What makes cookies stick (glue) together ?

[vmars316]

Hello & Thanks ,
Still working on minimalist 'crispy oatmeal' cookies .
For example:
Suppose , I like oatmeal cookies plain , no extra flavoring , nothing else but oatmeal .
And I want them crispy .
Is there one ingredient that would make them stick together , not crumble-ly . And is there more than one ingredient that can do this ?
In other words , a cookie made of :
1) rolled oats + flour and water .
or
2) rolled oats + egg white .
or
3) rolled oats + sugar and water

Thanks...Vern

 

[Becky]

The thing that makes baked goods stick together is usually eggs for the most part, but other ingredients contribute. These two recipes sound promising:

http://www.food.com/recipe/crunchy-oat-biscuits-449339
http://food52.com/blog/11892-crispy-crunchy-oatmeal-cookies

 

[CherylTorrie]

Egg is definitely the glue of the baking world. Unfortunately, egg has it's own unique flavor so I don't think egg without flour, sugar and vanilla would make a very tasty cookie. The only oatmeal cookie I have ever made that didn't have traditional cookie ingredients was oatmeal, peanut butter and melted chocolate. Didn't even have to bake those.

 

[Bakers12]

You might want to use honey as a sweetener if you are really going healthy with your cookies. It will also help them to have a better constitution.

 

[ChesterV]

If you want this cookie the specific way, then I would suggest NOT using flour, but using whole oat "flour".
If you have your own whole oats (like the kind for oatmeal), then all you need to do it put some in a food processor and make it into a flour. Then you can mix that with your whole oats.

Sugar can make it crunchy, but only if the sugar gets caramelized in the baking process. And if you are not experienced enough with making such a cookie, then you may end up burning them or baking them so hard you cannot eat them.

You might want to use a bit of cornstarch with the oat flour and then use honey instead of sugar.

You can also use soy flour instead of oat flour, but then you run the risk of losing that "all oat" taste you seem to want.

I would suggest a recipe of oats, oat "flour", honey, corn starch, and egg white.

The oat "flour" will work like flour, but you will have the taste of oats instead of wheat flour.
The honey will help sweeten, bind, and caramelizes quicker and better than sugar usually does.
The egg white will help "cement" the cookie together, so it isn't crumbly.
And the cornstarch will help all of the ingredients work together better.

Lets say, if you use 2 cups of oat "flour" for your recipe, then I would suggest 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch.
If you use too much cornstarch, it will make the cookies taste funny, and possibly give them a "gritty" texture.
You just want enough egg white to moisten the whole mixture.

If you need to get it more moistened than just with a couple of egg whites, you can add a tablespoon of water at a time until it gets to the working consistency you want. The water will bake out of the cookie and leave everything else behind.

This does sound like a recipe that will need to be experimented with before it gets perfected.
;o)