chocolate raisin oat cookies

yum. that's what these babies are.

i will admit right off the bat - i didn't make the chocolate chips myself today so they aren't 100% raw in the photos. but as long as you make your own raw chocolate chips (or buy some), you're golden!

i was asked to give a raw cookie recipe so here it is. these are mostly oats with a bit of coconut, almonds and agave (i didn't have any dates!) i recommend using dates if you have them, they're a whole food whereas agave is more processed... still far better than white sugar though ;)

personally, i find these more satisfying than baked cookies. they taste just as good, and the bonus is that they're good for you. nothing to feel guilty about here! i bet these would be good if you dehydrated them for a couple hours, they'd get like baked cookies on the outside. for me though - they were great as is.

i made quite a few so i'll be giving them away to friends and what not. it would've been nice to go downtown and give them to the homeless. last time i was downtown i was bringing some raw brownies to a friend's house and didn't think to share them with the people who needed them more than my or my friends until after i was coming home... dang. next time!

hopefully you're not homeless and so can enjoy them in the comfort of your dwelling today.

chocolate raisin oat cookies: makes at least 2 trays

2 cups oats

1/2 cup coconut chunks

1/2 cup almonds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

3 figs

1/3-1/2 cup agave/maple syrup/honey (or 3/4 cup dates)

2 tb melted coconut oil

1 t vanilla

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup raisins

in your food processor, pulse oats, almonds and coconut chunks until they're like a rough flour. add all the other ingredients and blend until it comes together. add raisins and chocolate and mix in by hand. then form them into balls and flatten. dehydrate if you desire. hurraw!

sometimes ya just need a fresh baked cookie

Today was long, tiring, wet and cold. I'm exhausted, and looking forward to collapsing into my bed in a few hours.
When I finally got home from class and the library, finished all my other house work and homework, sent some emails and made weekend plans; all I wanted was a cookie. Not a wonderfully healthy, sprouted nut and raw honey based cookie - a terrible, ewwy-gooey, flour and sugar cookie from the killer oven!

I had found a cookie recipe that I wanted to bake for X-mas for the fam a little while ago, and it's all I could think about when I got home. I follow what my mind and body tell me - which 99% of the time is "YAY ORGANIC FRUIT AND GREENS!", but I won't lie: I love some cooked foods.

Maybe for emotional reasons, "addictive" reasons, or just 'cause IT'S OKAY TO EAT COOKED FOOD (for all you hard-core raw fooders out there who kick yourself every time you eat something cooked), I enjoy cooked meals every now and again. Usually with friends and family, for special occasions, or simply when the dish is too amazing to resist. An example is eggplant. Oh. My. God. Just slice it and bake it until it's soft. Same goes for garlic and onions.

@#$*%&$%#! Food is such a beautiful thing. Cooked OR raw.

I'm also not gonna sit here and say I don't feel guilty after eating cooked food sometimes. I'm really trying to work on getting over this. My mind knows it's okay and that we've been cooking our food for thousands of years; yet another part of me thinks it makes me weak, or selfish for not putting my body's needs first. For now, I've just gotta get over it and figure out what works best for me.

It scares me a little when I become so fixated on my diet, it's not healthy, even if being healthy is my goal. I have this link at the bottom of my blog for this reason; sometimes I DO become too idealistic and almost dogmatic about my diet, something I don't like at all. So in a way eating cooked food helps me stay realistic, if that makes sense.

*For those cooked foodists out there, this is probably sounding very strange, for raw foodists, you probably know what I'm talking about =)

Right now the bottom line is that I listen to my body and occasionally my body wants cooked food - so I will eat it. Simple as that.

So as I was saying... I decided to make these cookies. They turned out perfectly divine and delicious. I got the recipe online, and it said it was from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. My dad and mom LOVE them (especially my dad, I get the von Euw sweet tooth from him).

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles: makes 20 or so

1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil,  sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.

Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. 

Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.