Eating cookie dough – I think we all did it growing up! That is, until Mom learned that raw eggs could contain salmonella and kill us. Rats. There went all the fun of “helping” make cookies. Somehow, though, when her back was turned, I still managed to snitch a taste here and there. To a little kid’s mind it made no sense whatsoever to one week be allowed to eat the dough and the next to be told it was dangerous. Once I became a mom, I had to be diligent and depressing and not allow my children to eat it, either when we weren’t yet vegan. Therefore, it was with great joy that it dawned on me while creating a vegan cookie recipe that there were no eggs in the cookie dough any more. I could teach my children to eat cookie dough! (I think I probably created a problem there…ha!)
This recipe probably provides my favorite cookie dough to eat (although chocolate chip is a close second.) There is something about the chewy oatmeal and the goodies chosen to vary the recipe that make me dip in again and again. (I guess it might be a little difficult to definitively tell you how many cookies the batch makes!) 🙂
The batch pictured contains a wonderful raisin medley from Trader Joe’s. It has 3 types of HUGE raisins – white, flame, and regular. If you are not a raisin fan (like some of my kids – and lo, and behold, my husband! He refused to eat the cookies when he saw these. Shocking….simply shocking! This is the man who is a devourer of cookies…), you can switch them with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips (I’ve actually found a dairy- and corn syrup-free kind once!), coconut flakes, etc. Or combine a whole bunch of things together to make some crazy cookies.
And be forewarned….you may wish you’d made a double batch when you see how quickly these disappear! (I guess mine will be around longer since the cookie-monster hubby isn’t involved any more. But wait…these are my 17-yr. old son, J’s, favorite cookies. Never mind….they probably are already gone.)
Oatmeal Cookies
- 1/2 c. (1 stick) Earth’s Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, softened (these contain no trans fats)
- 1/4 c. melted coconut oil (virgin is best) or light olive oil
- 1 1/4 c. evaporated cane juice
- 1-2 T. molasses
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer powder
- 1/4 c. + 2 T. non-dairy milk
- 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour (white whole wheat is sweetest and lightest)
- 3 c. oats
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix the first 5 ingredients together until smooth. Stir in the egg replacer powder. Stir in soy milk a bit at a time and whip with spoon until fluffier. Add salt and baking soda into sugar mixture. Add flour and oats. Stir thoroughly.
Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment-paper-covered cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. If the cookies seem crumbly after the first pan is baked, press the dough together more before baking.
Makes approximately 42 cookies. (I tried to estimate just how much dough I snitched to make up the total.)
Variations: Add 1 c. raisins, nuts, chocolate or butterscotch chips, and/or coconut before adding the flour and oats.
Cheerfully Vegan 