OATMEAL PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

November 5, 2014
OATS – HEARTY & HEART HEALTHY!
Oats is an old-fashioned food that has made a huge comeback these past few years. With so much wheat going into our baked products today many are suffering from allergies to the wheat. It is a very good idea to start including other grains with other beneficial nutrients into our diets as well.

Oats is a very common yet healthy grain that is packed with fibre. This fibre helps to bring down insulin requirements & as well cholesterol levels. Oats is low in fat and sodium; just the kind of food that would do modern-day diets a world of good.

I am always checking cookbooks, looking for cookie recipes that have more oatmeal than flour. Cookies are a great snack that do not spoil too quickly in the cookie jar on the counter, so we have them available at all times for:

* The men when they bring in a few men for a cup of coffee.
* The grandchildren who are often stopping by.
* For Melvin & I with our tea after a meal or as a mid-day break

Today I decided to create a cookie recipe without any flour; only oatmeal as the dry ingredient. I wasn’t sure how little sugar I could get by with and still have a crunchy cookie. Well I was pleasantly surprised that the cookies were just the way I wanted them. The recipe is below.
Then I made several more recipes using a bit of spelt, then buckwheat flour and then rice flour. Each recipe was great, so the variations are below the recipe.

Exchanging the chocolate chips for walnut or for raisins is a great way of providing a healthier cookie.

I won’t stop here though. In time I will try to use even less sugar, or maybe use honey or part stevia instead of the white sugar. I am not sure, but whatever the results, even if they don’t turn out as well, they will get eaten at our house. There are always people coming and going & we love it!

PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL COOKIES (no flour)

¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
1 cup butter (or soft margarine)
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon sea salt
5 ¼ cups raw quick oatmeal
1 cup milk chocolate chips
Mix and add the ingredients in the order given. Place balls of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Dip a fork into water and press each ball. Bake at the cookies at 350 º F for 10 – 12 minutes or until nicely browned.

Variations of this cookie recipe:
Exchange ¼ cup oatmeal for ¼ cup rice flour
Exchange ¼ cup oatmeal for ¼ cup spelt flour
Exchange ¼ cup oatmeal for ¼ cup buckwheat flour
Exchange chocolate chips for walnuts
Exchange chocolate chips for raisins
I have done all of the above and we love every variation. You may have other changes you would like to make. Enjoy!

Since I posted the above recipe, as you will see in my latest posts, I did change it to a healthier cookie, one batch at a time; until now, April 2016.