How many different cookie recipes are there?  So many mouthwatering variations tempting me.  I enjoy looking at cookie photos on other food blogs but seldom make a recipe because most have a ton of sugar and butter - yes, I know, it is a cookie after all.  Lately I have seen a lot of bloggers posting ANZAC cookie recipes and I realized that this style cookie was very similar to Oatmeal Krispies, a favorite family recipe of Wilson's.  I decided to tweak Wilson's beloved Oatmeal Krispies by incorporating some aspect of the ANZAC recipe.  The result was a cookie I am calling "Granola Cookie" because it reminds me of a soft granola bar.

The Oatmeal Krispie is a "safe" cookie for me to bake because I don't like them so I won't eat them = safe cookie.  Unfortunately, I like the Granola Cookies so much that I ate 7 for lunch yesterday then another 4 around 10:00 pm.  This is why I don't often bake cookies!

You may notice that some of the cookies are "balls" and others "disks".  This batter retains it's shape during baking so you can choose the texture and appearance of your finished cookie.  The "balls" will be softer then the "disks" and I'm certain that if you made the "disks" thinner you would have a more crisp cookie.

What I appreciate about these cookies, aside from their great taste, is that they do not contain eggs (which I won't cook with) and the ratio of butter and sugar is very low.  Additionally they contain healthy oats and coconut.

Granola Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut
¼ cup raw sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 T. honey

2 T. water

1 tsp vanilla paste

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter two baking sheets.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Use your hands or a pastry blender to "cut" in the butter as you would a crumble topping - as that is basically what these cookies are.

Mix together the oats, coconut and sugars in a separate bowl. Add to the flour mixture and combine well.

In a small bowl, combine the honey, vanilla paste and water. Add to the dry ingredients using a spatula or your hands to combine. The batter is fairly dry, similar to a crumble topping.

Use a cookie scoop to form approximately 21 cookies. They will maintain their shape during cooking. You can opt to leave them ball shaped or slightly flatten them using the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in sugar.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15  minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Let the cookies remain on baking sheet for a couple of minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Makes about 21 cookies that are 110 calories each.

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Sunday, March 16th, 2008

Chocolate Pecan Granola Cookies

My obsessive nature is shining through.  After making these cookies the other day I couldn't stop thinking about numerous ways the recipe could be varied.  My thought process was going toward sunflower seeds, dried blueberries, raw nuts, etc.  Wilson suggested that chocolate chips would be a nice addition (he thinks chocolate chips are a great addition to anything) as well as pecans.  All these ideas and combinations, simply had to bake up another batch!

Technically I baked up half a batch, as this is an incredibly simple recipe to cut in half, which is great news because if I make 12 cookies that means the most Wilson and I can consume is 6 each.  I made this little half batch per Wilson's request and plan to make my much healthier version next week while Wilson is traveling. 

Wilson likes the flattened ones...

I like the little balls.

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Granola Chocolate Pecan Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ cup butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup rolled oats
½ cup unsweetened coconut

½ cup pecans, chopped

⅔ cup chocolate chips

¼ cup raw sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 T. honey

2 T. water

1 tsp vanilla paste

Follow the same directions for the basic version, adding the pecans and chocolate chips along with the oats and coconut.  Makes about 24 cookies.

Note: This is a very simple recipe to cut in half.

I like a softer cookie so left some ball shaped and slightly flattened others.  I baked them for 13 minutes and removed them from the baking sheet after 2 minutes.  If you like a crisper cookie, make them flatter, bake them a bit longer and allow them to remain on the cookie sheet a bit longer before moving them to a cooling rack.