Whole Grain Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries and Chocolate

Good morning, my sweet friends! You can file these Whole Grain Oatmeal Cookies under ‘A’ for amazing 🙂

A soft, sweet cookie full of some of my favorite stuff — mini chocolate chips, cinnamon, clove, and blueberry-flavored dried cranberries. Thank you, Ocean Spray, for creating these little bites of sweetness. The very first time I had a Blueberry Craisin, I thought to myself, “Yum, this is what dried grapes SHOULD taste like!” Which is weird because they’re blueberry, right? No matter. I was hooked, and toss them into salads all the time, and – now – into my latest whole grain cookie!

Major props to my inspiration, the baking goddess Sally, the brain-child behind this healthy cookie batter — one of the best I’ve ever tried. It’s a combo of oats and whole wheat flour, along with yogurt and applesauce for moisture, then baking soda, molasses, brown sugar, and spices. No eggs. No oil. No butter. The cookies come out unbelievably light and soft, and you can pack them with virtually whatever you want.

Pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate (ooh!)
Chopped walnuts and toffee bits?!
M&M’s and peanuts…OR…Peanut M&M’s…O.M.G….

I went with dried cranberries and chocolate chips because all of my kids love blueberry Craisins, and finding an ingredient all three love can be a challenge. Problem solved, and boy was the solution delicious!

Georgia, as always, was my baking assistant. She loves to measure, pour, stir, and scrape. One day she’ll be a great baker herself, since she really likes to get to know her ingredients. She tastes everything – vanilla extract, flour (yup), salt, etc. During this expedition, she adventurously tasted both baking soda (“not bad”) and molasses (“blecch!”). But her favorite was the brown sugar, as you can see…

Whole Grain Oatmeal Cookies with Cranberries and Chocolate
Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Makes 12 cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes     Cook time: 12 minutes

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark molasses
1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/3 cup dried cranberries (I recommend Ocean Spray Blueberry Craisins!)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment, or prepare with spray oil. Set aside.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl (oats through salt). Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the yogurt, applesauce, vanilla extract, molasses, and brown sugar. Stir until all the ingredients are well incorporated. *Tip for measuring sticky stuff like molasses – lightly spray the measuring spoon with oil before portioning out the molasses – slides right off the measuring spoon, no sticking!

Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined and all dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips.

Portion onto the cookie sheet in 12 equal portions. The cookies will not spread out (remember there is no added fat), but they will rise just a little. So, be sure to pat them down just a bit with the back of a spoon or your fingers before putting them into the oven. Bake for 11-12 minutes. They will be soft but no longer wet on the top. Let sit for a few minutes on the pan before removing them to a cookie rack to finish cooling.

Supposedly these will stay fresh up to 5 days in a airtight container. Poppycock! There are only 12 cookies and there are 5 of us here 🙂