Mary's Healthy Easter Basket Cookies

With Easter around the corner I wanted to come up with some treats to send my favorite Healthy Vegans.  They were passing out this recipe at Whole Foods for Thumbprint Cookies.  The original contained a 1/2 cup of oil!  Can you imagine pouring a half a cup of oil down your children or grandchildern's mouths???  I can only imagine what the average Easter Basket contains...

Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons of jam
1 cup of pecans (this is an Easter treat! nuts are not every day foods or even every month)

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Put pecans and oats into a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.

 

Transfer to a large bowl and add flour, apple sauce, syrup and salt. Stir to combine well. 

 Roll walnut-sized balls of the dough in the palm of your hand to forum each cookie, then arrange on 2 large baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart.

Press your thumb gently down into the center of each cookie to make an indentation. Spoon a scant teaspoon of jam into each indentation.

Bake cookies until golden brown and just firm around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to let cool completely, then serve immediately or store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.