I’m so excited to share this recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies with you!! Heads up: this oatmeal cookie recipe without egg is also gluten free, vegan, and top 9 free. I know, super inclusive for those that follow a special diet or medically restrictive diet. I have included a note if you don’t need gluten free on what your options are.
These easy oatmeal cookies are made with simple ingredients, so if you’re like me and prefer to serve foods that are on the cleaner side and are ingredients you can pronounce, you’re in the right place.
I’ve had tasters with and without an egg allergy (along with other allergies) report that these cookies are simply AMAZING. They hit all the notes that you’d expect from an oatmeal cookie, and I’ve had people who don’t like oatmeal tell me these are epic. So, with that in mind, let’s get to baking!
Allergy Status
Free From: Wheat/Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Tree Nut (including Coconut), Peanut, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Top 9 Allergens, Alliums, Avocado, Banana, Beans & Lentils, Buckwheat, Carrot, Celery, Cinnamon, Citrus, Cruciferous, Garlic, Legume, Lupin, Mushroom, Mustard, Nightshade, Onion, Pea & Pea Protein, Potato (Nightshade Variety), Poultry, Red Meat, Rice, Squash & Gourd, Stone Fruits, Strawberry, Sweet Potato & Yam, Tapioca/Cassava/Yuca/Manioc, Tomato, Yeast
Friendly To: EOE, Vegan
Compatible With: Apple Free, Berry Free, Latex Cross Reactive Foods Free (H/M)
Apple & Latex Cross Reactive Free: Use an alternative vinegar such as white or rice.
Berry Free: Omit the raisins (yup, grapes are classified as berries). You’re going to miss a bit of the chewiness. If there’s a different dried fruit you can have such as dates, be sure to chop them up and mix them in instead.
Tools Needed To Make Your Oatmeal Cookies
- Kitchen Scale (this is the one that I love)
- Small Bowl
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment OR Handheld Electric Mixer + Large Bowl
- Baking Tray
- Parchment Paper
- Spatula (this is the one that I really like)
- Cookie Scoop
Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Ingredients
Flax Egg/Gel
- 5 TBSP Golden Flax Meal
- 10 TBSP Water
Part 1 Ingredients
- 225g Dairy Free Butter (8 ounces)
- 120g Organic Dark Brown Sugar
- 150g Organic White Cane Sugar
Part 2 Ingredients
- 230g Organic Gluten Free Purity Protocol Rolled Oats
- 200g Sorghum Flour, superfine
- 150g Organic Raisins
- 4 tsp Baking Powder
- 3 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 5mL Organic Maple Extract
Important Ingredient Notes
Golden Flax Meal: Flax meal is not the same thing as flax seeds (same plant, different processing). This is the best brand to use.
Butter: If you don’t manage a milk allergy, you can use unsalted butter in place of the vegan butter. One of my kids is allergic to milk, so it’s what I use, but they’re a 1:1 exchange. You cannot swap the butter for something like vegetable oil.
Dark Brown Sugar: This is a granulated sweetener, and can only be swapped with other granulated sweeteners. Liquid sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, and agave won’t work. Additionally, “special sugars” such as Stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol won’t work either.
The best swaps for the dark brown sugar are organic maple sugar, organic coconut sugar, organic date sugar, muscavado sugar, and demerara sugar. These are the best because they’ll have deeper flavour when compared to white cane sugar.
White Cane Sugar: Hopefully you won’t need to swap this sugar. If you can’t have cane sugar, use organic maple sugar in its place, as this will have the least forward flavour of the unrefined sweeteners. If you’re all out of cane sugar, use a total of 270g organic light brown sugar instead, and don’t use the dark brown sugar. When combined, the white sugar and dark brown sugar find a happy medium with the molasses content.
Maple Extract: This is one of the world’s best kept secrets if you ask me. Most people have never heard of it, but once they use it, they’re in love. This is the brand that I use.
