ALMOST GRANOLA BAR COOKIES

Almost Granola Bar Cookies image

We went all in on flavor and texture with these cookies, using whole grain Pima club soft wheat flour, rolled oats, walnuts, dark chocolate, and tart cherries. The fiber content makes the cookies "almost-granola bars" -- and they're probably more healthy than some granola bars on the market! -- but no doubt these cookies are still a special treat, especially if you put in all the optional ingredients in italics.

Provided by Melissa Johnson

Categories Recipes

Time 40m

Yield 24-36 cookies

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (227g)
1 cup brown sugar (200g)
1/2 cup white sugar (100g)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract (11g)
1 3/4 cups home-milled Pima Club wheat berries or Whole Grain Soft White Wheat Flour (195g)
1 tsp baking soda (5g)
1/2 tsp salt (2-3g)
3 cups rolled oats (300g)
1 cup dark chocolate chips (170g)
1 cup walnuts (115g)
1 cup dried fruit e.g. tart cherries (160g)

Steps:

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Use a paddle attachment if using a stand mixer.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract, and continue mixing until smooth.
In another bowl, briefly whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; and then add this to the wet ingredients, mixing briefly just until everything is incorporated. To use one less bowl, alternately you can add the baking soda and salt to the batter first, then mill the flour directly into the batter and fold it in.
Finally fold in the oats, chocolate chips, nuts, and dried fruit. The oats are needed for a proper batter consistency, but the other additions are optional.
Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes if possible. Your cookies will simply be a little flatter if you skip the chilling step.
Preheat your oven to 325F.
Using a spoon and damp fingertips, shape the batter into balls and place them on a baking sheet with a couple of inches in between.
Bake for 8-12 minutes. The timing will depend on your cookie size. Look for lightly browned edges and no shiny-wet batter in the center of the cookies.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven, wait a few minutes, and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.
Store the cookies in a covered container after they have completely cooled.
You can freeze extra batter by pre-making cookie balls, freezing them on a sheet and then transferring them to a plastic container OR by laying a sheet of plastic wrap on your countertop, spreading the batter in a thick line on in, and rolling it up into a tube. Unwrap and cut 1/2-inch-thick slices when you're ready to bake. In both methods, bake from frozen.