Oatmeal Chocolate Cherry Pecan Cookies

Holy cow are these cookies good!  If you love lots of chocolatey-oaty, sweet and crunchy goodness then this is the cookie for you.  It is also a great back-to-school treat you can share with the kids, without any guilt since the only things these little gems lack are eggs, butter, oil and soy.  To make them wheat-free, try substituting the whole wheat pastry flour with oat or barley flour.  These also freeze very well, so why not make a double batch and freeze some to enjoy later!  

A Helpful Note: The dough is a lot easier to manage if you can let it chill in the fridge for about an hour or so before baking, but this isn’t necessary.  Here I use applesauce and prune puree (baby food prunes).  If you only have one of the two on hand, it’s no problem.  Just as long as you end up with 1 cup of fruit puree, whether in the form of applesauce, prunes or a combo.  Mashed bananas may also work in a pinch, though I haven’t tested that substitution yet.  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup water 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 1/2 cup prune puree or baby food prunes 
• 3 Tablespoons ground flaxseed meal
• 1/2 cup sucanat or light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup evaporated can juice or raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
•  2 1/2 -3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips, or roughly chopped vegan dark chocolate
• 1 cup raw pecans, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.  Place oven racks at 2nd and 5th positions.
2. Combine water, flaxmeal, applesauce, prune puree and sugars in a large bowl and beat well.  Beat in vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, wheat germ, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Gradually add dry mixture to wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
4. With a wooden spoon, stir in oats, cherries, chocolate and nuts.
5. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight, if desired.
6. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a parchment covered baking sheet.  Press to flatten slightly.
7. Bake 10-12 minutes.  Rotate baking sheets half way into baking time.  Rotate 180 degrees and switch racks that the baking sheets are on, to insure even baking.
8. Cool on baking sheet for 5-10 min., then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling…if you can wait that long.  🙂