Whoa, now how about that title? It’s a mouthful, isn’t it?
NO. These are a mouthful. Just wait and see.
But hold on. Let’s talk a little about food allergies for a minute. Total bummer, right? Well . . . maybe not completely.
Contents
Um, Excuse Me?
Now, don’t get me wrong. Food allergies are certainly a pain in the you-know-what. All four of my children were born with dairy, egg, and nut allergies. Let’s just say we’ve had a lot of ups and downs because of them. Benadryl, in all its preservative-y, food dye-ish, HFCS, (non)glory, is something we always keep handy at our house.
We simply have to, for now. (I am 100% certain, it will not always be this way. So yay for that.)
But before I start down the path to complaining about food allergies, because I do have my complaints, I really just wanted to mention one thing.
I have learned, unbelievably, to be thankful for them.
Ahem, ahem?
You see, food allergies, in a strange, roundabout way, taught me how to feed my family healthy. It was because of these allergic responses that I learned about the traditional methods of food preparation. (See my Real Foodie post to better understand.) I learned about my wonder fruit: coconut. So many things I’ve learned, that all would need several blog posts to do them justice, due to that physical misfit – the food allergy.
So, while food allergies are still a love/hate thing (and will never, ever be a love/love thing), we simply deal as we must.
Here’s the recipe I came up with to replace conventional No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies, the kind that use peanut butter. To me, they taste super close to the real thing, but I have to mention, it’s been a while since I’ve had the original. They are super rich, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. 🙂 I save them for special occasions myself.
I’d like to introduce a new player to the game: coconut butter. Also known as creamed coconut or coconut manna, this will be your peanut butter replacement.
What is coconut butter, exactly? It’s simply coconut, blended very well. Well, I forgot the secret ingredient of HEAVEN. . .
And did you know you can make your own? Plus, it is very healthy for you. If you can tie your shoes, you can make coconut butter.
FYI: Even though some coconut products have allergen warnings on them, coconut is not truly considered a tree nut but is in fact a fruit. Most people will not be allergic; however, make sure the people eating your cookies are not allergic to coconut, just in case. 🙂
Description
Sweet, moist, addictive no-bake oatmeal cookies, sans dairy and nuts.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
- 2 cups sugar – I like Sucanat
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup coconut milk or other milk alternative
- 1/2 cup coconut butter, mixed well so it isn’t separated
- 1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla
- From 3 to 3 1/2 cups rolled oats, or quick cook oats (dry)
Instructions
- In a 3 or 4 quart pot, mix together first five ingredients.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat. Allow to bubble for one minute.
- Immediately remove from heat.
- Stir in vanilla and coconut butter until well mixed.
- Finally, mix in the oats.
- You can drop these by the spoonful onto parchment paper, or you can pour them into an 8″ or 9″ square pan to make cookie bars.
- Allow to cool.
Notes
If you want to speed things up, you can place the cookies and parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator to cool faster. You can also do this with a square pan. Also, I have always used rolled oats, but you can use either rolled oats or quick oats.
Let me know what you think!
Peace, love, and joy,
Danielle
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I am wondering if it would work to sub baking chocolate (which is usually dairy free) for the coconut butter and cocoa. I am eager to try this recipe with ingredients that I have in my cupboard.
Hi Julia! Oh, I completely identify with wanting to try a recipe with what you have on hand! Some of our greatest recipes are born that way, don’t you think?? You could try it… I can’t guarantee the cocoa butter would work. But it is holding together a baking square… It’s a very interesting thought. Let me know what happens if you try it. Also, if you do try it, I would opt for pouring the cookie mixture in a square pan instead of dropping the cookies on a sheet. Thanks so much for stopping by!
I made a half batch with baking chocolate and it worked! I made some bars (in a glass bread pan) and a few drop cookies. The only thing that needs to be adjusted is the sweetness, since the baking chocolate was semi-sweet. I’ll try adding less sugar next time, and maybe throw in some unsweetened coconut. Thanks for the inspiring recipe!
Oh WOW! That is so cool Julia! Now you have a new recipe! Thanks so much for sharing this option.
Wondering if you can use exta virgin olilve oil instead of coconut oil?
Sure, you can use any oil you prefer. EVOO will change the flavor, however. <3
coconut is a tree but so these aren’t nut free. I was really hoping they were.
Hi Sasha, coconuts are not a nut, they are a fruit. I am sorry, though, that the recipe won’t work for you!
I am sure my kids will love this. I am trying this recipe today, and see how I can give some personal touch with the cookies.
Any idea on how to sub a liquid sweetener?
Hi Heather! I don’t really know… I’m thinking a liquid sweetener would make them pretty sticky. You could try leaving out the milk and adding more oatmeal? Let me know if you figure something out!
Wow cookies I love cookies. And even my daughter also loved them. I will definitely try this. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Coconut milk usually comes in cans that are at least 1.5 cups. i wasn’t planning to make a curry the next day so I used the whole can.
But i didn’t triple the sugar, coconut oil or coconut butter. Maybe added about 2.5 – 3 cups of sugar, 1 cup of coconut oil and increased the oats.
Using two cups of sugar and only 1/2 cup coconut milk must make it awfully sweeet.
Coconut butter doesn’t exist and trying to grind coconut flakes in the blender is futile. A food processor likely works better. I added the half blended coconut flakes to about 1/2 cup of the coconut milk in the pot and heated before adding anything else. It made a nice, thick paste. Then I added everything except the oats and brought to a boil.
Good morning,
I had a craving for something chocolate last night and ran across your recipe. I cannot have dairy and need to cut nuts out of my diet for a few months. I love it! I did add some dairy free chocolate chunks (I have an addiction to chocolate) and they were perfect.
Thank you for this great recipe
Tina
Hi, Tina! I’m so glad you loved these. They are a favorite of ours – but I have never thought about adding chocolate chunks!! Thanks for the great idea!! <3