Turquoise Tile Test Kitchen Cookies

Oatmeal-Almond Cookies with Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese

Much of my cooking and recipes are often inspired by utilizing something I have on hand. I love finding fresh ingredients and then saying...."ok, now what am I gonna do with this?" Or I will open my fridge and figure out what needs to be used up, and then try to piece things together to create a dish. I love the puzzle of it all!

Today, it was the leftover almond pulp that I often have on hand after making my D.I.Y. Almond Milk. I also had half a block of Trader Joe's new Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese** (recipe below). The goat cheese (which is delicious and like a dessert!) made me think of the cream cheese danishes I loved as a child. While I wasn't going to dive into a crazy attempt at making a flaky pastry, I decided to combine the two to make some type of cookie...and the testing began!

Oatmeal-Almond Cookies with Blueberry Vanilla Goat Cheese

yields 8-10 cookies

1/2 C Almond pulp (extract almond milk first...see post)

3/4 C rolled quick oats

1/4 C unsweetened shredded coconut

1 T golden flax seeds

2 T grapeseed oil

2 T maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup blueberry vanilla goat cheese (recipe below) or any kind of jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine almond pulp, oats, coconut and flax seeds. Mix in oil, maple syrup, vanilla, baking soda, salt and stir well. Drop large tablespoons of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet and push thumb or spoon into the middle of dough creating a shallow hole. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of goat cheese mixture (or jam) to middle of each cookie. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

To make your own blueberry vanilla goat cheese combine 1/4 cup plain goat cheese with 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 Tbsp wild blueberry jam.

Please note these cookies are only moderately sweet.

**Although I don't eat dairy and my blog is dairy-free, I do find that I seem to digest goat cheese okay and do enjoy it (very much!) from time to time.