I’ve had a grand revelation this month that I love pineapple.
If you had asked me if I liked pineapple just a month ago, I would have said no. However, a month ago, I had never tasted fresh, sublimely sweet pineapple in a little place called Tahiti:
And it made me change my whole perspective.
A couple weeks ago, I was in Tahiti. Maybe it was just the change of scenery, but pineapple on a tropical island is basically irresistible.
Tahiti, and more specifically Bora Bora, has delicious fruit. Maybe they inject it with sugar or crack (maybe both), but the pineapple we tasted was nothing like I’d ever tried before.
After we got home and I began testing recipes again, I started working on oatmeal cookie ideas. With pineapple still on the brain, my brilliant husband suggested another flavor for my oatmeal cookie repertoire – pineapple! Adding the tropics to a typically old-fashioned, home-style cookie creates a really nice twist. Small chunks of this fruit give an extra moist texture and a sweet, subtle flavor that almost goes unnoticed… until small pieces burst in your mouth and you feel a tang of pineapple sweetness. YUM!
Oatmeal Pineapple Cookies (vegan)
Print Recipe
1/2 cup Earth Balance Butter, softened
3/4 cup Applesauce
1 1/4 cups Coconut Sugar
2 Tablespoons Ground Flax
2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Natural Butter Extract (optional, but recommended!)
1/3 cup Finely Chopped Pineapple
2 cups Oats
1 3/4 cups Spelt Flour
2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Pink Salt
1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
In a small bowl, beat the earth balance butter, applesauce and coconut sugar until light and fluffy. Add the extracts and finely chopped pineapple and mix. In a food processor or blender, combine all the dry ingredients. Blend until the oats are a very course meal. Add the dry to the wet mixture and mix until just incorporated. Scoop out dough about generous tablespoon balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes.
No-Bake Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Bites
Banana-Nut Spice Muffins
Lemon Meringue Tartlets
Healthy Rhubarb Crisp for Two
Healthy Teriyaki Pasta Salad
shayla says
I have always wanted to go to Bora Bora! I can’t wait to make these. They look amazing!
Anna @ Your Healthy Place says
Oh I ADORE pineapple! It’s like candy to me. Crushed canned pineapple (canned in its own juice of course) is an amazing addition to muffins – it makes them taste fresh and moistens them up without having to use extra butter. So amazing!
Cheri says
I like your blog and have subscribed, but I am gluten, dairy, and egg-free, and many of your recipes include these ingredients. If you can mention substitutions for these elements, that would be very helpful. I don’t use spelt or oats because of the gluten in them (even GF oats are often contaminated). I also don’t eat corn or quinoa, so quinoa flakes aren’t an alternative. Maybe millet flour, nut flours, rice?
Chelsea says
Hi Cheri, Thanks for subscribing! We are kind of new to gluten free diets since we are not actually intolerant to it… We didn’t even know that gluten free oats can have gluten in them! Thank you for the suggestions for substitutions. We will try to include more options as we test recipes out. We have not worked with millet flour but we love almond flour and rice flour! For these cookies, I’m sure you could substitute the spelt flour with brown rice flour, however, I am not sure how to substitute the oats in this recipe. You will also probably need about 1/4 teaspoon of Xanthan gum. But, we have not tested this recipe using that, so we can’t vouch for the results. :) Also, we are currently reorganizing our recipes so it will be easier to find recipes suited to specific diets. We are also working on more recipes that are egg-free, gluten-free and dairy-free, so I hope you’ll be able to enjoy more recipes in the near future. :) Thank you!
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
uhh…i wanna hear more about your trip! It looks SO beautiful there!
These cookies sound delicious, too.
Chelsea says
Thanks, Kelli! :) It is very beautiful there!
Julia {The Roasted Root} says
I’m so jealous of your trip to tahiti and have always wanted to take a vacation somewhere tropical and try all the fresh fruit! These cookies look delicious and I can imagine how tasty they are with the bursts of pineapple! :)
Chelsea says
Thanks so much, Julia!
Kelly @ Hidden Fruits and Veggies says
These sound amazing! I’ve always loved pineapple (especially on pizza), so I’m glad you’ve come around to liking it.
Chelsea says
Oh yes! Forgot about on pizza! :) Gonna have to try that too!