Vegan Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

It's a quiet evening tonight, just keeping an eye on Ollie after his hospital stay. He was pretty subdued after his 8:00pm pain meds and I had a hankering for sweets so I started trolling the web for a vegan oatmeal cookie that I could add cranberries too. Yes, my craving was specifically for Cranberry Oatmeal cookies. If you're just starting to experiment with vegan baking, oatmeal cookies are a safe place to start. I find that they turn out great without a binding agent. Soymilk and the butter substitute keep them moist. After finding a few recipes that were close but not quite what I wanted, I read a few reviews of recipes as to what bakers liked and didn't liked about the recipes and decided to create my own version. This recipes is a keeper. They're even healthier than traditional oatmeal cookies will remaining perfectly crisp on the outside and moist and chewy inside.

Makes about 27 cookies.


Vegan Cranberry (and Chocolate!) Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups Quaker Oats
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup organic vanilla soymilk
3/4 cup vegan butter substitute (I used Smart Balance, which has less than 2% whey)
1 tsp vanilla extract (I use Penzy's)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 - 1.5 cups dried cranberries
1 cup mini morsel chocolate chips (I used regular but vegan chocolate chips can be used)
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Instructions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and spices in medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl mix the "butter" and sugars until well combined. Add in vanilla and soymilk. Continue mixing until combined.
4. Add flour mixture to large bowl, mixing as you add it. Mix in oatmeal. Mix in cranberries, chocolate chips and walnuts if using.
5. Spoon about tablespoon-sized balls of mixture onto a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or an ungreased baking sheet.
6. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Cookies should be golden brown around the edges.
7. Remove from oven and immediately (but carefully!) move from baking sheet to a paper towel or cooling rack.
8. Enjoy!