Girl Scout Cookies for All!

It seems like everyone is on a special diet lately--and we are no exception. Whether you are vegan, gluten free, want to cut out refined sugar, or want to enjoy cookies with less calories, these cookies will do the job. 

Of course, it's a plus that they taste like a certain girl scout cookie...

Except lighter tasting and delicately flavored. They are so insanely good. The are more coconut-y, which is always a good thing for me. 

I adapted this recipe from The Pursuit of Hippieness which is a great blog about vegan eating while studying abroad in Paris. Jealous! 

Her recipe is a combo between a macaroon and a cookie, and it works perfectly. 

Vegan Samoas

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp vanilla

1 flax egg (1 tbsp flax meal soaked in 3 tbsp water)

½ cup course oat flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp + 1 tbsp molasses or maple syrup, divided

3 tbsp milk substitute of your choice

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

First, some ingredient notes. 

If you don't want to buy oat flour, just grind up 1/2 cup of oats in a clean coffee grinder, food processor, or some other contraption. They don't have to be finely ground, the texture of the cookie is very forgiving. 

If you are not vegan, I am sure you could use an egg in place of the flax. But, the flax egg saves you 40 calories and 171 mg of cholesterol in the recipe, and adds a nutty flavor and omega 3 fatty acids. Just use the same grinding device to grind the flax like you did the oats, then mix them with 3 tbsp warm water. Or buy the flax already ground and save a step.

If you are worried about the sugar in the chocolate chips, there are options for alternatively sweetened chocolate chips on the market, often sweetened with brown rice syrup. Check your local health food store for options. 

LET'S COOK! 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the 2 tbsp molasses gently until it begins to bubble. Let simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently with a spatula to keep from sticking to the sides of the pan and burning. Remove from heat. Stir in almond milk rapidly until completely combined and continue stirring as it cools and thickens slightly.

Put the coconut and water in a food processor and grind until combined, with course flakes still intact. Add the vanilla, flax egg, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, molasses mixture, and one extra tbsp of molasses into the food processor and pulse until just combined. 

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and drop the batter by rounded tbsp onto it (should make about 12 cookies).  Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until browned at the edges and firm to touch. Remove from heat and let cool for a couple of minutes before transferring the cookies carefully to a wire cooling rack or your cold counter (I don't have a cooling rack). 

Note: This was my first batch, made with maple syrup. I made another batch with molasses and the cookies were much darker in color. 

In an improvised double boiler situation, melt the chocolate slowly. Use a spatula to drizzle chocolate over the cookies. Messy is good. 

Try not to drool. Eat them. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland.