Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies

Oh this has been a wonderful week (other than my having bronchitis)! My mommy came all the way from California to spend a week with us and since I wasn't feeling like getting out too much we spent the whole week baking. We also got our first snowfall of the year which is very exciting, but now it doesn't seem to want to stop! Anyway...about the cookies. When I was young everyone would rave about my mothers crunchy oatmeal cookies (this was before she knew she had celiac). I never cared much for them because, as I have said before, I am a soft cookie kind of girl. Since my mom is visiting, however, I thought I would make this gluten free and "allergen free" version just for her. As It turned out, she loved them, Emily loved them, and even I loved them...maybe my taste has matured. These cookies have a lovely crunch but are not "hard" in a way that you sometimes get with gluten free baking. To anyone who can't have almonds I am sorry. Of course you could try replacing the almond flour with another flour or ground seeds and replacing the chopped almonds with chopped seeds or even omitting them. I haven't tried any of that but if you are feeling adventurous I would love to hear about your results! One last note... My friend Tracy recently commented that she can taste the tapioca starch in her baking and doesn't care for it, so I was also sort of dedicating this recipe to her because I used arrowroot starch instead of tapioca starch...I didn't think to ask her first if she could have almonds (sigh). Anyway, even though this recipe is not going to be one that Tracy can use, I did find that the arrowroot starch worked just as well as tapioca starch and should be pretty interchangeable in any recipe. Cornstarch is another option, although corn is a pretty common allergen.

½ c Gluten free oat flour (I made my own in my coffee grinder)
½ c Arrowroot starch (tapioca starch or corn starch can be used instead)
¼ c Rice flour
¼ c Almond flour
¼ t Xanthan gum
1 t Baking soda
1 t Cinnamon
1 c Spectrum shortening
1 c Granulated white sugar
½ c Brown sugar
1 Prepared egg replacer
1 t Vanilla
¾ c Chopped raw almonds
1 ½ c Gluten free rolled oats
Shortening and Granulated sugar for dipping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together all flours and starches, xanthan gum, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Cream together shortening and sugars. Stir in egg replacer and vanilla. Mix in the sifted flour mixture, crushed almonds, and rolled oats until fully incorporated.

Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and lay 2'' apart on ungreased baking sheet. Now, take a wide bottomed glass or a tin can and grease the bottom of it and dip it in the sugar. Use the sugared end to press evenly on each cookie until flattened to about 1/8''. Keep dipping the glass in sugar as necessary, it shouldn't need to be re-greased very often. Bake for approximately 12 to 14 minutes.

Merry Christmas and Happy Happy Baking!!! :)