Balsamic-Fudge Cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Celia

ingredients

1 cup unbleached white flour (or use gluten-free baking flour)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch cinnamon (optional)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
2/3 cup demerara sugar (or other vegan sugar)
1/2 cup prune puree (see note)
1/3 cup soy yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (see note #2)
Vanilla sugar (I did this the quick way by pulverizing a vanilla bean with sugar in my blender)

1
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2
Mix the flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt together and set aside.
3
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the prune puree with the sugar and cocoa and stir to combine. Add the soy yogurt, vanilla extract, and balsamic and stir until mixed. Finally, add the flour mixture and stir just until it’s combined—don’t over-mix.
4
Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop tablespoons of the dough onto the baking sheets about 1 1/2-inches apart. Using the back of a spoon, flatten each cookie slightly and sprinkle with vanilla sugar. Place them in the oven. Bake for about 9 to 11 minutes—be careful not to burn the bottoms!
5
Remove from the oven and lift the parchment paper or silicone mats onto cooling racks. Allow to cool completely. These taste best cold and somehow even better the next day. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
6
Note: I made prune puree simply by buying canned prunes and pureeing them in the blender. You can also buy a fat substitute, Wonderslim, which is essentially pureed prunes (or so I’ve heard), but it costs more and doesn’t work any better. I’ve also heard of people using jars of babyfood prunes, but blending my own always made more sense to me. (Caution: don’t use dried prunes!)