Healthy No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

Maria — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 17:01:58 +0000

These Healthy No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies are just what you need when you want something sweet but healthy. They have just the right amount of sweetness when you need something sweet. The best part about these is that they are refined sugar free and sweetened with honey only. Another thing I decided to do with these cookies was to soak the oatmeal to make them more digestible.

I like these cookies so much I’d find myself snacking on them before breakfast, after lunch and a before bed snack. Let’s just say, between my husband and I, they didn’t last long. My husband pretty much did the same as I.

Trial and Error No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

I have been working on this recipe for a while now. It took many trial and errors, my poor husband.

I started off making these cookies the way I was used to and then I got thinking, I can make these so much healthier.

Growing up my mother would make these delicious cookies every now and then. Everyone in the house loved them, sometimes my dad would hide some in the back of the fridge, so us kids wouldn’t find them and keep them for himself for work. I eventually found his stash.

Now as much as I love these cookies, they were always made with refined sugar. I know it’s not the end of the world, in moderation it’s fine. Though if I have these in the house, they don’t last very long. Just a couple days and their gone.

So I wanted to make these a lot more healthy. So I switched out the sugar and added honey instead. They were amazing. They tasted just as yummy as when they had granulated sugar.

Then I got thinking again. There is sugar in the chocolate chips as well. I’m sure they didn’t use honey to sweeten those chocolate chips.

Now I was determined to remove chocolate chips from this and use what I had on hand. I didn’t have any organic dark chocolate on hand. So I wanted to switch out the chocolate chips with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Lets just say, I didn’t have my ratios right and they just didn’t taste that great. I still ate them though, they weren’t horrible. They just weren’t how I wanted them.

Now at this point some would say, “Why fix what is not broken?”

I ended up deciding to try making these with soaked oatmeal.

I’ve always know that other grains and nuts should be soaked before eaten because our body is not able to digest them properly. So then began another mission to make these even more healthier.

At this point, I have figured out the specifics and they now taste amazing. I’ll try to save you a few!

Why should you soak your oatmeal?

With oatmeal and any other grain/seed, it has something called Phytic Acid to protect it. Now because of this, it prevents your body from being able to break it down and absorb the nutrients from the grain.

So then comes soaking the grains. By soaking the grains in water and something acidic it can then break down the phytic acid. Your body is then able to process the grain and absorb minerals like zinc and iron.

Now if you don’t have time to soak your oatmeal, that is fine. You can use them unsoaked as well.

Can I use any type of Nut Butter in my No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies?

You can use any type of nut butter you want for this recipe. I have not personally used anything other then Peanut butter. I’m sure these would taste just as good with a different type of nut butter.

How to make Healthy No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

Equipment you’ll need

Container to soak your oatmeal
a strainer or slotted spoon
3 cookie sheets
double boiler
measuring spoons
parchment paper

Ingredients you will need

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (to soak the oatmeal)
3 cups soaked rolled oats
1.5 cups cocoa
1.5 cups honey
1.5 cups peanut butter
1 cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Directions:

First you’ll want to soak your rolled oats. You want to plan this recipe a day ahead.

To do this, simply take a glass bowl or jar and add your rolled oats. Add your water and apple cider vinegar.

Cover with a lid and set aside. Let soak overnight, roughly 12 hours.

In the morning empty your soaked oatmeal into a colendar lined with cheese cloth or something of the like. You can also pour it out into a bowl and strain the oats with a slotted spoon. Allow it to strain out as much of the liquid as possible.

Once your oats are strained, set aside.

Prepare your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a double boiler (I used a small glass bowl over a pot of boiling water), add your peanut butter and coconut oil.

Stir until completely melted and incorporated together. Do not let it go to boil.

Once melted, remove from heat and add your cocoa and stir together well so there are no lumps.

Add your salt, vanilla and honey then mix well.

Gently fold in your oats.

Spoon about 1/8 cup spoon fulls onto your prepared cookie sheets.

Refrigerate until solid.

Enjoy!

Note: Store in the refrigerator for best results. Cookies will be very soft if left on the counter at room temperature.

If you wanted to make these a little more fancy you could sprinkle some shredded coconut on the top of the cookies after you’ve spooned them onto your cookie sheets.

Let me know in the comments below how these turn out for you!

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