special occasion soaked oatmeal cookies

If you read this blog.. and want to make cookies.. forget all the others - and just make these. They're too good. Seriously. I kind of want to quit school and go into the cookie making business right now. The original recipe came from Cheeseslave, but it included the usual.. eggs, sugar, flour, butter.. I could tell it was a special recipe though - because of the soaked oatmeal, and all the work that went into just preparing the ingredients.. so I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients: (makes 36 cookies.. I know this is a lot of cookies.. but the recipe is a bit of a hassle.. so I recommend making the whole amount, then freezing some of them)

3 cups rolled oats
3 cups filtered water
7 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup coconut oil softened
1/2 cup honey (or agave)
1/4 cup ground flax seed, combined with 3/4 cup warm water; and left to sit for a few minutes
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground star anise (optional)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
1 cup raisins

1. In a large glass or enamelware (not metal) bowl or pitcher, add 3 cups oatmeal, 3 cups heated (not boiling) filtered water, 1/2 cup brown rice flour and 7 tablespoons of lemon juice. Mix thoroughly.

2. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel and let sit overnight on the counter or in a cupboard. Let sit for 8-24 hours. (Twelve hours is fine — but I try to soak mine for 24 hours to reduce the phytic acid as much as possible.) (if you check out Cheeseslave's recipe - it explains why phytic acid is bad news)

3. Because I didn't use wheat flour, not all of the water was soaked in, I strained some of the excess water out through a fine strainer.

4. Spread oatmeal on parchment paper and place on tray in dehydrator set at highest setting until completely dried (anywhere from 6-12 hours depending on the heat setting). You can also do this in the oven at the lowest setting.

(photo by Cheeseslave)

5. When the oatmeal is dry, you will be able to break it off in large pieces. Put the pieces of dried oatmeal into your food processor and pulse until it is coarsely ground (like oatmeal flakes). Do not grind it fine, like a powder. (I, Anna, didn't use the food processor, because it's sitting in my sink from making the cashew lemon dill sauce earlier tonight, so I just broke it up with my hands - and it turned out just fine)

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

7. Prepare flax seed and warm water mixture. Let it sit for a few minutes to become gel-like. Add the vanilla extract to this.

8. In another bowl, beat coconut oil and honey until combined. It helps to very slightly melt the coconut oil.. unless it's already warm in your kitchen. Then add the flax/vanilla mixture.

9. Combine brown rice flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise and salt. Add to the wet mixture and mix it up!

10. Stir in oatmeal, coconut, and raisins. Mix well.

11. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an un-greased cookie sheet.

12. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

13. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Careful with the transfer! The brown rice flour makes for a delicate cookie.. and the coconut oil needs to harden back up!

I know it tastes so good, just as cookie dough - but try to have the will power to wait until they at least come out of the oven! It's so not worth getting full off cookie dough - when the cookie tastes even better.. although it will be hard to believe.