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This gluten-free, sugar-free recipe is for those of you that have been asking for a juice-sweetened dessert. I wanted to give you a healthier treat for the New Year. (Did I mention that these are also egg-free, dairy-free, and nut free? And they taste great?)
When creating recipes for my book, I learned that when I eat a cookie, I want it to taste like a cookie. Low-fat doesn’t usually appeal to my taste buds. The crisp edge and chewy center is non-existent and I’m left dissapointed.
Sometimes though, it works. Like in these big ol’ cookies.
I love these because of the dense, chewy texture, the almost peanut buttery taste from the toasted sesame seeds, and the little bits of sweetness from the finely chopped raisins. They remind me of those health bars I used to pay an insane amount of money for at the store.
You can most certainly make them smaller – they’ll bake quicker so watch carefully.
This recipe has been adapted from Fruit-Sweet and Sugar-Free
Other Healthier Cookies
- Chocolate Cookies from Kalyn’s Kitchen
- Breakfast Cookies from Gluten-Free Goddess
- Chocolate Chip Cookies with Yacon Syrup from Elana’s Pantry
- Monster Cookies with Sunbutter & Quinoa Flakes from The Spunky Coconut
Stop by Full Plate Thursday for more recipe ideas!
This recipe was adapted from Fruit-Sweet and Sugar-Free by Chef Janice Feuer
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1 1/4 cup Amy’s Basic Flour Blend
- 1 1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup thawed frozen apple juice concentrate
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
- Cover the raisins with the water in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes and set aside to soak for at least 10 minutes. Drain the raisins and reserve the soaking water. Chop the raisins coarsely.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the sesame seeds. Toast by stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until they begin to turn golden brown and are fragrant, about 8 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Whisk together the flour blend, oats, cinnamon, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and toasted sesame seeds. Put the thawed apple juice concentrate in a 2-cup wet measure. Add the reserved raisin water and 2 tablespoons oil. If necessary, add water to equal a total of 1 1/8 cups liquid. Add the raisins to the dry ingredients and then stir in the wet ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Use a spring-release ice cream scoop (yes, a big one) to evenly portion the batter onto the cookie sheet. Use moist fingertips to flatten the cookies to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cookies are lightly golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, then individually wrap and freeze the leftovers.
Flo Makanai
posted on January 4, 2011 at 8:24 am
Yummy sounding and looking cookies. I may try them tomorrow with my younger girls(we’re French so they do not go to school on Wednesdays) but without MW and xanthan. Thanks for the inspiration
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Iris
posted on January 5, 2011 at 10:00 am
This gives me so many great ideas! Thanks Amy!
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Amy Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
@Iris, I know. As I was eating them, I thought they’d be good with carob & dried cherries or cranberries. And, they’d be good with more cinnamon, a little nutmeg, dried apples, and currants. They could even be baked at a lower temp in a 9×13 and then cut into bars. Can you tell I like these cookies?
Hugs,
Amy
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Iris Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 6:49 pm
So many ideas! I’m already contemplating a variation to suit my low-amine diet.
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Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen
posted on January 5, 2011 at 12:07 pm
These look delicious Amy!
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Amy Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
@Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen, Thanks, Jenn!
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Baking 'n' Books
posted on January 5, 2011 at 3:33 pm
YES!
I am so happy you did these! It is exactly what I am looking for!
Do you think I could sub applesauce for the juice? I don’t have juice here…
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Amy Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
@Baking ‘n’ Books, If you use applesauce you’ll probably have to use a little more liquid, though, because the applesauce is thicker. If you try it I’d love to hear how they turn out.
Hugs,
Amy
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Lauren
posted on January 5, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Hi there!
Ooops commented on the wrong post.
Happy New Year. These look FABULOUS! A must on my list.
My best to you,
Lauren
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Amy Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
@Lauren, Thanks, Lauren!! Happy New Year to you, too! Wishing you a joyful & prosperous 2011!
Much love,
Amy
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Lauren Reply:
January 5th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
@Amy,
Back at you! Only the best to you and your family.
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Sandra
posted on January 5, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Can’t wait to try these too!
Sandra
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Anna@GreenTalk
posted on January 5, 2011 at 11:56 pm
Amy, does it matter what flour blend you use. I typically use a sorghum/millet blend via Karina’s blog. Also, what can I sub for raisins for my kids. Can you believe they don’t like raisins? Can I leave them out? I thought of carob but they don’t like that either. I don’t have dried apples.
Also what temp for bars? 325?
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Amy Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 8:30 am
@Anna@GreenTalk, I don’t know what’s in Karina’s sorghum/millet blend – can you tell me the quantities and flours? What do your kids like? I’m sure there’s something you can throw in there.
I haven’t made these as bars, but if I did I’d try it at 325 and watch carefully.
