Spiced Oat Breakfast Cookies

This spiced breakfast cookie recipe was dreamt up when I wanted to bake cookies to take camping. I merged a few recipes together and this is my creation.  These breakfast cookies are soft yet chewy and remind me of ANZAC biscuits but with delicious spice, fruit and nuts. They are on the sweeter side of my recipes, so drop back on the sugar if you'd like them less sweet.
For the breakfast cookies recipe, you'll need oats, and use gluten-free if required, flour. I have experimented with a few variations. You could use regular flour, spelt flour or add a gluten-free blend. I haven't made these with a store-bought gluten-free blend yet. I made these with brown sugar but you could swap this out for white or coconut sugar. I use unsalted butter and this could be swapped for non-dairy butter, possibly coconut oil I haven't tested this yet.

Takes = 15 minutes, plus chill time
Bakes = each tray about 10 minutes
Makes = 18-20 cookies depending on your size

Ingredients

• Rolled oats (use gluten-free if needed) – 175g (1 + 3/4 cups)
• Oat flour – 70g (about 1/2 cup + 3 tbs)
• Coconut  – 55g (1/2 cup)
• Light Brown Sugar – 115g (1/2 cup)
• Melted Unsalted butter – 115g (1/2 cup/ 1 stick)
• Pinch salt
• Ground Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
• Ground Cardamom – 1/2 teaspoon
• Raisins – 40g (1/2 cup)
• Chopped almonds – 40g (1/2 cup)
• Honey, maple syrup or liquid sweetener – 2-3 tbsp (less for not-so-sweet)
• Bicarbonate of soda – 1 tsp
• Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
• Water, boiling if dry – 2 tbsp

Method

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan or a jug in the microwave, when cooled slightly add 2-3 tbsps of liquid sweetener and vanilla extract.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Pour over the butter mix then mix well until combined. Add a few tablespoons of hot water if the mixture looks dry. Chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 180˚C fan 10 minutes before forming the cookies.
5. Use a small ice cream scoop to form the cookies and space them out evenly onto your prepared paper-lined trays. Use wet hands to bring them together if they are difficult. Press gently with a fork or fingers and check that the form is together before placing it in the oven.
6. Bake 12 minutes until golden. Check they are together and flatten once removed from the oven while still warm. I show how to do this in my video. Cool on the tray for t least 15 minutes before lifting off.
7. The cookies stay fresh in your refrigerator or in the cupboard for up to 5 days. Also, you could freeze them in an airtight container for up to 6 months.