Cookies are one type of food that you should probably always have on hand. After all the holiday indulgences in cookies, I usually make the oats, figs, and almond cookies to have on hand. They are great for breakfast, an afternoon snack, long nature walks or hiking, etc. Also, they are excellent to have in your bag even in short city commutes, because you never know, and simply, why not! The cookies are super simple to make, especially if you are using a food processor.
The Flavors
Due to oat and almond flour, the cookies have a pleasant nutty, lightly sweet taste, which paired with dried figs, is just sweet enough to give you that bit of energy spark. In addition, the cookies are perfectly crunchy but not sandy, where they get additional crunchiness from the lightly toasted almonds.
You can substitute dried figs for dates, apricots, or cranberries. The dates are a bit chewier than figs and pair nicely with the rest of the ingredients. When selecting the dried fruit, make sure it is not rock solid dried. The dried fruit should be soft and easy to cut through.
Apricots and cranberries will have an extra kick of sweet acidity, which goes very well with the toasted almonds.
All in all, any combination you choose will be delicious.
How to Make the Oats, Figs, and Almond Cookies
The process of making the oats, figs, and almond cookies is straightforward.
It consists of the following steps:
- Mix dry ingredients and incorporate the butter – if you are using the food processor, simply blitz the mixture several times. Make sure not to overmix. It is ok if there are medium size clumps of butter. They will get processed as you continue to add ingredients.
- Add the rest of the wet ingredients – again, process the dough just enough to incorporate the ingredients.
- Add the inclusions and form a dough – it is OK if some dry pieces are still not included in the dough. Dump the dough onto a working surface and make a flat disc. Now the dough should be incorporated, and there should not be any dry pieces visible.
- Roll out, cut the cookies, and chill – as there are dried fruits and chunks of almonds, make sure to press quite hard with the cookies cutter into the dough to cut the larger pieces. This will help for the cookies to have a nice cookie shape. It is important that you chill the cookies before baking to firm up the butter. This will ensure that the cookies retain a nice shape.
- Bake, cool to room temperature, and serve.
More Oats Recipes
Oats, Fig, and Almond Cookies
Equipment & Tools
- Food processor
- Rolling Pin
- Baking sheet pan for cookies with parchment paper
- Cookie cutter – round 6cm/2.4in diameter
INGREDIENTS
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 130 g all purpose flour
- 120 g oat flour
- 50 g almond flour
- 100 g light brown sugar
- ½ tsp cardamom (freshly ground)
- ½ tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp carob powder (optional – Note 3)
WET INGREDIENTS
- 125 g butter (European style – unsalted, cold, and cubed )
- 1 egg (small, room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (pure)
INCLUSIONS
- 90 g dried figs ( 5 figs, diced)
- 75 g almonds (toasted and coarsely chopped)
INSTRUCTIONS
PREPARATION
- Gather all the ingredients and preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF.
- Coarsely chop the almonds and dried figs. Set aside.
MAKE THE DOUGH
- Add all dry ingredients into a bowl of a food processor. Pulse until all the ingredients are well incroporated.
- Add the butter and pulse until there are no big chunks of butter visible.
- Whisk the egg and the vanilla extract in a small bowl. Add the mixture to the food processor and pulse to combine.
- Add all the inclusions and pulse to combine.
- Dump the dough onto a clean working surface lightly dusted with flour. Knead the dough only enough to shape into a disc – Note 1.
MAKE THE COOKIES
- Roll out the dough to 0.5cm/0.4in in thickness.
- Cut out the cookies with a cookie cutter of your choosing. Place the cookies on the baking sheet with parchment paper. Repeat the process with dough scraps until there are no more scraps left.
- Place the cookies in the refrigerator to cool and firm up for about 15 minutes.
BAKING
- Brush the cookies with a thin layer of egg white and sprinkle with demerara sugar, or add some slivered or crushed almonds. Alternatively, leave them as they are.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature before serving – Note 2.
NOTES
- At this point, you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge overnight and continue the next day.
- The cookies will be soft while still hot. As they cool down, they will become nice and crisp.
- The carob powder is optional in this recipe; however, if you have some on hand, do try it out. It gives a beautiful aroma to the cookies.
