Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Three words. Oatmeal. Raisin. Cookies.  Did I have you at hello? (Yeah, I know bad Jerry McGuire pun, I couldn't help it) And you can eat as many as you want! I mean they're made with oats, they're practically health food, right? So eating them is like dieting! Well, okay maybe not that healthy and maybe not eating them all in one sitting, but these cookies are pretty darn close to being health food with only a small amount of brown sugar and no added fat. They're also gluten-free. 

They're chewy, moist, and oh so splendiferously cinnamon-y spiced delicious. I could seriously eat the whole batch. Oh if only my tummy would let me. They also delicious crumbled up with vanilla greek yogurt for a snack or with a cup of iced decaf coffee. Or, you know, completely by themselves. 

My mother-in-law (who is also an executive chef with all that fancy chef-erizing training) called me yesterday and asked me for a low sugar/fat cookie recipe so she could make a treat for her clients that can't eat a lot of sugar. So I sent her this recipe to try out and she did! They were a total hit and here is a picture of two gorgeous ladies enjoying them. It totally made my day. Yay!

She also asked for my Cranberry Ricotta Bread recipe to try out as well. She said if these recipes work out she's going to snag even more to showcase my healthy recipes in her company. How exciting is that?! Super exciting!!!



Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients
5.3 oz Greek vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
**1/8 tsp caramel extract
2 TBS honey
1 cup raisins
2 cups oats (not instant)-- divided
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS cinnamon
1/4 cup light brown sugar

** I made this recipe again and added the caramel extract (it fell on my foot when I was getting out the honey and I thought, "Well if you want to be in the mix that bad, so be it!" after much hopping around on one foot) and the cookies were absolutely splendiferous.

Directions
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2.) In a medium mixing bowl, combine yogurt, applesauce, egg, vanilla extract, and honey. Whisk together well.
3.) Fold in raisins. Set aside for at least 5 minutes so they can soak up some of the flavors and hydrate a little -- makes for a more tender raisin in the cookie. (To be honest I soak mine longer, probably close to 30 minutes, but that's because I get side tracked with the Littles and forget I'm making cookies).
4.) In a food processor or blender, combine 1 cup oats, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Process until oats are the consistency of flour.
5.) In a large bowl, add remaining cup of oats and the oat flour mixture. Mix together to incorporate.
6.) Fold raisin mixture to oat mixture. Mix until just incorporated and set aside for 5 minutes. Dough will be very sticky.
7.) Drop dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I used a cookie scoop. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then remove cookies to finish cooling on a wire rack. Makes about 20 cookies.
8.) Enjoy!