Sorghum Flour: This is a single gluten free flour that can be swapped for gluten free all purpose flour, wheat based all-purpose flour, superfine brown rice flour, cassava flour, and other heavy or medium weight flours. If you can have wheat, I don’t suggest whole wheat flour, but rather, something more commonly used in cookie baking.
If you’re gluten free, you’ll want to avoid single ingredient starches, as this will affect the chewy texture and the overall taste. Additionally, if you use a gluten free all purpose flour, your flour mixture doesn’t need to contain additives such as xanthan gum or guar gum.
Organic: Do you need to use organic ingredients like me? Only if you want the absolute best results that you can taste. If this is your first time venturing into the world of free-from, I’d encourage you to purchase organic from the start. All of my tasters say they can absolutely taste the difference. However, if you already have a cabinet of spices and flours, use what you have.
Directions
First, combine your flax and water together to create the flax gel (sometimes called a flax egg, but I don’t use this term since I create a thick bind most recipe developers aren’t creating). Preheat your oven to 325f/163c and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Place your empty stand mixer bowl or large bowl on your kitchen scale and tare to zero. Add the butter and sugars. The butter should be room temperature, but not super soft or runny, but just starting to get soft to the touch. Cream (whip) your butter and sugar together with the paddle attachment.
After whipping, return the bowl to your kitchen scale. Tare to zero, then add in the rest of your ingredients, except for the flax. Don’t forget to tare between weighted ingredients. Mix together on medium speed and you’ll see your dough starting to form. Finally, add in your flax gel and mix again. Once the oatmeal cookie dough has formed completely and everything is well combined, you’re ready to roll.
Portion your dough using a cookie scoop (I was very generous and used a heaping large cookie scoop). Roll each portion until you have a mostly smooth ball, place it on your prepared baking sheet, then press down some (see the photo below for reference).
Bake at 325f/163c for 15 minutes. When you remove your cookies from the oven, allow them to cool on the tray for at least 15 minutes. Your chewy cookies should have golden brown bottoms, and slightly crisp edges, making them the perfect cookies if you ask me.
Oatmeal Cookie Storage
After you’ve made these delicious chewy oatmeal cookies, it’s time to store them. You can store your cooled cookies on the countertop at room temperature for 4 days (covered), or you can freeze them for many months.
One of the best things about this recipe is that your cookies are freezer friendly. To freeze your cookies, place them on a single layer on your large baking tray. It’s OK if the sides are touching. If you need a second layer, place a piece of parchment paper over the first layer of cookies first. The pieces of parchment paper between the layers will prevent the cookies from freezing together and clumping or being hard to separate.
Place the entire baking tray into your freezer. Once the cookies are frozen solid, transfer them to an airtight container. You can store them in a container with a lid, or in a large freezer baggie. Be sure to label your container.
These cookies can be frozen for 4 – 6 months before you start to see a decline in the texture. To thaw, leave some cookies out on the counter, at room temperature for 45 – 60 minutes. Once thawed, you’ve got the perfect little treat.
More Delicious Egg Free Cookie Recipes
If you’re looking to add more eggless cookies to your list of family favorites, here are more delicious cookie recipes. They’re all vegan, free from eggs, gluten, and more.
- Egg Free “Peanut Butter” Cookies Recipe (such delicious cookies, and you can make them without peanut if needed)
- Bakery Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Gluten Free + Vegan Oatmeal Cookies (one of my kids say this version are my best oatmeal cookies)
- White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies (another insanely good oatmeal cookie recipe)
- Eggless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (these are also truly corn free, and don’t use vegan butter)
- Top 9 Free Cakey Sugar Cookies
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Change It Up!
There are a lot of ways you can add a whole new layer of flavour to this oatmeal cookie recipe without egg. The next time you make this sweet treat, try one of these swaps or mix-ins:
- Add mini chocolate chips or mini white chocolate chips.
- Add in peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips.
