Rosie's Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are hearty, not too sweet, and very satisfying.  
They are also vegan, and can be made gluten free.
I hope you enjoy. :)
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Growing up we had this dusty, tea stained, well worn copy of the Five Roses Cookbook.  It belonged to my great grandmother, was dog eared and had hand written recipes inserted amongst the pages.  It was the equivalent of the food bible in my house.  If there was a cookie, cake, biscuit or pastry made, it came from that book.  That book is still in print today, and my mom gave me a copy years ago.  In it was my all time favourite cookie, which my mom always used to make as per the exact recipe in the book.  A rich & moist oatmeal cookie, perfect with a cup of tea.  

The original recipe called for classic ingredients that you won't find in my kitchen.  So I went about to replace the sugar, lard (yes lard), white flour and buttermilk, with some healthy swaps.  I added in some more fiber, some yummy dates (to make up for the lack of brown sugar), and a touch of cinnamon.  These are my all time favourite cookies, and I have had many friends ask me for the recipe over the years.  You will often find these in my cookie jar at home, and in my family's lunch boxes as they make an awesome mid day snack and a nice change from granola bars.

Rosie’s Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups spelt flour (see below for gluten free versions)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp sea salt
2 cups rolled oats
2 tbsp ground flax
1 cup coconut palm sugar 
1 cup chopped honey or medjool dates
1 cup coconut oil, melted
¾ cup unsweetened almond milk (or non dairy milk of choice)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a small bowl mix non dairy milk and vinegar.  Let sit 1 min to sour.
3. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
4. In a medium mixing bowl place melted coconut oil and milk mixture.  Stir to blend.
5. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in wet mixture.  Mix well and let sit for 5 mins.
6. Drop by spoonful and press to lightly flatten.  Bake for 10-12 mins or until turning a light golden brown on edges.  The cookies will be fragile and crumbly until set, so transfer them gently to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

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NOTES
 - For a gluten free version I use 1.5 cup gluten free flour blend (Bob's Red Mill 1:1), and ½ cup almond flour.  This said, I have had it with just the Bob's and it works out fine.  
- Optional ingredients:  these cookies are great as chocolate chip cookies.  Just swap out the dates for a bag of chocolate chips or carob chips.
​- You could likely swap the vinegar for lemon juice, however I have never tried it.