Halloween was quite a success here. Success meaning my kids had a blast collecting candy… success really meaning they didn’t eat 99% of the candy!
One of my strategies for candy-holidays (Halloween, birthday parties, etc) is to offer the girls some better vegan treats, either storebought (ex: ice cream sandwiches) or a homemade goodie. I often make my pumpkin chia pudding or candy apples for Halloween, but this year, I baked cookies.
I’ve been baking these Raisinet Cookies from LTEV lately, and posting pics on instagram. I promised to share the recipe, and just realized this is the sweetest time to do so! Bake up a batch, and see how easy it is to swap out that junk your kiddos might be hoarding in their rooms.
Note: The original recipe in LTEV does not have an oil-free option, but I’ve included one here. Do not simply substitute applesauce. It is not the answer to replacing oil in all recipes, and particularly not in cookies. With most cookies, you want to retain a slightly chewy, crisp texture – and applesauce will make them moist. So, include some whole-foods fat, here I’ve used some nut butter, with a few other simple modifications (all noted below). 🙂
Raisinet Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup sifted spelt flour
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup rolled oats see note
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon (rounded) baking soda rounded baking soda
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips smaller-size chips are good, such as the Enjoy Life brand
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar or other unrefined sugar; use just 2 tbsp oil-free version, see note
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup + another 1 tbsp for oil-free, see note
- 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup neutral-flavored oil OR 3 - 3 1/2 tbsp nut butter ex: almond butter, see note for oil-free
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, and cocoa, sifting in the baking powder and baking soda. Add the raisins, chips, sugar, and salt, and stir well. In a separate bowl, first combine the maple syrup with the molasses and vanilla, then stir in the nut butter/oil until well mixed. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir until just incorporated. Place spoonfuls of the batter (about 1 tablespoon each) on the prepared baking sheet and flatten a little. Bake for 11 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool on the pan for just a minute (not much longer, to prevent drying), then transfer to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes
- Oats Note: Using 1⁄3 cup of oats will give a slightly softer cookie that spreads a little more when baking. Using 1⁄2 cup will give a firmer cookie treat.
- Oil-Free Note: For the oil-free adaptation, you will need to reduce the dry sweetener slightly and increase the liquid sweetener. So, use just 2 tbsp coconut sugar, and add another 1 tbsp of maple syrup. Start with 3 tbsp nut butter, and add the extra 1/2 tbsp if needed to bring the batter together.
Ok, that’s all for today. Hope you love the cookies! There are always more waiting. 🙂
x Dreena
Pam says
Hello! I made these cookies! I thought the taste was wonderful, but I had some troubles with the texture…they turned out dry and crumbly. I made the version WITH oil, and made sure to follow the ingredients as per your notes. I even tried under-baking them a bit (9-10 minutes) but they were still crumbly. Any tips? I will try making the oil-free version with nut butter, to see if that helps at all. For the oats I couldn’t decide (lol) so I ended up using right between 1/3 and 1/2 cup lol! I think it would be better to lean towards the 1/3 cup then..?
Anyhoo, thank you for the recipe, the flavour makes it definitely worth tinkering with to get the right texture!
Dreena says
Hi Pam, thanks for the note and question! Were there any substitutions you made to the recipe? A different flour or anything else? They shouldn’t have been crumbly but for sure try the nut butter version – it will hold a little differently just being a sticky nut butter. Hope you enjoy them!
Adrienne says
Would appreciate calorie/Gm stats in your recipes. All have so much sugar and carbohydrates I’m concerned.
Limited my star grade until I have more facts regarding my concerns.
Dreena says
Hi Adrienne, I understand the desire for the nutritional stats. Every time I’ve had nutritional info evaluated for recipes, it’s been done by a dietitian (usually that the publisher hired for the cookbook). That’s not something I am able to provide myself, at least not at this time.
Respectfully, however, a recipe should be rated based on taste, texture, and its reliability. Not how well it fits into your dietary needs.
Dreena says
Hi Adrienne, I’d like to offer this but as I’m managing all the aspects of my work myself, I simply don’t have the time to input this into a software program. You can do so if you like here: https://nutritiondata.self.com/
Deb says
OMG! These are absolutely amazing! I made the oil free version using almond butter and making the adjustments you recommended. I’ve been WFPB for about three months now and am still finding my way a bit when it comes to baked goods. This will totally become a staple in my repertoire.
Tracy says
Hi Dreena, I make these cookies all the time (okay,maybe too often ;-)) and they are loved by vegan and non vegans alike!. I am wondering if I can sub raw cacao powder for the cocoa powder?
Thanks for everything you do!!
Tracy
Tracy says
Hi Dreena,
These cookies are great! I make them all the time and they disappear fast 🙂 Have you ever made them with regular size chocolate chips? I want to use dark chocolate chips but can’t find tiny chips.
Thanks 🙂
Tracy
C. Fruity says
Hi – These look great. My favorite cookies growing up were oatmeal cookies and my sister (who is not vegan) and I used to make them together. I am excited to see if she will like these. 🙂
Carla says
I made these tonight and my father and daughter could not stop eating them! They are so good!! Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes you share with us!!
J says
Can the sugar ingredient be omitted or substituted?
Devra Wasser says
Ok. The problem with theses cookies is you can’t stop eating them. They are heaven on a plate served with decadence and guilt I might add. I had spelt flour and do rarely use it that when I saw this recipe it sang to me. I used cranberries because I didn’t have raisins. You’ve done it again. Outstanding. Can I post them on my web site with your name or your website. What do you prefer?
Dreena says
haha, now that’s the kind of complaint I like to hear! Thanks Devra. For sure you can post, you can link back to my post here, my name is fine. 🙂
Justin from Extreme Health Radio says
Wow these look incredible. Yum. That’s huge your kids didn’t eat all the candy. I’d consider that a massive success also! Great job. 🙂
Kimberly@TheLittlePlantation says
this looks so yummy and kiddie friendly. Thanks for sharing your ideas and knowledge.
April says
Thank you so much for the oil free tip! I knew applesauce wasn’t right, but didn’t know what would work. I usually avoid making cookies because of it! I will try these out! Thanks again! 🙂
Dreena says
Excellent! It’s a little trickier with nut butters because textures vary between varieties (and also whether a fresh jar or at the bottom). But, it does work very well. Enjoy, April!
Helyn says
What a fabulous idea! Thanks!!
Dreena says
thanks Helyn!
Elsie says
Could whole wheat flour and/or white flour work?
Dreena says
Sorry for delay… it will work, but you need to adjust the measure. I talk about subbing wheat for spelt in LTEV in the baking tips, if you have it. For the 1 cup of spelt, you’ll need less w/w flour, roughly 1-3 tbsp less, depends a little on the recipe. Hope that helps!
Jill says
these sound wonderful – could all purpose GF flour be used instead of spelt flour?
Thanks so much!
Dreena says
Hi Jill, I wouldn’t just use GF flour without adding some other binder, a touch of xanthan. Are you familiar with using xanthan in cookies? Some GF blends may include it, others give tips for subbing. Good luck!