Cranberry Walnut Spiced Oat Cookies

Moist and chewy, hearty and healthy, these nutrient-dense treats check off all the “breakfast cookie” boxes! In fact, they’re so satisfying (not to mention seriously simple to make),  you won’t even mind, care, or notice that they’re free of gluten, dairy, eggs, and refined sugar. Add to all that the festively familiar spices of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and clove, as well as the classic Christmas-y combo of cranberries and walnuts, they’re a wonderful wintry goodie to share with loved ones of various dietary considerations this holiday season.

Now of course, the recipe is so foolproof and adaptable that you can at any point sub out some of the ingredients for whatever you prefer (or have lying around the house). Below are some suggestions for simple swaps, but as always feel free to make the recipe your own and tag me on Instagram at @ellieshortt to share your funky fresh creation!

• Almond butter: pumpkin seed butter, hazelnut butter, or really any other nut or seed butter

• Apple sauce: pear compote, canned pumpkin puree

• Crumbled walnuts: shaved almonds, crumbled hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, crumbled pecans etc.

• Dried cranberries: dried currants, dried blueberries, dried cherries, dried goji berries, chopped dried figs, etc.

• Maple syrup: honey

Some alternative combos to try…

• Pumpkin seed butter + canned pumpkin puree + chopped pecans + dried currents

• Hazelnut butter + pear compote + crumbled hazelnuts + dried blueberries

• Almond butter + apple sauce + shaved almonds + dried cherries

Cranberry Walnut Spiced Oat Cookies

*prep time: 5 minutes

*bake time: about 15 minutes

*makes about a dozen medium-sized cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond butter

• 1/2 cup apple sauce


• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup


• ¼ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used coconut, but almond or cashew works great too)

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 2 cups gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats

• 1 cup almond flour


• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp ginger

• 1/2 tsp cardamom

• 1/4 tsp clove

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt


• 1/2 cup crumbled walnuts

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions 


1. Preheat our oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, almond flour, baking powder, spices, and sea salt, and set aside.

3. In another bowl or via an electric mixer (like a KitchenAid), combine the almond butter, applesauce, maple syrup, non-dairy milk, and vanilla extract until smooth.


4. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, and stir together until fully integrated.


5. Fold in the walnuts and cranberries and use a large ice-cream scoop to form roughly 1/2 cup sized scoops of batter into balls, patting the tops down a little to form a cookie shape (they don’t spread out so if you don’t that’s cool too…they’ll just look like cute little round oat hills), and space each out evenly on your baking sheet.


6. Bake for about 15 minutes, until starting to brown on edges, and then let cool on a wire rack before enjoying!