Way healthy oatmeal cookies, or when oatmeal poses as a cookie…

Seriously. These oatmeal cookies are so healthy, they could very well be referred to as portable oatmeal!

You might remember that I’d attempted to create a healthy oatmeal cookie before, but was only partly happy with the results. I mean, their flavor was really great, but their texture turned out extremely dense, which wasn’t bad, but not exactly what I have in mind when I reach for an oatmeal cookie.

Usually, I think more in terms of soft and chewy.

So when I got the craving once again for a good oatmeal cookie, I decided to focus more on texture and a little bit less on trying to reproduce the rich, buttery and overly sweet flavor that is so typical of traditional oatmeal galettes.

Instead, I decided to lean more towards the natural flavor of a good, comforting bowl of oatmeal. And what says comfort better than a piping hot bowl of apple cinnamon oatmeal?

Also, since I believe that the denser, dryer texture of the first batch was probably due to the addition of protein powder (I find it tends to do that to baked goods, it sort of dries them out some), I decided to leave it out completely this time.

Protein powder isn’t the only thing I left out. I also decided not to add any sugar at all and to rely solely on that which is naturally present in the apples and raisins.

That worked beautifully! The cookies turned out surprisingly sweet and spicy. The addition of a fresh apple, along with a few raisins and chopped pecans really brought these to the next level.

Of course, the “flavor combination” is something that could really be played with. If you don’t care for apples, you could add dried apricots instead, or dates, or cranberries. Shredded coconut would also be delicious. Pistachios? Walnuts? Toasted almonds, why not? Let your imagination go wild!

Although still not perfect (it still lacks a little bit of a crunchy exterior), this oatmeal cookie was a tremendous success. I think that this is a nice base recipe to work with. They taste great and they have a nice, soft and chewy texture to them.

I get the feeling that I will be playing around with that one… A LOT!

So I hope you won’t mind getting one or ten variations on this same subject a few miles down the road…

I mean, they do make for such a great snack!

And snacks, well, I’m a big fan of!

SUPER HEALTHY OATMEAL COOKIES

INGREDIENTS
(Yeld 24 cookies)

Dry ingredients

• 1 cup spelt flour
• 2½ cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
• ½ cup almond meal
• ½ cup flaxseed meal
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Wet ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 cup 1% fat cottage cheese
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup egg whites
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Extra Goodness

• 1 apple, peel-on, finely diced (I used Red Delicious)
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F
2. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. Set aside.
3. In a blender or food processor, mix all the wet ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
4. Add to dry ingredients and mix delicately to combine. Fold in apple, raisins and walnuts
5. Drop by tablepoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
6. You can leave the cookies as is if you want them looking like little mounds, or you can flatten them down some with the back of your spoon.
7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how flat (or unflat) you made your cookies, or until they look just slightly undercooked.
8. Cool completely on a cooling rack then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator, where the cookies will keep for up to a week.