Gluten Free Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

My baby is now five months old & he is a big boy! Chunky, chunky, chunky. It shocked me very much when my milk supply all but disappeared. With both my girls, I had no problems with that at any point. The thought that could happen to me didn't even cross my mind. Anyhow, I went searching for something that could help me. I started taking fenugreek & blessed thistle, and noticed a little improvement on milk supply, but nothing terribly drastic. On top of that, by day five I was hanging over the toilet. I have no idea why, but one or the other or maybe even both made me very sick! Stopped taking those supplements immediately & felt find. Weird. So the search for something else continued & while telling my sister about it she mentioned "lactation cookies." I've never in my life heard of such a thing. Come to find out, it's not actually the cookies but the "secret" ingredient. Brewers Yeast. Never heard of that either (other than in beer) and had no idea you can buy it in a powder form and add it to things. I set out to make some cookies, and since we have so many dietary restrictions around here went for a gluten free & vegan version of these treats. Turns out, not only are these cookies absolutely divine, but they have worked tremendously for my issue! I had my doubts, but now I'm a believer. Whether you're looking for the benefit of upping your milk supply or not, brewers yeast is pretty amazing & you should look it up. It's got a whole slew of benefits for men & women alike. I'm assuming that not adding it to these cookies wouldn't be the end of the world as far as the cookie goes. They are still yummy.

GLUTEN FREE VEGAN OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES 

3/4 Cup Gluten free flour*

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

2 TBS brewers yeast

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup spectrum shortening

3 tsp ener-g egg replacer (beaten with 4 TBS water until very frothy)

1 TBS flax meal (mixed with 2 TBS water & set aside for 2 or 3 minutes)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut 

1/4 cup walnut pieces

1/2-3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl mix together gluten free flour, baking soda, salt & brewers yeast. 

In another small bowl mix the flax meal with the water & set aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients. 

In the bowl of your mixer blend together the shortening with both sugars until light & fluffy, about 2-3 minutes on medium high speed, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add prepared egg replacer & blend. Add vanilla & flax meal & blend again for a minute or two. Dump in the flour mix & blend until well incorporated. Once mixed completely, remove bowl from mixer and by hand mix in oats, coconut, walnuts & chocolate chips/chunks, reserving some chocolate for the tops of the cookies before baking if desired.

Use teaspoon or a tablespoon to place heaps on a cookie sheet and top with chocolate chips/chunks if desired. For a more uniform cookie, roll into balls. Dough should be pretty sticky. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes depending on how big the cookies are & how done you like them. This recipe will make 12 big cookies or a couple dozen small cookies. 

*I have used all purpose flour for a non gluten free version, two different gluten free flour mixes, half & half of each of the gluten free flours, & they all turned out good. I will post the gluten free mixes below. I have NOT used eggs or butter before so I do not know how they will turn out if you make these substitutions.

Gluten free flour mix #1.
4 cups organic brown rice flour
1 1/3 cup potato starch
2/3 cup tapioca starch

Gluten free flour mix #2.
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup oat flour
1 cup coconut flour
1 cup tapioca starch
3 tsp xantham gum

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