Healthiest Oatmeal Cookies

Yields 18 medium-sized cookies

I am in forever search of a "perfect" oatmeal cookies. And the word "perfect" means no-fuss, fool-proof, chewy and packed wholesome flavours of oat and whatever-you-have-on-hand ingredients kind of recipe. And I finally found it!

Even thought I have made many oatmeal cookies following recipes from the joy of cooking, Epicurious and Martha Stewart (all of my favorite recipe sites, they still are) but I was unable to find the "perfect" recipe that suits my oatmeal cookie taste bud.

Initially, I was rather skeptical about this recipe that I found from Whole Grain Gourmet, but I told myself that the only test to a good cookie recipe, is to bake and eat it!

So one fine weekend, I gathered all the ingredients the recipe calls for and with only a spatula and mixing bowl, I managed to prepare the batter in matter of minutes, plus a bit refrigeration, less than 20 minutes of baking... voila, the world's healthiest oatmeal cookies.

The recipe calls for natural and healthful ingredients such as honey to replace sugar, vegetable oil to replace butter.

The cookies look a little darker than usually because of honey and molasses, but these ingredients provide a healthier alternative to sugar and have a deeper flavour and colour.

I usually share half of my oatmeal cookies with my colleagues in the office, but I was rather "selfish" in sharing these, LOL! However, those who managed to sample them, raved about them. Now, I must fore warn you about these cookies, if you are looking for super sweet and buttery oatmeal cookies, this cookie may not be of your liking.

Ice-cream scoop is a useful tool in shaping the cookies before baking.

I would really like to thank LCheliak for sharing this recipe. I only tweaked it a little bit by adding ground flaxseeds and wheat germ but I really love the simplicity of the original recipe. If you are a novice baker, give this recipe a try. Bon appétit!

Ingredients:
Dry ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (a pinch more depending on the moisture of the mix)
• 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats or instant oats (smaller variant)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsps ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsps ground flaxseeds
• 2 tbsps wheat germ

Wet ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (corn, sunflower seed, grapeseed) * you can also use applesauce to replace some of the oil if you wish*
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1 egg (beat with 1 tbsp water)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Flavourful ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
• 1/2 cup roasted pecans or walnuts

Combining flavourful ingredients like roasted pecan and dried cranberries makes these cookies irresistible!

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together. (Hint: measure out the oil first before honey, so the measuring cup will be coated with a thin layer of oil and your honey won't stick).
3. Mix the wet stuff with the dry stuff. Add the raisins and walnuts and mix. If the mixture seems too wet, add a bit of flour. If it isn't binding together very well, you may wish to add more egg white.
4. Keep the dough for 30 minutes in the fridge.
5. Preheat the oven to 170°C (because honey burns more easily at high temperature).
6. Scoop the dough with an ice-cream scoop onto your baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press down with a fork to ensure even cooking.
7. Bake for about 16-18 minutes or until golden. The cookies store very well in a container for and make a great snack! Enjoy.

When stored in air-tight containers, these cookies are good for 2-3 weeks.