Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

There's something I need to tell you. It has been weighing heavily on my shoulders for quite some time, and I think I'll feel a lot better if I just get it out in the open.

I'm a cookie freak. A big-time cookie freak. I have to have cookies in my house, preferably fresh-baked cookies. I have to eat them with coffee, I have to eat them for dessert after any meal, I have to have one with my hot tea when I hit my 3 p.m. slump during the workday. I. Love. Cookies.

That's why I had to try the recipe for Loaded Oatmeal Cookies I spotted in a recent issue of Better Homes & Gardens.


Well, actually, there were a number of reasons I had to try the recipe. Besides the fact that I am a cookie freak, or perhaps because of it, I thought these cookies looked yummy. Plus, miraculously, despite the random ingredient list, I had everything I needed on hand. (This usually doesn't happen.)

So about a week ago, I made a batch of the loaded oatmeal cookies. They received rave reviews from the random assortment of people who ate them (most of whom were named Julie). And they are really really really healthy for you. I mean, really. They have oats and cinnamon and dark chocolate and cranberries and walnuts and these are all wonderful foods. Plus they have flax seed meal and wheat germ.

Uh-oh. Did I lose you? Wait, come back. I can explain. The wheat germ is a great source of folic acid. And the flax seed meal has fiber, lignans, and omega-3 fats. Very important, all. And I promise, you won't even know they're in there. Conservative Boy didn't notice. His friends didn't notice. And they shun health foods at all costs. So you will be OK.

(If you have to buy flax seed meal and wheat germ because you're not as random as I am and they're not already in your cupboard, you can also use these healthful ingredients in smoothies, on cereal, in oatmeal, and in other baking to boost the healthfulness of your diet. Stop asking questions and just do it.)

OK. If you're still with me here, I'll get to the recipe now. It's good, remember? This cookie freak wouldn't lie.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies
From Better Homes & Gardens (a prize-tested recipe in the March 2009 Smart Cookie category, if you must know)

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar (yes, I know, they have a lot of sugar ... but they're still healthy!)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped (but not too finely ... chocolate chunks are heaven)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toast walnuts.


In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.


Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.


Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour. Stir in rolled oats, flax seed meal, wheat germ, chocolate, cranberries, and walnuts.


(Dough will be a little crumbly and photos will be a little blurry.)


2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.


(Now do you see why I vote for not chopping the chocolate too finely?)

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute.


Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Supposedly makes about 30 cookies—but do you ever get that many? I never do.