More and more people are being told by doctors across the country that living gluten free may be a good choice for them. Some of them are diagnosed with celiac disease; some have issues with ADD etc. In the beginning it may seem like many of your favorite foods like breads, cakes and cookies are now on the forbidden food list. We’ve come a long way since the early days of gluten free living. There are now thousands of products and many thousand gluten-free recipes out there for you to enjoy. Take this gluten free oatmeal cookie recipe for example.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

* 1/2 cup margarine
* 1/2 cup light-brown sugar
* 1/4 cup regular sugar
* 1/2 tsp vanilla
* 3/4 cups gluten free flour
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* dash of table salt
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 1 large egg
* 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
* 1 1/2 cups gluten free oats
* 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Start by preheating your oven to 350F. Soften the butter on the counter so it will be easier to work with. Get out a large bowl. Add the butter and both types of sugar to it and use a hand-mixer to cream everything together. Add the vanilla and the egg next and blend again until you have a creamy light yellow colored mixture.

Sift together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and gum in another bowl. Give those dry ingredients a good stir, then work it into the egg mixture. Finish the batter by adding the oats and raisins and mixing everything together.

Get a large cookies sheet and drop the cookies on, using approximately one tbsp of batter for each. I like to work with two large spoons to do this, but a melon scooper or small ice cream scooper work as well.

The cookies will need to bake for about 12 minutes. Take them out when they start to turn golden brown. Cool them a bit, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Keep them in an airtight tin if there are any leftover.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Of course you don’t have to bake all your cookies and other gluten-free treats from scratch. You can get all kinds of baking mixes and even finished gluten free products at local grocery stores and online at websites that specialize in gluten-free products. They are a great alternative. There are even some premade cookies that you can purchase that taste pretty decent.

In short, you do not have to give up on your favorite treats when you have to switch to eating gluten free.

And now, I would like to invite you to read about another yummy and good-for-you recipe. This one is for quinoa muffins which you can make gluten free by making them with gluten-free flour. And here are more quinoa recipes for you.