Use this basic Gluten Free Simple Oatmeal Cookies recipe to make a variety of your favorite perfectly portioned oatmeal chippers.
Just call me the Cookie Monster or the Cookie Queen or the Cookie Rookie or whatever other clever title you can think of with the word cookie in it.
Do I realize my last three posts have all been about cookies??? Yes I do.
Am I embarrassed that the whole world probably thinks that I bake and eat cookies all day every day? Maybe.
Does this mean that these cookies aren’t just as delicious as the rest??? Nope. A big fat NOPE.
I may be a little obsessed with posting cookie recipes lately, but the great thing is…they’re all just as yummy as the next! I love having a variety of cookie recipes, especially during the summer months when my kids are around. They love to help me in the kitchen baking up new and fun, kid friendly treats.
And to make sure that my kids aren’t overly loaded with sugar all day every day, I limit the amount of cookies they eat to about 2 a day (one after lunch and one after dinner), and I trick them by baking smaller cookies. In fact, they think the miniature chipper cookie size is so cute, they don’t even realize I’m tricking them by giving them a treat that is about half the size of a normal cookie. See how smart I am, eh???
But seriously you guys. My children can be crazy even when they’re not loaded up on sugar. And who knows if the whole sugar high myth is reality or not, but if there is any truth to kids acting crazier on sugar, I’m all about limiting the sweets to preserve my own sanity.
The kids also have fun with these cookies because there are all sorts of mix-in options to choose from. And trust me, my kids need choices. Well, one kid in particular needs choices. Not to name names or anything, but her name starts with a BRAE and ends with a LYN.
Seriously, that girl. I’m telling you, if there is no choice to be made she will whine and cry. And if there is a choice to be made, she will 100% make the opposite choice of what everybody else wants to do. There is no winning with that child.
Funny thing is that with her persuasion skills, she can almost always convince anyone she is with to change their minds eventually and do what she wants them to do. What she doesn’t realize is that sooner or later these kids are going to start sticking up for themselves and fighting back. I foresee much drama in this gal’s future. Heaven help us.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever shared this story on the blog before, but it’s hilarious and describes my Braelyn Boo to a tee. Long story short, I got a call from her kindergarten teacher a few years back saying that she had the kids convinced at recess that she could mind control. It started out as a game among a few friends, but soon the other kids observing thought she really could control minds.
She had one poor boy so freaked out that he hid in the bathroom for weeks at recess to the point that the teacher and his parents were worried about his bowels. Once the parents had a doctor visit scheduled, the boy finally confessed he wasn’t really going to the bathroom but that he didn’t want Braelyn controlling his mind during recess.
I pray for her future husband!!!
Anyway, these Gluten Free Simple Oatmeal Cookies are great for catering to those kiddos of yours that want to make their own decisions. You can easily divide up the dough and let each kid mix in whichever candies, nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, etc. they want. Every kid can make their own flavor and they don’t even have to share. I’m not sure if that’s a great life lesson to teach, but it bypasses lots of fighting and whining in the kitchen.
My two favorite flavor profiles (pictured in the post) are butterscotch chocolate and white chocolate Craisin. The butterscotch chocolate cookies are basically your oatmeal scotcheroos type cookies with an equal mixture of chocolate chips and butterscotch baking morsels. I love the combo of dark chocolate chips with the ultra sweet and caramely butterscotch chips.
Now the white chocolate Craisin cookies…they’re worth talking about. Holy cow!!! H-O-L-Y C-O-W!!! I served these at a women’s night gathering at my house and all the ladies raved over them. They take a few simple tweaks to the dough, but have a fabulous and unique flavor. All you do is reduce the vanilla slightly and add some almond extract. Then sprinkle in some ground ginger and toss in white chocolate chips and Craisins. The flavor profile is phenomenal!
But don’t let your creativity stop there. You can literally make these cookies into anything you want. Here are some other ideas I’d like to try in the near future…as in tomorrow…or later today…okay, maybe I need a little break from cookies…or maybe not. Wink, wink.
- White chocolate macadamia with coconut
- Peanut butter chocolate (a mixture of peanut butter chips and chocolate chips along with some chopped peanuts)
- Chocolate chip toffee (Heath bits and chocolate chips)
- Monster cookies (M&Ms, raisins, peanuts, and butterscotch chips
- Cinnamon raisin (cinnamon baking chips and raisins)
- White chocolate tropical trail mix (roughly chopped tropical trail mix with white chocolate chips)
- Caramel cashew (roughly chopped cashews with caramel baking bits)
See…the possibilities are endless!!! Don’t you feel like you can accomplish anything now??? Okay, maybe not. But you can make some pretty dang good cookies and that should at least make you feel on top of the world for a day…or at least a few hours.
So I hope you all are thoroughly enjoying your summer whether it includes a break or not. Those of you who are still working like dogs, the rest of us will take a few extra vacations for you. Just kidding, I’ll be moving. All. Summer. Long. But hey, at least I’ll be eating cookies.
What are your favorite cookie mix-ins?
- 1 stick butter, room temperature
- 1 egg
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1¼ cup Pamela's gluten free all purpose flour**
- 1¼ cup gluten free old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
- 1 cup desired mix-ins (chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, Craisins, Heath bits, raisins, coconut, almonds, etc.)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat mat. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Add salt, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix until smooth. Add gluten free all purpose flour and mix until incorporated. Add gluten free oats and mix on low until combined.
- Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in desired mix-ins. Let dough sit for 15 mins.
- Drop tablespoon size balls of dough and place 1" apart on baking sheet (12 cookies per sheet). Bake for 9-11 minutes until edges are barely browning and tops are no longer shiny.
- Remove from oven and slide parchment paper with cookies onto cooling rack. Allow cookies to completely cool. Repeat as necessary to bake all cookies.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in fridge for up to 1 week, or in freezer for up to 1 month.
**This blend contains guar gum which is similar to xanthan gum. If your gluten free flour mix does not contain either of these two ingredients, add ½ teaspoon xanthan gum to your flour mix.
