Including oats in our menu has many benefits and adding it to some delicious homemade cookies is an attractive way to introduce it that everyone will like. Not only that, if we choose the ingredients well, we will have some healthier oatmeal cookies than most of the ones we will find in the supermarket.

The advantages of making your own homemade oatmeal cookies

If we make our own oatmeal cookiesNot only will we have a healthy option for our oatmeal breakfasts, we also make sure that we make them with quality ingredients, with healthier sweeteners and in moderate quantities, whole wheat flours and fats such as coconut oil.

Additionally, oats are one of the most nutritious cereals:

• Rolled oats are a good source of B vitamins, minerals such as manganese, magnesium, zinc or iron, fiber and antioxidants.
• Among its positive effects, it stands out that they improve digestion, take care of your cardiovascular health, They control blood sugar levels and are very satiatinghence they are considered recommended in weight control and weight loss diets. They also contribute to improve the appearance of skin, hair and nails.

How to make oatmeal cookies

Due to its versatility in the kitchen, you can make many recipes with oats or oat flakes, both sweet and salty.

Among the sweets, oatmeal cookies are a classic that admits a great diversity of variations. Oatmeal and banana cookies, oatmeal and apple cookies or oatmeal and chocolate cookies are perhaps the best known, but the possibilities are as many as the imagination is wide. We can even make delicious Christmas oatmeal cookies, with spices such as ginger, cloves or cinnamon.

What will be the base of our cookies? Well, very simple. Both for preparing cookies and for other baking recipes with oats, such as cereal bars, cakes, muffins or muffins, we can use both coarse and fine oat flakes or oat flourwhich we can buy or make at home simply by grinding the flakes.

In fact, there is nothing easier than prepare oat flour at home and include it in our recipes. Simply grind the same amount by weight of rolled oats in a powerful food processor until you obtain flour and that’s it.

You can make oatmeal cookies with a fine or thick texture: whatever you prefer.

Depending on whether we use flakes or flour in our cookie dough or other sweet preparation, the texture will be different:

• In case we use oat flakesthe result will be more rustic, with a more fibrous texture.
• The prepared desserts with oat flour they have a finer texture. We can use oat flour like any other flour. Of course, oats are a naturally gluten-free cereal (although celiacs should buy them certified to avoid cross contamination), so doughs made with oats will not rise and will be denser. Therefore, among baking recipes, cookies and other types of crunchy desserts are ideal if we want to use oats.

What else do you need to make the cookies?

Apart from oats, For our cookies we will need some natural sweetener, a fat, egg (or flaxif we want a vegan version), cinnamon or vanilla to flavor and the accessories we choose in each case to give more flavor and texture, such as banana or other fruits, nuts, chocolate…

Sweeten with or without sugar

When choosing the sweeteners For our oatmeal cookies, it is advisable to opt for less processed alternatives such as unrefined cane sugar, coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup. Even we can sweeten it simply by using fruit such as banana, apple or pear compote, or dried fruit such as raisins or dates.

If we need to lower the glycemic index or we follow a diet focused on controlling carbohydrate intake, we can make sugar-free cookies by replacing it with the same amount of erythritol, xylitol or allulose or use a couple of drops of stevia.

How do I save them once they are made?

Finally, it is worth keeping in mind that oatmeal cookies, once baked, are quite fragile, so it is best to let them cool completely in the tray before moving them. Then we can save them in a tupperware for a few days.

Photo: Stockfood

Also We can freeze them to have snacks ready for times of hurry. The ideal is to let them cool and freeze in a single layer tray.

Once frozen, we can transport them in a tupperware glass, even in a zip lock type bag or a silicone bag and freeze for up to 6 months.

Here is a selection of oatmeal cookie recipes that you will love:

1. Oatmeal and apple cookies

Some soft and delicious oatmeal cookies, biscuity inside and crispy outsidewith two ingredients that combine wonderfully: apples and walnuts.

In winter, these apple oatmeal cookies brighten your cold and rainy afternoons, but you can enjoy them at any time of the year: they will not disappoint.

2. Oatmeal and banana cookies

These are very healthy and easy oatmeal cookies, ideal for breakfasts and snacks every day, even for the smallest children.

So that the texture is more pleasant and the cookies do not break, The ideal is to crush half of the oatmeal flakes.

Plus, these cookies are very versatile:

• To add protein, We can replace part of the oat flakes with almond flour or other ground nuts or add a couple of tablespoons of peanut or almond butter.
• Also we can play with flavors and add cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, chocolate chips, chopped nuts… There are thousands of options.

3. Coconut Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

You can make oatmeal and chocolate cookies very easily with very few ingredients, although here we propose some oatmeal and chocolate cookies that also contain coconut. A combination, the one in this recipe, that never fails.

Although, just in case, if you didn’t like coconutyou can always substitute it with chocolate chips, raisins, walnuts, hazelnuts or other nuts.

4. Salty shortbread oatmeal cookies

Salted oatmeal cookies are a typical Scottish recipe, where they are enjoyed as a healthy snack, as is or accompanied with other ingredients. They are delicious, for example, with avocado, hummus, cheese or jam.

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INGREDIENTS FOR 1 TRAY

• 200 g oat flakes
• 30 g melted butter or olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 75 ml hot water

PREPARATION (20′ + 25′ cooking):

1. Set the oven to 180 degrees and, while it is heating, grind the oat flakes in the chopper until you obtain a coarse flour. Pour the flour and salt into a bowl, add the butter or oil and water, and mix well until you obtain a smooth dough. At first, the dough seems liquid, but as the oats absorb the water, it dries out.
2. Cover a smooth surface with a little flour or rolled oats. Pour the dough and stretch the dough with the help of a rolling pin or a bottle to obtain a 3mm thick rectangle. Cut out the cookies with a knife, cookie cutter, or glass.
3. Line the baking tray with parchment paper and place the cookies. Bake them for 25 minutes until they are done and then let them cool.

Store these cookies in an airtight container.

5. Oatmeal Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

These oatmeal and orange cookies are delicious. Here you will find a recipe…