Raspberry Jam & Oat Cookies (GF & Insanely Good)

Raspberry Oat Cookie Recipe Notes
I have to say, I think these gluten free vegan raspberry jam & oat cookies are my favourite cookie ever. Buttery oat and almond flour crumb, bursting with sweet raspberry jam. If you want delicious things in your life my friends...I highly suggest you keep reading.    

How these cookies came to be:
At the restaurant where I work, there is a cafe directly across the path from our front door. The staff at our restaurant regularly pop over for caffeinated drinks and sweet treats. I honestly have never stepped foot in the building, I'm quite frugal and prefer to make my own coffee and treats. I had however kept seeing these gluten free raspberry thumbprint cookies making an appearance in the staff area where people stash their snacks. Eventually after months of noticing them, someone bought a bunch for the team. I tried one. I was immediately inspired to re create a version of them at home. Theirs were quite "oat cake" like, and to be honest a bit dry, but enjoyable none the less. 
I pondered for a bit how I was going to approach them, and I nailed the recipe pretty much on the first try. The real test, taking some to work to see what the work fam thought. 

The verdict:
Jesse said "these are next level", Pidge told me "to be honest these are better than the cafes", Chef said "buttery, salty, perfect...raspberry jam is the only choice", Kia said "the crust feels like a warm hug, I need the recipe". 

Well, you get the idea. I am not here to gloat, but this is what I am good at. I love trying something and re creating it at home to be even better than the version that inspired me. I love sharing with friends and getting feed back, I love sharing the recipe on my blog in hopes that someone will try it and enjoy it as much as I do. Sometimes I wish I had my own little shop where I could dish out my creations, but at this juncture the best I can do is share them here. 

What these cookies are, and what they are not:
These cookies are soft and quite delicate. The jam soaks into the base to a degree, making them a treat I absolutely insist on grabbing a serving plate for. They aren't a cookie I would put into a zip lock bag and toss in my purse for later. I think of these as a "slow" cookie. A cookie that you enjoy cozied up on the sofa with a cup of tea and a book or your favourite record. A cookie that you pick apart slowly piece by piece, savoring the buttery oatmeal crumb with bursts of bright jammy raspberry, whiling away as you please. 

Ingredients & some notes:
Oats, Almond Flour, Vegan Butter, Brown Sugar, Salt, Baking Soda, Plant Milk, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Raspberry Jam

Oats - I buy whole rolled oats, and for this recipe I blitz them in a food processor. The  oats should still have some pieces remaining in tact, almost like a coarse flour. I have not yet tried the recipe using fully ground oat flour, whole oats, or a combination of both. I can't speak to the results if you want to try, but if I were to attempt it, I'd most likely use a combination of oat flour and whole oats. 

Almond Flour - When I set out to make this recipe, I knew I really wanted them to contain some almond flour. My only hesitation is that almond flour can be very expensive. I ended up buying a fairly large bag at Walmart for about $15, which is the cheapest I have seen it in stores around me. My other thought would be to check online. 

Raspberry Jam - There are many brands out there, I always gravitate to the artisan looking ones that are more expensive, but I went a head and purchased a grocery store brand this time. The flavour was still great in these cookies. Use whatever you like best, but I would suggest a jam that is more stiff as opposed to runny. I have had success using both, but the runnier ones are more likely to bubble over the cookie. 

Plant Milk - I always use either unsweetened soy or oat milk. I'm sure any plant milk would work just fine, but these are my staples. I'm not a fan of almond milk actually, I've always found the flavour sub par and it lacks body compared to the other milks, but for this recipe I don't think that would matter. I'm sure someone reading this will think this is nuts (pun intended), maybe home made almond milk is great, maybe there is a brand I haven't tried. That's fine, there aren't many absolutes in life. Use what you like best. 

Vegan Butter - I have tried this recipe with different brands of vegan butter and they all turned out great. I am not loyal to one particular type. I look at what is available where I am shopping, and I also will buy one over the other if there is a sale. You can check in the organic section of most grocery stores, and even sometimes you will find different brands near dairy butter. In my experience vegan products are scattered in different sections around stores so I often take a walk around looking before I settle on something. (I'm always price conscious) I have noticed that when I use a vegan butter with higher salt, I liked it better. The becel vegan butter I tried had a higher salt content than Earth Balance brand I tried. You can always sprinkle a little salt on top if you are into that sweet and salty experience as much as I am. 

Troubleshooting

This headline is a bit misleading, because I have tested this recipe about 6 times now. I have enjoyed each batch, but it's pretty interesting how they never have turned out exactly the same. This is due to using different vegan butter products, different jam products and baking the cookies more or less time. 

How the cookie is shaped will also affect the final result. You definitely need to make an indent for the jam to sit in. You can see in the photo this isn't just a "thumbprint" sized space. I make a "well" that takes up most of the real-estate of the cookie. When the base is on the thinner side, the cookies are very soft because there's not much distance between the pan and the jam layer. It all kinda soaks in. They are delicious this way, and perhaps preferable to the time I didn't indent my cookie quite enough, and the jam bubbled over. Which brings me to thoughts about jam. I think a jam that is more "stiff" might be the best choice, compared to a really runny jam. It is less likely to bubble over the top. 

I also noticed a difference using different brands of vegan butter. Earth Balance and Melt yielded a slightly more firm cookie (still soft), andBecel vegan butter yielded and even softer cookie. Both perfectly great. Though I think the becel strangely gave the cookies the best flavour because of it's higher salt content. 

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