We love cookies; I mean really, who doesn’t?? We pride ourselves in having some of the best cookies ever here at our B&B in Chestertown and our guests usually agree.

The only downside to being around all these great cookies all day long is, well, you can guess it: the downside = our backsides! We have to taste test them, don’t we?? All that butter and sugar and those lovely, local eggs…if only it was good for us.

Well, perhaps this recipe will save us. This is a vegan recipe that’s for everyone; at least everyone I know who has tasted these doesn’t care if the cookies are vegan or not, they just want more!

The original recipe came from Vegetarian Times. I tried it at home and made just a few adjustments to the procedure and added extra salt (because we all know how I feel about chocolate and salt!) I encourage you all to try these; it’s a chance to reduce the amount of animal fat in your diet and still enjoy a tasty, sweet treat! The comments after the recipe on the Vegetarian Times website are very interesting, with a lot of good ideas for tweaking this cookie. The recipe was first posted in 2009 and people are still commenting on it!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons healthy oil of your choice (light olive oil, canola, corn, safflower, etc.)

2 cups walnuts (or a combination of your choice of nuts)

1 cup light brown sugar

½ cup water

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cup oat flour (simply grind oats in food processor until very fine if you don’t have oat flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons quality sea salt (or less if you’re not crazy about salt and chocolate together, as you will definitely taste the salt)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups rolled oats

1 ½ cups quality dark chocolate chips (we love Ghiradelli!)

Directions:

Whisk together the oat flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Mix light brown sugar and water in a small pan and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.

In a food processor, grind the nuts fine. Add the oil and grind until it is the consistency of peanut butter. You will have to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times. Add vanilla extract. With machine running, pour in the brown sugar mixture and blend until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl.

When this mixture is cool to the touch, stir in the flour mixture, then the oats and finally the chocolate chips. Scoop out 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 10 -13 minutes. Let cool completely on tray before attempting to remove. They will be very soft, but firm up as they cool.

These are cholesterol free, wheat free, vegan goodies. Enjoy!!