Cranboatmeal Cookies

It was absolutely beautiful this weekend with intermittent sun and chilliness.  There was no rain so I was happy.  The weather finally began to get lovely again.  I was inside and outside where inside consisted of cooking, baking, house work, and relaxation.  When I was outdoors, I mainly shopped and had fun :-)  I had to have some fun and relaxation this weekend because last week was killer on the academic end.  Ooh.  Today begins Week 9 but for me, it'll be my last academic week as next week, Week 10, will be my Finals Week.  Then, during the actual Finals Week, I'll be doing absolutely nothing leading up to the commencement ceremony. 

One of my food products this weekend was my famous Cranboatmeal Cookies.  These cookies are so incredibly delicious!  I've made them for a long time now and am happy to share my recipe with you!  They are chewy straight out of the oven, a little crispier the next day, sweet, tangy, and healthy from the oats and wheat germ.  They even have a hint of warmth from the cinnamon added.  And, of course, the wheat germ adds a touch of nuttiness (and nutrition) to the cookie.  

My Cranboatmeal Cookies are one of my favorite cookies.  I was always in love with Famous Amos' Oatmeal Raisin Cookies when I was a kid.  It's a damn shame that they've discontinued the oatmeal raisin cookie product :-(  However, I'm proud to say that my Cranboatmeal Cookies are Mrs. Maughan's son's favorite, too.  The recipe is incredibly simple and you'll just love it.  Have fun making and eating them :-)

Mmm mmm good.

Cranboatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sifted bread flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (it's up to you)
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup melted brown butter
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries (depending on how packed you'd like your cookies to be)

1. In a bowl, combine and set aside the bread flour, wheat germ, oats, ground cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Beat the butter and the sugars until a homogeneous mixture is formed; it's okay if it's grainy-looking.  Then, add in the vanilla and the milk.  *I add these two first to bring the temperature of the mixture down a little so I don't cook my eggs.*  

2. Next, add in the eggs one at a time.  Once you have a silky, creamy mixture, slowly add the dry ingredients in batches of three, i.e., three times.  Finally, mix in the cranberries by hand with a spatula; do not overmix!  

3. Place this bowl into the refrigerator to chill for about two to three hours, no more than three.  *I've never formed the cookies and frozen them to bake another day so, if you decide to do that, let me know how it turns out!*

4. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F.  Take your chilled dough out of the refrigerator.  Form them into whatever size ball you'd like.  I formed mine to be about half the size of golf balls.  

5. Then, place them on a baking sheet that has a Silpat or parchment paper on it.  Once all of the dough balls are on the baking sheet, flatten each one with your fingers.  It will be misshapen but don't worry; it makes the final texture even better.  Also, FYI--they will not spread that much when baking so, don't worry if you cram them together or anything.  But try not too cram too much because then the cookies won't bake correctly.  Oh, the fickleness of baking. 

6. Pop the sheet into the oven and bake for 11-14 minutes.  It all really depends on the size that you decided to make your cookies.  Just touch the top of a cookie and if it does not sink in too much, then you're good.  

7. Remove them from the oven and let them hang out on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. 

Bread flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and wheat germ.

Add the oats in.

The sugars.

The sugars + the brown butter.

Cream away!

With the vanilla, milk, and eggs added, this is a luscious wet mix for the dry ingredients to dive into.

It's like taking a peek inside to see the magic happening.

Pre-chill.

Post-chill.

After making these dough balls, I actually "balled" up the rest of the dough, placed them on a plate and stuck them back in the refrigerator until I needed to bake off the second batch.  Seems more efficient to me.

Flatten them out with closed fingers or your palm (I used both).  Off to the oven.

Out of the oven.

And onto the wire rack :-)  Good luck trying to wait for these to cool.  I won't tell ;-)