Healthy Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookie Recipe - Detoxed Desserts
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Time to read: 12 min
Finished gluten free oatmeal cookies baked with Detox Desserts ingredient swaps
Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
15 min
13 min
15 large cookies
Cookies
Table of contents
Why you will love these healthy gluten-free oatmeal cookies Recommended products for the best gluten free oatmeal cookies How our gluten-free oatmeal cookies measure up against other recipes How I crafted the perfect gluten and sugar-free oatmeal cookies The best ingredient substitutes for gluten and sugar-free oatmeal cookies Try Our Gluten-free, Vegan, Paleo AND Keto Baking System Step-by-Step: How to make healthy gluten-free oatmeal cookies How to store your gluten-free oatmeal cookies for maximum shelf-life How to make your gluten-free oatmeal cookies stand out Tips for making the best gluten-free oatmeal cookies Recipe Card: Gluten free oatmeal cookie recipe Nutritional information Explore more recipes
Why you will love these healthy gluten-free oatmeal cookies
Most people think of oatmeal raisin cookies as a “healthy” cookie option, but don’t let the oatmeal fool you. Traditional oatmeal cookie recipes (and even gluten-free oatmeal cookie recipes!) are loaded with sugar, dairy, cholesterol and rapidly digesting carbohydrates.
Unlike most Detox Desserts, this recipe for gluten free oatmeal cookies isn’t keto or paleo because of the oats. But, by using the ‘Sweet Swaps’, they’ll be packed full of heart healthy, SLOWLY digesting carbohydrates. Plus, you’ll create the most delicious, nutrient-dense oatmeal cookie possible. The healthy carbs in these gluten free oatmeal cookies will promote blood sugar stability and the added fiber can help improve digestion and keep you feeling full and satisfied.
These detoxed cookies bake up with crisp edges, a chewy center and are full of warming spices. The small amount of ginger and cardamom isn’t overwhelming and both spices add to the subtle sweetness and rich flavor of the cookie, so don’t skip them.
These cookies keep for days and travel well. If you’re like me, and tend toward constipation when you travel, don’t leave home without them!
Recommended products for the best gluten free oatmeal cookies
How our gluten-free oatmeal cookies measure up against other recipes
I’ve tested and love these cookies made with Whole-Grain and Grain-Free Flour Swaps.
The Whole-Grain Swap cookies will have a few more healthy carbs, but I love the hearty, earthy flavor and softer texture these cookies have.
The Grain-Free Flour will provide the lowest carb version but this recipe wouldn’t be considered paleo or keto because of the oats. The Grain-Free Swap cookies are delicious, have a slight nutty flavor and the finished cookie is more dense and chewy.
I tested this recipe using both flours in equal parts (6 Tbsp Whole-Grain plus 6 Tbsp Grain-Free Flour to equal the ¾ cup of Flour Swap the recipe calls for), which was also fantastic because it created deeper flavor and provided perfect texture.
For most of my patients, I’m a big advocate for balanced macronutrient meals breakfast, lunch and dinner. Because these cookies are made using a large percentage of rolled oats (which counts as a healthy carb), I recommend counting these cookies as a healthy carb regardless of which Flour Swap you used in this recipe.
*Most Detox Desserts have much fewer carbs than these cookies have, so always count these fiber-rich, gluten free oatmeal cookies as a healthy carbohydrate if you follow a balanced macro diet. Read on for an easy way to learn more about what type of Flour Swap to choose to create a balanced macro meal. We’ll use dinner as an example. If your dinner consists of just protein and veggies, I recommend eating dessert made with Whole-Grain Swap to serve as your healthy carb for that meal. Conversely, if you already had a healthy carb with dinner (quinoa, sweet potato, beans, etc), I would recommend dessert made with Grain-Free Swap so you don’t overeat carbs at that meal. Easy, right!
Balanced macro meals are the best thing you can do to keep your metabolism firing optimally, create blood sugar stability and keep you feeling full and satisfied throughout your day (or night). If you’re a diabetic or need to stay in ketosis, always bake using the Grain-Free Flour Swap.
How I crafted the perfect gluten and sugar-free oatmeal cookies
All other gluten-free oatmeal cookie recipes I found online are made with common food allergens like dairy and eggs, plus they are loaded with rapidly digesting carbohydrates.
Did you know most gluten-free flour substitutes aren’t healthy??!!
They cause blood sugar and insulin spikes just like white flour and sugar because they are made from starches and refined grains. Your body’s response to these rapidly digesting carbohydrates is weight gain and insulin resistance.
Detox Desserts Flour Swaps are naturally gluten-free and made from whole grains, seeds, nuts and whole psyllium husks. Plus, you’ll also never need to add xanthan gum to our Flour Swaps because the psyllium husk acts as a natural binder (like gluten and eggs in traditional baking). Xanthan gum is a binding agent that is either already added or needs to be added to most gluten-free flour mixtures. It acts like the gluten in regular wheat flour.
