I am partial to a cookie – who’s not? Firm on the outside, soft on the inside, the perfect cookie melts in your mouth whilst the taste buds are bombarded with sweet deliciousness. The challenge with most cookie recipes when you’re using food as medicine like me is they are packed full of saturated fat and lots of sugar – that’s what makes them so moreish. Which is why one of the first recipes I developed when I first went plant-based was this one for oat and raisin cookies. And I’ve been making them ever since – I’m just surprised I haven’t added it to the website yet!
Out of all the wholegrains, oats feature the most frequently in my diet. I love their earthy, slightly nutty flavour and add them in wherever I can. They mainly feature in breakfasts dishes like muesli, porridge and overnight oats, but I use them a lot in baking either ground into a flour for bakes or pastry, but also in crumbles and other desserts to add texture. You can find lots of oat-centric recipes on my site including oat and buckwheat bread, oat and banana pancakes and even creamy oat ice cream!
Oats aren’t popular everywhere. Some countries consider them to be animal feed, but here in the UK, they have always been a key dietary staple. Cheap to buy, oats grow well in the UK climate making them an easy to access grain. Which is good news. Although, as with all grains, not all oats carry the same nutritional value. Instant oats, for example (the type I grew up on like Ready Brek) are more refined than whole oat flakes, meaning much of the oat bran has been removed. This makes them easier to cook but less beneficial.
So what’s so great about oats?
- Fibre, particularly soluble fibre (which is why they go gloopy when mixed with fluid). Soluble fibre helps to support gut motility and helps to clear out by-products of digestion, toxins and pathogens we don’t want hanging around. Specifically, oats contain a type of soluble fibre called beta-glucan. This type is known to help reduce LDL cholesterol levels (by preventing it from being reabsorbed into the blood stream.
- Oats contain a wonderful range of vitamins and minerals including B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and manganese. Oats also contain a reasonable amount of iron, a mineral some people feel is hard to access on a plant-based diet.
- Slow release energy. Oats are known for being ‘high in carbs’ which puts some people off. However, carbohydrates are a key source of energy for the body. In oats, this energy is wrapped up in the fibre which means it takes longer for it to be released. This provides a slow, sustained energy release, exactly what the body needs.
- Plant protein. Yes, oats contain protein! There’s around 11grams in 100grams of oats, which would be a huge portion! A standard portion is about half of that, which might not seem like much. But add some soya milk, a handful of nuts and some seeds and that oat-based breakfast suddenly becomes a high protein breakfast.
Oats aren’t for everyone
Oats contain a protein called avenin which is very similar in structure to gluten, the wheat protein that triggers an autoimmune reaction celiac disease. Whilst many people with celiac disease have no issues with avenin, some do, even with gluten free oats (oats processed in an environment free from wheat and barley products to avoid cross contamination).
This means that even gluten free oats are off the menu, which is a shame but it’s not worth triggering an immune response if you don’t have to. There are alternatives, however, like quinoa flakes or rice flakes. I recently bought some red rice flakes from our local Asian store and plan to try them out with this recipe.
Yes there’s added sugar in these cookies, but not too much!
These cookies do contain sugar (they’re a sweet treat after all) but much less than your standard oat cookie bought at the supermarket. I use coconut sugar as I enjoy the flavour and it does retain a small amount of additional nutrients (please not I am not claiming coconut sugar is a health food! You can find out more about it here).
Maple syrup is another more natural form of sugar too. I’ve minimised the amount of added sugars as I can; the raisins not only provide texture but some extra sweetness too.
Which fats to use
Image Tetiana Bykovets – UnsplashMy original recipe for these cookies used dairy-free spread but I changed to nut butter or tahini once I received my MS diagnosis and started following the Overcoming MS program. If you’re just looking for a tasty, plant-based recipe, then do feel free to use spread or dairy free butter. The recipe will take longer though as these fats are solid and require more creaming; with nut butter or tahini, it only takes a few moments.
The other benefit of using nut butter is you can change the flavour profile by using a different one each time. My favourite is almond butter but I have used hazelnut and it’s delicious. Tahini provides a slightly more savoury profile to the cookie but still tastes awesome and the perfect solution it you need to be nut free.
Baking tips
You do need to pay close attention to the baking time for these cookies. Too long and they loose their soft centre, too little and you loose the crunch on the outside. Goldilocks timing is definitely required! As is an equal bake.
To help manage both of these issues, make sure your oven is pre-heated to the correct temperature then turn the tray after 5 minutes. After that, they should only need another 3-5 minutes – they’re ready once the tops start to go a light golden brown. This can be a little challenging to note as they’re quite brown to start off with from the sugar. However, you should be able to notice a colour change.
Once they feel firm and look golden, get them out the oven and leave on the tray for 10 minutes. If you try to remove them from the baking paper whilst they’re piping hot, you’ll loose most of the bottom half. I say that with bitter experience! Be patient with these cookies; once they’ve cooled a bit, they should come off the baking paper with only a little help needed.
I do hope you enjoy making these gorgeously tasty oat and raisin cookies. As sweet treat that’s good for your gut and your body, I’m sure they’ll soon become as much of a firm favourite for you as they are in my house. Do let me know how you get on.
Oat and raisin cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 180℃. Line the baking tray with non-stick baking paper
- Pope the nut butter or tahini into one of the bowls. Add the sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract and 4 tbsp oat milk. Whip together with an electric hand whisk or cream with a wooden spoon to form a thick, creamy mix - it will take 30 seconds max.
- In a separate bowl, weigh out the flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
- Tip the dry mix into the creamy nut butter mix and fold together with a wooden spoon to bring everything together. Add the raisins and fold again until the mix is well combined. If the mix is dry, add the extra oat milk, but be careful not to make it too sticky.
- Take a tablespoonful of mix and place it on the baking sheet. Dip your fingers in the small bowl of water and carefully flatten the mix into a cookie shape - you need the water otherwise the mix will stick to everything!
- Repeat with the rest of the mix, allowing for a little space between cookies as they expand in the oven.
- Place the tray in the middle of the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Turn the tray and bake for another 3-5 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned. Don't over bake as they will firm up when cooling.
- Remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before transfering them to a cooling rack with a large spatula/fish slice.
- Store in an air-tight container in a cool place for up to 4 days - these cookies will soften over time so the sooner they're eaten the better. Not too much of a hardship!
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