Gluten Free Oatmeal Ranger Cookies Recipe

We're celebrating an anniversary soon.

This one is close to my heart, even though the one-year-mark of gluten free has been close to my heart, too. This one is about us. Just us. We're probably going to the zoo, and possibly to a local attraction in Park City called the Alpine Slide (leftover from the 2002 Olympics, it's a track that you can sled down!), and probably out to eat (P.F. Changs sounds good). Oh boy!

One of the things that has held us strong is our interest in making the other one happy. Our holiday and birthday giving is laced with perky ears, listening for the other to mention something that's "too expensive" or "I wish had one of those..." Those are the best gifts. Last year, the boy got an office chair, and he was grinning for a week. It's because at 6 feet 2 inches tall, the average office chair (particularly one from the thrift store), isn't designed for a tired lower back and longer legs.

Years ago, I sat on the front porch of my Provo house. I quietly dialed the number for the boy's mother, and asked her to tell me about ranger cookies. The boy had talked about these - filled with almonds, packed with fibrous oatmeal and sweetened with brown sugar. They even had olive oil in them. She gave me the recipe, which I scribbled in red pen on the back of an envelope. I still have that envelope, which I've now folded into a zip bag because it's filthy, and covered in gluten, for that matter. It holds a piece of his childhood, though, that I wanted to bake up for him. I could hear the care in his mom's voice as she described how to prepare them "just so."

These are perfect for a backpack, a pocket, a lunch, a napkin.

Oatmeal Ranger Cookies

In a stand mixer, or with your own muscles, cream together:

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar

Then add:

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a separate bowl, combine the flours and other ingredients. Then, whisk them by hand until they become totally incorporated. That way you don't end up with random clumps of flax seed, or gummy balls of xanthan gum. It's better this way, I promise.

2/3 cup sweet rice flour
2/3 cup quinoa flour
1/3 cup teff flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/4 cup flax seed
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Add the dry ingredients into the mixer, and then add, slower this time, the following:

2 cups gluten free oats (I get mine from Blue Chip Group. They sure cost a pretty penny though.)
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I've used almonds, walnuts or peanuts. Try what you like.)

These bake up the best if you use a silicon baking mat. It helps to keep them from spreading. Also, be sure that your oven has completely heated up. (Maybe it's just me that gets lazy about preheating, and throws a cold pan into a cold oven, and has to keep baking...) Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until they brown and delicious. You'll end up with about 3 dozen cookies.

Then, hug the son or daughter of your favorite mother.

Other food bloggers that have whipped up some amazing gluten free oatmeal cookies:

Kate's recipe for Aunt Selma's Best Ever Cookies
Shauna's recipe for Oatmeal Cookies, Again
Karina's Kitchen: Gluten-Free Recipes: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by Karina
A Gluten Free Guide's GF Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies (ooh, I love cranberries!)
Wheat Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies by Baking Bites
Recipe for a Gluten Free Life by Mrs. G.F.: Oatmeal Date Chocolate Cookies ~ Heart Smart and Gluten Free by Mrs. G.F.
There are some tasty ones on the GoDairyFree.org website called Gluten Free, Vegan and Nut Free Oatmeal Cookies
Hey, That Tastes Good! made some Hey, that tastes good!: Oatmeal cookies
Gluten a Go Go's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies