Breakfast Cookies

It's been a while since I posted. I've had other preoccupations, and doing a nice post with a photo and well-considered text is a fair amount of work. But I would like a record of what I've been cooking and an online place to store recipes for future reference, so I'm going to lower my standards.

Even Healthier Breakfast Cookies
June 14, June 17, 2009

First I made a batch of Ellie Krieger's breakfast cookies, following her recipe fairly closely. I made a double recipe, used 2 c. all-purpose flour and 1/2 c. whole wheat flour instead of her mixture of whole-wheat pastry flour and all-purpose flour, used applesauce instead of carrot baby food, and added chocolate chips. They turned out great. Commenters on Krieger's recipe page fault the cookies for being too healthy tasting, but I disagree. In fact Mike, who has been on a big health kick lately, thought they were not light and healthy enough, so I tried making them healthier yet. The result was tasty but not especially cookielike. Probably Ellie Krieger has already pushed the envelope on how healthy you can make a cookie without changing its essential nature. Mine reminded me more of flat muffins, or extremely healthy scones. Still, they are big and yummy and a reasonable 227 calories each. I got only 13 cookies from this batch, but they were pretty big.


1 c. whole-wheat flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. bran flakes
1 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground nutmeg, or a few good grates of fresh nutmeg
2 T. canola oil
2 T. butter
3/4 c. loosely packed brown sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 c. applesauce
1/2 c. walnuts
1 c. Raisin Bran cereal
1/2 c. raisins
1 c. rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together flours, bran flakes, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugar and mix with electric mixer until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color. Add eggs, applesauce, and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, cereal, raisins, and walnuts and stir to combine. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using about 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter. Flatten cookies with a piece of waxed paper until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until cookies are fragrant and golden brown on the bottom. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.