T.T.: Streamlined Snack Cookies

I freely admit that I spend more time in the kitchen than is probably reasonable. But all that time in the kitchen inevitably leads to certain efficiencies. I know my style of scratch cooking is time-intensive, but I see no need to slavishly follow recipes if it leads to unnecessary steps and more time.

Such was the case with this cookie recipe.

I developed it several months ago while searching for a cookie recipe that used more oats than flour. I am absolutely buried in oats thanks to the government commodities program and our generous neighbors. I think I have at least twenty pounds of oats on hand at all times. 

In addition to an oat-heavy recipe, I wanted one that would be acceptable for school snacks. I have Many Opinions on school snacks, all of which I will spare you. All I'll say is that I've completely sworn off any pre-packaged snacks for my kids at school.

But they still need to eat. And they need relatively healthy snacks that will last at least a week without refrigeration. 

Those snacks also need to be portable, not too messy to eat, and not annoying and time-consuming for me to make.

I've found cookies to be the best option for portability and longevity. So I needed a snack cookie that used lots of oats, was relatively healthy, lasted a long time in a classroom, could be transported easily, wouldn't fall apart, and wouldn't take too much of my time.

That's a lot to ask.

But I figured it out. These cookies have a bit of protein from peanut butter and walnuts, are sweetened minimally (but still acceptably--no need to be penitential about it) only with honey, and are mostly oats. They're as close to a "healthy" cookie as I could get while still being recognizably a cookie, and therefore fun to eat.

I actually started with this recipe I found online, but I've eliminated most of the steps and dirty dishes. It's just one big bowl, one measuring cup, one spoon, and one pan. It takes me exactly 15 minutes to mix the dough and get the cookies in the oven. With only 12 minutes of baking time (the entire batch fits on one pan, so it really is only 12 minutes), that's less than 30 minutes for a week's worth of school snacks for three kids (plus some extras for the kid at home).

Wait, I lied. There is one other small bowl for melting butter and so on. Still fewer dishes than the original recipe, and FAR fewer steps.

I also changed some of the ingredient amounts, so it's not really that recipe anymore. It's mine. And now it can be yours.

Snack Cookies (makes about 30 small cookies)

Ingredients

1 cup flour (can be all-purpose, white whole wheat, or a combination--the more white flour, the more it will have a dessert cookie texture)

2 cups oats (old-fashioned or quick, but NOT instant)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt (use a bit more if using unsalted butter)

1/2 cup nut pieces (I use walnuts)

3/4 cup raisins or chocolate chips (or a combination)

8 tablespoons butter (I use salted because that's all I buy)

1/3-1/2 cup honey (more honey means more like a dessert cookie)

1/2 cup peanut butter 

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Method

1) Combine oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nuts (I break the pieces up smaller in my hands as I'm adding them, because I can't be bothered to dirty a knife and cutting board to chop them), and raisins/chocolate chips in a big bowl and mix all together.

2) Melt butter, honey, and peanut butter all together in a small bowl in microwave (or a pot on the stove) and add to the dry ingredients. 

3) Slightly beat the egg in that same bowl the butter, etc. was in (always reduce dishes!) and add it to the big bowl, along with the vanilla.

4) Mix all together thoroughly with a sturdy spoon. It will be quite dense and sticky. You can put it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so if you want to get it a little less goopy. I usually don't bother, though.

5) For each cookie, scoop out about a tablespoon with a spoon and drop it onto an ungreased, unlined pan.  These don't spread, so you can put them very close together, which is why you can bake the whole batch on only one pan. If you've chilled the dough, you can roll it into balls and smoosh them slightly flat on top to make neater cookies with a more uniform shape. 

6) Bake at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes in the top half of your oven (if they're in the bottom half, they'll brown too much on the bottom before they're done). These will not brown much on top, so check the bottom of one to see if they're done. When the bottoms are a medium brown, take them out. They will be a bit crumbly right out the oven, so either leave them on the pan to cool for a few minutes, or just be careful when transferring to a cooling rack.

Although I give specific ingredients and amounts, I must admit to playing fast and loose with measurements when I make them. I do measure the oats and flour, but the rest of it I usually just eyeball. You can also use different nuts, or different chopped dried fruit or M&Ms . . . it's extremely forgiving. 

When I'm feeling indulgent, I'll use 1/2 cup raisins and 1/4 chocolate chips, rather than all raisins.

Unlike most cookies, these are actually better after they have been stored for a day or so, rather than freshly baked. They soften up a little bit and are less crumbly after being in a jar for awhile. 

Incredibly, they will last at least three whole weeks in a jar in a classroom snack box with very little deterioration in texture or flavor. I only know that because I have one kid who has a tendency to forget about snacks from previous weeks that didn't get eaten. So when I've found, say, a few cookies in a jar in his snack box that contain chocolate chips, and I know I last made the cookies with chocolate chips almost a month ago . . .

Well, they just last a really long time. I would never have kept them that long on purpose, but I did try those particular aged cookies myself, and they were fine. You can also freeze them with no problems.

My boys will eat two a day for the four days of school, and eight of these cookies fit just right in a wide-mouth pint jar.

In case you were wondering, I've never had a jar break in a backpack or at school. Canning jars are very sturdy.

So there you go. Zero-waste, relatively healthy cookies that don't take hours to make. My small but important contribution to parents everywhere.

Bonus school snack tip: The best savory snack I've found so far is popcorn. Just don't overdo the butter, or it'll get soggy in the jar.