Fruit and oat crunchies (gluten-free; dairy-free; vegan)

Pile_of_homemade_fruit_and_oat_cookies — Fruit and oat crunchies. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Hello again. I have something tasty and sweet for you this week. With the weather cooling down here, I have felt more like being in a cosy kitchen rather than the great outdoors. These cookies are an absolute winner if you like a crunchy textured bake. If you can leave them alone long enough, they retain their crispness perfectly when stored in an air-tight container.

Homemade_fruit_and_oat_cookies_on_a_wire_rack — Too tempting to ignore, crunchy homemade cookies. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

I made up the dough using my own blend of gluten-free favourite flours but a readymade combination will work just as well. Whether you add fruit or not is up to you – I have just made a batch without fruit, and added some caramel flavouring instead; there aren’t that many left is all I’ll say! Use small pieces of fruit for best results, like currants or dried berries. If you only have larger dried fruit, like apricots or raisins, chop into small pieces before using. This is a really easy recipe so I hope you might give it a go.

Gluten-free_dairy_free_and_vegan_homemade_fruit_and_oat_cookies — Crunchelicious cookies. Image: Kathryn Hawkins

Makes: 12

Ingredients

105g plain gluten-free flour blend (I used a combination of white rice flour, tapioca flour and cornflour (cornstarch))
90g gluten-free porridge oats
40g desiccated coconut
¾teasp bicarbonate of soda
115g soft light brown sugar
90g plant butter, softened and cut into small pieces
50-75g small dried fruit (depending on how fruity you want them to be)
25g golden syrup (corn syrup)

1.Preheat the oven to 190°C, 170°C fan oven, gas 5. Line 2 large baking tray with baking parchment. Put the flour in a bowl and mix in the oats, coconut and bicarbonate of soda. Stir in the sugar.

2. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients until well blended, the stir in the fruit and bind together with the syrup, bringing the mixture together with your hands to make a firm dough.

Preparation_steps_for_making_gluten-free_and_vegan_cookies — Making cookie dough. Images: Kathryn Hawkins

3. Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Form each into a ball and place on the trays spaced well apart – the mixture does spread during baking.

4. Press each piece of dough gently to make a 6cm round, then bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.