Vegan Sunflower Cookies

College dining halls are notorious for terrible food.

I consider myself lucky because Furman’s dining hall had an excellent selection… of cookies. Seriously, people have done terrible things to get to those cookies. I still haven’t figured out the secret of those incredible little treats. They would come out of the oven, all gooey and melty, delectable and warm. They were the perfect fuel for those late night study sessions.

When I saw Jenna’s recipe for sunflower chip cookies, I knew I needed to make them. But wait! Lately I’ve been all into veganizing things. Not a problem.

Vegan Sunflower Cookies (adapted from Eat, Live, Run)

Makes 3 dozen small cookies

Need:
1/2 c Earth Balance, softened
1 c packed brown sugar
1 c sunflower butter
1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water (combine for a flax “egg”)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 2/3 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c chocolate covered sunflower seeds

Do:

• Cream together the butter and sugar using a stand mixer or a regular mixer or regular ol’ elbow grease. Whatever works, just make sure everything is incorporated and the mix is fluffy.
• Mix in the sunflower butter, flax “egg” and vanilla extract.
• Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then mix in with the wet to form the dough.
• Fold in the chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Don’t do like I did and continue to beat the dough after you put the chips in. They will break and you will be left with less than beautiful shattered chips.
• Take up tablespoons of dough and form small balls. Press into a greased cookie sheet to flatten a bit. The cookies will not change shape during baking, so make sure you make them cookie-esque.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until they just turn golden.
• Let them cool before you put them in your mouth because they will burn you. I know, they’re hard to resist. Patience, people!

As soon as I popped one of these babies into my mouth, I was instantly transported to the DH. They are crispy on the outside and billowy soft on the inside. I’ve been eating at least two a day for the past few days. What? Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of protein! (Take that, all you “where do you get your protein” askers! The answer is cookies!)

I only discovered sunflower butter a few months ago, but since then I’ve gone through many a jar. I love the drippy consistency and the sweet and salty taste. If you’ve never had it, I advise you go get some right now! And then make these cookies.

For the protein.