Healthy Can = Yummmmmmy

Cookies are yummy, we all know that. If the cookies are yummy and actually healthy, well, it just doesn’t get better than that! We decided to try this recipe that was featured on Vegetarian Vixens blog because it looked way too good to pass up. While petsitting for the adorable Molly, we took full advantage of her fully loaded kitchen to get our bake on. These beauties were soft, chewy, a little more oatmealy than we thought they’d be, but oh so vair delish!

And here’s how you can have them, too!

2 cups walnuts
3 T canola oil
1 cup light brown sugar
2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/4 t ground cinnamon
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (or 10 1/2 ounces vegan bittersweet chocolate, chopped)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
Blend walnuts in food processor 30 seconds, or until ground into a fine meal. Add canola oil in a stream with the food processor running, and blend for 2 – 3 minutes more, or until mixture has the consistency of natural peanut butter, scraping down the sides of the food processor occasionally. Transfer to a bowl.
Whisk together brown sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan, and bring mixture to a boil. (Watch this, as when it starts to boil it can quickly boil over.) Pour brown sugar mixture over the ground walnut butter, add vanilla extract, and stir until no lumps remain.
Whisk together oat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Stir oat flour mixture into walnut mixture. Cool 10 minutes. Fold in oats, then chocolate chips.
Shape cookie dough into 1 1/2 to 2 inch balls (I used a spring-type ice cream scoop, and I used 2 different sizes, varying the baking time), and place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Now the original recipe calls for flattening the cookies with a glass dipped in water. I forgot with the first batch that went into the oven, and they turned out just fine with a lovely cracked top to the cookie. They did take a little longer than the recipe called for when I made them this way.
Bake 8-10 minutes, or until cookies begin to brown and tops look dry. Cool three minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Enjoy with a tall glass of rice or soy milk!

So satisfy that sweet tooth of yours and don’t worry about feeling guilty one bit. NOM.

Tagged: cookies, desserts, recipes, S'more New Year, snacks