North Vancouver Cookies

Last year in May, we went to see our friends in Vancouver. North Vancouver to be exact. Mark and Erin had just moved out to the west coast and this was our first visit to see them in their new home. I decided to bring cookies. Not having been to Vancouver before, I was forseeing hikers and walking sticks and dried fruit bars and water canteens, and thus decided to make trail mix like cookies.

Believe it or not, all the ingredients were ones I had in my pantry the night I decided to bake. In saying that, I'm certain you can successfully exchange any of the nuts for other nuts, the seeds for other seeds and the dried fruit for any type of dried fruit that entices you.

These cookies freeze well, so make a big batch and tuck some away for another day!

North Vancouver Cookies

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats OR Course Buckwheat
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour OR Teff Flour OR buckwheat flour
1 cup Sunflower Seeds
¾ cup Pumpkin Seeds (the little green ones)
½ cup Medium Unsweetened Coconut
2/3 cup honey (or agave or maple syrup)
1 ½ tbsp. Cinnamon
3/4 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life has dairy free chips)
¾ cup Sliced Almonds OR Chopped Walnuts
1 ¼ cup Raisins
¼ cup Water
1/3 cup Blackstrap Molasses
¾ cup coconut oil (or any neutral tasting oil)
1 cup Milk OR Rice Milk OR Almond Milk ( my fave )

Directions:
1. Mix all the ingredients from the oats to the raisins in one bowl. Set aside. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a second bowl. Mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and combine until just mixed through.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop the batter onto the parchment paper and mold into cookie shapes. I use about enough batter to fill a ¼ cup. Bake at 350 for about 20-22 minutes, until slightly browned.