Preheat and prepare: Set your oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper. You’ll know it’s ready when the paper feels warm to the touch.

Grate the apples: Peel and finely grate the apples into a large mixing bowl. The shreds should look wet and juicy, with visible apple pulp — this moisture is key to soft cookies.

Mix the wet ingredients: Crack the egg into the bowl, add the melted coconut oil and vanilla extract, then stir with a fork until the mixture turns a pale, creamy yellow and smells sweetly of vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients: Tip in the rolled oats, raisins, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir slowly at first to avoid a cloud of flour, then mix vigorously until every oat flake is coated and the raisins are evenly distributed. The dough should feel sticky and thick, with no dry patches.

Adjust the consistency: Pour in the milk and fold gently. The batter should look like a dense, spoonable porridge — it should hold its shape when you scoop it, but still feel soft and moist.

Scoop and shape: Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to drop mounds of dough onto the prepared tray, spacing them about 5cm apart. Gently flatten each mound with the back of the spoon until they’re about 1cm thick. The edges should look slightly ragged, not perfectly round.

Bake: Slide the tray into the oven and bake for 12–14 minutes. After 10 minutes, check them: the edges should be lightly golden, the tops should look set, and a gentle press in the centre should spring back softly. The kitchen will smell warmly of cinnamon and baked apple.

Cool on the tray: Let the cookies rest on the baking tray for 5 minutes. They will firm up as they cool — if you move them too soon, they might crumble. After 5 minutes, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.