Going Vegan!

Recently my husband decided to try a vegan diet. This won't be too hard of a transition for us because we are already vegetarian. The children and I will still eat our eggs and dairy, however cutting down on it will probably do us all good. Most of our meals are pretty much vegan anyways (minus the cheese I like to throw on at the end), it was just desserts that seemed a challenge. I felt guilty about enjoying gooey chocolate chip cookies while my hubby at his dry, dairy-free fig cookies. So, since I love a cooking challenge (especially one that involves cookies), I give you:

Vegan Fruity Oatmeal Bars

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a rectangular baking dish

3/4 cup vegetable shortening (make sure to check the label because some store brands contain lard)

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 Tablespoon ground flax (I like the golden ground flax)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups rolled oats

2/3 to 1 cup of dried cranberries (or any other dried fruit you may have on hand)

1 medium sized apple, peeled, cored and either chopped into small pieces or shredded

In a mixer, beat the shortening on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of the flour, the sugars, baking powder, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and continue mixing on medium. In a separate small bowl or measuring cup add the 1/2 cup of water and 1 tablespoon ground flax and whisk until combined (this is your egg substitute). Add to the mixing bowl and continue mixing. Next add the rest of the flour, the rolled oats, and your fruits and mix on slow speed. You could mix the last three ingredients by hand, but I like my mixer to chop the cranberries up a little. Press the dough into your greased baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes or until it is no longer super gooey in the middle (a little gooey is good, right?). Let cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

I think this will quickly become a staple in our house!