02 March 2006

Boiled Cookies


Weird concept, huh? A few weeks ago I stumbled along into the co-op to get a bi/tri-weekly treat. I noticed one lonely chocolate cookie left and decided it would need a home... in my belly!

I looked at the title and it was called Mel's Vegan Boiled Cookies. Hmph. What the hell is a boiled cookie? I asked Franko and he was just as clueless. Well, it's vegan, looks good, was the last one left, and only a buck, so I went for it. It was an interesting concept.

Ingredients (in Mel's cookies):
oats, raw sugar, soymilk, earth balance, peanut butter, cocoa and vanilla with mostly organic ingredients.

This cookie I had was amazing and I knew I had to try it at home especially since I am in a no-baking mode. Plus, oats are about 25 to 30 cents per pound, super-cheap! This past week I have been trying to figure out how to make boiled cookies. I Google-d a lot of recipes and came across one I think from Quaker Oats and it was very similiar, just not a veganized version. I found recipes all over the place, many of them being alike. I thought to myself that I should just go for it (like I always do) and see what happens (not following a recipe). So, in that case, I made up my own recipe.

Here's Leslie's Boiled Cookies...
They came out a bit mushier than the one from the co-op, but I will just add more oats. I actually have a recipe this time because I took notes while experimenting.

Ingredients and Measurements:
3.5 cups oats (I would use about 4 to 4.5 cups next time, which will make it thicker/denser)
1.5 cups agave nectar
1/2 cup soymilk (I like Silk)
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup earth balance (or use apple sauce but that's at your own risk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon ground flax seed (for added nutrition)

Yield: 24 large or at least double that in small cookies

Method:
In a large pot, bring earth balance, agave nectar, soymilk and cocoa to a boil. Stir very often. Let it lightly boil (just past a simmer) for 1-2 minutes to make sure everything's mixed. Take the pot off the heat and add peanut butter, flax seed and vanilla. Mix it up well, and the peanut butter will be chunky-looking (a.k.a. awesome-looking). Then stir in the oats. Ta da, that's it people! Five minutes time. Then take desired-sized spoonfuls and plop them onto a cookie tray that is lined with wax paper. Let cookies cool in fridge. Wait patiently. Then eat. Store remaining in an airtight container in the fridge.

17 comments:

Julie said...

Wow! They look great.

So, funny because I did the same thing once.

I got a treat from Gentle-Strength and them made a copy-cat of it. I gave the treats out to my co-workers and they loooved them and asked for the recipe.

Eat Peace Please said...

Hey Julie. What did you copy?

*be prepared this is long...

Hi Shelly... Yes! Thanks for linking me and finding this an inspiration. I hope you check out February because that is where the majority of my posts are.

What's this vegetarian challenge? I hope that I can help you not make it a challenge, yet make it something fun, creative, tastey, healthy and different than what you would regularly do. If you kept this diet up for 14 more days after that, your cells and blood will have cycled (in a general way of saying it) and you will feel "better", "lighter", "more in-tune" and probably lose some weight. If you do not want to lose weight you need to be sure you are eating enough substantial foods.

I have nutrition education and experience, as well as being vegetarian most of my almost 25 years on Earth and a vegan for more than 6 years. I am more than happy to help/work with you if you like. If you have questions, need an idea, recipe, etc, please feel free to ask.

You may also want to check out some of my links, in the fact that I put them up there because I like them, trust them, they have good food, and they are good sources for you as well. I check them often as networking and sharing ideas is something I love!

Good luck trying these. I would for sure use 4 to 4.5 cups of oats now that it's later and I've had one from the fridge. They're a bit mushy as-is.

I hope I can "show you the way" and help out. You will for sure NEVER see anything that came from an animal, is a dead animal, large chunks of onions, packaged foods with crap in them, cauliflower or mushrooms on this site. Sorry if you do like the above, I'm picky. You will see a lot of sweet treats that are loaded with foods such as nuts, seeds, nut butters, whole grains. They're really versatile.

I'm curious as to what type of challenge this is...

Isil Simsek said...

