“Today me will live in the moment, unless it’s unpleasant, in which case me will eat a cookie” – The Cookie Monster

Well, it’s been quite the week hasn’t it? Hopefully you’re all safely socially isolating, staying inside and finding some comfort and renewal in the small pleasures of home. For my own well-being, while stuck at home, I’m avoiding most social media and news outlets, as least as it relates to this pandemic. The thousands upon thousands of fear-mongering think pieces and news articles, obsessively scrutinizing every single molecular (literally) aspect of CO-VID doesn’t help anyone – personal opinion of course, but I worry for our mental health during all this. I get that some of the articles are intended to reach those that aren’t following recommended protocols, but trust me, those folks aren’t reading the New York Times, the Guardian etc. anyway. I do, however, appreciate the push from many corners to use this crisis as an opportunity to drastically change our species’ trajectory and feel encouraged by the many stories of extraordinary kindness and resiliency.

And now on to a brighter subject: COOKIES! As I’m not particularly keen to leave the house for groceries right now, I’m trying to be creative with what I have on hand. This is pretty basic recipe, and I used almond butter because I happened to have some left. You can of course substitute with your nut butter of choice, but I really like the subtler flavour that almond butter adds to these slightly sweet cookies.
Ingredients (makes about two dozen cookies):
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of plant-based margarine, melted
1 cup of plant-based milk
1/2 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of almond butter
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tbsp of molasses
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg)
3. Melt 1/4 cup of margarine in a small pot, over low heat.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (1/4 cup melted margarine, 1 cup plant-based milk, 1/3 cup almond butter, 1 tbsp of molasses)
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until consistent.
6. Drop the dough in large spoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Flatten each spoonful with a fork.
7. Baked for 10-12 minutes.