Teff Flour Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

this post is sponsored by bob’s red mill. thank you for supporting the partnerships that allow brewing happiness to grow and exist. xoxo.

I made 12 test batches. TWELVE. To get to this moment. Twelve batches that weren’t perfect. But then I made this version and I knew it was THE PERFECT oatmeal raisin cookie.

I was set on having the that chewy, soft consistency of an oatmeal raisin cookie, but I was also set on using Bob’s Red Mill Teff Flour. I wanted it to be less of a breakfast cookie consistency (aka. dense with TONS of oats), and more of a chewy cookie with oats and raisins in it. It turned out to be the combo of sweeteners – honey and Bob’s Red Mill Organic Coconut Sugar – that nailed it.

Now let’s talk about teff flour. Teff flour is made from teff, a gluten-free grain that hails from Ethopia. It can be used to make a porridge-like breakfast cereal, or tons of baked goodies. My friends at Heartbeet Kitchen, This Mess is Ours, Will Frolic for Food, and The Bojon Gourmet have been singing it’s praises and making delicious treats for a while now. So I knew it was time to jump on the bandwagon.

Boy am I delighted at how they turned out.

Totally gluten-free, refined sugar free, and basically perfect.

Get more oat cookie recipes here: No-Bake Love Crunch Cereal Cookies, Pumpkin Ginger Breakfast Cookies, Health-ified Oatmeal Cream Pies

Print

Teff Flour Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Course Dessert, Sweet Thangs

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes

Chilling Time 20 minutes

Total Time 28 minutes

Servings 20 cookies

Author Brewing Happiness

Ingredients

• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Teff Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Organic Coconut Sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats
• 3/4 cup raisins

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the teff flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, add the butter, coconut sugar, honey, vanilla extract and egg. Mix on low speed. Then, slowly increase the speed to high until the mixture becomes a lighter color and fluffier. 

3. Once light and fluffy, reduce the speed to low and add in half of your teff flour mixture. Mix on low just until combined. Add in the other half of the flour. Mix just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on low one final time just to incorporate fully. 

4. Scrape off any batter from your mixer and remove the bowl from the stand (if using a standing mixer). Add oats and raisins to the bowl and mix using a rubber scraper or spoon. 

5. Line a small baking sheet or tray with parchment paper and make dough balls (about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough). Line the tray with your dough balls, and pop in the freezer to set for 20 minutes. 

6. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350. 

7. After 20 minutes, remove the dough from the freezer and add 12 of the dough balls to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes (my sweet spot is 13 minutes.) 

8. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

Recipe Notes

• These cookies are best stored in the refrigerator.
• PRO TIP: If you don't want to bake all of the cookies at once - leave some of the dough balls in the freezer. Then you can bake off a few cookies at a time whenever you have a hankering! 

I’ve started seeing a new therapist. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to therapy, simply because I’ve been traveling/moving and feeling pretty solid. I still feel very solid in my disordered eating and body image recovery, but life always has it’s new challenges. So I’m back to work through some mild quarter-life transitions.

This is not the first time I’ve written about therapy. But I’m having some new thoughts coming back to it this time with less urgent matters than my last stent, where I dealt head-on with my disordered eating. I’m not in dire need of counseling, and so I’ve been putting off finding a therapist for a while. When I  moved to NYC in November it was on my list of things to do and it took me six months to put that in action.

Day to day I’m fine. I function well. I’m a self-employed creative millennial living in a very cool city. I’M FINE. Overly fine most of the time. But I have started to deal with some generalized anxiety and life transitions, so I decided I needed to practice what I preach and I dove into a search for a new therapist.

I remembered that finding the right therapist is a little like dating. How you ask?

• It helps to be clear about what you want. (Aka. If you want someone who is traditional versus non traditional, talk-based or experiential, let’s you lead vs directive). It’s okay if you don’t know, but it can help narrow down if you do!
• Go on a first date. Most therapists will schedule a phone consultation or an in person consultation to make sure you’re a good fit. Take advantage of this. Get to know them.
• Trust your gut. If it feels right it will probably work. If something feels off or uncomfortable, trust that. You know how you like/need to be cared for.
• Treat it like a partnership/ask for what you need. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need in a session. You are equally as valuable to the therapist as they are to you.
• Build trust. The more you trust your therapist, the better a session will be. So choose someone you feel is trust worthy and lean into that feeling.

The other thing that struck me is how necessary therapy is. Not just when you’re in crisis. Not just when you *think* you need it. But, like, all the time. Being a human is hard and therapy can help.

It’s nice to have someone unbiased to vent/cry/ramble/ponder out loud to. It’s nice to feel like there are answers on the horizon. It’s nice to feel like you’re taking proactive steps to better yourself. It’s nice to feel taken care of for one hour. It’s nice to have a place to be vulnerable for one hour.

I know that affording therapy is a PRIVILEGE. I do not take it lightly that I can pay for this service. I know that not everyone has this luxury so don’t @ me about that.

What I’m really saying is that if you do have that luxury. If you can afford it (even if you have to shift the budget a little) OH MAN IT’S WORTH IT. Even if you feel solid. Even if you feel fine.

There’s always something new to learn about yourself. There’s always something to heal so that you can operate better. There’s always a better way to human. So pursue that. For the sake of this one and only life you are living, just give it a try.

There are some things in this life that crying in your bed and eating Teff Flour Oatmeal Raisin Cookies can solve, but there are other things that need to be talked through. Things that require a safe space. Things that require a deeper dive.

You’ll be a better human for it. xo.