Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

a simple, homey bake for any season

Hi friends,

It’s been a little while! Sorry about that. Time seemed to get away from me during the past few months. But here I am, writing to you today from a grey day in Northern California where the rain is softly pattering down and I have the radio turned to KDFC to cheer me along. NOT that I mind the rain, especially when it turns the fields green and sends my daffodils into riotous bloom. It’s also a good excuse to bake.

March baking is always sort of fun—from gluten free Irish soda bread (tip: perfect any time of year when you want a yeast-free, easy loaf of gluten-free bread!) to gluten free chocolate stout cake, there’s always something to celebrate. And when it’s raining, well, I can’t help but want to turn on the oven.

What I’m baking today is nothing fancy. It is, however, super homey and just what a drippy day requires. I’ve been working on updating older posts on my blog (it’s such a trip down memory lane to revisit some of my stuff from 10+ years ago!), including the gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies my friend Lesli always referred to as the “make everything better cookies”. (And she’s right, they do make everything better.) Click that link again in a few days for the new and improved version.

As a slight riff on those beloved cookies (one might even call them my “house cookies”, the go-to reliable my kids like even better than regular chocolate chip cookies) is gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies. The recipe is super simple, with a little bit of warming cinnamon slipped in along with plenty of good butter. Something magical happens when you add oats to cookies; it’s as if the butter toasts them while baking, which results in toasty, buttery, chewy oats in every bite.

If you can, make the cookie dough the night before you plan to bake (the dough also holds well in the fridge for a few days). As with all gluten-free bakes, hydrating the dough helps the flour to absorb any moisture in the dough, and for any type of cookie, it helps to deepen the flavor if you can let the dough rest in the fridge before baking it. Transfer the cookie dough to an airtight container after putting it together. You may need to let it soften for a few minutes on the counter before forming the cookies.

You need just oat flour for this recipe, though you could try brown rice flour, sorghum flour, or 1:1 gluten free flour by weight (210 grams). If you don’t need to keep gluten-free, use 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. Feel free to add some chopped walnuts for crunch, substitute ginger for the cinnamon, or add mini chocolate chips along with the raisins. If you want a more sweet-salty vibe, use salted butter or add a little more salt. Note that this cookie recipe takes slightly longer to bake than traditional cookies—sometimes up to 20 minutes. Check after 15 minutes and keep an eye on the cookies so that they don’t overcook.

Hope you enjoy this one, and happy almost spring!

Til next time,

N xx

Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Make about 2-3 dozen cookies.

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark brown sugar is fine)

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 ¾ cups oat flour (210 grams)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (add more if you like more cinnamon flavor)

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 1-1 ½ cups raisins chips

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and mix thoroughly.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, then mix it into the butter mixture until well combined. Add the oats and raisins on low speed and mix until well blended.

3. Place the dough in the fridge to chill for 1 hour or up to 3 days.

4. When ready to bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Scoop out tablespoons of batter, roll them into balls, and place them on the prepared sheets about 1 inch apart. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Remove cookies from the oven, cool them on the pan for 5 minutes, then place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.

6. Cookies may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.