It’s the beginning of September and this time of year has me thinking about all the things school related. I’m pretty sure that’s what prompted me to make these cookies. Milk and cookies is the quintessential after school snack – the ideal kid comfort food. Even though I try to eat healthy most of the time I’ve never outgrown my love for cookies. Every now and then I crave a good cookie – one that is golden brown, a little crisp at the edges, and soft and chewy at the center. It’s not hard to make a good cookie. The proper combination of butter, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla will almost always produce a good cookie. But cookies that taste good are a dime a dozen. If I’m going to eat a cookie I want it to be not only delicious, but a little bit different. I want it to taste like a homemade cookie but have a couple of signature ingredients that give it a unique depth of flavor. Such was the genesis for these Gluten Free Blueberry Cashew Oatmeal Cookies. I took a classic oatmeal raisin cookie recipe, adapted it to be gluten-free, and added dried blueberries and cashews. I also used coconut palm sugar, a healthier sweetener, instead of refined white and brown sugar. If you don’t like blueberries and cashews there are lots of other possibilities. By switching up the signature ingredients you can create several varieties of mouth-watering cookies with this one basic recipe. Simply use another type of dried fruit/berries and nuts in equals amounts. Try Cranberry Pecan, Cherry Almond, or Apple Walnut Oatmeal Cookies. If you don’t like nuts use a combination of dark and golden raisins in lieu of dried fruit and nuts (I call this flavor Double Raisin). Whatever combination you choose I guarantee the results will not disappoint. Below are a few tips for making these cookies. For complete step by step instructions see the printable recipe at the end of this post.
It’s important that the butter be softened to room temperature so that you can cream it with the coconut palm sugar before adding the rest of the ingredients. Leave it out on the counter for a couple of hours or let it soften right in the mixing bowl, which is what I usually do.
In an attempt to make these cookies just a tad healthier than a traditional oatmeal raisin cookie, I used coconut palm sugar as a sweetener instead of white, refined table sugar. Coconut palm sugar is the dehydrated sap of the coconut palm tree. It’s equal in calories to cane sugar but it is less refined and contains some nutrients. If the coconut sugar is lumpy (mine was) then put it through a fine mesh strainer or give it a whirl in the blender to break up the clumps before creaming it with the butter.
Most oatmeal cookie recipes call for regular rolled oats but I’ve used thick rolled oats in this recipe. I like the texture and mouth feel of thick rolled oats and think it makes the cookies taste more wholesome. You can now easily find both regular AND thick rolled oats that are gluten-free.
Once all the ingredients are incorporated the dough will become quite thick.
A 1 1/2 ounce ice cream scoop works great for portioning the dough onto cookie sheets. 9 scoops of dough fit perfectly on a standard size half sheet pan and you’ll need 3 pans. Lining them with parchment paper makes clean up a breeze but if you don’t have parchment paper grease the pans well with butter.
There’s nothing more comforting that cookies and milk!
- ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups coconut palm sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups gluten free all-purpose baking flour – I used Bob’s Red Mill brand
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups gluten free thick rolled oats
- 1 cup unsalted cashews, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup dried blueberries
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and coconut palm sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl sift together the gluten free baking mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture. Add the oats, cashews, and dried blueberries and mix until combined.
- Using a 1 ½ ounce ice cream scoop, drop mounds of dough onto 3 parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for a total of 20-22 minutes until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to baking racks to cool completely. Yield: 27 cookies.
LIKE THIS RECIPE? PIN IT FOR LATER!
Hey Mona!
Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier today. Those cookies look amazing!! I LOVE oatmeal cookies but have never tried making them on my own. I shall try.
Oatmeal cookies and a glass of milk?! Yes please. Would love to have you join our meatless Monday link up today
Thanks Deborah!