Chunky Oatmeal Cookies

Everyone loves a good oatmeal cookie. (And, if you don’t, more for us!) And here’s a fabulously better-for-you one that we recently got from the Monk Fruit In The Raw Bakers Bag people. Monk Fruit in the Raw works, cup for cup, like sugar, so it’s an easy way to cut sugar from a recipe — but if you’re not down with the monk fruit, feel free to sub it out with your favorite sweetener. And although we haven’t tried it yet, we bet you could sub the all-purpose flour out for sorghum flour or maybe even almond flour (just watch how dry or wet it is and adjust with more or less flour as necessary) for a gluten-free version of these oatmeal cookies. With cranberries, raisins and almonds, these almost remind us of a trail-mix cookie. Love it!

Chunky Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Yield: 40, 2-inch cookies
Ingredients
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, cold
1/3 cup canola oil, chilled
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Monk Fruit In The Raw Bakers Bag
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup sliced almonds
Directions
1. Place racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt. In larger bowl, whisk the egg. While whisking, gradually add the oil, beating until the mixture resembles loose mayonnaise. Whisk in the sugar and Monk Fruit In The Raw Bakers Bag. Add half the dry ingredients and use a flexible spatula to combine them. Mix in the applesauce and vanilla, then the remaining dry ingredients. Fold in the oats, cranberries, raisins and almonds, mixing to distribute them evenly.
3. Drop the batter in heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the mounds 2 inches apart. Using your fingers, shape each mound into a 1 1/2-inch round, rinsing your fingers with water when they get sticky.
4. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, then switch the position of the pans in the oven and rotate the pans 180 degrees. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes until the cookies are cinnamon brown. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
Per cookie: 70 calories, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 10 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 1 g dietary fiber, 5 mg cholesterol, 49 mg sodium
Stored in an airtight container, these cookies will keep for one week. And they’ll last for months if you freeze them. Treats for all! Tell us, what’s your favorite type of cookie? —Jenn