Hugs,
Amy
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Miz Helen
posted on January 6, 2011 at 9:30 am
Miz Amy,
I am so happy that I got one of these Health Bar Cookies before they were all gone, here at Full Plate Thursday. It is going to be delicious! Thank you so much for bringing your Health Bar Cookies to Full Plate Thursday, and thank you for all of your support and encouragement! Please come back…
Hugs!
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Anna@GreenTalk
posted on January 7, 2011 at 3:22 pm
1 cup sorghum flour (aka jowar flour)
1 cup tapioca starch or potato starch (not potato flour)
1/3 to 1/2 cup almond meal, buckwheat flour, millet flour or quinoa flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
I use millet. I was wondering if I could use arrowroot instead of tapioca.
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Amy Reply:
January 8th, 2011 at 6:30 am
@Anna@GreenTalk, That blend has a lot more xanthan gum than I typically use. For cupcakes, muffins, and cookies, I typically use 1/4 teaspoon per cup of flour and for cakes I use 1/2 teaspoon. And the starch/bulk ratio is a bit different. Arrowroot should work for these cookies instead of tapioca. You can try it and see how your batter is – you’ll probably need a little more liquid.
Hugs,
Amy
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Donna
posted on January 7, 2011 at 3:23 pm
Wow! I found your blog through Miz Helen and it’s wonderful! I love to hear fellow weight loss/maintain-er stories:) These cookies look awesome and so does your book! Great job:)
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Natalie (The City Sisters)
posted on January 10, 2011 at 2:48 pm
I was so happy to see this recipe. I need good afternoon snacks because I head from work to school everyday and need something to get me through the long afternoon. I made a double batch of these babies yesterday and they’re perfect. While not too sweet, they have the look and texture of a cookie. They are really good! I made a few alterations by swapping flax seeds for the sesame and I used whole wheat flour instead of a GF mix. Thanks for the rockin’ recipe!!
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Amy Reply:
January 10th, 2011 at 6:15 pm
@Natalie (The City Sisters), I’m so glad you love them and came back to share! I love them, too. You’re right…not too sweet and hearty enough for a mid-afternoon snack.
Hugs,
Amy
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Deborah Rowden
posted on January 11, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Yours look moist shiny and amazing! I made these this morning and followed the recipe exactly. They did not rise this high or turn out moist and shiny looking like yours. Help! Are there any other tricks to this recipe? I scooped, patted to 1/2 inch and baked.
They are still cooling and look good even though they don’t look like yours at all! So the proof I guess will be in the tasting. I have tried many of your recipes and love them all! 
)
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Amy Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
@Deborah Rowden, It’s actually 3 cookies…I know the lighting isn’t great. The shine could have been from the light, too. They weren’t shiny. How are they now?
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Deborah Reply:
January 15th, 2011 at 8:28 am
Hi amy!
)
The first batch for me was good. However, since I do not have celiac I decided to ramp them up a bit. I added more raisins, blanched, toasted almonds and used some grade b maple ayrup. They were amazing! What a great starting place recipe for those of us who are not quite as limited! Thanks again!
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Deborah Rowden
posted on January 11, 2011 at 3:26 pm
An addendum to my first post…~~I realized that the picture is 2 cookies stacked!! Silly me!
)
So mine came out the perfect height, just not as moist and shiny looking.Thanks Amy for all you do! I have eaten wheat and white sugar free since April and have lost 24 lbs!
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Amy Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
@Deborah Rowden, WOW Deborah! That’s a huge weight loss. I am so impressed. It’s incredible. Thanks so much for sharing your success with us!
Hugs,
Amy
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Miz Helen
posted on January 12, 2011 at 9:05 pm
Congratulations Miz Amy,
Your Vegan Health Bar Cookie is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week Jan. 13,2011. Thank you for bringing it over and you can stop by and pick up your red plate.
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Amy Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
@Miz Helen, Thanks Miz Helen!! It’s an honor to be chosen as a feature recipe on your very first week!
Hugs,
Amy
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Christianne
posted on January 13, 2011 at 4:15 pm
Got all ingredients out and realized i dont have a spring releasd ice cream scoop- i don’t even own an ice cream scoop- i love it but i am dairy free….
Any other measurement or tool come to mind?
Thanks!
Christianne
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Amy Reply:
January 14th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
@Christianne, It’s about 2 ounces or about 1/4 cup.
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Melody
posted on May 17, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Looks good, but not a fan of sesame seeds could chopped pecans be used in place of them?
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Heather Davis
posted on January 19, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Hi I would love to make these however I live in England and you can’t buy frozen apple juice concentrate. I notice a lot of low sugar sweets from the US contain this. We do have apple juice (made from concentrate as opposed to fresh) though so is that a worakble substitute? Not sure why you use frozen.
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Amy Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 9:54 pm
@Heather Davis, The frozen apple juice concentrate is sweeter & more concentrated which is why I used it here. You can try it with apple juice but I think it would be too much liquid; it’s a different consistency. Go ahead and play around with it. It shouldn’t be hard to adapt.
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