To construct this detoxed cookie recipe, I carefully reviewed a few 5-star traditional recipes online for oatmeal raisin cookies that use flour, sugar, eggs and butter. I used some of my favorite baking blogs like ‘Sally’s Baking Addiction’, ‘Preppy Kitchen’ and ‘Handle the Heat’.
I use the traditional recipes only to examine the wet to dry ratios and the variations of leavening that professional bakers use for this type of cookie. These ratios are important to ensure the detoxed cookie will turn out dense, soft and chewy with slightly crispy edges, just like a proper cookie. For a simple cookie like this, I could have used a highly rated online traditional recipe and made the 1:1 Swaps for Flour, Sugar, Eggs and Butter, but I thought I could do better than what’s currently out there. And, I hate following recipes, lol:)
I used my intuition on the ratios and my love of bold flavors to modify the recipe slightly by adding extra vanilla extract and additional warming spices like ginger and cardamom to gently enhance the flavor profile.
Most traditional recipes call for both white and brown sugar, but brown sugar isn’t needed in the detoxed cookie. If you really want a brown sugar “swap” and aren’t on a strict keto or diabetic diet, you can simply add 1 Tablespoon of molasses to the Sugar Swap.
The best ingredient substitutes for gluten and sugar-free oatmeal cookies
Key Ingredients of traditional oatmeal cookies:
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Granular Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Raisins
- Oats
- Baking Soda
- Flour
Key Ingredients for gluten-free oatmeal cookies:
- Butter Swap: Our whole food, plant-based butter substitute that bakes and tastes like butter with added health benefits-Granular
- Sugar Swap: Our zero-calorie, zero-carb, naturally sweetened sugar substitute formulated with prebiotics to support healthy digestion.
- Egg Swap:Our vegan egg substitute that contains 50% more protein than an egg, added prebiotics for digestive support and NO cholesterol.
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Raisins
- Oats (use gluten-free rolled oats if you have gluten allergy or celiacs disease): I prefer half quick cooking oats and half old-fashioned rolled oats for texture variety but either will work!
- Baking Soda
- Grain-Free Flour Swap OR Whole-Grain Flour Swap: Our gluten-free, high fiber, low-carb healthy flour substitute. Use Grain-Free Swap for the lowest carb version of these cookies.
- Optional 1 Tablespoon Molasses (you can make your own brown sugar “swap”, by adding a touch of molasses to the Sugar Swap. This adds depth of flavor and more caramelization to the finished cookie)
- Optional Chopped Walnuts for texture, flavor and added health benefits
- Optional warming spices like ginger and cardamom (for lovely depth of flavor without being overwhelming)
Try Our Gluten-free, Vegan, Paleo AND Keto Baking System
Step-by-Step: How to make healthy gluten-free oatmeal cookies
Dry Ingredients:
- ¾ cup Whole-Grain Flour Swap or Grain-Free Flour Swap (use Grain-Free Swap for lowest carb version)
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats (I prefer half quick cooking and half rolled oats for texture variety, but use whatever you have in the house)
- ⅔ cup Sugar Swap (optional to add 1 Tablespoon molasses to provide a brown sugar flavor, more caramelization and a golden brown color to the finished cookie)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
Fold-In Ingredients:
- ¾ cup raisins (if your raisins are very dry, soak in warm water until plump then drain)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional, but add great texture, flavor and healthy benefits)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients well.
3. Add wet ingredients and blend with a hand mixer or spoon. Mix until ingredients are well incorporated, no lumps remain and thick cookie dough batter consistency is achieved. I kneaded the Grain-Free dough with clean hands for about a minute because it’s fairly thick.
4. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes before folding in raisins and walnuts. Continue to stir your dough for about 1 minute to ensure the fiber in the Flour Swap and oats have absorbed the excess moisture.
5. Use a medium cookie scoop to create equal sized cookies (you should get 15-16 cookies from this recipe). Roll and press each cookie onto your parchment paper lined baking tray. They will plump up as they bake but won’t spread much.
6. Bake large cookies for about 13 minutes until edges are golden and tops begin to crack. Both Whole Grain and Grain Free Swap cookies baked the same amount of time in my oven.
7. Remove from the oven, allow them to cool for a few minutes on the warm cookie tray before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Once cooled, store your cookies in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
How to store your gluten-free oatmeal cookies for maximum shelf-life
Store your cooled gluten-free oatmeal cookies sealed in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for long term storage. You can also store unbaked oatmeal cookie dough balls in the freezer and pull them out as desired to bake fresh. Just let your frozen dough balls come to room temperature before flattening them down on your parchment lined cookie sheet and bake as directed.
How to make your gluten-free oatmeal cookies stand out
Use this basic cookie recipe to create endless possibilities, but consider experimenting with any of the following for unique flavor and texture variety. Plus, getting creative with this recipe is a great way to use up extra dried fruit or nuts you might have in the pantry.
