three-way oatmeal cookies (gluten free option)

I  used to love the "vanishing oatmeal cookie" recipe off the rolled oats container. And vanish they did indeed.

So when I decided to eat (mostly) vegan a couple of years ago, plus cut back on sugars and oils, I was at a loss for how to duplicate that buttery flavor or texture in a "healthified" oatmeal cookie. Multiple scraps of paper with oatmeal cookie attempts floated around my kitchen for the first few months, but nothing was worth making a second time so I gave up trying.

Until now.

The inspiration for these cookies comes from Angela's Turtle Oatmeal Cookies over at Oh She Glows - one of my favorite sites for vegan recipes. Since I've continued to look for ways to reduce or eliminate sugars (and syrups, honey and nectars are still sugars), I eliminated the brown sugar in the original recipe and used date paste instead but added stevia to boost the sweetness. And because pecans are pricey, I added in some raw walnuts as well (but feel free to use all pecans). As an added bonus, the walnuts sneak in some omega 3 fatty acids.

 

Baking Tip! It's really the pecans that make this recipe. I've learned that toasted pecans approximate the buttery flavor of an oatmeal cookie. God is good!

For fun, I also created these cookies three ways: with raisins, with dairy-free chocolate chips, and the super-healthy way (because raw chocolate is a health food) with fair trade raw cacao nibs.

three-way oatmeal cookies (recipe notes follow)
dairy free, gluten free option, reduced sugar, peanut free, soy free, stevia sweetened, vegan

dry ingredients:
1 1/4 c. pecans
1/2 c. walnuts, raw
2 c. rolled oats, gluten free if needed
3/4 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. date paste
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

wet ingredients:
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
3.5 T coconut oil, melted
2 T almond milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract

mix-ins:
1/2 c. raisins or chocolate chips or fair-trade cacao nibs

1. Lightly toast pecans in a pot over high heat. This takes 2-4 minutes or until pecans are fragrant. I recommend stirring constantly. Many a pecan have I burned by leaving them unattended. Let cool slightly.
2. In a food processor or blender, combine date paste with 1 c. of oats and blend to a small pea/fine crumb consistency. Then add to a mixing bowl.
3. Add nuts and remaining cup of oats to the processor/blender and mix to a fine crumb consistency. Add to the mixing bowl.
4. Stir in remaining dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly.
5. Combine wet ingredients in large glass measuring cup and stir to combine. Depending on the temperature of your milk or maple syrup, you may need to warm them slightly before adding the coconut oil or the oil will solidify.
6. Stir the wet ingredients and mix-ins into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. The mixture will be sticky.
7. Using a large spoon (I use a soup/cereal spoon), spoon out dough, roll into a ball and drop onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Flatten each cookie ball with the palm of your hand. The cookies don't spread too much, so you can place them 1 inch apart after flattening.
8. I don't recommend sampling the raw cookie because once you start, it's hard to stop. But if you must, you must. ;)
9. Bake cookies in a 275 degree oven (I use low temperatures when I a bake) for 18-22 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Let them sit 5-10 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

Recipe notes:

• As mentioned above, you can use all pecans if you like, but I don't recommend reducing the amount.
• Feel free to try this recipe with whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour but it will affect the consistency slightly.
• If you can't find date paste (I get mine at a middle eastern store), you can use 1 c. pitted medjool dates.
• Feel free to sub in a different dairy free milk.

buckwheat, millet & oatmeal bowl (low-gluten, gluten free option)

Earlier this week, I posted a recipe for the breakfast I ate on the anti-candida diet. Though, at first I mourned the loss of the creamy texture and subtle sweetness of the oatmeal I ate for years, my taste buds gradually adjusted to the new flavor of the buckwheat and millet.

They adjusted so well in fact that by the time I could eat just the oats again, I found them to be lacking in flavor! LOL

Nowadays, my staple breakfast is a mostly buckwheat/millet mixture with just a couple spoonfuls of cooked oat groats to smooth out the texture and my favorite mix-ins. Though my body can tolerate gluten, I like looking for ways to reduce my intake of it.

If you are celiac and can tolerate oats, you can use gluten-free oat groats in your bowl. As with the other recipe, I cook up more than I will eat in one meal so that I can store the leftovers and reheat them.


Buckwheat, Millet & Oatmeal Bowl (recipe notes follow)  
dairy free, gluten free option, nut free option, peanut free, soy free, sugar free, vegan

1/2 c. raw buckwheat groats
1/2 c. millet
1 c. oat groats (gluten free if needed)
water

Mix-ins:
favorite dairy free milk
raisins
unsweetened coconut
cinnamon

1. In one pot combine buckwheat and millet with 1 1/4 cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.*
2. In a separate pot, combine the oat groats with 3 cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 50-60 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.**
3. Spoon desired amount of the cooked buckwheat/millet into a bowl and add in desired amount of the cook oats (I usually add 2-3 spoonfuls).
4. Add your favorite mix-ins.
5. Store the leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Recipe Notes & Money Saving Tip
*I posted here, how you can save money and energy by cooking the buckwheat and millet the night before.
**Oat groats are the best form of oats you can eat since they are unprocessed. As my doctor explained it, the longer it takes to cook, the longer it takes for your body to break it down which is optimal for avoiding spikes in insulin - key for diabetics (though I am not diabetic). It also sticks with you longer, staving off hunger for a longer time period. I also discovered that oat groats are more economical than buying steel cut or rolled oats because it has a higher water to oat ratio and therefore a higher yield. The only downside is its cooking time. However, God was gracious to show me a time and money saving tip by accident...the night before you want to eat them, bring the groats to a boil, simmer about 5 minutes, then turn off the burner and leave overnight. By morning, most of the water is absorbed. When you reheat them, it takes care of finishing the cooking process. Sure it takes a little planning, but it reaps huge time, energy and money savings.