Oatmeal Raisin Cookies recipe is from DATING VEGANS: Recipes for Relationships by Anne Dinshah. Available from AmericanVegan.org.
Yield: 6 dozen cookies
Six dozen sounds like a lot, but they disappear quickly and can be frozen.
1 cup vegan margarine
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups raw cane sugar crystals
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 banana, mashed
3 cups old-fashioned oats (see note)
3 cups raisins
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Melt the margarine in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the maple syrup, orange juice, and vanilla. Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda in a large bowl. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture making sure to smash out the lumps. Stir in the mashed banana. Add the oats and raisins and mix. (The banana, oats, and raisins will give the dough desirable lumps.) Let the dough sit for 5 minutes to allow the oats to absorb moisture.
Drop the dough by heaping teaspoons onto a prepared baking sheet, allowing 1 inch between the cookies. Repeat the process on the second baking sheet.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom and soft but not wet on top. Remove baking sheets from oven and let cookies cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets; then transfer the cookies to wire racks. Repeat forming and baking cookies with remaining dough on the re-useable parchment. The cookies can be enjoyed warm or cool.
Note: Quick oats can be used instead of old-fashioned. Cookies will be less chewy.
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies: Reduce the amount of raisins to 2 cups and add 2 cups chocolate chips.
Nutritional Information per one cookie: 102 Kcal, carbohydrates: 18 g, protein: 2 g, fat: 3 g.
