Need Chocolate. Now.

Tonight called for chocolate. Stat.

No time to waste. No time to dilly dally. Just a smiling Hungry Spoon (yours truly) and a desperate crave for some from-scratch chocolatey goodness.

The fix? Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies. And, although the recipe didn't call for it, I smudged a little natural peanut butter on the top of one. Or maybe two or three. I have a weakness for chocolate + peanut butter that I simply cannot deny.

I selected this particular recipe because tonight I was looking for something quick and not too decadent (but still a smidgen decadent). These cookies fulfilled both requirements, and they're super tasty to boot. I cut the oil in half and compensated with applesauce, resulting in a more "cakey" texture that often characterizes lower-fat cookies (as opposed to the more "fudgy" texture of the original recipe. No worries fudgy fans: I posted the original recipe below).

You're likely not surprised that this recipe hails from my latest cookbook obsession: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I truly hope I'm not overloading my dear readers with too many recipes from this one. While I aim to keep my cooking fresh and creative, I made a commitment to bake my way through this gem of a cookbook. And friends, that's just not the kind of commitment I can back out of. (It all began with those Rocky Road Cookies...).

Before I bid you a good evening (and happy baking), I'd like to give a shout out to Amie at the The Healthy Apple. She's a blogger extraordinaire, and I'm super excited to try the Mini Larabars that arrived on my doorstep today :)

As you tie up your apron and put on your pastry hat, just remember: That smudge of peanut butter atop these cookies is completely optional.

But is it really?

Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies

(recipe from those genius ladies behind Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar--Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quick oats
• 1 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 TBSP ground flax seeds
• 2/3 cup milk (both dairy and non-dairy varieties work)
• 2/3 cup canola oil (Again, stick with the 2/3 cup oil for those fudgy results. But, if you want to cut fat and don't mind a "cakey" result, you can use 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup applesauce)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• Optional (sort of): that little smudge of natural peanut butter for topping :)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat baking trays with cooking spray.

2) In a medium-size bowl, stir together oats, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, flax seeds, and milk until smooth. Add the oil, vanilla, and almond extract and beat until well-mixed. Fold in the flour mixture until combined. Then, fold in chocolate chips.

4) For each cookie, drop 2 large tablespoon-fuls of dough onto the cookie sheet. leaving about 2 inches of space between each cooki. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until cookies are just firm. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5) As noted, if you've got the chocolate + PB crave, feel free to smooth a little PB on top. It's simply not optional at my house.