[This post is sponsored by my wonderful friends at Bob’s Red Mill! We’re using their Organic Unbleached White All Purpose Flour for these To To Cookies.]
Words cannot even begin to describe just how excited I am about this recipe.
THIS is my childhood in cookie form. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t grinning from ear-to-ear as I’m typing this.
Have you ever heard of To Tos?
Or maybe it’s To Toes?
Or perhaps Toe Toes?
tbh, I have no idea. According to my grandma, my Nana’s recipe had “To Toes” written at the top.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t imagine putting anything with the word “Toes” in the title in my mouth, so we’re calling them To Tos today.
Sorry, Nana.
To Tos are a chocolate Italian Christmas cookie. Or wedding cookie. Or celebration cookie. Basically whenever there was an event for which the family would get together, there were To Tos.
I think they’re called “Italian Meatball Cookies” as well (because um…they totally look like meatballs straight out of the oven?), but we’ve always always called them “To Tos” (said with a heavy Italian accent, of course).
They’re sweet and chocolatey, but not overly so. They’re kinda cakey, and slightly chewy.
And they’re my all-time favorite cookie!!
Because of nostalgia, but also because of sugar, chocolate, and that drippy drippy glaze. ?
My Nana made the best To Tos (but which great-grandmother doesn’t make the best version of your favorite recipe?), so I’m thrilled to be sharing her recipe with you today.
Well, it’s her recipe but with one important twist: they’re vegan!!
My Nana was an awesome, sassy Italian lady. She loved her grandkids and great-grandkids (me & my brother) so much, and she loved to cook for us. She made bread from scratch and pasta pretty much on the daily, but the most sacred of her homemade foods (at least in my opinion) were her famous To Tos.
They. Are. Heaven.
And they’re probably one of the easiest cookie recipes you’ll ever make!
You start by beating together some [vegan] butter and sugar. Then you’ll add the rest of your ingredients – flour, cocoa, almond milk, baking powder, baking soda, and just a touch of cinnamon -, roll, and bake. That’s right – this dough requires no chilling!
I typically like to chill all of my cookie dough for maximum chew and to reduce the amount of spreading as they’re cooking. But these To Tos don’t need it. They’ll spread a bit, but because of the baking soda/powder in this recipe, they puff up more than they spread.
Oh, and there’s one…oddity with these cookies: you want to coat your hands in oil when you roll them out. Not only will it make the rolling process a lot easier (this is a sticky dough), but it also gives the cookies a bit of a shine and crisp crust. I’ve never seen this done with any other cookie recipe, but if Nana did it, I’m doing it.
After they come out of the oven, you let them cool then dip them in a simple glaze of powdered sugar, milk, and a bit of vanilla. You can dunk the tops of the cookies in the glaze like I did, or you can dump all of the cookies in the glaze bowl and mix to coat them in the glaze like my Nana used to.
As you read at the top, this post is written in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. We’re using their Organic Unbleached White All Purpose Flour, which is a must during the holidays! It’s unbleached (AP flour is sometimes bleached to make it whiter), unbromated (bromate is sometimes added to AP flour to improve elasticity, but it has also been linked to cancer), and unenriched, so you’re getting true, 100% wheat flour with BRM!
While I love using this flour, it’s not the focus of this partnership today. Today it’s about their December Cookie Campaign, which focuses on sharing the love and spreading goodwill this holiday season. To pass along the BRM love, I gifted a box of these cookies (shown in the first picture) to my dad. He was incredibly close with our Nana, and he loves To Tos just as much almost as much as I do.
Not to toot my own horn or anything, but he loved this vegan version. They were a bit more moist than the To Tos he remembered, but he said he…are you ready for this?…liked them better this way.
*cue happy dance*
I hope you try my Nana’s To Tos (made vegan), friends! I hope they bring as much joy to you and your family this season as they do to mine!
Nana's To Tos Made Vegan
https://www.fooduzzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/nanas-to-to-cookies-italian-chocolate-christmas-vegan-5.jpg
| Prep: | Cook: | Yield: 28-30 cookies | Total: |
My Nana's famous Italian To To cookies...made vegan! This is a simple chocolate cookie recipe that requires no chilling and minimal ingredients! Perfect for the holidays.
You'll Need...
