No-bake Cocoa Oat Cookies

The first baking I ever did was a type of cocoa oat drop cookies from a cookbook for my family’s very first microwave oven.

I still remember when this amazing, faux-wood-panelled device (how was wood panelling ever fashionable?) first arrived in our household, perched on a faux-wood rolling cart in our kitchen with apple-tree wallpaper and green-painted cabinets.  Are you getting a good visual of my 1980’s childhood environment?  Our  mini-van also had wood-panelling, for the record.

As a testament to how quality appliances used to be made, this same enormous microwave persists to this day in my dad’s kitchen!

My mother and I made this cocoa cookie recipe so often that that one page in the cookbook was stained, annotated, and dog-eared, while most of the other pages were ignored!  I particularly enjoyed watching these cookies magically set on waxed paper, then peeling them off carefully and biting into the first one.

I first revisited this recipe while living in Mexico over 10 years ago, having just begun following the Blood Type Diet and wanting to bake something without wheat flour.

I recently thought about these cookies again and set out to create a healthier, Blood Type friendly version for myself.  The original recipe was somewhat like this one, although no peanut butter and instead called for shredded coconut, which we always left out because obviously (to young Kate) shredded coconut was gross and not to be eaten (or so I thought at the time).  Now I know better.

No-bake Cocoa Oat Cookies

(Makes about 30 cookies)

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup agave, raw honey, or combination (I use both in equal quantities)
• ½ cup ghee, butter, or coconut oil, or combination (I use both in equal quantities)
• ½ cup cocoa
• ¼ cup almond milk (unsweetened)
• ¼ cup nut butter (I use almond butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups rolled oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill Wheat-free Rolled Oats)
• 1 cup shredded coconut or quinoa flakes (I use Go Go Quinoa Flakes)
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine agave, honey, ghee, cocoa powder, and almond milk in a medium pot.

2. Heat mixture at medium setting and bring to a boil, stirring regularly.

3. While waiting for mixture to boil, combine oats, coconut, and salt in a small bowl, ready for later.

4. Cook wet mixture at boil for 1 minute, then stir in nut butter.

5. Boil for 1 more minute and remove from heat, making sure the nut butter has melted in.

6. Immediately add vanilla and stir to combine thoroughly.

7. Stir oats, coconut, and salt into the hot mixture until well combined.

8. Drop mixture onto parchment paper.

9. Cool until firm (about 20 minutes).

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