recipe and things

First, yes - Nikki, they are the same cookies you had while you were here. So here is the recipe (with my own changes in parenthesis):
Ingredients for a Power Cookie:
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 tablespoons almond paste (it is found in the baking section - its expensive, but will last about 4 batches of cookies)
1 tablespoon flaxseed oil
10 packets of truvia (a natural sweetener - also found in baking aisle)
1/4 cup agave nectar (also found in baking aisle)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I use a little extra)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup vanilla whey powder (this is usually in the health food aisle - it is a protein powder)
2 cups oats (just your regular Quaker Oats)
1 cup dried cherries (we use dried cranberries instead of cherries)
1/2 cup slice almonds
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together applesauce, almond paste, flaxseed oil, truvia and agave nectar. Beat in egg and vanilla, Mix well. Add flour, baking soda, salt, pepper, whey powder, and cinnamon. Beat thoroughly. Stir in oats, cherries (cranberries) and almonds. Mix well. Drop the batter by large tablespoons onto a cokie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Divide dough so that you have 18 cookies (I have yet to make 18...I guess mine are too large but I make 12). Flatten each cookie with the back of the spoon. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Cool and store in a plastic container.
These are seriously - AMAZING! They make a great snack and what better is that I feel no guilt for eating one, and for giving the kids one. Logan usually helps me make them, and as with baking brownies for cake, he can still lick the spoon - or rather scrape his finger along the side since the batter is pretty thick.
The other things - well, every year we do a celebration for Mother's day at the beach in Galveston, and every year we all talk about getting a large beach house for the weekend that we can all stay in. Guess what - EVERY year, no one looks in to it until the last minute, when half of us have already booked a room. We found a really nice condo that sleeps 9 that I think we are going to try to look at next year, or maybe one of the really big beach houses that sleep 15! Anyway...I am so excited about going to the beach in a week and half. Hopefully we can do something along these lines next year!