Carob oatmeal cookies

This carob oatmeal cookies recipe is easy to bake and delicious to eat and a great alternative to chocolate cookies.

Why make this recipe?

• Healthier version of any shop-bought cookies
• Great breakfast alternative for busy mornings or a perfect snack
• Great alternative to chocolate cookies
• Quick & easy to bake

My top tips

• Don’t overmix the dough
• Leave to chill in the fridge for 10-30 minutes before baking to prevent your biscuits from spreading too much

Ingredients & Possible Substitutions

Oats

Oats give this recipe a lovely chewy texture and they also make this recipe a lot healthier than your regular cookies. I usually use basic rolled oats, but any other oats type (apart from the instant oats) will be fine with this recipe. You are welcome to use gluten-free oats if you are making this recipe gluten-free.

Flour

I’ve used plain flour with this recipe, but you can also use Gluten-Free or All-Purpose Flour. If you are using gluten-free flour don’t forget to add a 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum (unless it’s already mixed in for you in your flour mix).

Since carob has quite a nutty texture, you could also use naturally gluten-free flours, like buckwheat or lupin flour.

Sugar

You can use any kind of sugar with this recipe, but light brown sugar or a mix of dark demerara sugar and white sugar will suit this recipe perfectly. The darker the sugar you use, the darker the flavour is going to be.

Carob

I’ve given you two options here. You can either use a carob powder, which is widely available from health or specialist food shops or you can also add carob chips. I’ve had difficulty sourcing carob chips here in the UK, but if you live in the USA you’ll have much better choice.

You can use both carob powder for the cookie mix and then add carob chips to the dough for extra flavour. If you are using both, I’d probably lower the amount of carob powder, as it’s quite strong.

You can use carob instead of chocolate in cake or cookie baking and they are also great in pancakes.

Baking powder

Baking powder will give you an even rise with this recipe. If you want to keep this recipe gluten-free, just double check that your baking powder is also gluten free.

Oil

I’ve used basic sunflower oil, but you can also use vegetable oil, coconut oil or other plant-based oils or butters. The carob powder in this recipe is quite strong, so even if you use a coconut oil, you won’t get overwhelming flavour of coconuts with this recipe.

Salt

A large pinch of salt will help to balance out the flavours in this recipe.

Milk

The carob powder can make this recipe a little dry, which is why I’ve use some milk to bring the recipe together. You can use a dairy-free milk or any kind of milk for this recipe. A watered down white yoghurt, cream or buttermilk would also work with this recipe well.

Egg

If you are after a vegan/vegetarian version of this recipe, use 1/2 large banana mashed instead of the egg.

Vanilla extract

Vanilla extract is optional, but I think it adds a hint of flavour to the cookies, so I always use it. If you are short of vanilla extract, don’t worry, just leave it out.

Aniseed

Ground aniseed is my new favourite spice! I think it goes really well with chocolate and coffee and tend to use it to enhance the flavour of the carob powder. Again, if you don’t have aniseed, leave it out or use other warming spices if you want to add a hint of flavour.

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How to make carob oatmeal cookies recipe

• Preheat your oven to 375°F (180C for fan oven).
• Line a couple of cookie sheets with baking parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl measure out the flour, oats, baking powder, carob powder, ground anisseed (if using) and a very large pinch of salt and mix until all combined.
• In another bowl or a jug mix together the vegetable oil, milk, egg and vanilla essence (if using).
• Add the wet ingredients to the flour ingredients and mix them together. There is no need to cream or overmix the dough, just bring it all together.
• If you are using carob chips add them now and carefully stir them in. You should have a soft (but not runny) dough.
• Using a desert spoon, scoop the dough and drop on your baking tray, making sure that you leave good space between each cookie. Use more trays if needed as the cookies will spread a little.
• Place in the middle of your oven and bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies start to crack a little.
• Using the greaseproof paper, lift your cookies from the baking tray and place them on the cooling rack. Leave to cool down completely.

Serving size

It all depends on how big you make your cookies, but I find that I usually make about 12-16 large cookies from this dough batch. If you are making your cookies smaller, they will bake quicker, so bake them for about 5-7 minutes.

Scaling up or down this recipe

You are welcome to make 1/2 the recipe (providing you have 1/2 egg – e.g. leftover from another recipe or use 1/4 of mashed banana).

You are welcome to double or triple this recipe to make more cookies if you are baking for a school bake sale or planning a party. These cookies freeze well, so you can make a bigger batch and then freeze them for later.

How to store cookies

It’s best to store your cookies in an airtight container like a plastic tub, cookie jar or large glass jar. They will be also perfectly fine in a plastic bag.

You can freeze these carob oatmeal cookies on the day you’ve made them and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in a room temperature, leaving the freezer bag open to prevent the biscuits absorbing too much moisture.

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