Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Cookies

• 1/2 cup strawberry preserves
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350º F. Mix the preserves, sugar, oil, and extracts together in a large bowl. Set aside. In a second bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, soda, and salt. Add the dry to the wet in three additions; you might need to sift the dry mix if it is lumpy due to the cocoa, and you will probably need to start using your hands to work the dry in by the last addition. Grease or line three cookie sheets. Roll walnut-sized balls of dough and press them down to discs onto the cookie sheets, aiming for about 2 1/2 inches diameter. The cookies really do not spread, so they can be very close together on the sheets. Bake them for 9 minutes or so and let them cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack for full cooling. Feel free to substitute a different preserves flavor (like raspberry, which is what the original recipe suggested), and these cookies come out pretty crispy so they are great for dunking or eating with ice cream.