This week I had a request from a local customer who wanted to purchase vegan oatmeal cookies. He said that he has been looking for a vegan oatmeal cookie that would obtain the approval of his children.
The only specification was that they could not have chocolate chips which is normally how his kids prefer oatmeal raisin cookies.
Not wanting to crush his dreams and tell him I actually didn’t have a vegan oatmeal cookie recipe in my ‘baking holster’, I smiled and said, ‘Of course I can make you some oatmeal raisins cookies. No problem!’
I knew I had some work to do. *gulp.
Batch #1 was an excellent attempt, but not quite there yet.
Batch #2 had me hook, line, and sinker.
That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
The Ultimate Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Inspired by Salt Kissed Chunky PB Chocolate Chip Cookies & Vegetarian Times.
Ingredients:
- 1 & 3/4 cups walnuts, toasted
- 2 cups regular oats, divided
- 3/4 cup white Kamut flour (other flours probably work!)
- 1/2 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 3.5 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup raisins
Directions: Preheat oven to 350F and grease a baking sheet. Place 1.75 cups of walnuts on the baking sheet. Toast walnuts in oven for about 10-12 minutes, until golden in colour. Watch carefully so as not to burn. When walnuts are toasted remove from oven and cool for a few minutes. Dump walnuts into food processor and process until just finely ground, no more. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, 1 cup oats, cinnamon, and Sucanat (or brown sugar). Now add the dry ingredients to the food processor and process for about 20-30 seconds until mixed. In a small bowl add the coconut oil and microwave for 20 seconds to soften (if necessary). In the same bowl, stir in the maple syrup, almond milk, and vanilla, and pour into food processor. Process until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Remove bowl from processor and dump contents into a large bowl. Mix in the remaining 1 cup of oats by stirring or with hands. Fold in the 2/3 cup of raisins. Take about 2 tbsp of dough, make a ball, and then flatten with fingers. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat. Bake for 10 minutes at 350F and no longer. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before placing onto a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes. Makes about 16 large cookies.
This was my first time baking with Kamut flour!
Kamut (pronounced ka-moot) is an ancient whole grain cultivated by the Egyptians in 8,000 B.C.
Like spelt, it may be a healthy alternative for people who are sensitive to wheat products. The benefit of Kamut over spelt flour is that Kamut is much lighter than spelt and won’t weigh the baked goods down. I have been excited to try it out ever since my friend Heather told me about it!
I bought some white Kamut flour and some whole grain Kamut flour. I started with the white Kamut flour first to ‘test the waters’.
After grinding the toasted walnuts and then processing with the dry ingredients…
Next, I processed in the wet ingredients and then folded in the oats and raisins…
=> the most delicious & rich & buttery cookie dough in the world.
Baking for just 10 minutes (not a second longer!) at 350F.
Damn.
The result was the most delicious oatmeal raisin cookie I think I have ever tasted. The toasted walnuts were magnificent and I am so glad I toasted them. The recipe is slightly ‘fussy’ but well worth the effort and it still didn’t take longer than about 35-40 minutes or so.
I have a feeling my customer’s kids will love these cookies.
Eric was silent for a while as he ate one and his eyes went into a far off daze. After snapping him out of it, he said, ‘These are incredible…mmmm…..’ and then he went back into a daze as he ate them.
He hasn’t been the same since.
I’m going to give my customer this batch on the house so he can test them out and see how they all like them.
I also made some mini cookies- just 1 inch in diameter (but they look much bigger in this deceiving picture!)
Mini cookies are fun for lunches when you want just a little something sweet.
Or you can go big or go home. ;)
Food for thought: If you could have one recipe made healthier and/or vegan what would it be?
WOW WOW WOW! Just made these and they are DIVINE! Used regular oil due to a coconut allergy and I baked for 15 mins since I used a 1/4 cup measure instead of 2 tbsp. I am in heaven. Thank you for this recipe!!
I am just finishing the second batch of these ‘eye glazing’ over treats. The ‘bite’ of these cookies is really satisfying. A delicate chew and a crunch.
