Oatmeal, Dates & Raisin Cookies

Have you ever noticed a goat or a cow grazing? There is something common….those two animals keep chewing all the time. Seems like I have something in common with them :) Oh yes, I’ve told you several times about how I like to munch something every now and then. Can you believe it when I say that I start raiding my kitchen cupboards for some snacks after 10 mins of having BF or lunch? These days I find it really hard to resist the temptations especially when my FB newsfeed is always updated with some beautiful food snaps. Ok leave the internet and switch on the TV, almost every other channel is loaded with cookery shows, doesn’t look good, what about reading something and there again you can see some food pics, sigh! It feels like the Universe is conspiring for me to give into the temptation ;)

Usually I end up with some junk food for munching, but after some time I feel guilty and forcefully eat some supposed-to-be health bars and what not! I only wish that these health bars suppressed my munching temptation… but the effect is more depressing. I don’t like the taste of all this healthy crap and that’s when I realised how I miss those unhealthy flavoured junk food and stuff myself with the double the amount of junk. So much for trying to eat healthy.

When I posted this eggless cinnamon recipe here, I never ever thought it would be one of the most popular recipes in the site. Because its a general tendency that we associate healthy food with awful taste, yep – I also do that. But that recipe was a revelation to me that healthy stuff can be tasty too and yes I’m sure there are other recipes also of the same category. This is one such recipe. Though the name of this cookie is Oatmeal & Raisin & Dates cookie, I re-christened it as Healthy Cookie. Yep, if you go through the ingredients, you’ll know it. I’ve customised the original  recipe to make a healthier version.

Another thing I liked about the recipe is that, its quite filling. Also its a good way to incorporate  oats in your diet. The cookie has a soft cakey texture with a slightly crusted top.

So shall we go ahead and bake some healthy cookies?

Here is the recipe:

1. Wheat flour (atta) – 1 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp
   Oats – 1 1/2 cups
   Baking powder – 1/2 tsp, slightly heaped
   Baking soda – 1/2 tsp, slightly heaped
   Soft light brown sugar – 1/2 cup, firmly packed
   Raisins – 1/4 cup, heaped
   Dates – 3/4 cup, chopped
   Chocolate Chips – 1-2 tbsp, (optional)
2. Vegetable Oil – 3/4 cup ( I used sunflower oil)
   Egg – 1, lightly beaten
   Milk – 5 tbsp

Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 375 F, 10 mins before baking. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, raisins, chocolate chips and dates in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix the egg, oil & milk together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Mix the mixture together well with either a fork or a whisk or a wooden spoon to make a soft but not sticky dough.

Place spoonfuls of the dough well apart on the piled baking sheet and flatten the tops down slightly with a fork. Transfer the biscuits to a preheated oven and bake for 10 -12 mins until golden. Remove from the oven, leave to cool for 2-3 mins, then transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool, Serve when cold or store in an airtight container. I got 18 cookies with the above qty.

Notes: You can also use plain flour or wholemeal flour instead of atta. I stored the cookie for 1 week @ room temperature in an airtight container. I used an ice cream scoop to drop the cookie dough on to the baking sheet. I lined the baking sheet with al.foil & baking paper.

Eggless version: Though I haven’t tried it yet, I’m guessing you can substitute the egg with some pureed banana. If you happen to try the eggless version, please do let me know.

Substitute for brown sugar: 1 Cup light brown sugar =

1 cup (215 grams) raw sugar

1 cup (200 grams) white granulated sugar

1 cup (200 grams) white granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup (60 ml)  unsulfured light molasses

For light brown sugar – substitute 1/2 cup (110 grams) dark brown sugar plus 1/2 cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar ( source: joy of baking)

Please check out the oatmeal cookies baked by Suni, based on the above recipe. She dipped them in chocolate, yummy! Thanks dear :)

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MariasMenu is a popular food blog written by Maria Jose with its no nonsense simple, tasty and delicious recipes – all tried and tested by readers, family and friends alike. Read more about Maria and her venture.