Perfectly spiced Wyoming Whopper style, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies made only with oatmeal, no flour!
I have no idea how Wyoming Whoppers earned their name; I read they were used as fuel for cowboys on long treks because of the ease with which they can be carried, holding up over a distance, and their high energy content. Regardless, Wyoming Whoppers are a personal favorite. They’re wholesome and hardy, yet also satisfy my sweet-tooth. These are the perfect cookies to take to a party, but they are equally ideal for breakfast, dipped into hot coffee! They would make a great snack mid-hike, too, and are easily packable for beach days, picnics, or road trips. They’re sort of like trail mix in cookie form, making them suited to a wide range of needs and customizable for a host of tastes! This recipe is dedicated to my little sis, who maintains that oatmeal raisin cookies are her all time favorite cookie. She recently went gluten free, and I decided she still needed to be able to “have her cake and eat it, too…” or have her cookies…you get the idea! 🙂
These Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are Wyoming Whoppers made only with oatmeal and no flour. Almond butter and creamed butter (or applesauce if dairy-free is your preference; see notes) keep these cookies moist, so you would never guess that these cookies are made without flour.. They’re sweetened with a mix of brown sugar and coconut sugar. They’re chewy, packed with raisins, and are relatively healthy. They’re a treat you can feel good about eating; they provide sustained energy through complex carbs and a dose of protein and healthy fats, so you can skip the sugar crash and remain on-the-go! If you prefer chocolate chips, you can sub them in for the raisins or use some of both. A dash of cinnamon and cloves add a hint of spice, complementing the sweetness.
The technique to make these gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies is straightforward and simple. The butter and applesauce is creamed together with the sugar and followed with the remaining wet ingredients, including the almond butter. The dry ingredients are whisked together and then beat into the almond butter mixture. The raisins are added. Chilling the dough is important as it is quite sticky! Refrigerate it for at least a good hour or two, but even overnight is perfectly fine. Shape ¼ cup balls of dough, and bake. That’s it! The baked gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies are delicious warm from the oven, but the texture holds together a bit better once they cool. They freeze wonderfully to savor over the course of a few months, thawing or zapping in the microwave one by one. But personally, I have a difficult time limiting my intake, so they probably won’t last long unless you have excellent self control! 😆 Thankfully, some family members eagerly helped me taste test, otherwise I might have eaten all 16 cookies! Chocolate chip cookies may be the all-American OG, but there’s something nostalgic and addicting to Oatmeal Raisin cookies! These Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in the style of Wyoming Whoppers are no exception; try a batch today and have them all week!
Looking for more easy, gluten free dessert recipes? Try: Grain Free Rhubarb-Cherry Custard Cake or Gluten Free Lemon Snack Cake!
GLUTEN FREE OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES (GF, DF option, VG)
Yield: 16-20 cookies
What You'll Need:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature*
2 tablespoons apple butter (sub applesauce if you don’t have apple butter; flavor will be slightly less sweet and spiced)
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup coconut sugar (or other granulated sugar)
2 eggs, room temperature**
¾ cup runny, natural almond butter (Trader Joe’s is my favorite brand)
4 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1½ cups soft raisins* (*soak in hot water if all you have is stale raisins from the bottom of the container)
How To Make it
1. Add the butter and apple butter to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium high until combined.
2. Beat in both the brown sugar and coconut sugar and follow with the eggs. The mixture should be smooth.
3. Next add in the almond butter, and beat until thoroughly incorporated.
4. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves until combined.
5. Mix in the raisins, then cover the batter and refrigerate. This step is important, as the batter will be very sticky. Chill for at least an hour, but I often leave it in the fridge overnight. Because the batter is so sticky, the chilled batter is still soft enough to form the dough immediately after taking it out of the fridge.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll ¼ cup mounds of dough to form balls, and bake them for 13 minutes, or until golden brown. The dough will still look slightly soft, but leave the cookies on the hot tray for 5 additional minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies continue to bake on the hot trays and will set. The cookies taste delicious warm, but may be a bit crumbly; they hold their shape best when cool. Cookies can be eaten at room temperature or kept in the fridge. They also freeze wonderfully and can be taken out one by one for an on-the-go breakfast or quick snack!
NOTES:
*If you prefer a dairy free version, you can sub a quarter cup of apple butter or applesauce for the ¼ cup of regular butter. When I tried this, I increased the oats to 4¼ cups, as the batter was wetter because applesauce is runnier than creamed dairy butter. The result was not as traditional as the dairy version, and produced a cookie that was chewier. The cookies also didn’t flatten on their own in the oven; at the 11 minute mark, I flattened them with a spatula and then baked them for the last two minutes. If you need a dairy free cookie, though, they still turned out with a delicious flavor!
**Make sure to either take your eggs out of the fridge prior to starting on the batter, or let them sit for a few minutes in hot water to bring them up to room temperature. Cold eggs don’t beat into the batter as easily, creating lumps and a less uniform texture.
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Abby
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