This is pretty much a recipe from an old issue of Vegetarian Times, but I swapped out the sugar for sucanat to make it a little healthier, and decreased the amount of sweetener by a third. The original recipe is finished with a lemon icing, which makes for a delicious dessert cookie (ridiculously good with a cup of coffee or tea). However, if you leave out the icing, and add some energizing chopped almonds and chia seeds, you’ve got yourself a breakfast cookie.

Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 2 tbsp flax meal + 3 tbsp water
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (I used Korintje cinnamon because of its sweetness)
• 2 tbsp margarine
• 1/2 cup sucanat
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp double strength vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup raisins

For a breakfast cookie, add:

• 1/3 cup chopped almonds
• 1/4 cup chia seeds

Lemon Icing for a dessert cookie:

• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3/4 – 1 cup powdered sugar

Combine flax meal and water in a small bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine margarine, sucanat, apple sauce, and vanilla. Add the flax meal and water mixture to the wet ingredients, and add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Fold in oats and raisins (and nuts and chia seeds, if using), and chill for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll cookie dough into 1 inch spheres and place onto a greased baking sheet. Flatten the cookies to about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool and then drizzle with lemon icing, if using.