Chef Linda
Linda Soper-Kolton, Chef, came to the Sanctuary as a guest chef to share her love of compassionate cooking in our then-fledgling culinary program. Lured by the magic of the Sanctuary, her love of animals and the urgency of our mission, Linda stayed on to lead and grow the culinary program, inspiring and educating with love, patience, and delicious food.
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Peanut Butter & Jelly Jewels

By Chef Linda

Sampling a cookie with this morning's cold coffee
Sampling a cookie with this morning's cold coffee

It's been raining for what feels like a month and with the temperature hovering close to 60 degrees, it's just not what most folks have in mind for early June. I don't mind at all though, a rainy day is an excuse for me to bake cookies... not that I have ever needed an excuse to bake cookies. I'm a four-season, all-weather kind of cookie-maker, and while I didn't plan on baking today (It's Monday, I do try to show some restraint occasionally by not starting the week off with a heap of treats in the cookie jar), these cookies are so simple, so scrumptious, and because they're vegan and made with healthy ingredients like oats, whole peanuts and coconut oil, it's almost criminal NOT to whip up a batch or two of these every day. Oh, and they have the added benefit of being gluten-free. See what I mean? Hard to say no.

My son will be trudging home from school soon, puddle-stomping the whole way, no doubt. The sweet smell of something special will tickle his nose before he even closes the garden gate to the back yard. I know what he'll say, too, "Mom, Peter and I smelled cookies. Can he come over and have some?" Of course.

Ingredients

 1 cup whole oats
 1 cup unsalted peanuts
 1 cup brown rice flour
 1 teaspoon salt
 ½ cup melted coconut oil
 ½ cup maple syrup
 1 teaspoon vanilla
 ½ cup of your favorite jam or preserves

Directions

1

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Coarsely grind oats in a food processor. Add peanuts to the ground oats and process again, till the mixture resembles sand. Add brown rice flour and salt and pulse a few times till combined. Add melted coconut oil, syrup, and vanilla. Process until everything is blended and moist.

Drop by tablespoon or small portion scoop onto baking tray, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.

Using the rounded tip of the back of a spoon, press down to make an indent where the jam will go. Alternatively, you can use your thumb, as long as you don’t lick in between!

Take two spoons, and with one, scoop up about a 1/4 teaspoon of jam and use the other spoon to push the jam off the first spoon and place it in the indentation in the cookie batter.

Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. The edges will start to turn light brown when they’re ready. If you are impatient – and hungry – and take them out too soon, you’ll risk making a crumbly mess when you try to remove the cookies from the baking tray . Don’t worry though, they’ll still taste good.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Jewels

Peanut Butter & Jelly Jewels

DifficultySuper EasyCook Time10 mins
YIELDS
2 dozen

INGREDIENTS

 1 cup whole oats
 1 cup unsalted peanuts
 1 cup brown rice flour
 1 teaspoon salt
 ½ cup melted coconut oil
 ½ cup maple syrup
 1 teaspoon vanilla
 ½ cup of your favorite jam or preserves

DIRECTIONS

1

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Coarsely grind oats in a food processor. Add peanuts to the ground oats and process again, till the mixture resembles sand. Add brown rice flour and salt and pulse a few times till combined. Add melted coconut oil, syrup, and vanilla. Process until everything is blended and moist.

Drop by tablespoon or small portion scoop onto baking tray, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.

Using the rounded tip of the back of a spoon, press down to make an indent where the jam will go. Alternatively, you can use your thumb, as long as you don’t lick in between!

Take two spoons, and with one, scoop up about a 1/4 teaspoon of jam and use the other spoon to push the jam off the first spoon and place it in the indentation in the cookie batter.

Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. The edges will start to turn light brown when they’re ready. If you are impatient – and hungry – and take them out too soon, you’ll risk making a crumbly mess when you try to remove the cookies from the baking tray . Don’t worry though, they’ll still taste good.

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