Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup vegan margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups tightly packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 ripe, mashed banana (if the banana peel isn’t spotted black, cover the mashed banana with the juice of half a lemon for about 15 minutes before incorporating into the mix)
3-5 teaspoons vanilla (be generous)
2 Tbsp. water
1 3/4 cups all-purpose or whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 cups rolled oats (quick oats work well)
2 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips

• Preheat the over to 375 F.
• Cream the margarine and both sugars together. Add the well-mashed banana, mix well, then add the vanilla and the water. The water will try to separate; keep mixing with a figure-eight motion and add the dry ingredients, in the order above, by 1/2-cup increments. The final batter should be almost too dry to hold the chocolate chips. If it isn’t, the amount of flour or oats is incorrect so you should add more or less, according to the problem.
• Bake for 9 to 10 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. If you want a harder cookie, you can bake them longer, but they may come out too hard so be careful.
• Leave them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a plate or a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies