Meatless Monday: Vegan Sweets!
I’ve been sharing meatless recipes on this blog for a little over a year now. I just realized that in all that time, I’ve shared only one dessert. That definitely needs to be rectified.
Last weekend I made some cookies for a gathering of friends. The recipe is an old favorite of mine that I’ve been making for decades. It comes from a cookbook I’ve used so much that my copy is in pieces. The Natural Foods Cookbook by Mary Estella is a vegetarian, dairy-free cookbook with simple but always tasty recipes. Many of the recipes in the book have become staples. Despite the sad condition of my copy of the book, I still enjoy making my old favorites, and trying out new recipes.
These cookies are always a hit. Often I alter recipes and play with the ingredient list, but these are perfect as is.
Raspberry-Almond Torte Cookies
Dry ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds, ground in a blender
1 cup rolled oats, ground in a blender
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 generous pinch sea salt
Liquid ingredients:
1/2 cup corn oil (High-quality, organic corn oil is hard to find. I used canola oil this time, but might try coconut oil next time.)
1/2 cup maple syrup
raspberry jam (I prefer raspberry jam, but feel free to try other flavors.)
Preheat your oven to 350°.
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix the oil and maple syrup in another bowl and stir until blended. (When a recipe calls for both oil and liquid sweetener, I always measure out the oil first so that the sweetener slides easily out of the measuring cup.) Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together well.
Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Make walnut-sized balls and place on your cookie sheet with a few inches in between. Press your thumb into the center of each cookie ball. Place a scant teaspoon of raspberry jam into the depression you made with your thumb.
Bake for 10-20 minutes, until done. Cook on a cooling rack.