Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

This was a quick recipe and so easy my 15 month old helped pour and stir the ingredients.  Depending on the size of your cookies (we went large) this will make 18 large or 36 small cookies.  These cookies are cake-like and chewy and the date syrup makes them very dark in color.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free flour

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Oats (regular not the quick cook kind)

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 Tbls cinnamon

1 Tbls garam masala

1 1/2 tsp zanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup cold pressed olive oil

1/2 cup unsweetened organic applesauce

2 Tbls vanilla extract

3/4 cup Date Syrup

1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325, and either line or oil 2 cookie sheets
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients (except the raisins) and whisk together.
3. In a small mixing bowl, mix all the wet ingredients then pour into the dry ingredients.
4. Mix together until well incorporated, then add raisins
5. Drop by spoonfuls on to the lined cookie sheets leaving about 1 inch between each cookie (they will spread as the bake)
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until dark and golden.
7. Let stand for 15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool another 10 minutes.

Date Syrup (Raw, Vegan, Gluten-Free)

I just got an order of wet pack dates in from The Date People and have been enjoying them immensely!  If you enjoy dates and have never had fresh or wet pack dates, treat yourself and call them.  I want to use dates as sweetener in recipes as my family has gone sucrose free.

Ingredients:
1 cup pitted organic dates (soaked for 2 hours if you have a regular blender)
1 cup fresh apple juice or purified water

Directions:
Blend pitted dates and juice or water in a high speed blender until mixture is thick and syrupy in texture.
Use immediately or store in an air-tight container in the your fridge for up to 3 days.

This is great over waffles, muffins, in oatmeal, or in place of any liquid or dry sweetener.  Use in place of dry sweeteners in recipes in a ratio of 1 cup of dry sugar = 3/4 cup date syrup, or 1:1 for liquid sweeteners (1 cup of maple syrup = 1 cup date syrup).