Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! Truthfully, I was not a fan of this holiday until I went vegan. Now, with the feast of yummy veggie food, I feel like it's my birthday. It really helps that I had 2 other wonderful vegans to celebrate with. The big hit for us was Chef Chloe's Harvest-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms and The BEST Vegan Mac N' Cheese that my sister made. I've tried other vegan mac-no-cheeses before, but this one could seriously fool an omni. I have never felt that way about other recipes. Not to say that the others do not taste amazing, but I'm the first to admit that my cashew and pasta recipe really should not be referred to as "macaroni and cheese."

Another favorite part of Thanksgiving is that I celebrate it all week. First you gotta test the recipes a few days in advance. Then, after their main event, there's the leftovers. And it's all judgement-free: this is THE time for seconds and thirds. These cookies were among the pre-party. That's not to say they didn't pass the first round and get that golden ticket to Thursday; we just had so many other things we wanted to try. Try. I tried to make those Cake Truffles/Balls that seem to be the new "it" dessert. You bake a cake, let it cool, then crumble it, mix in frosting, and cover in chocolate. Going for the Reese's truffle, I used a peanut butter cake, which was much too oily to yield a pretty truffle. The result was a rich, sugary PB-chocolate mush that filled you up before the second bite. Once I perfect the cake truffle, I promise you will be the first to know ;).

These cookies were based off one of Isa's peanut butter oatmeal cookies. They are that level of photogenic that I like to refer to as "editorial". Meaning, this cookie would be on the cover. This is why you bought the magazine.

It's whole wheat, almond, and oats. Dessert ... or sweet breakfast?

Yields 1 dozen monster cookies

2 c whole wheat flour
2 c rolled oats
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
3/4 c safflower oil, or any vegetable oil
3/4 c almond butter
1 3/4 c sugar
1 T maple syrup
1/2 c vanilla almond milk
2 t vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a separate, larger bowl. Add dry to wet and mix until just combined. Use a 1/3 dry measuring cup to measure each cookie. Pop dough out, form into a ball, and press onto baking sheet until 1/2 inch thick.

Bake until lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes. The cookies will not firm up until they are cooled, so don't be alarmed if you do the toothpick test and it's like popping an air bubble. Be patient and let them cool completely, wait 10 minutes to remove from tray.