At one point, I had an extremely bad sweet tooth--I mean, it was so insatiable that even a Yoplait yogurt cup couldn't help me. I sought out to make a delicious and quick confection with the ingredients I had available to me, which ultimately made my confection experiment a 'vegan' one. Even the chocolate used doesn't have dairy... I have never baked vegan before, nor did I have an example recipe for referral. I took the few skills and knowledge I possess in regards to the composition of a cookie and went from there.
Having staved off of eggs and butter recently meant I had to find another way to add in the moisture...I went to my freezer and found that I had some organic frozen wild blueberries. I also have agave syrup, vanilla, and water on hand. Almond butter also came to mind as it has an amazing creaminess that I wanted to replicate in the cookies' texture.
So the dry ingredients felt less intimidating since I did already have flour, baking powder, stevia, (which is easily measured cup-per-cup comparably to sugar) unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, and oats! Chocolate and oats are so delicious together and the last time I had an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie was so easily forgotten because it has been so very long! I knew where to draw inspiration.
Yes, you can drool now.
The best part about these cookies are their low sugar and high nutrient contents. Using stevia and agave syrup together helps to curb the amount of sugar released into your blood, reducing a sugar spike. The blueberries also have amazing antioxidants and fiber. I even had a couple for breakfast the day after making them. One of my roommates is eating a vegan diet and is very conscientious of what she is eating, and the other eats somewhat healthily too. I got asked for seconds. That is a sure sign of making some delectable treats.
The recipe I threw together makes approximately 36 cookies. This a drop-dough cookie and a small teaspoon is about all you need per cookie. Each cookie has approximately 70 calories (yes, I carefully calculated this) and a few grams of sugar (I haven't calculated the sugar content though).
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| Pretty purple cookie dough. |
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2-3/4 cup stevia or sugar substitute (amount used depends on taste)
2/3 cups oats
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup almond butter (I used crunchy, but you can use whatever kind you like)
2 TBS vanilla
2 TBS agave syrup
1 cup thawed frozen wild blueberries
1 1/2 cup pureed frozen blueberries
*for an optional topping: 2 squares semi-sweet bakers chocolate
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.
Mix all dry ingredients together. Then add in the thawed blueberries. Mix.
Mix almond butter, vanilla, agave syrup, and blueberry puree together in separate bowl. Using a fork significantly helps if you do not have an electric mixer.
Cut wet ingredients into dry. Because the almond butter is a little tough, you may have to add a little water into the mix to help smooth out the consistency.
Use a tablespoon to measure out cookie dough and drop onto greased cookie sheet. Dough will not spread out much, so you can have as many as 15-18 cookies on a standard sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes. They will be firm to the touch if cooked thoroughly. Remove from heat.
Optional topping: Melt semi-sweet squares on double boiler or in microwave on High for 1 1/2 minutes. Use teaspoon to apply. Optional garnishment: chopped nuts sprinkled on hardening chocolate.
This is a recipe that I had to carefully remember since I rarely like something enough to have to recreate it for the world in written form. I am so glad I did! Please let me know what you think if you do make them!
Staring at my yogurt cup,
Em
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