Going Against The Grain: Oaty, Nutty, Fruity Cookies
I love baking. My giant sweet tooth heartily agrees with this pastime, but unfortunately when I couldn’t eat wheat anymore, my baking career became a whole lot trickier. Cue delving into a variety of cookbooks and an awful lot of trial and error. The other problem is that copious amounts of sweet treats (annoyingly) does not always fit into my let’s-fuel-my-body-with-good-stuff plan – so imagine my joy when Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s latest River Cottage tome Light & Easy landed on my desk. The majority of recipes in this book gluten-free, and although I adore baking, I am otherwise the most reluctant chef – but thanks to this book, no more. Easy peasy recipes that tasty amazing, cover every meal and are quick for when I get in late after work and my commute. But I digress. There’s also a WHOLE SECTION with (fairly) sin-free, gluten-free sweet goodness. HELLO.
I made Hugh’s Oaty, Nutty, Fruity Cookies last weekend, and I think they’re the healthiest, quickest thing I’ve ever baked; start to finish took 10 minutes. Crunchy on the outside, soft and cake-like on the inside, it is very safe to say they have been a huge hit not only with myself but also with everyone else in the office. In fact, my entire batch has been swiftly wiped out by people requesting I bring them all into work. It’d be selfish of me to keep this recipe to myself, so get your baking hats on this weekend and feed your sweet tooth, guilt-free.
(My finished product)
River Cottage’s Oaty, Nutty, Fruity Cookies
Makes about 12
200g crunchy, no-sugar-added peanut butter
75g runny honey
1 large egg
1⁄4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
75g raisins
50g gluten-free porridge oats
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan/Gas 3. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
2. Put the peanut butter in a mixing bowl. Add the honey and beat it in, then add the egg and beat that in thoroughly. Sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda over the surface and beat it in, then stir in the raisins and oats. You will end up with a very stiff, chunky dough.
3. Put heaped dessertspoonfuls of the mixture on to the prepared baking tray. If you like you can shape them gently into rough rounds with lightly oiled fingertips. Leave a little space between each because they will expand slightly in the oven.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, then transfer carefully to a wire rack to cool. These are best eaten within 2–3 days of baking.
The only thing I’d add is that your mounds of mixture need to be flattened when you put them on the tray; they don’t ‘spread out’ like normal cookies would and otherwise end up looking a bit like rock cakes.
Let me know what you think of yours! Email me at healthy@therivergroup.co.uk or tweet me @chanathealthy.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Light & Easy: Healthy Recipes For Every Day (Bloomsbury Publishing, £25) is out now
Related Posts
Food
Tom Hunt’s elderflower and white chocolate torte
Get closer to nature with this delicate, delicious dessert
Food
Tom Hunt’s cherry and buckwheat tabbouleh
This sweet-and-savoury dish is perfect on its own, or as a tasty side salad
Food
Tofu and shiitake mushroom pad Thai
Fancy a takeaway? Our nutritious, vegetarian take on pad Thai will satisfy your cravings, guilt-free.
Food
WFH diaries: It pays to spend a little more time over breakfast
It took lockdown for writer Niamh to realise that a proper breakfast really is important
