I love the Internet. Sure it’s distracting, bubble-prone, priority mangling, full of vitriol, etc., but it also facilitates conversations in ways that make my life richer, better informed, more connected, and more fun.

Yesterday, I was reading food articles on the bus, like ya do, and came across Food52’s article on Ovenly’s chocolate chip cookies – chocolate chip cookies that just happen to be vegan. I sent a link to my twitter account with one word “Skeptical”. Almost immediately, a couple friends replied that they were going to try it (for science!). Because sometimes peer pressure is great, I decided to try it too. (I even almost followed the recipe! I added 1 tsp of vanilla though. Couldn’t help myself. Oh, and I scooped them smaller so the recipe yield was 25 rather than 18.)

Results:

Friend the First concluded that while these are definitely chocolate chip cookies, they are not chewy enough for her (probably due to the lack of egg). (I haven’t yet heard from Friend the Second.)

I baked the first dozen of my 25. They are… OK. I miss the depth of flavor they’d get from butter and I don’t love how crumbly the dough is (probably due to lack of egg). They also didn’t spread as much as I’d like, so for future batches I think I’ll squash them a bit before baking. I’d definitely make these for office parties, so vegan compatriots could have a tasty dessert that just happened to be vegan. For myself, though, I’ll stick with Toll House, letting the batter rest overnight whenever I manage to plan that far ahead.