Almond Oatmeal Cookies – Wheat Free

This is a first for me, baking cookies/biscuits without wheat flour.  But I must say the results are very rewarding.  This is a very simple cookie, or biscuit, where some of the oats are ground with the almonds to make a sort of flour and then mixed with the other ingredients and more oats before baking.

Flavoured additionally with lemon zest and cinnamon these easy cookies are great with a cup of tea.  They also take very little effort to make.  I rolled the mixture into balls for baking, but then once they had been in the oven for a couple of minutes I used a spatula to flatten half of the cookies,  so I ended up with some that were domed and others that were flatter and wider.  That was just to see what the difference would be.  Either version is good, so it is just a matter of choice.

Ingredients:

• 300g/10 1/2oz rolled oats
• 50g/1 3/4 oz almonds(I used ground almonds but whole is ok since they will be processed)
• 125g/5/8 cup  caster sugar
• 125g/1 stick+scant 1 tbsp softened butter
• 1 medium egg(large in USA)
• 1 medium egg yolk)large in USA)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 8g/1 3/4 tsp baking powder
• zest from one lemon

Method

1. In a food processor(I used an immersion blender) mix 150 g rolled oats and the almonds and process to a fine powder is achieved with the oats.
2. Add the butter and process until combined.
3. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and add all the other ingredients and mix together, using your hands, until all is combined well.
4. Place the mixture onto some plastic wrap and form into a disc.
5. Wrap it up and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.
7. Line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper.
8. Take the cookie mixture from the fridge and divide into 15g portions, rolling each one into a ball.
9. Place on the baking tray, leaving a gap between each.
10. Bake in the oven for between 15 and 20 minutes until they have turned a golden colour.  The longer the bake the more crunchy the cookie will be.
11. If you wish, once they are in the oven, after a couple of minutes use a spatula to flatten the cookies so they spread further with a wider diameter.  Otherwise leave them and they will bake as a domed cookie.
12. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.