I LOVE oatmeal cookies. A lot more then chocolate chip cookies which always seem too sweet to me. My grandmother up in Seattle fostered my love of these when I would visit her during the summers when I was younger. She would go all out though and substitute other dried fruit. Dates, blueberries, blackberries, boysenberries, raspberries strawberries even apples. That made each cookie a different adventure in flavor. When I went vegan these were lost to me. Until I started finding alternatives to certain products.
One thing that is new here and I have used more frequently is the addition of Just Egg vegan eggs instead of flax seed eggs. I actually like the way they turn out using these. I have also made sure to have my Grandmother taste all my iterations of these as I worked on the recipe to get her approval. I think I’ve finally gotten one where she smiles instead of cocking her eyebrow at me and telling me “They are fine.” LOL So I hope they make you smile as well.
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Preheat Oven to 350° F or 176° C
Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 cup oat flour
(You can buy your own stone ground which is a fine powder or you can just process steel cut oats. the reason I use both flour and oats in these cookies is to create a ‘smoother’ cookie dough and feel. The oat flour makes it have better flavor, much more nutrients then white flour and gluten free.)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Large Egg
You can do it two ways here to make it vegan.
Using Just Egg vegan egg product, in which you would use 3 tablespoons of Just Egg.
for one large normal egg.
Or you can make a flax seed “egg”. Mix one tablespoon of flax seed meal with three
tablespoons water and let sit for about 5 minutes.
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (Optional. I add this around the holidays for a more festive feel.)
1/4 teaspoon coarse pink sea salt
1/2 cup Miyoko’s cultured vegan European style sea salt butter softened to room temp. (My vegan butter of choice from PlantX here in San Diego. It is also gluten free.)
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
(Do NOT use quick oats. This will affect the texture and chewiness. Quick oats are already cooked so they create a cookie that is less chewy and softer I’ve found in comparisons. Plus, I like the mouth feel of the steel cut oats.)
3/4 cup raisins (or 1 cup if you really like raisins. I REALLY like raisins!)
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DIRECTIONS:
Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl mix your butter and sugars together until fluffy.
Add vanilla and egg substitute to butter and sugars and mix until well blended.
Slowly add the flour mixture. You can use a mixer for this, portion, until fully incorporated.
Add your oats and raisins. It is here I switch to using a large spoon to mix with. You can easily mix it all evenly with a spoon, and it doesn’t break up the oats. A mixer can ‘break’ the oats and they lose some feel in the cookie, though this is up to you.
Make 2 tablespoon balls of dough and place on cookie sheet.
I actually smoosh them just a bit as I like flatter cookies that are thinner and it makes them more uniform in shape. I also smooth the top a little to hide the steel cut oats inside so they are like a surprise when you take a bite. They are more delicate spread out and thinner then thick ones.
Bake 10 to 12 min.
Remove from cookie sheet and place on rack to cool.
