Granola Cookies

I originally named these "oatmeal chocolate cherry coconut cookies" but whew, that's a mouthful -  and they actually are more like granola so I changed their name! These aren't an overly sweet cookie and I dare say they taste almost healthy haha... perfect with a big glass of milk!

I wore my "baking is cheaper than therapy" t-shirt that my sis got me to tap class the other day and one of the ladies asked if I like to bake....um, indeed I do ;). She wondered what my favorite thing to bake is and I had to think about it because I like to bake most everything - it usually ends up that I get in a phase though and make the same type of thing over and over and right now it's cookies. So I thought I'd make the tap ladies some cookies since Erica showed interest!

I love the show Fixer Upper and the host Joanna Gaines frequently has large thick cookies on her counter - for all I know they are a plastic prop haha but I've been wanting to make some really big ones like that. Normally I make them small - I think it's so having a couple makes me feel less guilty than eating one big one! I based this recipe on a few different ones I saw online, I think it's a fairly standard recipe but I wanted to add chocolate, cranberries, and coconut - and skip the raisins (I'm not a raisin lover).

Click here for where I got the base recipe. My changes: omit the raisins and walnuts, used coarse salt, added 2 teaspoons of cornstarch, and didn't chill the dough. I read that if you add cornstarch you don't have to refrigerate the dough, I've never heard that before so wanted to try it. I added 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, and 1/2 cup dried cranberries. Also used my big muffin scoop but had to flatten them down some to get them to bake through. This made 12 big cookies.

ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 oz, or 115 grams) butter, at room temp
2/3 cup (125 grams) light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup (95 grams) flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (120 grams) rolled oats
3/4 cup (120 grams) raisins
1/2 cup (65 grams) walnuts, chopped (optional)

directions:

Cream butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl. 

In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Stir dry ingredients into butte/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins, and walnuts.

Chill the dough for an hour, up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degF. Using a large muffin scoop, portion dough onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Roll dough with your hand and flatten a little bit. 

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are golden, but the centers look a bit underdone. Overbaking them will result in less chewy cookies.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen