Salty Oat Cookies, Gluten-Free

Note: I wrote this before I realized that I react to oats–as do many gluten-intolerant folks.  There is a prolamin in oats that is similar to the prolamin in wheat.  So, we react to oats themselves, not just oats that are cross contaminated with gluten-containing grains.  For more info, see my post Oats and Gluten-Intolerance: It’s Complicated.

We’re back from our trip to Washington, DC and Colonial Williamsburg.  We had an amazing time.  We walked miles per day–no need for the hotel fitness room!

One thing we enjoyed every day while we were in DC was going for tea and breakfast at Teaism.  If you don’t know Teaism, it’s a chain of tea places in DC.  I think there are 3 of them.  They have a wide selection of teas (duh) and they also serve food–and much of it Asian-inspired.  And it was just the way I need it as a gluten-free person–a la carte.  Our family is somewhat unusual in that we often have brown rice and veggies for breakfast.  Don’t get me wrong, Girlfriend has cereal and milk or toast many mornings before school, but just as often she has a bowl of brown rice with wheat-free tamari.  I was thrilled to discover that I could order brown rice and edamame for breakfast at Teaism.  And a pot of tea–I usually chose a full-bodied Ceylon tea.  It was such a lovely and civilized way to start the day.

If you know Teaism, you also know about their famous Salty Oat Cookies.  dAhub had one and declared it delicious.  Of course, I couldn’t have one (they are made with wheat flour).  But as soon as I got home I did some research to find their recipe to adapt.  It turns out that the actual recipe is under lock and key.  Instead, I found a recipe from The Washington Post that is very close.  The Post, in turn, had adapted a recipe from The DCist.  I decided to adapt The Washington Post version (although there are only very small differences between the two).

I really liked the result!  This recipe makes a nice, basic oatmeal cookie that is crunchy on the outside and tender in the center.  The oat flavor is not overshadowed with a lot of spices and you can make them with or without raisins.  The salt on top nicely offsets the sweetness of the cookie.  dAhub tasted them and declared them just like the Teaism ones!  Yay!

Salty Oat Cookies, Gluten-Free (similar to the Teaism Salty Oat Cookies)
-adapted from The Washington Post, 6/13/07

Special Equipment Needed
-a stand mixer is nice, but a hand mixer will do

Ingredients
12 tablespoon (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light or dark brown sugar (I used dark)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large or extra large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cup rolled oats (gluten-free)–not quick cooking
Salt for sprinkling
1 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and oats.  Set aside.

In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for a few minutes on medium-high until light and fluffy.  Add the two sugars, beat for a couple of minutes.  Scrape down sides.  Add the vanilla extract, beat to mix in.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Add the flour mixture to your butter mixture.  Beat just to incorporate. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the mixing bowl–the resulting batter is thick enough that some of the dry ingredients don’t get incorporated.  Do a final mix by hand to incorporate any stray dry ingredients.  If using raisins, mix them in at this time.

Form golf-ball sized balls of dough.  Even though the dough seems too sticky, you can form them with your hands without too much mess.  Place them 2 inches apart on lined cookie sheet.  Generously sprinkle each cookie with a good pinch of salt.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes.  Don’t overbake.  The cookies should have a tender interior.  Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Note:  If you use a different gluten-free flour mix, alter the amount of or eliminate the xanthan gum or use a different gluten-replacer, use dairy-free or egg-free substitutes, or change any other ingredients in this recipe, your results may not match my results.

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