ABC Cookies (Vegan)

I wanted a cookie that would be great for breakfast on the go (with a pot of yoghurt) as well as a baked treat in lunchboxes or for afternoon tea with a cuppa.  It decided to adapt my Wholemeal ABC Muffins recipe to make cookies instead.  I added rolled oats to the recipe and used more mashed banana to replace the egg. It took a bit of tinkering, and a few batches of cookies, before I got the cookies just how I wanted them.

Toddler boy loved helping me bake a batch of these cookies

My team of taste testers (my children and some school run Mums and their children) declared them to be delicious and far too tasty to be so packed full of goodness.  Result!  They are lots of fun to bake, my toddler loved mashing the banana, measuring out the dry ingredients, and mixing everything together.  He also helped dollop the dough on to the trays and flatten the cookies.  My older children can make the cookies themselves without too much bother.

ABC Cookies (Vegan) 

150g/1 generous cup grated apple or pear (unpeeled)

200g/1 cup mashed over-ripe banana

150g/1 generous cup grated carrot

60ml/4 Tblsp/¼ cup maple or golden syrup

80ml/⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

300g/2 generous cups wholemeal flour

100g/1 cup rolled oats

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon or mixed/pumpkin spice

80g/½ cup chocolate chips or chopped dates

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4.  Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

Measure the apple, banana, carrot, syrup, oil, and vanilla into a bowl then mix thoroughly.

Measure the wholemeal flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon into another bowl, stir together until well mixed.  Add the chocolate chips or dates and stir again to coat them in the dry ingredients.

Tip the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir everything together until completely combined.

Using a cookie scoop, mine measures 2.5cm/1 inch in diameter, dollop the dough onto the lined trays.  You could use a tablespoon instead but I find that a cookie scoop is much easier and makes lovely round cookies.  I usually get about 20 - 22 cookies out of this batch of mixture.  Press the cookie dough mounds down slightly with a wet palm or floured fork.

Bake in the oven for 15 - 18 minutes. Allow to cool on the trays for a few minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  The cookies keep well for around 3 days in an airtight container.  The cookies are also freezable for a month or two.