These simple, rustic-style gluten-free raisin-oatmeal cookies are sweetened only with fruit. Based on a mixture of gluten-free baking flour and oats, they are a light, almost biscuit-like cookie that works for breakfast, a light snack or a mildly-sweet dessert.
This recipe requires only 10 ingredients (if you don't count the salt) which you stir together easily with a spoon. And the cookies are quick - they bake in about 10-12 minutes, depending on your altitude and how crisp you want the cookies.
This would be a great recipe to make with children, who would enjoy rolling and flattening the balls of dough if very young, and stirring too if they're a bit older.
How sweet are these cookies?
If you are expecting a very sweet cookie you might be disappointed! If you are not used to fruit-sweetened baked goods, you might find this more like a biscuit. And I don't use monkfruit or other keto sweeteners to achieve low-sugar baked goods.
There are so many great reasons to reduce your sugar intake that it is worth working toward an unsweetened cookie if you haven't done that already. And for young children, like my 2-year-old grandson, who hasn’t yet gotten used to "typical" sweet baked goods, these are a great treat.
Why don’t these cookies turn brown during baking?
In baking, most of what accounts for the color when cookies turn brown is the sugars that caramelize with the heat. No sugars = no browning.
Is there another way to make these cookies turn brown?
According to Street Directory.com, sugar-free baked goods can look pasty and uncooked because there is no sugar to caramelize. You can simulate the browning by spraying the surface of the batter or dough with a bit of cooking spray before putting it in the oven.
Be advised that I have not tried the cooking spray trick, however, so I can't vouch for it in this recipe. And we don’t mind the cookies not browning.
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Step 1. Wet ingredients.
How you soften your butter will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. In my Honolulu house, butter left on the countertop is nearly always soft enough to use in this recipe as-is.
In my Denver kitchen in the wintertime, the butter left on the countertop will be semi-solid, so I need to place it in the microwave for 30 seconds to be sure it will mix well with the apple butter.
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In this recipe I used apple-pluot butter, but apple butter or applesauce would also work. If you check out my recipes you will see that there is a no-added-sugar version, which is what I used here.
Warm the butter in a medium heatproof bowl, and stir the apple butter into it. Once the apple butter and the butter are creamed together, simply beat in the egg and the vanilla.
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Step 2. Dry ingredients added to wet.
Place the dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir them together.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. At first the mixture will seem to have too much liquid, but as the flour and oats hydrate, it will thicken up. Make sure other the ingredients are well incorporated before you stir in the raisins.
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Fold in the raisins, making sure they don’t stick together in clumps.
Step 3: Baking
If you haven’t already, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop up the dough. I aim for a rounded tablespoonful per cookie. Scoop the dough into your hand and roll it into a ball. Then flatten each ball on the parchment paper on the cookie sheet until it’s about ½ inch thick.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes (sea level) to 12 minutes (high altitude). Let them cool in the pan for just a couple of minutes after removing them from the oven and then transfer them to a rack to finish cooling.
If you REALLY want to add a little sweetness, you could drizzle cookies these with icing - I may yet make such a batch and will share if I do.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, pin it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #amealinmind on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. Thank you so much!!
Enjoy!
I have shared this recipe on Fiesta Friday #
I am joining Fiesta Friday # 358 with Angie @ Fiesta Friday, this week co-hosting with Eff@Food Daydreaming.
Other cookie recipes to try
Almond Flour-Carob Pinwheel Cookies
Pumpkin Cookies with Apple Butter Thumbprint; Paleo, Vegan
Pecan Almond Flour Red White and Blue Cookies
Almond Flour Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies; GF
Cranberry Almond-Flour Pinwheel Cookies
Raisin-Sweetened Oatmeal Cookies - Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup apple-pluot butter or applesauce
- 1 egg or flax egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup gluten-free baking flour I used Better Batter
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum since Better Batter doesn’t contain any
- 1 cup oats
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup raisins chopped or currants
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream the butter and apple butter together until blended. It may not be totally blended but the butter should be in small clumps. (note 1)
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine remaining ingredients except raisins or currants.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix well. Fold in the raisins.
- Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper or silpat.
- Roll tablespoon-sized scoops of dough into balls, then flatten onto sheet.
- Cook for about 10 minutes for a softer cookie, 12 minutes for a crisper one (or at high altitude), or until they feel set. (note 2)
- Enjoy!
Notes
Please pin for later!
Tatiana
They look amazing and SO EASY to make! Saving to try next weekend!
Beth
Tatiana, the best part about these is how quick they are to stir together, and I'll be making some this weekend too!
Amy
Oh I absolutely love oatmeal cookies! My daughter and I love making cookies for the holidays to give out to friends and family, We're rounding up a list of cookies to make and this has got to be one of them!
Beth
Amy, if you know anyone who eats gluten-free, these are an easy and tasty addition to your gift box!
Amy Liu Dong
Awesome cookie recipe, definitely looks delicious and tasty. Plus the best part is that, its gluten free food and that makes this a healthy food too.
Beth
Thanks, Amy. I also count these a healthy success since my 2-year-old grandson thought they were just great!
Sharon
Oatmeal raisin cookies are one of my favorites but they can be unhealthy, I love that these are healthy and gluten-free.
Beth
Thanks, Sharon, though I made this no-added-sugar cookie with my grandson in mind, it was quite a relief to find that everyone liked them.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
I super love cookies! And this recipe of yours is such a delish! I wil ldefinitely have them
Beth
We love this simple cookie recipe as a relatively healthy way to manage a sweet craving. Enjoy!
Kushigalu
Loce the flavor combo in this cookie recipe. So delicious. Making this soon.
Beth
Kushi, there is something about putting raisins in a cookie that we always enjoy too. I hope you have fun with them.
Alex
Raisin-sweetened?! Whaaat. Totally my kind of recipe! I definitely need to try these soon for my kid. And interesting trick on how to get them a little brown!
Beth
Alex, I hope you'll enjoy them - my grandson thought they were great - but he's 2 and hasn't had much sugary food. We hope to keep it that way! Enjoy.
Erin
How neat that you used apple butter! I definitely need to bake more with apple butter. I bet these cookies are nice and fruity. Love that there's no added sugar!
Beth
Thanks, Erin. Once I've got a batch of apple butter made, all kinds of recipes suggest themselves to me. These cookies have that lovely aroma as well as the fruity taste.
Leslie
Low sugar cookies are the best in my opinion! This sounds like the most perfect cookie recipe!
Beth
Leslie, I appreciate the comment. I know for some people a no-sugar version like this would take getting used to, but the benefit is you can eat lots!
Jacqueline Debono
Love these rustic raisin oatmeal cookies. I've had a thing for cookies with raisins since I was a kid. Going to give these a try as they sound so much healthier than many other raisin cookie recipes!
Beth
Thanks, Jacqui. I've always loved good oatmeal-raisin cookies - the textures go so well together. I'd be curious to know what you think - thanks for the comment.
Eff | Food Daydreaming
I'm not a fan of overly sweet biscuits and these sound lovely! Thanks for sharing with the fiesta!
Beth
Thanks for that kind comment, Eff, and for co-hosting the fiesta!