Sunday, March 8, 2009

Cranberry-Raisin Whole Grain Breakfast Cookies

My mother has several quirky, endearing habits. For one, she uses a toothbrush as book marker. Second, she always asks people what they had for dinner last night, almost as often as regular folk ask "How are you?" But third and best of all, when she comes for a visit, she will want a cookie. Don't bother offering her anything else; I've tried and nothing but a cookie will do. Not a cracker, certainly not a piece of fruit, and not even a scoop of ice cream will do the trick. And this particular quirk, I'm afraid, is multi generational. I've got it and the two little charges do too. Come to think of it, maybe it's actually contagious, since the Quiet Man seems to be a cookie junkie now too. For our family, nuclear and extended, the cookie craving cannot be kept at bay. I've been fiddling around, seeing how much good stuff I can pack into a cookie and I think I've really got something here. Make yourself a batch of my less-guilty, whole grain cookie that's healthful enough to qualify for breakfast, but tasty enough to please my mother, my Quiet Man, my little charges, and me. So pop on by anytime, Mom. The cookie jar will always be full for you. Money Saving Tips: A box of breakfast cookies can cost you $5 for a dozen, plus they are filled with preservatives. These are easy enough to make at home, and much cheaper. Pop any extra cookies into zip top baggies and freeze. (Leave some on the counter top to defrost before you go to bed.) Any dried fruit will work well in this cookie, as long as it is finely chopped. If you don't have quick cooking oats, give your old fashioned oats a whir in the blender to make oat flour. (Reduce the amount of oats in the recipe to 1 and 1/4 cup.) If you don't have wheat germ, just use the same amount of wheat flour.Whole Grain Breakfast Cookies
Estimated Cost: $3.00 for about 30
5 tablespoons softened butter
3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I prefer dark, but light works well also)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 and 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup combination of cranberries and raisins, minced
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and sugars in medium bowl, creaming until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs. Stir in salt, cinnamon, powder, and soda. Stir in wheat flour, then oats, and then wheat germ. Stir in cranberries and raisins. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheets with at least two inches of space between them. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Don't let them get too brown, unless you like them crunchy. I under bake mine a bit and take them out as they are just barely showing signs of browning. Cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring cookies to the rack.
Next Up:
Grapefruit Custard Cups

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh yum! I'm all about having cookies for breakfast! I hope I have some cranberries in the cupboard. :)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Haha!! Your mom sounds so delightful!! Love it :-)

Scrumptious coooookies!!

gigi said...

Harry has been after me to make him some sugarfree oatmeal raisin cookies. I think that if I replace the brown sugar with the splenda brown sugar this recipe will work wonderfully for him! Whoo hoo! I'll let you know how that works out for him.

You know his Secretary of 25 years now, asks the same question, What yall have for supper last night? She loves to talk about food. Thats Funny.

Di said...

That's such a good idea! I know Gillian would love these. Brianna's a bit pickier--I'll have to figure out what sort of dried fruit she would eat in these.

Noel said...

oh wow those cookies look good. I'll definitely be trying those and thanks for using whole wheat flour. We've switched to that and are beginning to see alot of recipes using whole wheat. :)

Sophie said...

Your mom sounds like my kinda lady :). I'm a cookie fan too; especially if the word 'breakfast' is in the title :D. These are definitely making me miss wheat!

Catherine said...

I was just thinking about this particular quirk, just this week. Poor Mom came to visit and I had no cookies. I felt terrible. So we stopeed and picked up donuts! These cookies look delicious and how nice to have a healthy cookie, especially since my little charges always want cookies for breakfast. Now I know what to make the next time Mom comes for a visit and the next time the kids want cookies for breakfast! Thanks again Prudy!

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

Delicious! I love your Mama's quirks too!!

Mary

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry I missed a few of your posts Erin! How have you been?

Onto the delicious post. Taking a cookie and turning it into an automatic breakfast.. is genius..pure genius.

Cristine said...

Cookies for breakfast? YUM! :)

Darius T. Williams said...

Did someone say a cookie I can have for breakfast?!?! Sign me up!

Michal said...

yummy. i've got some dried cherries that are just dying to be put into breakfast cookies! (jared got my new(er) ovens installed! yay!)

Sara said...

