Cranberry and Orange Oat Cookies

~ lizibeevor

Cranberry and orange is such a great combination bringing together two fruits that are sweet but tart and tangy in different ways resulting in a perfect pairing! I have wanted to develop a good gluten free oat cookie recipe for ages and now felt like a good time – plus I have an absolute load of dried cranberries that my parents needed a hand getting rid of!

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I am typically not that much of a baker, only dabbling every now and then, so this was really my first foray into gluten free baking. I definitely learned some new tricks with this recipe and especially how and when to use xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is great in gluten free baking for stopping things from becoming too crumbly.

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I have to say that the end result was really surprising! I’ll admit that I was cautious of using gluten free flour and expected a pale, dry crumbly disappointment but they came out soft and delicious and just what you’d expect from any oat cookie. The orange doesn’t overpower either and you get a nice fresh flavour when you rub the zest with the sugar rather than it being soapy.

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Ingredients

Makes 24 cookies

  • 200g gluten free flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Generous pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 150g brown sugar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 225g gluten free oats
  • 100g dried cranberries
  • 140g coconut oil
  • 2 eggs

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C Fan).
  2. Stir together the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, spices, and brown sugar (sifted to get rid of lumps) together until well combined.
  3. Rub together the orange zest with the caster sugar to help bring out the orange flavour, and also to help avoid clumps forming when you add it to the dry ingredients.
  4. Stir the orange sugar into the dry ingredients with the gluten free oats and mix until combined.
  5. Heat the coconut oil gently in a saucepan so that it melts but doesn’t get too hot and add it to the mixture.
  6. Beat the eggs and mix those in and stir well until you get a thick dough that you can’t stir very easily. Then use your hands to form a nice dough and try to pick up as many bits from the bowl as you can.
  7. Once the dough is nicely combined, divide it into 24 balls. Squash them down a little bit and pop them on a baking sheet.
  8. Bake them for 12 minutes before giving them another squash down. Then leave them in for a further 5 minutes max before taking them out. Leave them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Looking for other foodie gift ideas? I’ve got you sorted with some gluten free Christmas spiced granola or more foodie ideas here.

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