Gluten Free Molasses and Almond Oat Cookies

Yields: about 36 cookies Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes

Iron and calcium rich molasses provides a deep richness to flavor these gluten free cookies, with a nutritious base of oatmeal and almond meal. Chocolate chips and dried cranberries add an extra burst of sweetness with every bite!

Ingredients

5 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons high quality honey

2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 1/4 cup almond meal

1 egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon aluminum free baking soda

1/2 plus 2 tablespoons chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine softened butter, brown sugar, molasses, honey, vanilla and egg.

3. In a separate bowl, combine almond meal, oats, baking soda, and salt.

4. Gently incorporate dry ingredients into wet ingredients bowl and add chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

5. On a parchment paper lined baking pan, spoon a generous tablespoon of batter into your palm and gently form into a ball. Place about 2 inches apart. Bakes at 375 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and let cookies rest on pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. This step is really important for the sugars to begin cooling together and solidify.

One of my favorite things to make are cookies. I usually don’t measure, and I throw together a bunch of ingredients and see what happens. And (sometimes to my husband’s dismay), I also try to incorporate some aspect of nutrition through the ingredients. Be it oatmeal, flaxseeds, coconut oil, avocado, well, you get the point.

My new favorite ingredient to play with is molasses. It is still a sugar, yes. However, with it comes a boatload of nutrients, especially minerals that aren’t usually found in your average cookie.

Molasses is created as a byproduct during the process of transforming raw beet sugar and cane sugar into table sugar. It is loaded with nutrients such as iron, magnesium, selenium, copper, potassium and calcium (to name a few). It is thought to help everything from anemia, to hair loss as well as supporting the immune system.

Additionally, the nutrient density of the almond meal and the oats helps add fiber, protein as well as assists in not spiking blood sugar levels when eating these cookies.

Cooling is really an important aspect of these treats. Between the molasses and honey, the sugars help to create a chewy texture. When hot, the sugar is liquid, and cooling allows the sugars to harden, keeping the cookies from falling apart. The only down part to these is they go fast!

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