My recipe for faux oatmeal cookies originally appeared in my SCD cookbook, and then appeared on Deliciously Organic. There’s no grain or gluten in these cookies—just nut or seed butter, and a few other ingredients. And some great news for egg-free eaters and flaxseed lovers—it works well with flaxseed meal in place of an egg.
These are the chewy kind of oatmeal cookies, as opposed to the crunchy kind. While these were originally featured using almond butter, guess what? You can use a nut or seed butter for this recipe, too. Of course the flavor and texture will change a bit depending the nut or seed, but it’s all good as long as you already like that nut or seed.
This recipe has been tested with both almond and sunflower seed butter, as well as with egg and flaxseed egg replacer, and I bet it works well with other nut and seed butters. I haven’t tested it yet with chia seeds as an egg replacer, but I have a feeling it will work since this recipe was originally inspired by these cookies from Jenny of the Urban Poser, which uses just chia seeds.
For reference, the flaxseed egg conversion is
1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons of warm water = 1 egg
Flaxseed meal is just ground flaxseeds, and I tend to use golden flaxseeds (there’s a darker flaxseed that also works). One tablespoon of flaxseed meal (12 g) weighs more than 1 tablespoon (7 g) of flaxseeds, so I cheat a bit and use one heaping tablespoon of flaxseeds, then I grind them and add them to 3 tablespoons of water. If you want exact measurements, measure 1 tablespoon (12 g) of ground flaxseed meal.
If you’re using chia seed it’s the same ratio of ingredients as flaxseed, that is 1 tablespoon of chia seed meal soaked in 3 tablespoons of water. In both cases you want to grind the seeds in a food mill or coffee grinder (or by hand with a mortar and pestle), and then soak the meal in the water for a few minutes. I have been known to cheat and throw the meal and water directly in the batter for this recipe, but I’ll leave that detour up to you.
"Oatmeal" Raisin Cookies
Yield 24 cookies
I haven't tested all nut and seed butters, but in my experience pumpkin seed butter, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter and almond butter are quite interchangeable. For SCD, use honey.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (264 g) smooth roasted almond butter or sunflower seed butter
- 1/3 cup (115 g) honey or maple syrup
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (43 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (110 g) raisins
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°, or gas mark 4). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick silicone mat.
- Blend all the wet ingredients together using a spatula or a mixer, until creamy.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate small bowl. Add them to the almond butter mixture and blend well.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter per cookie onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart. If you prefer a flatter cookie, flatten the cookies a bit with the bottom of a glass jar, spoon, or the palm of your hand.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown.
- Cool the cookies and then dig in. Store leftovers sealed at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
"Oatmeal" Raisin Cookies {egg-free}
Yield 24 cookies
I haven't tested all nut and seed butters, but in my experience pumpkin seed butter, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter and almond butter are quite interchangeable. For the egg replacer, you can use flaxseed meal or chia seed meal, and the formula for each is the same: 1 tablespoon of flaxseed or chia seed meal + 3 tablespoons of water. For folks following SCD, sorry, this is not SCD legal due to the use of flaxseeds or chia seeds.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) flaxseed meal
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 1 cup (264 g) smooth roasted almond butter, sunflower seed butter (or other nut or seed butter)
- 1/3 cup (115 g) honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (43 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (110 g) raisins
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°, or gas mark 4). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick silicone mat.
- Combine the flaxseed meal and water in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes to thicken.
- Blend all the wet ingredients together using a spatula or a mixer, until creamy.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate small bowl. Add them to the almond butter mixture and blend well.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter per cookie onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 1 inch apart. If you prefer a flatter cookie, flatten the cookies a bit with the bottom of a glass jar, spoon, or the palm of your hand.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown.
- Cool the cookies and then dig in. Store leftovers sealed at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
Cheryl
October 30, 2013 at 11:38 amThese are “real” cookies! Made these with about half almond, half cashew butter because that was what was in the pantry. Great texture and flavor. They remind me more of hermits or jumbles than oatmeal but who cares, they’re terrific. Next time I’ll experiment with some chopped nuts for some crunch to go along with the excellent chewiness. Thanks for another excellent recipe.
Erica
October 30, 2013 at 3:15 pmYes, they do remind me of hermits thanks to the chewy texture. 🙂
molly
October 30, 2013 at 12:31 pmThanks, great recipe. I’m using a delicious flax seed and chia seed blend called FitFlax that I get on Amazon. It’s also great in salads and smoothies.
Erica
October 30, 2013 at 3:16 pmthanks, I didn’t know about FitFlax.
Kathy
November 4, 2013 at 2:25 pmThese were great!!!!! Thank you!
Erica
November 14, 2013 at 11:49 pmgood to hear!
Diana
November 12, 2013 at 8:25 amWhat would be a good substitute for coconut flakes if you can’t have them?
Erica
November 14, 2013 at 11:48 pmsorry, I haven’t come up with anything yet, although any kind of finely shredded fiber might work—I just can’t think of any I would use, offhand.
Deanna
April 6, 2014 at 10:19 amOMG. These are amazing! I’ve been no starch for a bit over a year and haven’t had a cookie in all that time. These are really great! Thank you!
Erica
April 6, 2014 at 4:43 pmThanks, good to hear!
Claireny
August 27, 2014 at 1:28 pmAgain, you nailed it. My family’s new favorite cookie.
Christine
July 29, 2015 at 5:28 amI make these all the time. We love them! thank you for your great recipes.
Erica
July 29, 2015 at 7:35 amThanks!
Sam
November 28, 2015 at 9:18 pmDo u think I could use coconut butter for the nut butter?
Erica
November 28, 2015 at 9:40 pmI don’t think that would work well but I haven’t tried it.