- Swap the raisins for a different dried fruit such as chopped dried cherries or sweetened dried cranberries.
- Increase the amount of maple extract that’s used.
- Swap the maple extract for something like toffee extract (you will need to use 10mL if you make that swap)
- Make a chocolate, vanilla, or even a strawberry glaze to drizzle all over the top of your cookies.
- Add ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or even pumpkin pie spice to your dry ingredients. You can add 3 – 4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, up to 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and up to 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.
- Make brown sugar caramelized bananas and serve them with your oatmeal cookies.
- Add a little bit of organic lemon zest to the dry ingredients to give your oatmeal cookies a little bright kick.
- Add 40g of organic cacao to the dry ingredients, and 5 TBSP milk of choice to your wet ingredients for fun play on chocolate oatmeal cookies.
Answering Your Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Questions
Can I use other egg substitutes in place of the flax seed?
When it comes to making these egg-free oatmeal cookies, please don’t make that swap, as there’s a very good chance you’ll ruin the recipe. Most egg substitutes provide lift, not bind. This recipe was purpose built from the ground up to account for all major aspects of an egg (lift, moisten, binding).
If you were to remove the bind and essentially add more lift, you’ll end up with a terrible after taste since you’ll have leavening overload, and the cookies will absolutely crumble. Essentially, you’d have an expensive hot mess, and I don’t want that for you.
How much flour is this in cups?
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to tell you, and that’s by design. I only use the gram measurement when it comes to baking to ensure that I can give you exact quantities. One of the most important things to know about gluten free baking is that in some cases, especially starches, 10 – 20 grams can ruin a recipe. For reference, that’s less than one ounce… a few Tablespoons… and when it comes to measuring, leveling, etc., it’s VERY easy to mess up the numbers.
So, I share ingredient measurements in grams for precision and accuracy, and this also makes sure that you don’t waste expensive ingredients. I know not all recipe creators take this approach, but as a professional baker (remember, I owned and operated a free-from bakery), I can tell you from first hand experience, this is the way to bake.
I’ve had so many people thank me after they use the kitchen scale method the first few times because they see it’s actually easier rather than trying to perfect a cup of flour. This is the kitchen scale that I like, and I hope you come it love it as well.
Could I use quick oats in this recipe?
No, I don’t suggest using quick-cooking oats (sometimes called instant oats) in this recipe, as they’ve been pre-cooked. Since this is a baked recipe, you don’t want that property to create a negative outcome. You’ll want to stick with old-fashioned oats or rolled oats (they’re the same thing). Also know that steel-cut oats aren’t the same thing as old fashioned oats.
Should I cool the cookies on a wire rack?
No, in fact, it’s important that you cool the cookies on the tray for at least 10-15 minutes, or longer. The tray cooling method taps into “carryover cooking”. It’s where we take advantage of the residual heat on the baking tray to continue to cook the cookies. In gluten free + vegan + free-from baking, this is a huge part of the process.
A wire rack (also called a cooling rack) has no heat, and introduces more air flow, which can rapidly cool your cookies. We don’t want that, so, with this recipe, cool them on the baking tray.
Can I make this recipe if I have seed and egg allergies?
You can, but with a few things in mind. First, manage your expectations. Without the binding power of egg yolk or seeds, there aren’t many other choices that won’t completely throw off the flavour of your cookies. For example, banana is a great binding agent, but these are banana cookies.
Second, manage your expectations. I find it’s best to say it a couple of times because mindset really is half the battle. Third, know that. your cookie will crumble quite a bit, but you’ll have delicious crumbs. If you make thick cookies, you’ll end up with really cool baked cookie chunks if it falls apart, which could be nice.
If you’ll be proceeding, skip the flax, but keep the water. You’ll need it to help moisten the cookie dough.
Could I swap the vegan butter for coconut oil?
