“What can we have for a snack?”, my children say as soon as they step in the house after a day at school. Although they have a cooked lunch there they are absolutely ravenous when they get home. It’s this awkward time of the day, it’s still a bit early for dinner yet their appetites are so big they are not easily satisfied with a piece of fruit anymore. Of course, they ask if we have any biscuits at home…erm English for “cookies”. I am not a fan of giving them cookies for snacks, it just doesn’t sit right with me. However, if I make my own and put all kinds of healthy things in them and control sugar amount I might be okay with the idea and they will be thrilled.
Lo and behold- a protein and other nutrients packed cookie this mom approves. Good and healthy granola ingredients baked into a cookie form and jazzed up with a little bit of dark chocolate, which let’s face it, has many positive benefits for our bodies and spirits. They are chockfull of old-fashioned rolled oats and dried sour cherries sweetened with raw Demerara/Turbinado sugar that has more minerals and nutrients than regular white sugar and has a natural caramel flavour. Bonus!
Ingredients:
- Wholewheat or All Purpose Flour- 2 cups
- Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (not quick or instant)- 2 cups
- Baking Soda- 1 tsp.
- Baking Powder- 1/2 tsp.
- Salt- 1/2 tsp.
- Demerara Sugar-1 1/4 cup
- Butter- 1 cup/250 gr
- Eggs- 2 large
- Vanilla- 1 tsp.
- Dark Chocolate Chips or Chunks- 1/3 cup
- Dried Sour Cherries- 1/3 cup
- Walnuts or any other nuts (optional)- 1/3 cup
Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 F/180 C. Line your baking trays with parchment paper.
Mix first 5 ingredients- flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Beat butter and sugar until blended, add eggs and vanilla, continue beating for 2-3 more minutes. You can use electric mixer or an old fashioned wooden spoon. Both work like magic.
Add dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture and mix well, now add dried cherries and chocolate chips and walnuts if using. At this point I just get right in there with both hands as I find mixing a cookie dough with a spoon nearly impossible but if you mastered it go for it!
Scoop each cookie with a spoon, using 1/4 cup of dough and drop it on your baking tray spacing them 2″ apart as the cookies will get bigger as they bake. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes.
The cookies come out soft and chewy straight from the oven, the aroma in the house creates an atmosphere nothing short of a domestic bliss and perfection. (I wish I could bottle it in and release it on those days when rooms are not getting tidied and homework is not getting done. :-)) Dried cherry in combination with dark chocolate is a heavenly twist on the traditional oatmeal raisin. My kids were mighty impressed!
VIKALINKA 
they sound yummy!
Thanks!!
I’d take this snack any day! 🙂
Me too 😉