This is an interesting cookie. I would love to try it but yet there are no natural peanut butters here. All of them contain some additives. What can be a replacement for that?

Molly said...

I found your blog through Vegan Lunch Box-- it's so cool! I will have to try your boiled cookies, they look great.

P.S. I would rather eat just about anything (well, anything vegan) than eat cauliflower, as well.

Eat Peace Please said...

Hey Vegan Vulcan... I think I've seen you around before as well. Mabye "the lunchbox". Thanks for the comment and I enjoy having new people around. These cookies really came out well.

Hi Isil... I grind my own peanut and almond butter at the store. Can you find raw (natural) peanuts around? If so and you have a blender or food processor, maybe you can make your own butter. That's what I did with cashews from a previous "treat" post. If you still cannot do that, maybe you can change up the recipe and maybe add tahini plus cinnamon or something along those lines. The peanut butter not only has flavor, it's also a binder. I'll try to think more when it's not morning anymore!

Hey Preston... Thanks for the "encyclopedia" comment, as reading it is a great start to my day. I love every aspect of food and cooking (except ovens!) and I went through 6 years at ASU to finally get a degree in what I decided would be nutrition/food service management. I love food science and microbiology as well as preparing foods and displaying them in an asthetic way. I am glad you are enjoying my blog, as I hope to share ideas with many people. I'll check your site later, I have to get to work soon. Thanks for writing in!

Anonymous said...

is this working

Julie said...

I copied a recipe for these treats that are kinda like rice crispy treats, but they have a carob topping & are way better then regular rice crispy treats!

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Intriguing. I've never heard of a boiled cookie either.

Anonymous said...

My mom made cookies like this growing up but they weren't Vegan. I think they were called no bake cookies. It makes me want to go home and make a big batch!

Eat Peace Please said...

Hi Anon... Yes, this is working.

Julie, I emailed you back.

Jess, try it. I think it is something you would enjoy.

AGAIN... ADD ANOTHER CUP OF OATS OR CUT DOWN ON EVERYTHING ELSE, I'VE HAD ANOTHER TODAY AND THEY'RE TOO MUSHY.

Nicole, I could call these NO BAKE also. I like the whole idea of these.

Shelly, I'll comment/email you back when I have more time. It isn't something I want to take lightly and just type a quick note right now. I commend you and wish you good luck though. Please do keep checking back (although I'm kinda making a lot of vegan-healthy-junk lately).

Isil Simsek said...

Leslie
Thanks a lot for the suggestions.

Anonymous said...

Am I just blind?? You never gave exact measurements for the peanut butter!
I really wanna try these cookies, I hope it's not just me who doesn't see it.

Eat Peace Please said...

Veggie Girl, no, you are not blind. I'm blind. Thanks for noticing and you win the award for the most aware person reading this. So many of you said you wanted to try this, so now you can see there is the exact measurement for the peanut butter. Oops and thanks!

Maureen, I will have to see if Sprouts carries it. You can give them a call. There's a lot of locations. They are also owned by the same people who own the Sunflower Market and they have it there but it's super-expensive. I pay the same amount for twice as much at the co-op. Whole Foods has it for about $3.50 I forgot what size, but for me, it's small. I usually buy the 24oz one and it's between $5 and $6.50. I'd call Sprouts or email them. Or order some online, better-yet.

Ve

Eat Peace Please said...

I also just noticed (and edited to add) that I forgot to add the earth balance measurements.

Eat Peace Please said...

Fiber, I don't know why your comment didn't show, but I got it and thanks! I do hope you try these and let me know how they came out.

Eat Peace Please said...

Hi Maureen. Yep, Gentle Strength Co-Op. They're moving to Mill and Southern in July, which I am not looking forward to (not a home-y location).

There's a Whole Foods in Scottsdale on Tatum and Shea. There's also a Wild Oats on the 101 and Raintree as well as a few miles north of WFM on Tatum.

Glad to hear you have been to the co-op, it's a nice place to support, although I don't do much shopping there for "regular" groceries.

e-rex the vegan dinosaur said...

we made these cookies all the time as kids. they're great! i like to free them too, that's extra good.