Granola Bar Cookies

I only decided to post this recipe after discovering that all three of my kids, two of whom normally spit out “fruit chunks” in their cookies, devoured them. (Consequently, I took no pictures while making them.) I made them on Saturday to replace the store-bought granola bars we’ve been relying a little too much on for snack time at school. I know these are cookies, but let’s face it, most kids’ chewy granola bars are just rectangular cookies. And stale, tasteless, overpriced rectangular cookies at that.

However, as of writing this Sunday afternoon, I highly doubt these will last until packing snacks on Tuesday. Unless locked up.

Do yourself a big favor, and kick your kids out of the kitchen, or preferably the house, before you make these. Yes, it’s the stuff of nostalgic childhood memories to let them bake cookies with you. That’s what Advent is for. But sometimes, it’s better that they don’t even know you’re baking. Or, in my experience, you will end up with about half as many as the recipe should yield, and a much messier, more aggravating baking experience. Sometimes Mommy wants to use her own kitchen all by herself.

I sent them on a bike ride with Daddy.

Granola Bar Cookies

Makes about 50 using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop.

Ingredients

14 T softened, unsalted butter (1 cup minus 2 tablespoons)

3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated white sugar

2 eggs, at room temp

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 T chia seeds

1.5 c. all purpose flour, or 1.3 c. white whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp table salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2.75 c. toasted old fashioned oats

1 c. sweetened dried cranberries

1 c. chopped raw almonds*

 

*Thanks to the uneven work of my mini food processor, I used what amounted to a cup of some full-sized almond chunks mixed into near almond flour.

 

Method to the Madness

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Do it by hand and it burns off all the calories from licking the bowl!
3. Add vanilla and eggs and beat just until fully combined. Stir in chia seeds.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. When combined, add all at once to wet ingredients. Stir only until fully combined.
5. Dump in the oats, dried cranberries, and almonds. Stir until well blended.
6. Drop by heaping tablespoons (I used a 1.5 T scoop) onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes (mine took 10) until cookies are starting to turn golden brown at the edges. Allow to cool on the sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

   MOM TIP: Once these are cooled and everyone’s had whatever you allow plus sneaked a couple, hide them.