These simple-to-make cookies are sweetened with fruit, not refined sugar or artificial sweetener, and the cookies are great if you're on a diabetic diet (of course, in moderation) or just "want to eat healthy." The cookies are full of apples, dates, and raisins and have plenty of whole grains in them for beneficial fiber and nutrients. The cookies also include a fair amount of protein, which helps to balance the carbohydrates. I like to use walnuts in the cookies, but you can vary the type of nut, depending on what you have on hand. Pecans are also good in the cookies. I use the food processor to make the cookies, which simplifies the preparation considerably. You can make the cookies in the air fryer--my choice--or regular oven. If you opt for the oven, bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. We like the cookies as a simple dessert with coffee or tea, and they also are great with a glass of milk for after-school snacks. Enjoy!
Low-Sugar Apple Raisin Oat Cookies (Diabetic Friendly) -- Makes 12-15
1 cup of old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup of pitted dates (about 6, depending on the size)
2 medium-smallish apples, cored and cut into chunks (unpeeled)
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt (non-fat is fine)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon of milled flax seeds
1/4 cup of walnuts, plus extra for the top of the cookies (about 1/2 cup for the tops)
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of apple pie spice (or use cinnamon and a little nutmeg and allspice)
1/4 cup of raisins
To the bowl of a food processor with the s-blade attached, add the oats and the dates and process them together until the dates are chopped and mostly incorporated into the oats. Add the apple chunks, the canola oil, vanilla, yogurt, egg, milled flax seeds, 1/4 cup of nuts, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and apple pie spice and process them into the mixture in pulses until combined. Carefully remove the s-blade from the mixture and stir in the raisins. Cut small pieces of baking parchment to fit your air fryer basket and drop 1 1/2-2 tablespoon mounds of dough onto the parchment, leaving a couple of inches between the mounds. With damp fingers, flatten the mounds out to about 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top of each cookie mound, pressing them into the dough a little. Air fry the cookies at 320 degrees for 10-13 minutes or until set (but still a little squishy) and golden brown. Let the cookies cool on their parchment for a few minutes before removing them.
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