When you make these tasty oat cookies, you could make that swap since coconut oil is also solid at room temperature. However, know that you’ll be changing the overall taste and texture of the cookie as well. If you don’t LOVE coconut flavor, absolutely do not make this swap.
Also know that you cannot swap for an oil that’s liquid at room temperature such as olive oil. You can however do a 1:1 swap for organic shortening (this is the one that I use), but this swap will also change the taste and texture a good amount.
Is a cookie sheet the same thing as a baking tray?
A cookie sheet and a baking tray are similar, but not quite the same. Unfortunately, a lot of homemade cookie recipes online use the terms interchangeably. A baking tray is solid, without holes, and generally has some weight to it, which prevents warping. It’s also usually dishwasher safe.
On the other hand, a cookie sheet is lighter, usually doesn’t have a lip/raised border, and often has small holes all over to promote better airflow. These slight changes allow for most cookie dough balls to bake up to cookie perfection.
In terms of if you’ll see a huge difference between the two, that’s going to depend on the cookie recipe. Some genuinely require improved airflow to perform their best. If you’re following my recipe, know that for the best eggless oatmeal cookies, you’ll only need a standard baking tray.
Will these cookies taste like traditional oatmeal cookies?
This oatmeal cookie recipe without egg is going to get you close to the taste and texture of classic cookies. However, a traditional recipe doesn’t have maple extract, and depending on what you grew up with, you may also be used to having nuts in your oatmeal cookies.
When I reinvent traditional recipes I look thru a lens of free-from, inclusion, and flavour. Often times, people don’t like the taste of free-from because of the aftertaste, poor texture, etc. I aim to correct that, and sometimes, through that process, the classic flavour is lost. However! The great news is that you still have something that’s incredibly safe, and totally delicious.
Can I sweeten this oatmeal cookie with applesauce instead of sugar?
No, you won’t be able to sweeten this oatmeal cookie recipe with applesauce. This cookie is designed to be sweetened with a granulated sugar (maple sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, etc.). Applesauce is a whole food + liquid sweetener, like date paste, and if you were to use that, it would absolutely wreck your cookies.
If applesauce is the only sweetener you have access to, you’d need to use a different cookie recipe. Try searching online for something like “gluten free vegan applesauce oatmeal cookie recipe”. Those terms will eliminate most of the allergens for you, and you may have to make some smart swaps after that. Wishing you all the best!
Could I use baking soda in place of the baking powder?
I’m so glad you asked, because no, you can’t use baking soda. 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda per batch of cookies is plenty. If you use 1 teaspoon instead, you will absolutely be able taste it, and not in a good way.
The main role of baking powder is to provide puff/lift. The baking soda is to help with spread, and offer a little more lift in conjunction with the apple cider vinegar. For more information, check out this handy article on baking powder vs. baking soda. I take you on a deep dive, and the science behind the two ingredients. Also, if you’ve run out of baking powder, here’s a recipe.
Can I mix by hand if I don’t have a hand mixer?
You can try if you don’t have a hand mixer or a stand mixer. What I would suggest is wearing disposable gloves and smashing the butter and sugar together by hand, literally. Like you were making biscuits.
Once they’re well combined, toss the gloves and you can mix in the other ingredients with a large (eating) fork (don’t use something large like a wooden spoon). Make sure you really do a good job mixing so ensure the cookies come out beautifully.
Would these cookies taste good with pecans mixed in?
Confession: I’ve never baked with crushed nuts like pecans or walnuts in a cookie. In theory, yes, this should work. In function, I can’t predict what the nuts will taste like after they’re baked.
If this were me, I’d make the cookie batter without the nuts. Then, I’d scoop enough cookie dough for 3 cookies into a separate small bowl. Add the crushed nuts, mix, and do a test bake. Allow the cookies to cool completely before sampling, then you’ll know for sure if adding pecans is a good idea.
If it works, add pecans to the rest of the cookie dough, load up your baking sheets, and enjoy your oatmeal cookies.