- The cookies:
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup raw cane sugar (or your fave granulated sugar)
- 3 cups Bob's Red Mill Organic Unbleached White All Purpose Flour
- 6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 cup room temperature unsweetened almond milk
- neutral oil (like canola) for rolling
- The glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 and 1/2 Tbsp. unsweetened almond milk
- splash vanilla extract
Directions
- COOKIES: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine vegan butter and sugar in a stand mixer with the flat beater attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about a minute. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Meanwhile, combine your flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Reduce your stand mixer speed to low and add 1/3 of your dry ingredients, followed by 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 of your dry ingredients, the remaining 1/2 cup milk, then the remaining 1/3 of your dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and mix until just combined.
- Take chunks of your dough (I like making mine slightly bigger than a golf ball), oiling your hands in between each, and roll them into a ball. Stick them on your baking sheet with a bit of room between each (they don't spread too much). Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until they look dried out on top.
- Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet, then move them to a cooling rack for glazing.
- GLAZE: Whisk the glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Dunk the tops of the cookies in the glaze, swirling so the entire top is covered. Place the cookies back on the cooling rack so that the glaze can drip down. Allow to set up at room temperature or pop them in the fridge for quicker setting.
Additional Notes
Recipe from my Nana!
A special thanks goes to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post! Check out more delicious healthy recipes, snag coupons, and find stores near you at BobsRedMill.com!
Just beautiful! I love reading about everyone’s childhood favorites and family traditions this time of the year!
Right?! So so fun. :) Thanks, girl!
Do you think you could use vegan margarine instead of butter?
Hi! Sure thing :) I think that would work just fine!
These look delicious & I am always looking for new cookie favorites! Thanks for sharing….
Thanks, Mrs. J! Hope to see you at NCC Christmas Eve! :)
Aww, I love recipes with family stories! These sound AMAZING!
Thanks, girl! Family recipes are the best :)
Loved my Italian grandmother to bits. And boy did she know how to cook!! Love recipes that bring memories. Can’t wait to try these!
Grandma/great-grandma recipes are the best! Let me know if you give these To Tos a try :)
Yum!!! Those cookies LOOK like heaven so I can only imagine how wonderful they taste! My grampy was the cook in our family, he used to make things like upside down pizza and ice cream with baked caramel apples. Gah, I miss him and his cooking so much! So happy you are keeping your grandma’s traditions alive :)
Upside down pizza?! What is this wizardry?! That sounds AMAZING. Plus the baked caramel apples – it sounds like your grampy was a champ in the kitchen!
These were ah-mazing!!! THANK YOU for making this recipe and sharing it! My family has made toto cookies every year for christmas and when I went vegan 2.5 years ago i was so sad to not be able to enjoy them anymore. My family had ground cloves in our original recipe, so we added 0.5 tsp of them and this came out tasting exactly like the “real” thing! My christmas has been saved, thank you!
Your comment MADE MY YEAR. I felt the SAME way when I made this recipe. So glad you enjoyed them. Hope you had a very happy holiday season!
My Nana’s famous Italian To To cookies…made vegan! This is a simple chocolate cookie recipe that requires no chilling and minimal ingredients! Perfect for the holidays
Just beautiful! I love reading about everyone’s childhood favorites and family traditions this time of the year!
THIS is my childhood in cookie form. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t grinning from ear-to-ear as I’m typing this.
Grandma/great-grandma recipes are the best! Let me know if you give these To Tos a try :)
Thanks, Mrs. J! Hope to see you at NCC Christmas Eve! :)
Thanks, Mrs. J! Hope to see you at NCC Christmas Eve! :)
A special thanks goes to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post! Check out more delicious healthy recipes, snag coupons, and find stores near you
My Nana’s famous Italian To To cookies…made vegan! This is a simple chocolate cookie recipe that requires no chilling and minimal ingredients! Perfect for the holidays.
My Nana’s famous Italian To To cookies…made vegan! This is a simple chocolate cookie recipe that requires no chilling and minimal ingredients! Perfect for the holidays.
Aww, I love recipes with family stories! These sound AMAZING!
I wanted to express my heartfelt appreciation for your presence in my life
Your comment MADE MY YEAR. I felt the SAME way when I made this recipe. So glad you enjoyed them. Hope you had a very happy holiday season!