I generally try to stay away from making vegan cookies.  I’ve successfully made vegan bread and muffins and cupcakes but for some reason cookies just seem too difficult, too delicate. Cookies require the perfect balance of ingredients to achieve their chewy, softy texture.  That balance can be really difficult to achieve when you start removing key ingredients like eggs. So I purposely (maybe selfishly) decided to skirt the issue of vegan cookies entirely…until this weekend that is.

I wanted to make a treat for a new friend as a way to say thank you.  For me, every occasion/person has a goodie that’s calling to be made.  Some people scream banana bread, while others shout muffins (am I the only person that thinks about baking this way?).  For this particular person, a cookie seemed like the perfect gift.  I didn’t know her very well so I felt like a safe gift would be a cookie, who doesn’t love cookies?

Since my vegan cookie baking prowess is pretty pitiful, I opted to go with the most indestructible cookie recipe I know, Oatmeal Raisin.  Rolled oats can cover over a variety of texture issues and other flaws.  I wanted to step up the recipe a bit by not only making it vegan but also by making it with peanut flour.  Peanut flour is a peanut butter addict’s best friend.  Typically, it’s lower in fat than its peanut butter brother because it’s made from partly defatted peanuts but it still carries the same protein punch.

This recipe ended up making 2 dozen fairly large cookies, which is a good thing because I simply could not resist them.  Every time I walked into the kitchen, I had to grab another.  They were the perfect combination of salty and sweet with a soft, chewy middle.  Luckily, I was able to muster enough self-control to leave a few cookies for the intended receiver, although I may already be scheming about when I can make some more.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup vegan margarine
• 3/4 cup raw sugar
• 3/4 cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed whisked with 3 tablespoons hot water)
• 2 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup peanut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make flax egg.  Add flaxseed to water, whisk, and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.

Add margarine, applesauce, raw sugar, and brown sugar to a large bowl.  Cream ingredients together.

Then beat in flax egg and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, add dry ingredients (rolled oats, peanut flour, baking soda, spices, baking powder, and salt) and mix together.

Then add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.  Mix with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are incorporated.

Next fold in raisins.

Prepare a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Add large spoonful of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing each spoonful about 2 inches apart.

Place cookie sheet in oven for 10-12 minutes.

Remove sheet from oven.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Then remove cookies from sheet and place them onto cooling rack to cool completely.

Pour a glass of your choice of milk and enjoy!  They are especially delicious when they are still warm from the oven.