The Pretentious Vegan Does Oatmeal Cookies

In my quest to remain pretentious, I now present to you an oatmeal cookie that is, like, way better than the kind made with animal bits and pieces and whatnots.  Like, really, really, way, way better.  Even all my non-vegan friends were flipping out about these cookies.

"Oh Ingrid!" they exclaimed as they took their first bites, "These cookies are amazing!  Like really, really, way, way better than the ones I'm used to eating that are made with eggs!  That's it!  You've convinced me!  I'm going vegan right this instant!  THANK YOU PRETENTIOUS VEGAN GIRL!"

So yeah.  Not really.  But kind of.

The truth is that I made about 500 of these suckers, quickly realized that Jason and I were well on our way to consuming every last one of them, decided to pass them out to friends and family, and found myself beaming a bit when all the folks out there raved.  Because they did.  They loved 'em.  Not enough to become vegans themselves, but enough to gobble them all up and ask for more.

Give these suckers a try- you'll be real glad you did (as will the chickens).

Soft and Delicious Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Earth Balance margarine
1 cup sugar
1 tsp molasses
1/3 cup applesauce
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour (I ended up using about 2 cups due to elevation)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups oats (I did NOT use instant... don't know if that matters or not)
3/4 cup dried fruit, nuts, cocoa nubs (I used dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (I did 375 for elevation).

Cream  margarine with an electric mixer until fluffy, then add sugar and molasses.  Beat for a few minutes until thoroughly mixed and very light and fluffy.

Add applesauce and vanilla and mix.

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt into the wet ingredients.  Beat with mixer until just combined.

Shift gears from the beaters to a simple spoon.  Take a moment to lick the beaters if desired.

Add the oats and optional additions to the batter and stir until combined.  Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, greased or lined with parchment paper.  Bake for about 7-8 minutes (keep a close eye on these cookies because they need to come out of the oven as soon as the edges start to look golden).  Transfer to a cooling rack and enjoy.  Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!