3 ICONIC party cookies-- veganized!

~you are eleven years old. a gap-toothed grin colors your face sunset-pink as you pull your mother along behind you into the bakery section of your local supermarket. bright pink flip-flops slapping down onto the linoleum tiles, you approach the nearest display table, mouth watering as you glance voraciously from the apple pies to the peach turnovers. you then shake your head, realizing you have been distracted from your mission-- your true purpose for being in the supermarket that day. you squint as you search for your prize, losing hope as it evades your sight.

then, you see it. on unbelieving tip-toes you approach the glass-covered counter and press your palms against it. your breath fogs the glass in front of you, giving the sweets a fantastical, dream-like quality that only the taste of them melting on your tongue can live up to. yes, this is it. the PERFECT treat for your upcoming birthday party.

the pre-boxed set of massive chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and sugar cookies.~

too real. i think we all remember those buttery, greasy, bigger-than-your-face cookies that would be presented at every classroom party and birthday party. i have affectionately been calling them "party cookies" for years.

this past march, right before i went vegan, someone brought a box of these cookies to keep in the dressing room for my school's musical. after a lot of arguing with myself, i indulged and ate one. immediately i was struck with the cramps and- uh, movements- that came with eating dairy and knew it was a grand mistake. especially since i had to be on stage and dancing like a 20's night club performer within minutes after that. oops.

i forgot about that fiasco until this past week, actually. it was only spurred into my memory when i decided to throw a surprise party for my best friend before we leave for college (next week!). this friend of mine is NOT vegan, and is a sugar fiend (not that i judge her for it-- she would completely agree with me if she knew i said that about her!). therefore, i knew these could not be one of my "healthified" versions of a cookie that i enjoy frequently. nope, these had to be "party cookies" 2.0.

of course, the lack of cholesterol in these cookies compared to their store-bought counterparts is a major plus in the health department. that being said, there is sugar in these cookies. there are sprinkles in the sugar cookies. there is lots of fat-- healthy fat, but still fat. these are an indulgence, not an every-day cookie.

and they are DELICIOUS. life-changing. my non-vegan family preferred these cookies to the non-vegan cookies my friend brought over for the party. they are SO flavorful, gooey, chewy, sweet, and, most importantly, BIG!

the best part?? it only takes TWO batches of dough to make THREE different types of cookies! first, the sugar cookie dough (which i leave to sit on the counter to allow the flavors to develop while i mix the other dough). second, the chocolate chip dough. i make one batch of this dough and right before i stir in the chocolate chips i split it in half. half of the batter gets chocolate chips and half gets some oats, raisins, cinnamon, and applesauce (to replace some of the moisture that the oats will soak up). easy as pie! or, cookies.

first, the sugar cookies. i have NEVER had a sugar cookie as good as these. i am not exaggerating when i say they are heavenly. they have a crispy and crunchy outer shell but the inside stays gooey even after they have cooled completely. i like to add a teaspoon of anise extract to these for more depth of flavor but feel free to leave it out!

this picture is DARN ugly and the dough looks grey but it is only because my sprinkles have a tendency to bleed their color out... the cookies came out light pink once baked!

PERFECT SUGAR COOKIES INGREDIENTS (serves about 14 cookies)-

• 2 cups unbleached AP flour (to keep them nice and pale-- if you don't mind the color then white whole wheat flour works too!)

• 1 tsp baking powder

• scant 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 Tbsp vegan colored sprinkles

• 1 cup organic sugar

• 1/2 cup flavorless liquid oil (avocado is my favorite to use!)

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp almond extract (optional, but recommended)

• 1/2 tsp anise extract (optional, but recommended)

instructions-

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. in a medium-sized bowl, add the sugar and oil. whisk together until the sugar has mostly dissolved-- about 2 minutes. add all remaining liquid ingredients (water, ACV, extracts) to the mixing bowl and stir until well-combined.

3. add dry ingredients to the bowl and combine by hand. no need to use a mixer! do not over-mix.

4. at this point, i covered the dough with plastic wrap and allowed it to sit on the counter while i mixed up the other batter. if you are only making the sugar cookies, then scoop heaping 2-tablespoon sized scoops onto a lined baking tray with about 1/2" of space between scoops to allow the cookies to spread. bake for about 13 minutes or until the outside is crisp but not golden and the centers of the cookies are still gooey. allow to cool on counter for 5 minutes on the baking tray before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely. it is IMPERATIVE that these cookies cool completely before you store them or they will lose their crispy outer shell!

NOW, the base dough for the chocolate chippies and the oatmeal raisin cookies!

base dough without any add-ins

VEGAN CUSTOMIZABLE COOKIE DOUGH (serves about 10 large cookies of each flavor, or 20 total)-

• 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 Tbsp water, left to sit and thicken for around 10 minutes)

• 2 cups white AP flour

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 cup neutral oil (i use avocado)

• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1/3 cup raw sugar

• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

instructions-

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. in a small bowl, prepare flax egg. set aside to thicken.

3. meanwhile, add oil and sugars to a bowl and whisk together until smooth and all sugar has dissolved. to this, add vanilla. add flax egg. add all dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

4. split dough in half, moving one half of it to a clean bowl.

chocolate chippies!

5. to one half of the dough, add chocolate chips to taste. (i don't like giving an amount of chocolate chips to add because i usually just listen to what my heart tells me is the right amount to add.)

6. to the other half of the dough, add about 1 cup of oats, 1 TBSP of cinnamon, 1/2 cup of raisins, and 2-3 Tbsp of applesauce (or more oil). this extra wet ingredient is needed since the oats will soak up a large amount of liquid from the dough and, without the applesauce, the cookies will crumble rather than holding together.

7. scoop heaping 2 Tbsp scoops of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. you will need to squish the oatmeal cookies down into the classic flat-cookie-shape, as they will not spread very much. make sure to leave space between the chocolate chip cookies especially, as they will spread slightly. IF YOU ARE BAKING THE SUGAR COOKIES NOW TOO, GET THAT TRAY READY TO GO INTO THE OVEN! bake your cookies for around 13 minutes or until lightly golden.

oatmeal raisin!