I love breakfast cookies. I'll have to give your recipe a try. That's cute about your mom always asking about what you had for dinner. I too would take a cookie any day over fruit or ice cream.

Debbie said...

Oh a breakfast cookie sounds good. I could go for one every morning and probably all day long too!

Cathy said...

These look wonderful, and are perfect for my little first grader, who doesn't like to eat when he first wakes up. Handing him a breakfast cookie on his way out the door will be the perfect way to get him breakfast in a way that will make both of us happy. And I LOVE the fact that your mother asks people what they had for dinner -- my mother does the SAME thing; I think it's hilarious!

Mary Ann said...

If I can get away with cookies for breakfast, I'll do it. These sound and look healthy and hey, if your mom loves them, they must be great!

The Blonde Duck said...

I love the idea of cookies for breakfast. If I come over, will you give me one?

The Blonde Duck said...

I love the idea of cookies for breakfast. If I come over, will you give me one?

Marjie said...

I see nothing wrong with cookies for breakfast. Leftover beef stew works nicely, too. Am I strange?

vanillasugarblog said...

I adore those Kashi cookies for breakfast. They are healthy, full of fiber and tasty, but they are soooo expensive. I want to make my own healthy breakfast cookies, and will try this one, but I want to see if I can make a thick one, you know?

Anonymous said...

I'm new to your blog, and love it! I'm going to have to make these with some dried cherries! ;)

Prudy said...

Dawn:
If you're going for thick, omit the baking soda (soda spreads) and form the cookie dough into a big ball, say 2 inch and bake it a little longer. It should work just fine. I'll make a couple with my next batch just to be sure.

Andrea said...

this recipe looked so amazing, so i just tried making it...and the dough is SO dry! it literally falls apart like granola. then, i formed the dough into balls and baked them...and they didn't expand. they just stayed as little balls, and the bottoms burned...

...did you mean 2 eggs instead of 1? i followed the recipe exactly...what could i be doing wrong? any help would be appreciated.

thanks!

Satisfying my Sweet Tooth said...

cookies for breakfast? Yes please! I usually eat cookies, cake, or something of that nature for breakfast anyway, might as well make these to have instead!

Prudy said...

Andrea:
I only used one egg. I don't know what might have gone wrong. The dough is dry, but not dry enough that it should be crumbly. Hmmm.... The dough should expand, especially with the addition of baking soda (soda makes cookies spread). I'm so sorry and I really don't know why they didn't work for you!

Prudy said...

Andrea:
I just made another batch to be certain. The dough is drier than regular cookies, but not as crumbly as granola. Just to be sure, did you maybe use old fashioned oats? They will soak up more fat and liquid than the quick cooking? The other issue would be measuring. I use the scoop and sweep method so the dry ingredients aren't packed in tightly. The last issue that I would ask would be the baking soda. If you added baking soda, the cookies should have spread. I feel terrible that they didn't work out for you!

wosnes said...

I have this quirk, too. I like all the other sweets and treats, but it's cookies I really want. Cookies and coffee for breakfast are my idea of heaven!

kjerstina said...

I am so xcited to try these! But I cannot see where the oil comes into the recipie? Maybe I missed it. I assume it goes with the sugar and butter? Also, you said "sugars"--is there supposed to be white as well?

Thanks for such a great blog!

Prudy said...

Yes-the oil goes in with the brown sugar! Thanks and welcome!

Anonymous said...

Pls Pls PLS turn off the music. NSFW.

Anonymous said...

I tried these cookies and mine didn't flatten out either! Finally by the last pan I just flattened them a little myself and they looked a little better. I think they are very tasty though. I have always loved baked goods for breakfast and now at least it can be healthy! Also they are also very filling because of all the extra fiber. When I baked them I tried one an hour or two before supper and I wasn't even hungry for supper! This is a great benefit if you're trying to lose weight! Thanks for the recipe!

Anonymous said...

When do you add the oil? I am making the cookies and see the oil in the ingredients list, but not in the directions.

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Adrienne said...

Have you ever thought about using white bean puree instead of the fat? I'll bet it would affect the flavor. Butter is SO delicious after all.

Leah said...

These are wonderful! I included a link to your recipe on one of my meal plans. Here is the link:

http://www.kitchymamameals.com/2011/02/brownies-with-avvocado-really.html

Thank you for the fun breakfast idea.