Monday, June 9, 2008

One Smart Cookie


I found this recipe on Rhubarb and Venison. Beth from Rhubarb and Venison found it on Everyone Likes Sandwiches. It's a healthy cookie with whole wheat and oats. But the question everyone wants to know is "What do they taste like?". Well, they taste like a cookie. A healthy cookie, but definitely a cookie. They will definitely satisfy you sweet tooth. In fact I may consider cutting the brown sugar next time. But then again, cookies should be sweet or what's the point. With all the oats they are a bit like a granola bar as well. I made a few substitutions, mostly because of what I had on hand. I used half maple syrup and half honey (because I ran out of maple syrup), I used half pecans and half walnuts (because I ran out of walnuts), wheat bran instead of oat bran (because I keep wheat bran on had to make granola), mini chips (I keep those around in case I need to make mint chip ice cream) and I ground the flax seeds. If you don't grind flax seeds your body cant digest them properly and the good nutrition just passes through your body. Oh, and I used parchment paper to bake them on in place of a silpat. Beth from Rhubarb and Venison described the dough as a little fussy. I'd describe it as a giant pain in the butt. It's sticky and doesn't want to stick to itself. (This may be due to my substitutions.) Oiling your hands helps some, but they are still a pain. I just kind of shaped most of my cookies in a pressed together clump rather then rolling and flattening. There is no oil or butter in these cookies, so they won't spread. They will end up pretty much the shape that they were when they went in the oven. Oh, these are vegan too if make sure there is no dairy in your chocolate.

ONE SMART COOKIE
Yield 65 cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c oat bran ( I used wheat bran)
1 c raisins
1/2 c coconut
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c walnuts, broken
1/2 c sesame seeds
1/4 c flax seeds, ground
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 large pinch each nutmeg + cardamom
1 t vanilla
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c maple syrup
1/2 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix up everything from the flour on down to the nutmeg/cardamom. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add the dry to the wet and mix well.
Roll a tablespoon of the mixture into your hand and then flatten. Place on a silpat covered cookie sheet and bake for 14 (16 for me) minutes or until the tops feel dry. Let rest on cookie sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in a covered tin.

4 comments:

Kristy said...

these sound good, and apparently having a baby parasite (ha) makes me want to snack all the time, so cookies might be on the agenda. (other than the 100 degree heat/turning on the oven combo, i'd be all over this already...)

i believe honey is sweeter per volume (you know what i mean) than maple syrup, so next time if you use all maple syrup, you might not need to cut the brown sugar. (i know honey is sweeter than sugar for a straight volume substitution... i think that's true for maple syrup too. you could look it up. you know, for your upcoming sweetener comparison post. :)

Rhubarb and Venison said...

Thanks for the laugh! Giant pain in the butt...yes, you are honest about that one! I'm a big fan of cutting out sugar from recipes too, and actually I thought the choc. chips got overwhelming. But I'm glad you liked them...wish I could take credit!

Julie said...

If you call them granola bar cookies then its not false advertising. Tito and I liked them. :-)

Lora said...

My dog Tito managed to eat quite a few of these cookies when the top of the container wasn't snapped on all the way. High fiber and chocolate is not a good combo for dogs, but he lived. My dog loves oats. What can I say?