preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

mix together the flax meal and water to make the flax ‘egg’ let rest for at least five minutes

in a medium bowl combine the peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla and stir until throughly combined

add the baking soda (and salt if not using finishing salt) to the flax egg and add that mixture to the peanut butter, stir to throughly combine and then add the chocolate chips

using a teaspoon or scoop and your recently washed hands form the dough into ten balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter- this should be a heaping teaspoon or so- smaller is better since they are so delicate but really the size is up to you

place the cookie balls on the prepared baking sheet and again using those clean hands flatten the balls into rounds and top each with a flake or two of finishing salt

bake for 8-10 minutes. you don’t want them to begin browning but the tops should be just slightly craggy

remove from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan