These delicious cookies are a staple of the Karim households, especially during Ramadan; a quick and filling suhoor or the perfect post-iftaar pick-me-up, they’re healthy, hearty and delightful. Their origin has been heavily debated; some hypotheses are found below:
“Basically, right, Father wanted to make a nutritious and healthy breakfast for Maanu and Imaan wanted to get in the kitchen and slay.” – Zahra
“I’ve never heard of them?” – Aamina
“In 1960, by a man named Jamal Abdul Imaan.” – Yusuf
“It was invented by the amazing Imaan.” – Adam
“Don’t ask me I was like 5.” – Imaan
Either way, these cookies make for the perfect, no-fuss nutritious treat and are incredibly flexible to all diets; they’re dairy-free, can be made sugar- and gluten-free, and can even be made vegan!
Method
The method is simple – first, pull together your ingredients and preheat the oven to 180C.
Next, mix together your wet ingredients.
Add in your dry ingredients – no need to sift!
Mix together, add in any additionals like nuts, chocolate chips or raisins, then shape the cookies and place on a lined baking tray. Note that these cookies don’t spread in the oven, so make sure you shape them to the size you want to eat them in.
Place in the oven for 18 minutes, or until slightly darkened.
Allow to cool, then enjoy with a glass of milk. Feel free to store in an airtight container for up to a week!
“Imaan” Oat Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 cup brown/barley flour
- ½ cup soft light brown sugar
- 1 egg/mashed banana
- ⅓ cup light olive oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Mix together wet ingredients.
- Add in dry ingredients; mix to combine.
- Shape the cookies and place on a baking tray.
- Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool before eating.
Notes
- Feel free to add any additional ingredients in Step 3 e.g. chocolate chips, nuts, raisins.
- Sugar can be replaced with an equivalent dry sweetener
- Although brown flour lends to a better flavour, this can be replaced with plain flour
- Maple Syrup can be substituted with Golden Syrup, Agave, Honey or any other liquid sweetener