Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies

This week's non-dairy baked goods are...cookies! These particular cookies are such a tasty snack. The description in the book - "Add oatmeal to almost anything and suddenly it's healthy" - couldn't be more true. These seem wholesome but, of course, they're not. ;-)

Lately, I've been categorizing my desserts. Some things (like last week's vegan seven layer bars) need to be devoured slowly after the children are in bed so that you can really savor every morsel. These cookies, however, fall into the category of "I need a pick-me-up in order to even make it to bedtime!" I'll be honest with you, though. I had one after my coffee, before my breakfast this morning. Then I had one two after lunch. And I plan on eating another one after the kids are in bed tonight. I guess that technically throws my theory of "categories" out the window. I eat all of these treats whenever I feel like it - a luxury I don't feel too badly about while I'm avoiding dairy and eggs for the sake of my nursing baby. Anywho, here's the picture to get you started. It's not staged, my daughter really was strapped in her high chair reaching for the cookies. It just happened to make a sweet picture.

Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies

2 C quick oats
1 2/3 C AP Flour
2/3 C cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C sugar
2 TB ground flax seeds
2/3 C nondairy milk (I used unsweetened, original almond milk)
2/3 C canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
3/4 C chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium sized bowl, stir together oats, flour, cocoa powder, soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 
3. In a large bowl, beat together (a whisk is sufficient) sugar, flax seeds, and milk until smooth. Add the oil and vanilla and almond extracts. Fold in half of the flour mixture to moisten, then fold in the remaining half. Just before the mix is completely combined, fold in the chips.
4. For each cookie, drop 2 generous tablespoons of dough onto the sheet, leaving about two inches of space between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes until they are firm and risen. Let them rest on the sheet for five minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in a tightly covered container.