Day 4 - Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Two Ways

Super Clean Oatmeal Raisin & Almond Cookies

At first, the Clean Cuisine challenge I set for myself seemed time consuming but not difficult (ha!). After all, I am no stranger to the kitchen. I cooked professionally for 12 years before my children arrived so how hard could it be? But what I love about cooking is that it NEVER gets boring. You can cook for 80 years and still have something new to learn.  Clean cooking comes with new rules and new methods which I need to learn, especially when it comes to baking. 

In traditional baking, a recipe blueprint consists of 5 basic things:

1) Dry ingredient (flour, oatmeal) to provide structure

2) Fat (butter,oil) to provide flavor and when combined with sugar to provide air and lightness

3) Sugar for flavor and to help the butter 

4) Liquid (egg, cream, etc) to help with leavening and improve texture

5) Leavening ingredients (baking powder, soda) to provide the OOOMPH

I imagine that a clean food puritan would omit not only the sugar but most likely the butter, egg and cream (and maybe even the flour)!!!! All that leaves us with is some crummy oatmeal and baking soda. That's not going to make a cookie my dog would want, let alone my three year old. But there are other ways to "skin the cat" and that is what I need to learn as part of this challenge. Clean tricks and methods. 

Fortunately for us beginners, eating clean does not have strict guidelines. You can take it to whatever extreme you feel comfortable with. A homemade cookie, whether it has sugar or not, is still a million times better for your children than something made with high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners. If it has some quinoa hidden in there all the better.

So, whether you are taking baby steps or a giant leap into clean cuisine, I acknowledge you for your efforts. We deserve a pat on the back. And some good recipes. So here they are -  two recipes for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. One is super clean and really quite yummy. The other is old-fashioned, homemade and divine. Take your pick. Either way it ain't no OREO.

Super Clean Oatmeal Raisin and Almond Cookies 

(makes about 15 small cookies)

2/3 cup (100g) almonds

1/3 cup (80 ml) cooked oatmeal 

3 Tablespoons (45 ml) honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 cup (20g) whole wheat flour

1/2 (90g) cup raisins

Preheat oven to 160C/350F. Put all ingredients except the raisins in a food processor and blend until the almonds are chopped and you have a sticky dough. (This is really quick) Remove to a mixing bowl and stir in the raisins. Drop spoonfuls onto a pan lined with parchment paper or a silpat liner. Bake about 20 minutes until golden. 

Note - if this recipe seems way to healthy and you think there will be no way your kids will go for it but you want a super clean recipe then try replacing the raisins with chopped 70% cacao dark chocolate. The fussier of my two daughters preferred it that way. 

Super Clean Cookie Dough with Chocolate

 Divine Old-fashioned Homemade Oatmeal Raisin Cookies 

(makes about 3 dozen cookies)

3/4 cup (165g) butter, softened

3/4 cup (163 g) white sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (120g) ( (for my friends in France you can buy this at the English markets like Geoffrey's in Antibes and Britain's in Valbonne)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cup flour (165 g)(make it whole wheat to win some clean brownie points)

1 teaspoon baking soda 

3/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups (240 g) oatmeal

1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

In a large bowl or in a mixer cream the butter together with both sugars until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until soft and fluffy. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until well combined. Remove your bowl from the mixer and stir in oats and raisins. Drop by spoonfuls on to a parchment lined baking tray and bake each batch for about 8-10 minutes, until golden. **  

Voila!

** These are so yummy they were gobbled up before I got to take pictures! Sorry! (In truth I haven't made these in about a month but TRUST ME when I say they are scrumptuous! Next time I make them I will add a photo