"OATMEAL" AND PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES, LC, GF

My dear hubby has been wanting oatmeal cookies... like his mom used to make, which were most likely the recipe on the side of the Quaker Oatmeal box.  He loved them.  She used to send them to him when he was overseas in the Navy, and even though they arrived weeks later as hard as a rock, he ate them.  Unfortunately for him, I cannot make him the oatmeal cookies anymore that his mother used to make because they have wheat flour in them, and I cannot even handle it or have it in my kitchen without a reaction.  So I decided to try making him something similar at any rate, to oatmeal cookies but much healthier and better for him than what his mother used to make.

So I found an old recipe that I used to use to make oatmeal peanut butter cookies for my family, and decided to see what I could do to revise it and convert it to low carb, gluten free.  I was going to add chocolate bits to it, and some chopped nuts, which is what I used to do, but they do add more carbs.  This is a tad higher in carbs for a cookie than I like but it was something that I hoped my hubby could enjoy that would be healthier for him, and still something I could enjoy with him.
I may yet experiment more to make a lower carb version.  This recipe uses some things not all low carbers may have. I've been experimenting with arrowroot flour lately and love the texture that it gives things, so it does have a very small amount of that in it. You can probably just leave it out if you don't have it but the small amount used does not add much at all to the carb count per cookie.  I tbsp has 6 g carbs in it.  I use whey isolate in it, but you can use whatever protein powder you choose.  The oat bran I use is certified gluten free, so if you have a problem with wheat gluten make sure to find oat bran that is such.  Mine was Bob's Red Mill, which I can get here locally.
  


                     
These are a soft cookie, with a slight peanut butter flavor.  If you want it more peanut buttery tasting, you can do 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup shortening, or butter if you do not have the Spectrum shortening. I think they are a whole new thing all on their own actually.  You'll have to try them to see what I mean.  And my hubby, the ultimate taste tester, says they are good.

 "OATMEAL" AND PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1/2  cup  shortening, Spectrum organic, non-hydrogenated
1/4  cup  natural peanut butter -- (no sugar added)
12  packets  Truvia -- OR sweetener to equal 1/2 cup
1/3 cup  xylitol -- (you can use another sweetener of your choice here, such as Swerve, erythritol, Splenda, etc. to measure 1/3 cup)
2  eggs
12 drops  liquid sucralose
1 teaspoon  blackstrap molasses
1 teaspoon  vanilla
1 1/2 cups  almond flour
1 tablespoon  arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon  xanthan gum
1 teaspoon  baking soda
1/2 teaspoon  salt
1 cup  oat bran -- (certified gluten free)
1 scoop  whey isolate, vanilla flavored
1/2 cup  flaxseed meal, golden

Beat together shortening, peanut butter, Truvia, and xylitol (OR other sweetener);  combine eggs, liquid sucralose, blackstrap molasses, and vanilla and blend in, beating until light and fluffy.   Add combined almond flour, arrowroot powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well.

Stir in oat bran, whey isolate, flaxseed meal, and mix together well.  Drop onto cookie sheet spread with parchment paper or silicone mat, and press down gently with fingers, or a fork, or the back of a spoon (it helps to wet your fingers slightly), and bake in preheated 350 degree F. oven, for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

I got 28 cookies using a 2 tbsp cookie scoop.

Let cool and serve.

Options: If you like, add 1 Lindt 85% chocolate bar or other chocolate bar, chopped into pieces, and/or chopped nuts.  This will raise the carb and calorie count.  Another option, if you are ok with more carbs is to add 1/2 cup raisins snipped into halves.  I did not figure out the carb count with these things added, so you're on your own with that.

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28 Cookies/1 Cookie Per Serving: 118 Calories; 9g Fat (63.0% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber

4g. net carbs per cookie