Nutty Oatmeal Ginger Snap Cookies

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~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~

Nutty, crunchy, chewy oatmeal cookies with a lovely warming bite of ginger and cinnamon and fresh winter pears… snuggle me up and hand me a cookie, please!

Did I ever tell you the time that I made oatmeal cookies when I was younger?  I was in sixth grade and we were living in Bismarck, ND.  The winters were “my-toes-want-to-curl-up-inside-my-body-cold!”  We lived there about two years and I experienced the coldest winters ever, even the twenty-eight years of living in Alaska didn’t compare!

Anyway, it was a cold day, a perfect time to stay indoors and bake some oatmeal cookies for my mom.  The batter went together without any glitches.  I greased the pan and slid them into the oven.  When checking in on them, I noticed that they weren’t browning on the bottoms so the got flipped.  About every two minutes, I would open the door to do it again, still not browning.  It seemed like an eternity had passed when finally I went to get my mom.  I need a professional.

I explained to mom about flipping them over and over but they just wouldn’t brown.  She opened the oven door and pulled the cookie tray out.  I remember watching her face… I have always been really really good on reading peoples’ faces and body actions.  Was I going to be rewarded for my lovely cookies?  Mom put the tray on the stove top and just laughed. She asked what all the liquid was in the pan. “Well mom, it said to oil the pan, so I did.”  I must have coated it HEAVILY with about 1/4” of oil… so those cookies were literally swimming in grease.  Lesson learned. Never did that again. hehe  I hope these enjoy these grease-less cookies!  hehe Blessings, amie sue

Ingredients:

Yields 32 cookies (1/4 measurement each)

• 2 cups raw, rolled oats, soaked
• 2 cups raw almonds, soaked
• 2 cups raw hazelnuts, soaked
• 6 cups chopped fresh pears
• 1/2 cup diced crystallized dried ginger
• 1/3 cup date paste
• 1/3 cup raw honey or raw coconut nectar for vegan
• 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
• 2” fresh grated ginger
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Preparation:

1. The prep work is to get the nuts and oats soaking.  Click on their links to learn how.  If you already have soaked and dehydrated nuts on hand, you can use them as is.
   • After soaking the nuts, drain and discard the soak water.
   • Drain and rinse the oats for two minutes under cool water.  Hand squeeze the excess water from them. Place in a large bowl.
2. Place the nuts in the food processor and process until the nuts are in medium pieces. Pour into the bowl with the nuts.
3. Back in the food processor (no need to wash it… yet) Add the pears, dried ginger, date paste, sweetener, vanilla, cinnamon, fresh ginger, and salt to the food processor, pulsing until it resembles crunchy apple sauce.
   • Depending on the size of processor that you own, you may need to do this in two batches.   If you do make two batches, then combine both in a large bowl and stir until combined.
   • Feel free to use any liquid sweetener that suits you.
4. Using a 1/4 cup cookie scoop, drop cookie batter on the non-stick teflex sheets that come with the dehydrator.
   • I do 9 per tray, leaving space in between the cookies.
   • Once the tray is full, grab to the tray by two corners and lightly tap the tray on the counter, do this a few times on each side.  This will slightly flatten the cookies creating the perfect cookie shape.
5. Dehydrate at 145 degrees (F) for 1 hour, then reduce to 115 degrees (F)  for approximately 16-24 hours or until dry.
   • At the 1/2 way mark, transfer the cookies to the mesh sheet.  This will decrease the drying time.
   • Dry times will always vary depending on your climate, humidity, dehydrator model and how full it is.
6. Allow the cookies to fully cool before storing in airtight containers.  On the counter, it should last several weeks but you can freeze it for ups to 3 months to extend the shelf life.

• Dates are an amazing ingredient for raw food recipes,  click (here) to read why.
• Why do I specify Ceylon cinnamon?  Click (here) to learn why.
• What is Himalayan pink salt and does it really matter?  Click (here) to read more about it.
• Are oats gluten-free?  Yes, read more about that (here).
• Are oats raw?  Yes, they can be found.  Click (here) to learn more.
• Do I need to soak and dehydrate oats?  Not required but recommended.  Click (here) to see why.

Tags: Dairy Free, Dehydrated, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, Vegan