Oat and Coconut Thumbprint Cookies for One

I was surprised how good these little guys were because I’d been making thumbprint cookies all week. Some of the others were cute, all of them were tasty, but this cookie offered a rich maturity that you just don’t find in a cute cookie.

1/3 cup rolled oats

¼ cup coconut (unsweetened, preferably)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 ½ TBLSP vegan butter

2 teaspoons maple syrup or agave nectar

Pinch teaspoon baking soda

1 TBLSP (or less) water, boiling

2 TBLSP (or so) of jam (strawberry, raspberry, fig, whatever)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, and coconut.
2. In a second bowl, place the butter and syrup in a microwave for long enough to melt the butter. (You can also do it on the stove.)
3. In an itty bitty third bowl, combine the baking soda with the boiling water. 
4. Add the baking soda mixture to the butter mixture, and then add that gloppy mess to the oat mixture. Combine well. Add a little more water if it seems too dry.
5. Make 1-inch balls out of about a TBLSP of the dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet. It will make between 5 and 6 cookies, and they will spread considerably, so give them plenty of room, maybe two inches between each ball. Flatten them slightly, and make a nice depression in the top with your thumb, a finger, or the back of a spoon. Add a dollop of jam to the depression. Sprinkle with coconut to garnish, if desired.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, checking periodically. These cookies suddenly go brown, so you’ll have to keep an eyeball on them.

Variation:

I had some chocolate sauce left over from making these DarkChocolate Thumbprint Cookies, and so I swozzled it all over the tops of a few of them (and some strawberries). Mmmmm.