Gluten, Dairy, and Egg Free (Vegan) Cookies!
Okay, that’s a big title. But, to just say these are ‘healthy cookies’ isn’t enough. I was definitely a bit skeptical when I was making these. First, the cookie batter was pretty wet, so I thought they were going to flatten like a pancake! I was a bit worried to use my 2 tablespoon scoop for this reason, but I took a chance. I’m glad I did, because the complete opposite happened! They didn’t flatten AT ALL. At first, I was going to call these a ‘smashed’ cookie, because that’s essentially what I did with the first batch, to help flatten them after they came out of the oven. But, smashing a warm cookie with melty chocolate in it also means that you’re going to smoosh the chocolate everywhere. See? Still tasty, but not so pretty.
The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of EITHER raisins or chocolate chips. I decided to put 1/2 cup of BOTH raisins and chocolate chips. Also, I used my homemade apple sauce in this recipe which has a bit of sugar in it. I didn’t mind. 🙂 But, unsweetened apple sauce would be great, especially since there’s already sweetness from the ripe bananas and raisins….and chocolate chips.
I had 2 of these almost every night after dinner with a tea until they were gone! They really hit the spot. I am loving finding new recipes to use up all of my bananas and this one will be added to my growing rotation!!
Enjoy!
Gluten, Dairy, and Egg Free (Vegan) Cookies!
Ingredients
- 2 mashed ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup apple sauce sweetened or unsweetened will work
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips original recipe calls for either 1/2 cup of raisins or chocolate chips - use your own discretion
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, place cookies onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
- Allow cookies to cool slightly before removing them from the pan.
Make-Ahead Cinnamon Buns
Okay, so these are indulgent, but such a treat to wake up to on a special, lazy, morning with family. The BEST part about these buns is that most of the work happens the night before!
Important to note that this dough must rise for 1.5 to 2 hours before it can be rolled out, so don’t start preparing these too late the night before. I have made the mistake in the past of deciding to make something later at night and realizing the recipe needs to chill for so many hours in the fridge before moving on to the next step. Bah!
I like to add raisins to my cinnamon buns, but you can also add pecans if you like that kinda thing.
I first saw Valerie Bertinelli make these on her show for Christmas morning, and I thought it was such a nice idea! We’ve tried to do a big breakfast on Christmas morning, but it takes so long and with all the food we have to look forward to for dinner, it’s too much of a production to have a big breakfast and then a big dinner. Having something comforting and tasty like this that takes little effort in the morning is perfect!
I highly recommend you make these. Your family will love you all over again! 🙂
Make-Ahead Cinnamon Buns
Ingredients
For the dough
- I cup warm whole milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 .25 oz package active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- vegetable oil for the bowl
For the filling
- 6 tablespoons salted butter softened, plus more for the baking dish*
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raisins optional
For the icing
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons of milk plus more as needed
Instructions
For the dough
- Combine the milk, sugar, melted butter, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment and stir to combine well. Add the eggs and stir until well mixed. Add the flour and mix on medium-high speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let stand in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down and lightly flour a work surface. Lay the dough out and roll the dough out into an 18-by-12-inch rectangle.
For the filling
- Butter a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Spread the softened butter evenly all over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border, then sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle raisins, if using. Roll up the dough and press and crimp the edges to seal. Cut the dough into 12 slices and arrange them in the buttered baking dish. If you want to bake them the same day, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Otherwise, refrigerate overnight; take out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon buns until puffed and golden brown all over, about 25 minutes.
For the icing
- Put the icing sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in the melted butter, vanilla and milk Whisk until smooth. Add additional milk, about 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed to achieve the right consistency. Drizzle the icing over the warm cinnamon rolls. Serve warm.
Notes
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
As I sit here at 7am on a Saturday morning with a tea in my hand, the fire lit and debating eating an oatmeal raisin cookie that I made last night, I thought it might be a good time to write a post about them! And eat a cookie. It’s basically breakfast ingredients, right??
For Christmas, my husband got me a Le Creuset cookie jar! Cute gift, since cookies are kinda my thing. At least at Christmastime. Little did I know, he had a plan that I should keep this cookie jar full of cookies all the time! Sneaky.
He’s been asking for oatmeal raisin cookies for weeks! I promised him I would make them once the jar was empty of the rice krispy treats I had made previous. Now that report cards are done, the pressure is off, and it’s the start of the weekend, I thought that last night was the perfect night to make them!
I found this recipe over 10 years ago on a bed and breakfast site that I can no longer locate. I have tweaked this recipe quite a bit over the years. At Christmastime, I make these cookies, with cranberries and white chocolate chips. They have been a long time favorite.
The original recipe is made with shortening, which I generally don’t like to bake cookies with. I’ve tried this recipe with both salted and unsalted butter. Either is fine. I, honestly, don’t notice much of a difference. In truth, I think I prefer these cookies made with salted butter. I have also cut back on the sugar in this recipe, as I found 2 cups to be way too much. I opted to add more brown sugar, because I like my cookies chewy. But, if you like a crispier type of cookie, just switch the amounts of white and brown sugar.
Oatmeal Raisin Cokies
Ingredients
- 1 cup or 2 sticks, butter (softened at room temperature)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups quick cook oatmeal
- 2 cups raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit
- Cream butter and sugars together.
- Add the eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly add flour, baking soda and salt until combined.
- Add oatmeal and raisins until all is combined.
- With your cookie scoop, or spoon, drop cookies onto a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes - A medium sized cookie yields 3 dozen.
- Enjoy!
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