What were your favorite things as a kid?

I’m about to come out as a huge nerd to all of you, but my favorite thing as a kid was Lord of the Rings. I was obsessed with it. I bought books delving into the symbolism and archetypes behind Tolkien’s works, books about the world of Middle Earth and its history. I used to pretend I was Arwen, the Lady of Rivendell, and I even made myself her Evenstar pendant out of Sculpey clay. It was absolutely fantastic. And then, when I was 11, I went to an actual Lord of the Rings camp, where we painted this huge mural of Hobbiton and did nerdy LOTR stuff. It was awesome. And now I’m finally watching The Hobbit trilogy, and I’m just loving every second of it.

Sometimes it’s nice to escape into another world, where elves and dragons and wizards live. I see a lot of similarities between Lord of the Rings and the uber-popular Game of Thrones (which I’m also in love with) – both are epic tales of good, evil, and everything in between. With dragons here and there, of course. But to me, LOTR will always be the OG of fantasy, if you know what I mean. And even though George R. R. Martin keeps us on our toes by killing off unsuspecting characters left and right, there is something magical and beautiful about J. R. R. Tolkien’s tale of good triumphing over evil. (And yes, both authors have two R initials in their names. Coincidence?)

These cookies here are another flashback to my childhood. I was a Girl Scout for a few years, and every year we did our much-anticipated cookie sale. My favorite cookies were the Thin Mints – which are actually vegan now! But I couldn’t resist making a raw version, as raw vegan desserts are kind of my jam. Which is mostly because I’m a terrible baker. But I digress….

These raw vegan thin mints are super simple to make, with only a handful of ingredients and minimal prep time. Plus, there are no weird additives or processed ingredients like in their packaged counterparts – no high fructose corn syrup or soy lecithin, and no artificial flavors. (Why would you even bother making cookies with artificial chocolate and mint flavoring, when it’s so easy to get it naturally?!) The flavors in these cookies are all natural, friends. And that’s the way I like it!

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Raw Vegan Thin Mints

These raw vegan thin mints are a healthier version of the beloved Girl Scout cookie.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings 12 -14 Cookies

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 2 Cups Rolled Oats
• 8 Medjool Dates
• 1/2 Cup Walnuts
• 1/4 Cup Raw Cacao Powder

Wet Ingredients

• 2 Tbs Coconut Oil melted
• 1/4 Cup Raw Agave
• 1/8 Tsp Peppermint Extract

Topping

• Melted Vegan Chocolate

Instructions

• Put the rolled oats in a food processor and process until a fine flour is formed.
• Add in dates, walnuts, cacao, and wet ingredients, and process until a sticky ball of dough is formed.
• If desired, roll out dough on a floured surface and make cookies with cookie cutters – if not, just form cookies by hand.
• Dehydrate cookies at the oven’s lowest temperature for about one and a haf hours.
• When cookies are done dehydrating, let cool for at least 15 minutes.
• If desired, melt some vegan chocolate and drizzle over cookies.
• Serve and enjoy! :)

Quote of the Day:

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

– Thorin Oakenshield (from The Hobbit)

P.S.

If you make this recipe and post it on Instagram, be sure to tag me @wellandfull and #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your takes on my recipes :)