Spelt Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

For quite a while, I haven’t been making cookies that I enjoy(how sad is that?!).  For a while now I’ve written them off as something only for special occasions and as a result I’ve only been making the cookies my husband likes that I don’t really care for.  Which is like, one kind.  Just recently I’ve come to the realization that making cookies with whole grains is a much better alternative.  There’s nothing wrong with a little butter(or coconut oil) and while these still do have a considerable amount of sugar, I find that the whole grains keep me from eating half the batch in one sitting.

I also find that I over complicate things.  These are good and good for you and good for a treat.  That’s all there is to it.

I’ve been experimenting with spelt lately and I love it 🙂  I can’t wait to try more recipes with it and hopefully I get some spelt from my grain csa later in the year.

A small note on this recipe, you can quite easily halve it and being a cookie I’m sure it freezes well too(although none of my batch made it that far) so if you’re like me and don’t want to be stuck with a ton of cookies you can make a smaller batch or just freeze some 🙂

[print_this]Spelt Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Slightly adapted from Green Cilantro

• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups whole spelt flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed(or sucanat, but add 1+ tbsp almond milk as the cookies may be a little dry)
• 3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) butter, soft
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl mix together the oats, spelt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt.  The original recipe uses toasted oats so go to the original recipe for those instructions if you’d like to toast your oats or you can use untoasted if you like.

I like to pour hot water over the raisins at this point and let them sit for a few minutes before draining and incorporating them in the dough later, otherwise they dry out the cookie over a few days, but this is optional and they are great without this step

In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla and beat until creamy.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.  Drop the dough by heaped tablespoon onto a parchment or silicone lined sheet about 2″ apart.  Flatten slightly with your fingers or a spoon and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden.  Cool for a few minutes before placing on a cooling rack.  Once completely cooled store in an airtight container.[/print_this]