So with March just starting and my resolution for the month being to bake more so that I have goodies to eat instead of buy, of course my first recipe post of the month will be a baked treat! I started out with a mini-muffin but it turned out to be a total baking fail, so I went with a cookie next. You can’t mess cookies up so I decided to make some vegan and gluten-free Dried Mango Cookies. Some sweetened dried mangoes with pecans and special “flour”.

One of the greatest things about baking is that you can control what you put in them, bad ingredient-wise. Obviously. But when all I did last month was buy crappy-for-me cookies in the bakery at the store I knew I needed to make my own better-for-me cookies at home. So these cookies needed to have enough oomph in them to convince me to do good all week, and remind me next weekend to do this again. Really? I need to convince myself to bake treats? These cookies have Splenda and sweetened dried mangoes, but the don’t have sugary frosting or a super-sweet base like the store-bought bakery cookies which means they aren’t cloyingly sweet. The “flour” is half gluten-free all-purpose flour and half flax meal. I didn’t have any other flour in the cupboard and I don’t mind the flavor of flax so that was what I decided to go with. They turned out soft and not too chewy, with a little sweetness from the mango and a crunch with the pecans. Perfect. And don’t be surprised if March is filled with baked goods! And as you can see with these cookies, they won’t all be traditional sweet treats.

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Start by mixing the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. In a cup add Vegg and almond milk and mix then heat in the microwave for 20 seconds then mix and let sit while mixing the applesauce and Splenda in a large bowl. Add Vegg and extract and mix. Slice mango and chop pecans. Add mango to the wet ingredients and mix then add 1/3 of dry ingredients and mix. Add milk and rest of dry ingredients and mix. Add pecans and mix again. Lots of mixing, I know. Spray baking sheets with nonstick spray then spoon on small amounts. Bake for 11-12 minutes then enjoy!

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Dried Mango Cookies, 29 cookies

1 C Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
1 C Bob’s Red Mill Flax Meal
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Allspice
1/2 C Unsweetened Applesauce
1 C Splenda
1 Tsp The Vegg; 1/4 C Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
2 Tsp Almond Extract
1/3 C Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
1/2 C Pecans, chopped
1 Pkg Mariani Dried Mangos, sliced

1. Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheets with nonstick spray.
2. In a medium bowl dump flour, meal, baking powder, and allspice and mix. Set aside.
3. In a small cup add Vegg and almond milk and mix. Microwave for 20 seconds then mix again. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl add applesauce and Splenda then mix until dissolved.
5. Slice mangoes and chop pecans.
6. Add Vegg, extract, and sliced mangoes and mix.
7. Add 1/3 of flour mixture and mix then add almond milk and mix.
8. Add rest of flour and mix then dump in pecans and mix until combined.
9. Spoon small amounts on baking sheets.
10. Bake 11-12 minutes until bottoms are browned and middles are slightly squishy.
11. Enjoy!