Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

There’s a chef at a nearby restaurant who’s supplying us with waste vegetable oil for our car.  He changes out his fryers (not friars, that would have been embarrassing) twice a week and hands over about 5 gallons of free fuel each time.  We’re scheduled to pick up from him tomorrow and I hate to go empty handed.  “Thanks for the free gas for our car, here’s nothing in return.  Have a great day!”  It’s time to take the man some cookies, it’s the least we can do.

Now I’m sorry, but I just cannot, will not, put two sticks of butter and two cups of sugar into a batch of cookies.  Even when I think, “eff it, I’m gonna make a big ol’ dirty batch of cookies and I don’t care WHAT goes in them,” when push comes to shove I just can’t do it.  It offends my sensibilities. 

It’s the same thing with Lululemon.  Every now and then, in the pits of low self-esteem, I’ll convince myself that the right yoga gear will lead to everlasting happiness.  I’ll firm my resolve and say, “eff it, I’m going to shop at Lululemon, I don’t care what the cost.” Then I walk in, look at one pair of pants,  and walk right back out.  $100 for a pair of pants that are produced by sweat shop labor?  For YOGA?  Sorry, no can do.  If I’m going to get stuff that’s produced by questionable labor practices, at least it can be cheap.  

Some indulgences just stick in my craw. Others don’t.  I have no problem, for instance, going to town on a couple of pints of Ben & Jerry’s.  Go figure.

So for years I’ve been tinkering with this and that cookie recipe, altering them to suit me, never writing anything down, and starting over time and time again. That all changes today.  

I found a generic recipe online and made the following substitutions:

2 cups white flour = 1.5 cups 50/50 wheat/white mix

1.5 cups oats = 2 cups oats

1 cup butter = 1 cup apple sauce + 2 T olive oil

1 cup granulated sugar + 1 cup brown sugar = ½ cup agave nectar

2 large eggs = 2 T ground flax seeds + 6 T hot h20

The result is a damn fine cookie, if I do say so myself.  One that can easily be vegan and sugar free, depending on the chocolate chips you use.  Enjoy!

 

• Preheat the oven to 350, and line a bakings sheet or two with parchment paper
• Mix the flax seed meal and hot water in a small bowl and set aside
• Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl
• Mix wet ingredients in a large liquid measuring cup (including pb)
• Add the now gloppy flax/water mixture to the wet ingredients
• Pour the wet into the dry and mix well
• Fold in the chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds
• Drop onto baking sheets and bake for 8-12 minutes

Cookie congo line – do you think this picture looks gross?