Egg free oatmeal cookies
These are not egg free, because I think that eggs are evil. It's just a recipe from my sweet granny's recipe collection (it was a fancy and modern book these days) and the recipe just calls no eggs!
So, no worries - I still think and will remain thinking that you should forget about eliminating certain foods from your menu, and eggs are no exception.
I have a story about it, though.
I had this girl in my elementary school class who had a severe egg allergy. That meant she could not eat anything yummy on birthdays and other events. Also, school lunches were limited in some ways. And omg, the school cafeteria!
If you’re not a vegan for your free will, then imagine your life without mayonnaise-based sauces and salads, buns, pastries, cakes, pancakes, omelettes, custards, even some types of dumplings and pastas, and so much more. Life seems to revolve around eggs, doesn’t it?
I had not started the endless dieting back then yet, and I felt incredibly sorry for her, because this allergy was real, not made up for searching for sympathy or attention. I happened to see the outcome when she slipped and had something egg-y accidentally. Her skin turned red, inflamed, and itchy, and she got really sick.
Some allergies and intolerances are trendy and therefore should be taken with a grain of salt these days, but that was not one of them.
So, let’s be grateful for not having to leave something out because of a real reason. If you have a real reason, then skip this last sentence, of course! In that case, I feel for you. But if you happen to have your real reason for leaving eggs out, then by all means, this recipe is for you!
It has a decent amount of butter, though…
Here it comes:
A Beginner’s Guide to Baking Cookies - Sweet and Salty Cinnamon Oatmeal Edition.
These cinnamon oatmeal cookies are effortless to remember because most dry ingredients have the same quantity and unit to measure. These cookies are VERY plump and not flat at all, which is amazing because they contain zero baking powder and no egg. Who doesn't love a warm, chewy oatmeal cookie? The primary ingredient, oats, combines beautifully with cinnamon's warm and spicy kick, creating an irresistible taste.
NO NEED TO MEASURE THE INGREDIENTS WITH A SCALE!
Because it’s just not such a fancy recipe and does not call for perfect precision.
They melt in your mouth, I guarantee that they are filling and nourishing, because of the alternative flours, cashews, oats, and that always irresistible butter flavor! Cinnamon is an extremely healthy spice, by the way - it boosts your digestion mildly and naturally. Oats are not just fiber-rich; they're packed with nutrients and offer a unique texture that enhances cookies. We know oats for their cholesterol-lowering properties and are praised for aiding digestion and boosting immunity.
But let’s not focus on the recipe's diet aspects because this space is anti-diet, remember?
No… actually, I need to keep remembering this, because I, too, tend to fall back into the circle sometimes. It’s so easy for it to happen - the overall constant yapping about how healthy or unhealthy something is, just creeps in!
From the perspective of this recipe, the good old white gluten-packed “unhealthy” all-purpose flour has the same value as oats and everything else.
So, let’s move on, shall we?
I created this recipe from an earlier version of the same recipe. The last one, however, had turned out slightly different. The main difference was the type of oatmeal. First time I used to make these cookies with old-fashioned rolled oats. This way, they didn't form nice balls and tended to fall apart. Oatmeal develops a kind of "glue" that can easily hold the dough together, even without adding wheat flour or egg. That's why the instant oatmeal works quicker. On the other hand, using the large rolled oats, the oatmeal did not have enough time to undergo this transformation. However, the previous ones turned out great anyway; the texture was just more rustic.
In this recipe, both flours that I used happened to be organic. I am fully aware that organic food can sometimes be expensive, but recently, I have made a pleasant discovery: milled grains are not expensive anymore. The price difference is often small, but the difference in quality is great.
And I like to support the farmer who is delivering me all kinds of those goods. I’ve been ordering from him weekly for at least a decade! I must say especially the eggs are next level delicious, but that’s not today’s story…
ATTENTION!
Again, I’m not trying to refer only to the possible (and likely to happen) health benefits as a result of consuming organic food, but rather to the taste depth and enhanced flavor layers, because that’s the most important part for genuine food lovers.
Attention from another side as well:
If you happen to make some more demanding and fancier pastry products, such as all kinds of tricky French delights or similar, then it’s better NOT to use organic flours. They work best with delicious, easy rustic farmhouse baking. Which seems also logical. I have ruined my posh eclairs and other stuff by using them instead of regular plain white flour.
The recipe for eggless oatmeal cookies
Cooking Temp: 200 °C / 390°F
Difficulty: Beginner
Servings: 8-10 plump, hearty cookies
NO scale needed for measurements!
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 8 mins
Rest Time: 2 mins
Total Time: 40 mins
INGREDIENTS
100 g non-salted butter (soft, but not melting)
0.5 dl white sugar (does not have to be extra-fine / caster sugar in this recipe)
1 dl all-purpose wheat flour (sifted)
1 dl wholegrain wheat flour
1 dl instant oatmeal
1 dl cashews (roughly ground in blender or food processor)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp salt (fine sea salt is a great option, but any salt will do)
INSTRUCTIONS
Making the dough.
Start by turning your oven to 200 °C / 390°F. Cream the butter with sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer (or with a whisk and muscle).
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly (at this point, you can go on blending with a wooden spoon or keep mixing with the mixer on the lowest speed just as soon as everything has come together evenly.
Shaping the dough.
Grab the dough with your hands from the bowl or turn it onto your clean work surface.
Scrape all the separate pieces and work the dough into a ball - it takes a bit of kneading, pushing, and smoothing.
Baking the cookies
Divide the cookie dough ball into 8-10 smaller, more or less the same size balls (don't overthink the size too much - they're still non-pretentious rustic cookies, allowed to be a bit uneven).
Place onto a prepared baking tray (covered with a baking paper) and bake in the center part of the oven for 8 minutes. The oven mode is not that important - it can be regular. If using convection (fan), be alert; you might want to take them out earlier to avoid burning.
Let the cookies cool just a bit, but you can bite into them pretty soon, if you can’t wait. Keep them in the fridge in a plastic or glass container, or why not a jar - I bet they’ll be fine for up to a week or more, but I was obviously not able to try that out… Hope the same will apply to you, and they will be gone before you realize it!
That’s it for today’s recipe and my reflections around it. Hope to see you at the next one.
TRY TO STAY AWAY FROM THE ENDLESS DIETING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND TALK SOON! :)
