Carrot Raisin Hermits

Have you ever picked up the phone to call somebody when suddenly it starts ringing, and lo and behold, that very same person is calling you?

This type of thing happens eerily often to me and my mother. So when she came to visit me last week for a post-workout coffee, I wasn't all that surprised when she turned up at my door with a container full of freshly baked carrot cookies just as I finished pulling a batch of almost the exact same thing out of my oven. 

We promptly turned our coffee date into a serious scientific experiment, comparing all possible differences and similarities in our cookies. Our recipes were fairly similar, and overall, we couldn't pick a winner. We did agree that the recipe works well with gluten-free flour (yay!), and that Turkish sultanas were our favourite raisin for the job.

Carrot Raisin Hermits
Inspired by Oh She Glows

makes about 24 small hermits

1 cup all-purpose gluten free baking flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup regular or large-flake oats (certified gluten free if needed)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp cashew butter (or increase coconut oil to 3 tbsp)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp chia seeds (mix with 3 tbsp water and let sit 5 mins)
1 cup grated or shredded carrots
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/3 cup turkish sultanas (or any other type of raisin)

Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, mix chia seeds with 3 tbsp water and let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients (first 6 ingredients) in a large bowl. If needed, heat coconut oil until soft or liquid. Then in a medium sized bowl, whisk coconut oil together with the cashew butter. Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, and chia mixture and whisk until well-combined. Add this to the dry ingredients along with the carrots, coconut flakes and raisins, and mix gently until just combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto the sheet. The hermits should not spread much while baking, so feel free to space them closely.

Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes, or until the undersides of the hermits are golden brown.