Quick Cooking Rolled Oats Recipe: Trail Mix Cookies

“Quick Cooking Oats” are rolled oats that have been coarsely chopped. You can either purchase them already chopped or make them yourself by slightly pulsing regular old-fashioned rolled oats in a food processor or blender. Quick cooking oats are wonderful in cookies and add a healthy touch. These Trail Mix Oatmeal Cookies are especially yummy.

Here’s a little trail mix history. I was surprised to learn that the traditional combination of nuts, raisins and chocolate as a trail snack dates back to the 1910s, when the idea was included in a popular camping guide.

Trail mix is a great snack to take along with you on the go, walking, hiking, biking, working, shopping, traveling or any time. Be sure to get a blend with only nuts, fruit and chocolate. Watch for added sugar and unnecessary ingredients, such as candy.

Carbohydrates from the whole grains in this recipe, along with the dried fruit, help create an energy boost and the protein and fat from the nuts help sustain that energy. I have two cookies for breakfast or for a snack or take some with me when I leave the house and feel satisfied for hours.

THE HEALTHY AND CRUNCHY REAL FOOD INGREDIENTS!

Begin making the cookies by heating your oven to 375° and getting a large cookie sheet ready. I prefer baking cookies directly on my non-stick cookie sheet, but you can use unbleached parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Then, combine all the wet ingredients in a glass batter bowl or regular glass mixing bowl. First, add melted, cooled coconut oil and an egg and mix. Second, add a little organic cane sugar, almond extract and honey and mix. Last, add some mashed banana and mix until all the ingredients are completely combined.

I love to use my new-style rotary egg beater to mix the wet ingredients. It’s designed after the old-fashioned manual egg beater my Mom had in her kitchen when I was young, and it works quickly and easily. Find the “Featured Kitchen Favorites” utensils and tools above in my Amazon Shop, including the egg beater.

Next, whisk the dry ingredients together in another bowl. Add white whole wheat flour, quick cooking oats, cinnamon, sea salt, baking powder and baking soda. The heart-shaped measuring spoons in the photos above are so cute and are a gift from my husband, but you can get them in my Amazon Shop.

Note: Organic Cane Sugar is much less processed than granulated sugar and retains a lot of its nutrients. Being organic, damaging pesticides are also eliminated.

Note: Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour is milled from hard white spring wheat rather than the traditional red wheat of regular Whole Wheat Flour. With its lighter color, milder flavor and finer texture, it is a great substitute for all-purpose flour. It gives you all of the nutrition and fiber of whole grains, in a lighter, milder-tasting flour.

With a chef’s knife or other large blade knife, chop the trail mix into medium-sized pieces, so you can get some crunchy chewiness in every bite.

Now, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a spatula or large spoon, until combined. Then fold the chopped trail mix into the mixture. Find most of the dry ingredients in my Healthy Living Shop.

The easiest way for me to get uniform cookies is to use a cookie scoop. Scoop and drop twenty cookies onto the cookie sheet and then flatten them down a little with dampened fingers.

Finally, bake the cookies for 10 minutes and then let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. After that move them to a cooling rack. Serve either alone or with a cold glass of milk and enjoy!

I used a trail mix blend with cashews, almonds, pistachios, semi-sweet chocolate, and dried cranberries and cherries. No unwanted ingredients or additives.

Nuts are rich in antioxidants and contain minerals like potassium, zinc and selenium. They also contain vitamin-E and B-complex vitamins. Dried fruits generally contain more fiber than the same-sized serving of their fresh counterparts. Fiber helps keep your digestive system running smoothly. Just be careful to use dried fruits in moderation, since the sugar is concentrated.

Dianna’s Easy Real Food Recipes Blog

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