[I baked these cookies very early, because I knew I was headed out of town for posting day. I set this up in advance to post on Tuesday while I'm gone.]
Granola cookies must be part of the zeitgeist. Last week King Arthur Flour's blog featured granola bars, and here we are making Dorie's Granola Grabbers! (Chosen by Michelle of Bad Girl Baking. You can find the recipe on her post or on page 82 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours.
I was happy about this choice because it gave me a great excuse to try making homemade granola and to check out a cool-looking cookie recipe. I made several batches of granola, and we've been eating it for breakfast every day for the past week!
First, mix all the dry/chopped ingredients in a bowl.
With the stand mixer (I love my yellow KA!), cream the butter, and slowly add the wet ingredients, beating after each addition. Some of the beating times seemed really long to me, but I guess that's to make the dough fluffy?
Then add the dry ingredients to the wet, carefully stirring. Drop rounded tablespoons onto a cookie sheet, flatten slightly and bake. Pretty easy!
I departed ever so slightly from the recipe. I used:
-half AP flour and half King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour
-chopped sour cherries and some raisins (I'm obsessed with Trader Joe's Tart cherries)
-unsweetened coconut because that’s what I had
-whole almonds, hand chopped (I was out of slivered)
-plain yogurt substituted for about 15% of the butter
The Verdict:
Mine had a lot of wheat germ (it's an ingredient in my granola also, as is oat bran) and white whole wheat flour, so they had a nice earthy and wholesome taste. Even with all that wheat and oats stuff, there were enough wet ingredients to bind them together. Once they cooled, they held together nicely.
The cookies were not overly sweet for two reasons: my granola is not particularly sweet and I used tart cherries and unsweetened coconut. I don't think they would have tasted any better if they were sweeter; the flavor of the ingredients really came through.
My daughter was not a huge fan: "If I'm going to eat a cookie, I want it to taste amazing". Which I think she means rich and sinful. I see her point.
My husband enjoyed them; this is his type of baked good. But he didn't like the peanuts, saying "They remind me of Jimmy Carter." Being a Georgia boy, he's had a lot of exposure to Jimmy. Ha ha. Actually, he didn't care for the peanut flavor in the cookie; to him peanuts are a little bitter. Next time I think I'd use pecans -another Georgia nut with no known associations with ex-Presidents! :)
I told my husband to bring the cookies to work and put them in the break room, but he liked them too much to give them all away. I also see his point; in fact I've managed to polish several off, strictly for research and evaluation purposes of course.
My personal opinion is mixed. I knew these would not be a decadent cookie, and they weren't. I don't require every dessert to be rich and spectacular, and I love whole grain baking, which I do ALL the time. I did really like the grabbers but at the same time I think I enjoy snacking on a handful of my granola just as much. With the cookie there's added butter and sugar, which I'll only justify if I love the flavor. With all the cookie recipes out there (and we've been baking lots of cookies this summer, including some near-perfect oatmeal cherry ones that I didn't post because I forgot to take a picture of them), I 'm not sure I'd make these again.
29 comments:
It sounds like a few of us polished several off! These were great cookies! Ours didn't make it past the kitchen cookie jar too far.
I am on the same page as you - these were decent enough for me to eat a bunch, but didn't overwhelm me. Great job with making your own granola, it looks delicious!
i used pecans - no worries about presidents, you're right - and they were really good. it might be better to lightly toast them first, though. i'm going to do that next time.
I make my own granola too. Once you get in the habit it is incredibly simple to do.
I like the sound of the tart cherries, they must be great.
Good job, glad the coworkers loved them so much.
They look fantastic, even if they got mixed reviews. I love homemade granola and I have to always have some on hand. I love all your add ins and that was smart to add yogurt, too.
I love Trader Joe's dried fruit as well. Maybe if you added chocolate chips...
The tart cherries sound to die for!
I used some generic bulk granola and just attributed calorie-count.com's generic "granola" info, so your homemade granola will probably be a little healthier! Besides, a lot of the calories come from nuts and fiber, so these aren't totally terrible for us. Riiiiight?
I love your daughter's rule for cookie eating! I'm not too crazy about these either- I keep going back and forth! Yours look gorgeous!
That's a good tip about the yogurt. The homemade granola sounds delicious too!
I, too, prefer something sinful, but these were refreshing.
We loved them.
I love your combination but I think the flavor can change drastically just on what is mixed in the dough. You made your own granola too! Great job and beautiful photos =D
Cherries sounded wonderful. These were a huge hit in my house. Your cookies look delicious!
Thanks for welcoming me to TWD! I am having a ball so far! Your homemade granola looks amazing. I think your idea about using pecans instead of peanuts is a great one -- my husband liked the salty element that the peanuts added, but I think pecans would be better. I'll probably make these again, if for no other reason, just to have something to do with all that wheat germ! Thanks again for the welcome -- your blog is great!
I love dried cherries!
LOL, your husband cracks me up with the peanut comment. I figured a Georgian would love peanuts for that very reason. Guess not.
Anyway, I suppose these aren't the cookie for everyone. Next time (if there is one) you might try adding some chocolate chips, that's brings them up to almost decadant status.
I think I would like snacking on your granola, too. Sounds really good. Yogurt just sounds really good with these right now. They look wonderful.
www.grandmaskitchentable.typepad.com
They look very good! Great blog :)
Nice job on the cookies! I like the detailed pics. :D
your cookies look great. i liked them but did not love them
I love the blueberries and cookies idea. And I had really wanted to use dried cherries. I'll have to next time, along with the chocolate chips my grandson wants.
Thats a cute review from your daughter. I imagine many cookie testers would agree that a cookie has to taste amazing or its just a waste of time! LOL. Bummer it wasn't a favorite for you but I think the cookies taste better the 2nd day.
Clara @ iheartfood4thought
They look great.
These look good, tho'. By the time TWD posting came time, the boys had eaten all of mine. IT's the granola..... and thanks for that recipe earlier.
Yours look delicious with the tart cherries! I think I would also enjoy snacking on home made granola by itself just as much. I would love to hear your oatmeal cherry cookie recipe, those sound amazing :)
In my house, these were dangerously good. I didn't find them too sweet, as some people did. I made bars and really enjoyed them. I laughed at the Jimmy Carter reference! :o)
I think pecans would be good in these. I thought about it, but ended up leaving out the nuts all together. I got mine out of the house as well--the teachers at the daycare never seem to mind free baked goods. =)
I'm with you on the TJ's Tart Montgomery cherries, they are divine! Too bad the nearest TJ's is 9 hours flight away.
I loved these cookies! Mine had pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds from the granola and that added a nice crunch. Yours look delicious. :)
Andrea, it turns out that I need to do a bit more work on the oatmeal cherry cookie recipe before I can post it. This is one that I devised by combining elements from several recipes and I wrote a few things incorrectly. I baked a batch yesterday and they had some 'issues' so I will have to go back and try again. The flavor is amazing, though.
Nancy
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