Men, women and children from all of the country are making the switch to gluten-free eating. Some of them are diagnosed with celiac disease; some have issues with ADD etc. At first glance this may mean no more pizza, bread, pasta and even cookies. Thankfully there are many gluten-free options available now along with lots of gluten free recipes. This gluten free oatmeal cookie recipe is one of my personal favorites.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

* 1/2 cup margarine
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1/2 tsp vanilla
* 3/4 cups gluten-free flour
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* dash of table salt
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 1 large egg
* 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
* 1 1/2 cups gluten free oats
* 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Soften the margarine either by sitting it out for 30 minutes or by sticking it in the microwave for a few seconds. Cream the butter and both the brown and regular sugar with a hand mixer or use your kitchen mixer. The egg and vanilla should be incorporated next. Take your time and keep blending until you have a smooth, creamy mixture.

Get out a bowl and add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Stir it together until well combined, then work the flour mixture into the butter and egg one. Finish the batter by adding the oats and raisins and mixing everything together.

Get a large cookies sheet and drop the cookies on, using approximately one tbsp of batter for each. You can either use two soup spoons for this or a melon baler.

You should bake these oatmeal cookies a good ten minutes. A golden brown color will let you know that it’s time to take the oatmeal cookies out of the oven. Allow them to cool first directly on the baking sheet and then on a rack. The cool cookies can then be stored in an airtight container.

You should end up with about 24 cookies.

If you don’t like making a recipe like this from scratch, you can also find delicious cookie mixes in all sorts of different flavors (including peanut butter, chocolate chip and of course oatmeal) at your local health food store and online. They are always a good alternative. There are even some premade cookies that you can purchase that taste pretty decent.

In short, you do not have to give up on your favorite treats when you have to switch to eating gluten free.

Last but not least, I would like to invite you to read about another yummy and good-for-you recipe. This one is for quinoa muffins which you can make gluten-free by making them with gluten-free flour. And here are more quinoa recipes for you.