Healthy baking is all the rage right now, The Great British Bake Off even did a 'free from' themed episode this year which included dairy, gluten and refined sugar free challenges. We're all more aware of what we're eating and we're being told we need to cut down on certain foods. I've always maintained that moderation is important, so it nice to add a healthy element to baked goods where I can. These cookies are packed with wholegrain goodness plus oats, almonds and raisins. A tasty treat with hidden health benefits!
I was sent two bags of Marriage's The Master Millers Golden Wholegrain Flour to bake with and I decided to make these cookies with the plain flour. Using wholegrain flour in your baking is an easy way to get more fiber in your diet. Marriage's Golden Wholegrain Flour contains twice the amount of fiber than regular white flour. Current guidelines recommend that we should be eating 18g of fiber per day, and reserach has shown that only 5% of people in the UK manage to meet this target, so we need all the help we can get!
I toasted 100g almonds in the oven on a lined baking tray for 5 mins at 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5.
I chopped them up into pieces.
I creamed together 100g butter with 200g soft brown sugar. I then whisked in 1 tsp vanilla, 1 egg and 1 tbsp golden syrup.
I mixed in 125g oats, 1 tsp baking powder and 125g Marriage's The Master Millers Golden Wholegrain Plain Flour.
Then I added the chopped almonds along with 100g raisins.
I used my hands to shape pieces of the mixture into balls which I then flattened down. I put them onto a lined baking tray leaving room for them to spread.
I baked the cookies on 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for about 15 minutes until they were lovely and golden.
I sent these with my boyfriend to take into work with him as I not only have my own colleagues requesting bakes, I also have his colleagues asking for them too! It's great to have a wide audience of willing volunteers to eat my bakes. The cookies went down really well and I grabbed one when they were still warm, which really is one of the best parts of baking. They were so yummy, I would call these a hearty and comforting bake that makes you feel very homely - if that makes sense!
I'm entering these cookies into this month's Alphabakes hosted by The More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes..., the letter this month is 'M' for Marriage's flour in this recipe!