- Try substituting sugar-free, dairy-free chocolate chips for the raisins. Lily’s brand is a great option and easy to find. Lily’s brand also makes sugar-free milk chocolate chips if you’re not adverse to a small amount of dairy.
- Add ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut as an additional fold-in option for added texture.
- Sunflower seeds, sprouted pumpkin seeds, chopped pecans, dried cranberries, chopped dates and apricots ALL make for a hearty, healthy and flavorful oatmeal cookie.
- Pumpkin pie spice is a delicious and easy substitute for the ginger and cardamom especially around fall season. I would use 1-2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice in this recipe depending on how bold you like your flavors.
Tips for making the best gluten-free oatmeal cookies
- If your raisins are dry and shriveled, soak them in very hot water for about 15 minutes to plump them up. Drain well before folding them into your cookie dough.
- Make sure your Butter Swap is well stirred and at room temperature before making your cookies, oil separation is normal in the Butter Swap. If you have trouble stirring until smooth, simply pour the entire container into a blender. Blend until smooth and transfer back to the Butter Swap jar. It will stay smooth for about 3 months after you blend it!
- Always reconstitute your Egg Swap with HOT water. The hot water is needed for the fiber contained in the Flour Swap to open and absorb the moisture.
- Let your dough rest for about 5 minutes after you’ve blended the wet and dry ingredients, then knead the oatmeal cookie dough with clean hands, flat spoon or a rubber spatula for another minute.
- Use a cookie scoop to create equal portioned dough balls for even baking. If you haven’t already invested in 3 sizes of cookie scoops, do it! Purchase small, medium and large because you’ll use all of them while baking Detox Desserts. The small and medium sizes are great for cookies and donut holes. I use the large size to create equal size muffins, shortcakes and waffles. They also make great ice-cream scoopers!
- Roll your cookies, then press them down. They won’t spread much as they bake (thanks to all the healthy fiber in the Flour Swap). Use wet hands to make this process easier.
- Don’t overbake! Every oven is different, watch your first batch closely, remove them when the tops start to crack and the bottoms turn golden. They will continue to bake on the hot cookie sheet after you remove them from the oven. The 13 minute approximate baking time is for large cookies, so if you decide to make smaller cookies, shorten the baking time.
- Always let Detox Desserts chill in the fridge overnight before indulging. The flavors and textures can change dramatically with an overnight chill. Plus, it slows carbohydrate absorption making the finished dessert healthier and tastier. Weird, but it works!
Recipe Card: Gluten free oatmeal cookie recipe
| Prep Time | Bake Time | Total Time |
| 15 minutes | 13 minutes | 28 minutes |
Servings: 15
Calories per serving: 180 kcal
Although not guaranteed, we have gone above and beyond to provide you with the most accurate nutritional information for this recipe.
Dry Ingredients
- ¾ cup Whole-Grain Flour Swap or Grain-Free Flour Swap (use Grain-Free Swap for lowest carb version)
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats (I prefer half quick cooking and half rolled oats for texture variety, but use whatever you have in the house)
- ⅔ cup Sugar Swap (optional to add 1 Tablespoon molasses to provide a brown sugar flavor, more caramelization and a golden brown color to the finished cookie)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter Swap
- 1 Egg Swap
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Fold-In Ingredients
- ¾ cup raisins (if your raisins are very dry, soak in warm water until plump then drain)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional, but add great texture, flavor and health benefits)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients well.
3. Add wet ingredients and blend with a hand mixer or spoon. Mix until ingredients are well incorporated, no lumps remain and thick cookie dough batter consistency is achieved. I kneaded the Grain-Free dough with clean hands for about a minute because it’s fairly thick.
4. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes before folding in raisins and walnuts. Continue to stir your dough for about 1 minute to ensure the fiber in the Flour Swap and oats have absorbed the excess moisture.
5. Use a medium cookie scoop to create equal sized cookies (you should get 15-16 cookies from this recipe). Roll and press each cookie onto your parchment paper lined baking tray. They will plump up as they bake but won’t spread much.
6. Bake large cookies for about 13 minutes until edges are golden and tops begin to crack. Both Whole Grain and Grain Free Swap cookies baked the same amount of time in my oven.
7. Remove from the oven, allow them to cool for a few minutes on the warm cookie tray before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Once cooled, store your cookies in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
For best taste, texture and health benefits, refrigerate all Detox Desserts overnight before indulging.
Recommended Products
Nutritional information
*An important note on carbs:
Net carbohydrates are the sum total of carbohydrates that convert into glucose (therefore raise blood sugar) in the body. Anyone following a keto or diabetic diet should count net carbs NOT total carbs. To determine net carbs, simply subtract the fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrates on the nutrition label. If you count macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein) you should always count net carbs, not total carbs.
We love your feedback, please make sure to comment and share your experience with this recipe for gluten free oatmeal cookies with the healthy baking community!
Cheers to your delicious health,
-Dr. Alexis
