Cookie Monster

I took advantage of the cooler temperatures last week (we’re heading back toward “normal” summer heat now) to appease the Cookie Monster.

He wanted a batch of crunchy oatmeal raisin cookies and I wanted to try a new recipe for chocolate chip chia cookies.  What’s a girl to do?  Make both, of course!

Making both doughs at the same time allowed me to use the mixer twice and wash once.  I made both doughs in the morning and chilled them for afternoon baking.  I worried that the chia seeds would absorb moisture while sitting, lessening the crunch in the final product, but that wasn’t an issue.

I made some significant adjustments to the chocolate chip chia recipe (above left), which was a bit of a gamble on the first round.  I kept relative proportions the same, but I subbed some rice flour and quick oats for some of the spelt flour, swapped some of the butter for nut butter, and reduced the sugar.

The result?  A low-sweetness, chewy, chocolatey cookie with crunch from the chia seeds and pecans.  They work either as a granola bar-type snack or as a healthy treat — just what I wanted!

We used to freeze cookie dough balls for later baking, but it’s easier (and more energy efficient, especially in the summer) to heat the oven once, bake all the cookies in one go, and freeze them for later enjoyment.

The oatmeal cookies (smaller cookies in above photos) are a recipe from a friend, who made a batch for Matthew and his mom for their road trip to Florida earlier this summer.  The spices really make the cookies — enjoy!

Judy’s oatmeal cookies

Ingredients
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cloves
1/4 t. allspice
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 c. butter
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2.5 cups rolled oats
1 c. chopped walnuts and/or pecans
1 c. raisins (or dried cherries or cranberries)

Directions
Combine all dry ingredients (except the oats), including spices.  Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients with butter-egg mixture.  Stir in the oats, nuts, and fruit.  Chill dough for at least an hour (or up to thirty-six hours), before scooping and baking.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  For crunchy cookies (this is how we made a previous batch, and how Judy makes them), make very small dough balls (maybe a not-heaping tablespoon of dough?) and bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating top and bottom trays halfway through.

I was curious about a chewier oatmeal cookie, so I made the dough balls a bit bigger, but kept the cooking time about the same.

The plan was actually that some would come out crunchier (for Cookie Monster) and some chewier (for me), but I’m afraid none were the super crunchy that Cookie Monster was hoping for, unless he eats them straight from the freezer — they’re very crunchy that way!