The best EVER easy vegan oatmeal cookies (perfect for last minute baking)

You won't see recipes much here on Paperesse, in fact this is the first. Cooking is not on my list of favorite things to do.  And yet ...when the Holidays roll around I have this urge to bake my favorite American Christmas cookies—sugar cookies, snickerdoodles and oatmeal (plus fudge, but that's not a cookie). I make up goodie bags and share them with my neighbors. It's exotic to them—American biscuits they call them (Europeans call most cookies biscuits).

My favorite cookie is a modified version of the classic oatmeal cookie I grew up with. For quite a few years I was vegetarian, hence this vegan recipe. I'm no longer vegetarian, but I love this recipe so much I continue to make it. You just don't miss the animal origin ingredients at all and the big plus of a vegan cookie recipe—you can safely eat the dough! This is a very easy recipe to make, too; all ingredients are stirred together by hand, no mixer required.

Best Ever Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (about 180 Celsius)

1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of normal sugar
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
3 tablespoons of water (more may be needed)
1 very ripe banana
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of salt
2 1/4 cups of regular oats
1/3 cup of chopped walnuts
1/3 cup of currants (or substitute sultana raisins)

Stir the sugars, vegetable oil and water together in a large bowl. In a small separate bowl, mash the banana well with a fork and mix with the vanilla. In a third bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the sugar mixture, add in the flour mixture, walnuts and currants. The dough will be very thick and heavy. If too dry, add another tablespoon or so of water.

Drop by generously rounded teaspoons onto a non-stick cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Use the bottom of a glass to slightly flatten the top of each dough ball.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes (my oven bakes hot so I do 12).  This recipe makes around 4 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

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