Allergen-Friendly Oatmeal Cookies — Four Ways!

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As the summer heat wanes and the cool mornings return, school is back in action. Parents are busy packing lunches and offering after-school snacks. With so many snack items on the market, it’s hard to pick good, affordable choices. If you throw common food sensitivities into the mix, then there really aren’t many options available. So what is a parent to do? I have a solution!

If cost is not of concern then these are some good choices. All of the below are free of the top four allergens (gluten, dairy, eggs, and nuts), and contain quality ingredients:

  • GoMacro Kids Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie
  • DINO Bars
  • Cerebelly Bars
  • New Primal Snack Mates Meat Sticks
  • Chomps Meat Stick

However, as a mother and registered dietitian, I love to take on recipe challenges. Can I make an easy, simple, and allergen-friendly baked treat that even my preschooler approves of? Yes!

So here it is. A little oatmeal cookie, low in added sugar, made with simple ingredients, and best of all, super adaptable. 

These cookies make a great addition to a balanced lunch or along with some additional protein (hummus, yogurt, cheese, meat stick) for a balanced snack. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for about five days. The cookies do tend to soften over time. To freshen up, simply toast in the toaster for a few minutes. These oatmeal cookies also freeze well in case you want to double or triple the recipe. 

To show you how adaptable this recipe is, I have created a base recipe with four different options. I tried to keep the base recipe as simple as possible. However, a few more options are: 

  1. Add a tablespoon of nut or seed butter for a little extra protein and fat. 
  2. Swap out the regular sugar for coconut sugar. 
  3. Drizzle with a homemade yogurt icing for an extra special finish. 

Every batch makes about 10 mini cookies. Our favorite one is the Seedy Coconut!