Last night I made them splitting the batch in half, 1/2 with chocolate chips and 1/2 with raisins. Both excellent. The fam just has two preferences. I had a sweet mochi rice flour and substituted that with an 1/8 tsp xantham gum. And this morning I Salted the walnuts when they came out of the oven. Because last nights batch was a bit flat, so I ended up sprinkling salt on mine. Today’s are great! Thank you so very much for these healthy tasty treats!
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Phebe! :)
These were great, though I did have to make some substitutions.
I didn’t have enough Kamut flour so I also used unbleached, organic white, and I only had one cup of walnuts so I used almonds and hazelnuts to make up the difference. I don’t like coconut oil so I used organic canola, and I didn’t have almond milk so I used soy. I also used brown sugar. I made 13 cookies without raisins (for the raisin hater I married), and another dozen with raisins, and they all turned out perfectly. Thank you for the recipe.
Just made these – very nice, but very sweet. I think next time I’ll quarter the amount of brown sugar, or maybe leave it out altogether. Didn’t have kumut flour, so I used ordinary self-raising and halved the amount of baking powder.
Made this last night and am having trouble not eating the whole batch – Delicious!! Didn’t realize they wouldn’t flatten at all in the oven, so mine are a bit thick, but they’re still amazing!!
Happy to hear you’re enjoying them, Kelsa!
These look great! But I’m allergic to walnuts. Do you think ground almonds or hazelnuts or a mixture of both would work?
Hey Kelly, I believe readers have had success with subbing in both almonds and an almond/hazelnut combo. If you decide to give a swap a try, I hope you enjoy the results, too! :) I’d love to hear how it goes.
These better taste good, cos they are a pain in the ass to make.
Hi there!
Anyone tried to store these? Airtight container I guess? How long do they keep fresh for?
Thank you X
Hey Kat, I’d recommend storing these cookies in an airtight container or zip bag in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer in a freezer-safe, airtight container or zip bag for 2 to 4 weeks. Hope this helps!
I will start by saying I love your recipes! I did make some changes to this oatmeal cookie, using whole purpose flour, leaving the nuts in chunks and using agave instead of maple syrup. I also used craisins instead of raisins. The flavor is amazing but they need something to bind them better. I think I will try a flax “egg” next time and see how that works. Thanks for another tasty recipe.
Fabulous recipe! I’ve been making these for years as dairy free Lactation cookies and they’re a lifesaver. To turn them into Lactation cookies I add 2 TBSP of flax meal mixed with 3 TBSP water with the wet ingredients, and 1 TBSP brewers yeast with the dry ingredients. They really work and taste delicious! I also substitute 1 1/3 cups ground almond meal for walnuts when I’m too busy to roast the nuts and they’re almost as good. Thank you
Thanks so much for sharing those adaptations, Lauren! That’s great to know.
Thanks Angela for the recipe. I used unbleached flour and craisins and it turned out amazing! I love oatmeal cookies and this is now my new favorite recipe. Thanks for all the good things you do!
Thanks for the glowing review, Elena! So glad you enjoyed the cookies. :)
Trader Joe’s sells fantastic vegan oatmeal cookies. Also vegan chocolate chip and vegan trail mix cookies in a white filed bag by their muffins, and pastry section.
Just made these with a couple of substitutions and they were delicious! Used quick-oats, and toasted almonds. Chewy, in a good way :)
Glad they were a hit, Kate! Happy eating ;)
I have a question, I’ve been searching for Vegan Oatmeal Raisin cookies for a while and this is the closest I can get to “easy” and I was wondering, can I substitute the walnuts with, or how should I grind them up because I don’t own a food processor or anything to grind them up with?
Hey Nicole, I’m sorry I haven’t tried these without the ground walnuts before…they would be tricky to replace without some experimentation involved. If you have a blender you can probably grind them in that. Another option would be to finely chop them (super finely though — would take some time and patience).
Nicole,
I know this is late – but I just made using packaged chopped walnuts (you can find them in baking sections, usually) and they seem to be turning out just fine :)
So delicious!!! Thank you!
These taste fantastic. I cut the brown sugar down to 1/4 cup. I used peacan instead of walnuts.
And a little less maple syrup. Added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, I will make again.