rainy chococoatmeal pepita cookies

this is what i made yesterday. it happened as a result of being stuck inside with the baby, while outside rained all day long.... my husband went to a rock concert after work so i had a good chance of devouring half of the cookies before he got back :) thank god it's not raining today (i might need a jog or some other fitness activity)....
nevertheless, the cookies were amazing, and as my dear hubby said when he tried them late last night "seriously, the best cookies i have ever tasted!"
here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup grated unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 cup or less chocolate chips (i used about 1/3 actually, because i don't like when the cookies are overwhelmed by the chocolate-y taste)
1 1/4 cups regular rolled oats (i prefer the texture of these, as opposed to quick cooking oats)
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

the making: preheat oven to 375°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper

put butter and sugar into a large bowl and beat with mixer until fluffy. add the egg, vanilla and salt and beat again just until combined. stir in coconut and pepitas. in another bowl, combine oats, flour and baking powder, mix well then add to butter mixture, stirring until thoroughly combined.

drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheets, spacing them about 1-2 inches apart. bake about 10-11 minutes for softer/chewy cookies. then set aside on a cooling rack.wait!for them to cool before eating (if you can).serve with a nice latte.. store in an airtight container.

the flourless, sugarless, eggless, butterless cookies

i've meant to post these last week when i made them, but didn't have time. the two dozen i made were gone in just a couple of days! so they must have been good :)
here is what you need:
2 cups rolled oats
3 large ripe bananas
2/3 cup almond or hazelnut meal ( i used hazelnut this time); alternatively if you have neither you can use whole wheat flour, but then they won't be flourless :)
1 ts pure vanilla extract
1/3 coconut oil, warmed until liquid
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raw shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 ts baking powder
1/2 ts sea salt
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (you can adjust the amount depending on your preferred sweetness, i omitted entirely and the cookies were still sweet enough, because of the ripe bananas)
how to make them:
preheat oven to 350F. place racks in the top part of the oven.
in a large bowl mash the bananas with a fork and combine with the vanilla, honey/maple syrup and coconut oil. in another bowl mix the oats with the almond/hazelnut meal/flour, shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds, salt and baking powder. combine the wet and the dry ingredients and mix well. drop spoonfuls of the dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. bake about 15 mins. enjoy with your tea or latte; for me they're perfect in the morning. i guess they're also perfect for vegans :)

coconut obsession granola

ever since i discovered extra virgin coconut oil in the healthfood store i have been a bit obsessed with it and using it in all kinds of ways (some better than others..).it is just so versatile: from cooking thai and indian curries, to making crepes, cookies and even cosmetics.. but for anyone who loves coconut as much as i do, this granola will be a major hit!
ingredients:
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup raw walnuts (or macadamias, cashews)
3 tbs flax seeds
4 tbs honey
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup raw sugar
pinch of salt

directions:
preheat oven to 300F
combine all dry ingredients and mix well.
combine coconut oil with honey, adding a spoonful of warm water. add to oats and stir until coated. cover the bottom of a large pan/ cookie sheet
with parchment paper and spread mixture evenly in a thin layer. bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15mins until golden, but not brown. NOTE mixture will become more crispy once it cool out of the oven.

enjoy on greek yogurt, kefir, with cold milk or any other way you like granola!next time i think i'll add pieces of dried apricots :P