Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

One thing my 'poor' little Charlie has been deprived of during his short little life is cookies. Well, he sometimes gets cookies, but they aren't the really good, chewy, gooey, chocolatey, yummy cookies. Let's be honest, it's hard to make a good cookie without butter. And most chocolate chips have milk.  After discovering the milk-free PC Decadent Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, I knew I'd finally be able to make chocolate chip cookies for the little guy.

The next obstacle, of course, is butter. I am not too keen on shortening, it's just not the same. And most margarine is just too thin to bake properly. I'd used the Earth Balance Buttery Flavor Spread for Charlie's birthday cake icing last year and I liked it.  It's much thicker than margarine, much more like butter. So I thought I'd try it for these cookies. It was perfect! The cookies turned out so well!  Moist, chewy, just right :)  Everyone in my little family loved them - except Charlie, lol! He wasn't sure about this new treat he was suddenly allowed to have! It's really the first time he'd had chocolate (except for the few times he managed to grab something when I wasn't looking). And he hasn't really had a real cookie. I'm sure he'll be converted soon enough though ;) What kid doesn't love chocolate chip cookies?  So for the recipe... you'll notice there's no salt (which I typically omit anyways) because the butter substitutes usually have salt in them.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (makes about 2-1/2 dozen)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter substitute, such as Earth Balance Buttery Flavor Spread
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used 2, but only because I LOVE vanilla)
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, such as PC Decadent Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda or baking powder
1/3 cup boiling water
2 cups rolled oats

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat together butter substitute, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla until blended well, and as fluffy as you can get a butter substitute. Blend in flour. Dissolve baking soda/powder in the boiling water and blend into the mixture. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the chocolate chips.

Form dough into approximately 1-1/2" balls and place on cookie sheet 2" apart.  Flatten balls. Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden on top. Take out of oven, let sit for 1-2 minutes and move to cooling rack. Store in airtight container.

Finally - enjoy your yummy, dairy-free chocolate chip cookie and helps you enjoy your dairy-free life a bit more :)

Monica