Oatmeal Crisps

Crispy, light Oatmeal Crisps are the perfect gluten-free holiday cookie! Baked for just a short period of time, these cookies can be topped with dark chocolate shavings (or any other topping of your choosing) to add a little pizzazz.

Tell me you read the book Black Beauty as a kid.

Or maybe I was the only one here o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d with horses when she was a girl…

For those of y’all who don’t know, Black Beauty is a book written about a horse and his life experiences as a carriage horse (and other things) in Victorian England. I loved it, even though there are some parts that are incredibly sad, and when I was younger, a movie was made.

The movie, subsequently, is narrated by the horse.

He discusses many things and makes various observations throughout the film, but the one thing that I always come back to is how he talks about oats. (Which, let’s be real, is super sad because there is some major commentary in the book and movie about the welfare of animals and how they were treated.)

His accent is fantastic… and when I stumbled upon this movie as a college student, I snatched it up so quickly from the $5 bin and immediately brought it home for an impromptu watching party with my roommate.

We cackled the entire evening about the oats.

And to this day, whenever I say the word “oats,” I think about how it’s said in the movie. (Sad, but true.)

Me and oats… we kind of have a tumultuous relationship.

I’m the kind of person who goes through phases with food. As referenced yesterday, I’m currently obsessed with vanilla beans. I’m also digging spinach and how it makes my morning shakes feel ultra-healthy (and make me want to high-five everyone for sneaking in vegetables for breakfast.)

And right now, I’m big into oats.

This wasn’t always the case, though.

During my teenage years, I wobbled between love and hate so quickly some days… and my semi-usual breakfast of Instant Oatmeal with Dinosaur Eggs was on notice for at least half the time for just not being as good as I wanted it to be.

How did I want that oatmeal to be better? I have no idea… and though I’ve moved away from pre-packaged instant oatmeal in my 20’s, I still make plain oatmeal with a little cinnamon, almond milk and a sprinkle of sugar some mornings and expect it to somehow elevate itself through no help from me. (Again, I have no idea why my expectations are like this.)

I don’t know why I was so weird about my oats, but I was.

And I still kind of am.

I love oats used in baking… but I want them to be crispy, so if I’ve got to chill dough for an hour? No, thanks.

These cookies fit the bill, spreading out and firming right up in the oven as they cook.

Bonus points? They’re gluten-free AND dairy-free. (High fives all around, y’all!)

Also? They’re crazy crisp and bake up within minutes.

Here’s how you can make your own:

Do you have a weird relationship with a certain type of food?

 

Want to join in on this celebration of butter, sugar, flour and holiday ingredients? There’s still time! Pop on over to the intro post to Christmas Cookie Week 2013 and get the scoop. I’ll see y’all back here tomorrow for yet another new Christmas cookie recipe!