Way back in the olden days, I co-owned a little coffee shop in Denver. The traditional version of these cookies was our best seller, and with good reason. THEY ARE DELICIOUS. But the sugar, butter, and milk in the o.g. recipe would probably kill me at this point.
With my recent acceptance of my cane sugar intolerance (it only took five years), I modified the recipe to include pure maple syrup. Maple syrup is pretty expensive compared to cane sugar, so if you can tolerate sugar, you can sub in an equal amount of that instead.
They were easily veganized by using Earth Balance in place of butter and almond milk in place of regular milk. I know I've said this before, but I think regular EB tastes weird, so I always use the soy-free stuff. Coconut oil would probably work just as well, but I haven't experimented with that.
If you're trying to keep these free of cane sugar, use unsweetened almond milk, unless you're awesome and make your own nut milk and sweeten it with dates or maple syrup. I used store-bought unsweetened vanilla because I'm always a fan of more vanilla flavor.
For the oats, quick-cooking oats work much better than thick rolled oats. The thick oats tend to stay crunchier than I'd prefer in a cookie, but that's what I usually have on hand. I just measure out a little more than the recipe calls for and pulse it in a food processor a few times, until the oats are broken up a bit.
These are so quick and easy, it's ridiculous. Perfect for last minute parties or potlucks, or random sweets cravings. You could probably mold these into dick-shaped cookies before putting them in the fridge. Everything tastes better when it looks like a penis, right? Right!
Printable recipe
Makes 12 cookies.
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
2 Tbsp vegan margarine or coconut oil
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup quick oats
Line a cookie sheet with waxed or parchment paper.
Combine maple syrup, milk, Earth Balance, peanut butter, and cocoa powder in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 2-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until ingredients are combined and the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Stir in oats until coated.
Drop onto lined cookie sheet by heaping tablespoons and flatten if desired. Refrigerate until cookies are firm, 20-30 minutes.
Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to make and then eat these all myself! I didn't knew knew you co-owned a coffee shop. Not surprising, given I don't know you at all! I have met you in real life, though. Bet you didn't know that, did you? I was having an awkward day and the thought of explaining who I was was too much. Next time I'll say hello instead of being a creep. Heh. Probably, anyway!
ReplyDeleteHey, I have days like that, too. A lot of them. I'm pretty awkward in real life (which is why I work in accounting, and why I hid in the back of the coffee shop 99% of the time). Please say hi next time! And yes, make these cookies, and eat them all in one day. That's what I did and I have no regrets!
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