I made a batch of cookies for my boyfriend's mom for Mother's Day recently. They were made with Earth Balance and other vegan ingredients, but I happened to have a couple of eggs leftover from a science experiment my son did last semester that were still good, so I used those. I felt really bad buying them in the first place but even worse about the possibility of throwing them away. (A whole other topic I need to write about one of these days!) It was basically the Tollhouse recipe subbing pecans for the chocolate chips.
Despite the egg content, I tasted a bite of them to make sure they were good. They tasted all right, but something was just off about them and I was kind of sad to send them away to her. You know, when you cook for someone in order to honor them as part of a special day like Mother's Day, you want them to be able to stand up to that task of honoring. These did not.
The universe gave me a second chance recently and this time I set out to find a great pecan cookie recipe that was vegan and would impart all the sentiment we were sending. We love you. Congratulations on another awesome year on the planet. Enjoy this, one of your favorite things to eat. Savor the joy that is an amazing cookie!
It comes from Author Dreena Burton and it's magnificent. I've taken to making 2 batches back-to-back now. One with chocolate chips and the other with just pecans. When I make them with pecans, I toast them a bit first while the oven is preheating (about 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet). The use of maple syrup here really brings something so special to this recipe.
I think this batter would probably freeze very well. I used more pecans than necessary because more = good, right?
The recipe says to flatten them a bit, but after making several batches now, I'm finding they work out just fine without that step.
When the cookies reached their destination, we got a phone call with many thanks, an "I know those couldn't have been vegan" and a report that they were all eaten by everyone who came into contact with them by the end of the day right down to the last crumb. Now that's a happy birthday cookie I can be proud of!
I took some to a July 4th celebration where there was a mix of vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian and omni folks and they were loved by all there, too.
Thanks to Dreena! I'm saving my pennies to buy your books and thank you for giving this recipe so freely. If your other recipes are as good as this one, I've got some good eatin' to look forward to.
In other news, do pardon my lack of writing lately. I've been having a bit of a life crisis. Thankfully it's been squared away and I'm feeling refreshed and better than ever. Special thanks for that go out to My Awesome Boyfriend™, My Easygoing Child®,
Beyond Karma, Eckhart Tolle, Yoga, the League of Extraordinary ChiaTurtles, and the
University of Maine at Augusta.
It's all happening right now!
