Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Coconut Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

First let me state that I'm not dairy or gluten free by any means, give me alllll the butter and sugar, BUT I was looking for a healthy cookie to feed my son and these little numbers did the trick. It's not that I don't want him to have dairy or gluten, but the kid needs all the nutrients he can get and I work a lot with bribery, "If you finish your macaroni and cheese and all your french fries, you can have a cookie" < insert shameful and confused face, how did we get here? > #toddlerproblems

Also, I know a lot of breast-feeding mommies who are always on the hunt for dairy-free so I thought this recipe might be fun to try :)

I whipped these up one morning while I was up with Grace and the boys were sleeping (9:00 AM must be nice) and they were so easy and did not take long at all. 

Here is what you need: 

• 3/4 cup oat flour (regular oats blended in a food processor until it becomes powdery like flour)
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup quick oats
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup raisins

Here is what you do: 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients : oat flour, old-fashioned oats, quick oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
• In another bowl, mix together vanilla extract, egg, and brown sugar. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave or on the stove top and let it cool slightly before adding to the bowl, note: make sure to measure the coconut oil after it is melted. Stir until well combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
• Add the raisins, and if you feel like adding more, go ahead! 
• Cover the dough tightly and chill the dough for 30 minutes to an hour or until the dough has hardened enough to scoop out cookie balls. **Important, dough must be chilled or the cookies will flatten! The coconut oil needs to firm up again in the cooling process.
• Using a cookie scoop, scoop out balls of the dough (packed super tightly) onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. 
• Depending on the size, bake for 7-9 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges. 
• They will be soft and very breakable at first but they will harden after cooling.
• Remove from the oven and allow to stay on the baking sheet for another 2 minutes before removing to a wire cooling rack.

I hope you like these healthy cookies - little B and I devoured them all week :) 

recipe adapted from Chelsea's Messy Apron