It was a lie when I told everyone these were oatmeal cookies.
They’re actually made with quinoa flakes instead of oats, which are tons more expensive but I can digest them. And I used buckwheat flour in place of all-purpose. They’re not vegan though – I used two large eggs from one of my favourite egg vendors at Jean-Talon Market (there are at least three exceptional vendors) – but you could replace the eggs with ground flax seeds or egg replacer. I did, however, use Earth Balance, because I’m dairy free and didn’t want to infect these with the awful, sunscreen-y taste of coconut oil.
The only other change to my mother’s family recipe is that I used Demerara sugar in place of the cup of brown sugar called for. That meant the batter didn’t cream well when blended with the handmixer but you got to bite into crystals of delicious sugar in the finished cookie. Some would call it grainy. I would call it delicious. Think of them as somewhere between oatmeal cookies and sugar cookies – it’s like Christmas but something you can have every week. And heck, if oats are good for, then these little protein-packed quinoa wonders are the next superfood…
…right. Enjoy in moderation, or not.
The Best Fake Oatmeal Cookies Ever (Gluten free, dairy free, oat free)
Makes about 52 medium cookies (4 bakers dozens)
Cream together using a hand blender in a large bowl for 3 minutes:
1 cup Earth Balance spread (or vegan margarine, or butter if you’re not lactose intolerant)
1 cup cane sugar (or white sugar)
1 cup Demerara sugar (or brown sugar)
Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (or rum extract, or rum, or whisky, or bourbon, or brandy, or rose water or orange blossom water)
Blend 2 minutes more.
Add:
2 cups sieved buckwheat flour (or sweet white rice flour or amaranth flour or a gluten free flour blend)
2 cups quinoa flakes
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Mix all ingredients using your hands. Clean your hands. Preheat oven to 350˚F. The batter will thicken the longer you leave it, so try to get distracted for 10 minutes or so or stick it in the fridge while the oven preheats. Grease 4 baking sheets or line with parchment paper and roll batter into large marbles and place on sheets. Bake for 10 minutes one sheet at a time. If the cookies are larger and don’t darken very slightly, add an extra 1-2 minutes. They’ll harden a little as they cool. Remove from sheets as soon as they’re not longer too soft to move with a spatula.
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