I don't vouch for the taste, but it's out there to be had. If you are really ambitious, you can even make your own. So far as grinding the nuts to flour, what causes the clumping is the heat generated in the process combined with the crushing being done by the blade that releases more oils. That's why you pulse carefully, rather than go full on. If you want a really fine grind, and have the time to invest in the job- a rotary nut grinder does much better. The flour and sugar may absorb the oil, but if you don't over pack the bowl, I don't find it necessary. It remains an option of course- but not strictly required if you prefer not to.
 
Smaug
Smaug May 31, 2019
Not strictly required, but it costs nothing and makes the job much easier, so why not? Cutting the nuts itself leaves oily surfaces that will stick together heat or no, though of course that exacerbates it. By far the best nut grinder I've used is an ancient, tiny (about 1 1/2c.) Sunbeam food processor that I inherited from my mother, but it's long ago discontinued (they do still have them on ebay sometimes). The more common 4-6c. models do OK, but food processors in general are a pretty crude way to puree or grind.
 
Smaug
Smaug May 30, 2019
I'm not sure where you got pecan flour-maybe in the story with the recipe (the link only goes to the recipe)- at any rate it sounds like a good idea. You may have trouble finding it- I wouldn't think it would keep at all well, but you should be able to grind your own- a small food processor is best, and it helps a lot to add some sugar or flour with the nuts to keep them from clumping. Also keep in mind- pecans are pretty sweet, and this recipe is already quite sweet.
 
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