[Posted by Joan]
For the last few weeks I have been thinking about making granola cookies, ever since I saw Dorrie Greenspan rave about her recipe for “Granola Grabbers” on her iPad app. Not wanting to pay $2.99 to purchase the recipe. I did some searching online to find something similar.
I found a recipe for Granola Grabbers that seemed to be close to hers, and planned to make it.
I love all the ingredients called for: granola, shredded coconut, peanuts, almond and raisins. But I knew if I made the cookies, I would eat much of the batter and many of the cookies, and I don’t really need all that sugar and carbs at the moment. I put the recipe away in my “to cook” file. I knew I was going to Cleveland to visit my 89-year-old mother, as well as m sister and brother. Maybe that was the excuse I need to try this recipe!
So the morning of my trip, I dug out the recipe, walked to the nearby store to buy granola, came home and got to work. The recipe called for a lot of butter, more that I actually had on hand, so I used 2 Tbsp of an organic vegetable shortening instead of2 Tbsp of butter. I also added 1 cup of milk chocolate chips that I had on hand. I substituted dark brown sugar for the light brown and white sugar called for in the recipe.
I mixed the batter as directed, and it was delicious! For every scoop that made it to the baking sheet, a spoonful went into my mouth. I am afraid I baked the cookies too long, as they were quite crisp, rather than chewy. But my friend Eileen tried one and said it was the best cookie she ever had. I gave one to my sister Ann on arrival and she loved it. My poor mother who can hardly eat much managed to eat half of a cookie and asked us to save the rest, a miraculous amount of communication from her.
Here is the recipe that I found online, bur I recommend using all dark brown sugar and adding some chocolate chips. Dorrie suggested making the recipe exactly as is the first time, before trying different ingredients. I must say that the combination of raisins, nuts and coconut along with chocolate is pretty hard to top!
Granola Grabbers from http://www.seasaltwithfood.com/2009/05/granola-grabbers.html
Ingredients
3 Cups Granola Without Fruit
3/4 Moist, Plump Raisins (dark or golden)
1/2 Cup Salted Peanuts
1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds
1/2 Cup Sweetened Shredded Coconut
1/3 Cup Wheat Germ
1 3/4 Stick (14 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
3/4 Cup (packed) Light Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Large Egg
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
Method
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Put the granola in a large bowl and break up any clumps with your fingers. Add the raisins, peanuts, almonds, coconut and wheat germ and mix together.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar(s )and beat for another 3 minutes, or until creamy. Add the egg and salt and beat until well blended. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add flour, mixing only until it is incorporated, then steadily add the granola and fruit. Stop the mixer when most of the granola mix is blended into the batter and finish the job with a sturdy rubber spatula, making sure to get up any bits of dry ingredients left in the bottom of the bowl.
Scoop out rounded Tbsp of dough, pack the scoops between your palms and arrange the mounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1-1/2 inches between them. Flatten the mounds lightly with your fingertips.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies should be golden brown but not firm. Allow them to rest on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring them to racks to cool to room temperature.
Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.
For another adaptation of this recipe see http://www.cookiemadness.net/2009/05/3338/
