Healthy and simple oat & raisin cookies

I love simplicity in the kitchen.

I rarely cook elaborate dishes these days. Well, sometimes I do, if there is a special occasion and of course it depends on how much time I have. In any case I much prefer quick and easy meals. The fact is that when you need to cook daily to feed a family it can sometimes become a tiring and dull job. Now, with the lockdown, I cook twice a day and sometimes I feel that I am always in the kitchen! Still.. now it is the right time to experiment new things!

You must try these rustic and healthy cookies; I absolutely loved them and most of my extended family has made them. They are easy and so delicious.

Just pop everything in a bowl, stir well and shape the cookies… in the oven for 15 minutes and they are ready. Surely better than anything you can get in a supermarket and they are made with olive oil and not too much sugar. For the sugar I also rely on the sweetness of the berries and raisins.

Feel free to use wholemeal flour if you prefer and use any nuts you like. You can choose between mixed nuts, walnuts, cashew nuts or almonds, they all work very well.

This recipe makes approximately 15 biscuits.

• Prep Time : 15 minutes
• Cook Time : 15 minutes
• Yield : 15

Ingredients

• plain flour (I use spelt) – 150 g – 1+ 1/4 cup + extra flour if needed
• oats – 60 g – 3/4 cup
• brown sugar – 60 g – 1/3 cup
• nuts of your choice – 80 g – 5/8 cup
• raisins or goji berries – 50 g – 1/3 cup
• olive oil – 80 ml – 2.8 fl oz
• milk or water – 50 ml – 1.7 fl oz
• vanilla essence – 1 tsp
• cinnamon – 1 tsp
• salt – pinch

Instructions

Put the nuts in a mixer and grind them until they are not too fine. Basically you don’t want them as fine as flour just a little rougher.

Wash the goji berries or the raisins with warm water under the tap then drain them.

In a bowl add the flour, the oats, the raisins, the sugar, the nuts, the vanilla, the cinnamon and salt, the olive oil and the milk. Mix well and then, using your hands, make a ball. Add a little more extra flour if the pastry is really sticky.

Put it in the fridge wrapped up in cling film for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle your worktop with some flour. With a rolling pin roll out the pastry 1/2 cm or 0.2 inch thick. Using a round pastry cutter cut out your biscuits. Help yourself with a little flour if the pastry is still a little sticky.

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