Crazy Vegan "Craisin" Cookies (born w/ love in Elk Grove, CA)

These were inspired by another cookie recipe I found online via my BlackBerry when I was fresh outta internet and living in the dark ages with a hankering for the oatmeal cookies my aunt would always make me when I was a kid. After eating these I must admit I kind of forgot what hers taste like! I adapted the original recipe to have less sugar, added craisins and doubled the batch (among a few other things) because the cookies were very small and if you're an "I'm only having one.." type of person then you are deserving of having a perfectly sized cookie! So these are not-so-but-mostly-uniquely my own. If you're an oatmeal lover I GUARANTEE you wont miss the eggs or milk in these...

Ingredients:

1.5 cups whole wheat or unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 scant teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon ( I love cinnamon so I am more of a "eyeballer and then some" rather than a measurer when it comes to cinnamon!)

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup raw or turbinado sugar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup rice milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil ( I tried to use a tad less oil and the cookies stuck to the pan a bit so use precaution if you happen to be kind of an oil phobe as am I)

1 teaspoon vanilla (as with cinnamon, I don't measure vanilla... more is better IMO)

3 cups rolled oats

a handful to a cup of dried cranberries (whatever your preference)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with cooking oil spray.

Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Mix both sugars, maple syrup, rice milk, oil and vanilla together in a larger bowl. Add the flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the oats, followed by raisins. (no electric mixer necessary)

Let sit for a few minutes.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet. Cookies will not really grow while baking so the size you make them will be the size they come out as. I prefer cookies taller and not so wide because they seem "fluffier".

Bake for 12-14 minutes. Let cool for about 5-8 minutes on cookie sheet(s) then carefully spatula those babies off and place them wherever your heart desires.

ENJOY!