Whole Grain Milk Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Sometimes I want to bake, but I want to bake something that has at least some redeeming nutritional qualities. I adapted this recipe from the Old Fashioned Quaker Oats "vanishing oatmeal raisin cookies" recipe found on the inside of the oats lid. These cookies are slightly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and are made with whole wheat flour and dried fruit. They also have nearly two sticks of butter...not that anyone is counting.

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Whole Grain Milk Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tbsp. butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (I prefer King Arthur Flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 and 1/2 cups Quaker Oats (the old-fashioned kind)

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup dried cranberries

1. Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until creamy.

2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

3. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.

4. Add oats, chocolate chips, and cranberries. Mix well with a spatula.

5. Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Store tightly covered.

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I use a medium size ice cream scoop to dole out the cookie dough, and I get about 18 cookies per batch.

If you don't like cranberries, this recipe is easily adaptable to many combinations. I've made it with dried chopped apricots and dark chocolate chunks, or dried apples and pecans. You can also remove the fruit entirely and just enjoy an oat and chocolate cookie. 

These cookies freeze well, baked or raw. If you bake them first, let them cool completely and then store in a ziploc bag in the freezer. If you want to freeze them unbaked so that you can have fresh cookies at a moment's notice, scoop the cookie dough into balls on a baking sheet, but stick them in the freezer instead of the oven. Freeze for 30 minutes or until firm; then wiggle the cookies off the sheet pan and store them in a ziploc baggie in the freezer. Remove them from the freezer ten minutes before you plan on baking them.