By Christmas 2021. Grinnell. Cinnamon rolls at five AM, extra frosting. The smell fills the house, the house that is Roger's alone now. The tree is small. The ornaments are the same. The ceramic corn is on the tree — I brought it from Des Moines because the tree needs the corn.
Cookie production was in Des Moines this year, the full factory: chocolate chip with browned butter, snickerdoodles, sugar cookies with Emma's "Holiday Chromatic 2.0" palette, peanut butter blossoms, biscotti. The cookies traveled to Grinnell in tins. Roger ate snickerdoodles and said, "Cream of tartar." The password. The Weber handshake.
Jack gave Roger a jar — soil from the Des Moines garden mixed with soil from Marlene's garden. Two gardens blended. Here and there. Gone and growing. Roger held the jar and the silence was Roger's way of holding something too large for words.
Roger ate the snickerdoodles and said “cream of tartar” — two words that meant everything, the whole Weber handshake compressed into a flavor. I can’t always travel with a warm oven, but I can always travel with a tin, and that’s exactly why these raw oatmeal raisin cookies became part of the rotation. No baking, no fragile cargo, just cookies that hold together through the cold drive from Des Moines to Grinnell and still taste like someone made them with intention. They’re not snickerdoodles, but they carry the same thing snickerdoodles carry: the proof that you showed up.
Raw Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Secret
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min (plus 30 min chilling) | Servings: 18 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (certified gluten-free if needed)
- 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted (about 10–12 dates)
- 1/2 cup raisins, divided
- 1/4 cup almond butter (or cashew butter)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (adjust to taste)
Instructions
- Blend the base. Add the pitted dates, almond butter, coconut oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a food processor. Process until a sticky, cohesive paste forms, about 60–90 seconds, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the oats. Add 1 1/2 cups of the rolled oats to the food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the oats are incorporated but still have some texture—you want the dough chunky, not smooth.
- Fold in the raisins. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of raisins and the remaining 1/2 cup of whole oats by hand, so they stay intact and give the cookies body.
- Shape the cookies. Scoop roughly 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per cookie and roll into a ball between your palms. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and gently flatten each ball to about 1/2-inch thickness with the heel of your hand.
- Chill to set. Refrigerate the cookies for at least 30 minutes until firm. They will hold their shape best when cold. For a tin-ready texture, chill for 1 hour.
- Store and transport. Layer the cookies in a tin between sheets of parchment or wax paper. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months. They travel well straight from the cold.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 118 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 38mg