My husband’s favorite cookie was oatmeal. After looking though dozens of oatmeal cookie recipes, this one came out first in the ones I thought sounded really delicious and easily converted to allergen free. With a food processor, it was very easy to put together and turned out delicious! As with many cookie recipes that are allergen free, these should be flattened before baking and bake a little longer than most cookies.
In a small pot, bring to a boil:
12 ounces of dates with sufficient water to cover them
Once they come to the boil, remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Meanwhile, put into a food processor:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
Blend until the seeds are well ground but not turning into butter, larger chunks are okay. In a medium bowl, blend:
2 cups quick cooking organic gluten-free oatmeal
the ground seeds
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Place the cooled dates into the food processor along with:
2 cups cooked pumpkin or sweet potato or a 15 ounce can of pumpkin or sweet potato puree
1/2 cup of the date boiling liquid (or if a fruity flavor is desired, 1/2 cup of any fruit juice)
Blend until smooth. Add the date/pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients and blend until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Let the dough sit for 15-20 minutes so that the oats and chia seeds can absorb some of the moisture in the dough. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2-3 medium cookie sheets with parchment paper.
When the dough is ready, scoop by tablespoon onto the baking sheets and flatten the cookies with the back of a wet spoon. Depending on how it’s measured, the dough should make 2 1/2 to 4 dozen cookies.* Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes depending on size and thickness or until the outside of the cookie is golden brown. I found getting the cookies as thin as possible leads to a cookie that is browned and crispy around the outside and chewy on the inside. Cool on baking sheets and then store in air tight container.
*I actually used about 2 tablespoons per cookie and the dough made 29 cookies.
cookingwithoutallergens 