Vegan Cookies from Grandma

The strongest memories I have of my grandmother are in the kitchen, the sweet aroma of baking wafting through the air. We lived in California, she in Michigan, so my visits to her were yearly trips. I would have liked living closer, I think. The last memory I have of her is in a hospital bed, her lungs filling up with fluid, a grapefruit sized tumor obstructing her air passageways. She died while my mother and I were at the funeral home, preparing for the inevitable. Perhaps it is one of the reasons I hate snow - Michigan in February is hardly all that enjoyable...neither is watching your only grandparent die.

My grandmother loved baking. She also really disliked a lot of sugar. I can remember the tragic feelings only a five-year-old can conjure when she gave me sugar-free candies as a treat. I much preferred banana bread as a treat, it had real fruity sugar in it.

My grandmother wasn't vegan. But my mom easily veganized one of her cookie recipes, and the result is a low-sugar but delectable-tasting dessert. I realize it's similar to the last recipe I posted in that it has a lot of coconut. Which might give the impression that I am obsessed with coconut. I am not, but hey, a good recipe is a good recipe.

Ingredients:
Enough Ener-g egg replacer for 3 eggs (4.5 tsp Ener-G powder to 6 Tbs of warm water).
1/2 cup sugar
1 c chopped walnuts
1 c chopped dates
1 c flaked coconut
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract

Directions:
Add to the egg replacer the sugar, walnuts, dates, coconut, vanilla extract, almond extract. Mix together.

Place mixture into casserole dish and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Let mixture cool. When mixture is cool, form into small balls and roll in powder sugar. Eat.