So the kids went back to school and kindy yesterday after the holiday break, and over the weekend I had a teeny moment of feeling like super-mum, deciding to whip up a batch of cookies in preparation for school lunches…
What I hadn’t counted on was how sweet these little babies were going to turn out. Unlike when the kids were little, I don’t mind them having the occasional sweet treat nowadays but I do still try to tone the sugar levels down as much as possible. My minds been all over the show lately and playing around with making them gluten-free kinda made me forget about cutting the sugar down too. Whoops. Next time.
![chewy cranberry, oat + coconut cookies {wheat-free]](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8465/8082580097_23fd56949a_z.jpg)
As soon as they were cooked in stepped mean mum. I let the kids have just one before packing the rest away into containers, some to store in the fridge and others to freeze for Si to eat when he comes home from work next week. Told ya, mean aye.
Anyway, so while these may not be ideal for kids to eat, and are at the upper level of sweetness in my book, they are still yummy for us big kids and I have a sneaky feeling they would be lovely to use in ice cream sandwiches later on when summer kicks in. Out of the oven they are delicate and chewy, but the next day I loved them even more when they had firmed up a little and their chewiness increased.
The kids will have to make do with their usual dried fruit and vege-sticks for morning tea this week… sorry kids.
chewy cranberry, oat + coconut cookies
We are okay with eating regular oats, but if you are super sensitive to gluten try sourcing certified gluten-free oats or use quinoa flakes instead. Oats themselves don’t contain gluten, but they are processed in the same factories as wheat so cross-contamination can be a problem that some won’t be willing to risk. Gluten-free cornflour (corn starch) can be used in place of tapioca if that’s all you’ve got.
Makes 19 large cookies or twice as many little ones.
115g (1/2 cup) soft butter
2/3 cup (130g) muscovado sugar or use soft brown
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 free-range egg
1/2 cup (60g) fine brown rice flour
1/4 cup (25g) tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch fine sea salt
1 cup (100g) wholegrain rolled oats
1/2 cup (45g) shredded or desiccated coconut
3/4 cup (150g) dried cranberries
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until combined. Sieve over flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix well, then add rolled oats, coconut and cranberries. Mix to combine, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 170C/335F. Grease a couple of baking trays and line with baking paper. Scoop out either tablespoonfuls (for big cookies) or teaspoonfuls (for small cookies) of mixture and roll into balls. Place on the trays at least 5cm apart, leaving plenty of room for spreading. Bake for 12 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. They will firm up slightly on cooling. Depending on the size of your oven trays and your oven you may need to cook these off in a couple of batches. Best eaten within the first few days after baking. Can also be frozen.
7 Responses
I knew that there would a very good reason for buying dried cranberries today – and here it is!! Wonder if I have any shredded or otherwise coconut in the cupboard too!
I used to make cranberry and white chocolate oat cookies before we cut out wheat so I will be eager to try these, they look delicious!
Great treat, shame your a mean mum. Am sure they will look forward to those ice cream sandwiches though.
Haha, the kids got over it fast. They always know there will be something else nice that I will let them eat around our house 🙂
These do sound lovely indeed! Dried cranberries are delicious-yummo!
Could I substitute coconut flour for the brown rice flour?
Nope, not unless you did some serious playing around. Coconut flour works in a completely different way than all other flours, you only need to use a little and it sucks up loads of moisture. I would suggest using either quinoa or buckwheat flour in place of the rice flour, although I've not tried either myself. xx