I often get in a mental conundrum when contemplating what kind of cookies I want to make. I often want fluffy oatmeal cookies. And then I start thinking of this really amazing cookie dough that my mom and I once made: it was full of just about everything but the kitchen sink, and we ate so much of the dough that by the time we baked some, I didn’t want the finished cookies. I cannot for the life of me, however, remember the recipe or find it. I decided, then, to make up my own. I also made this recipe considerably lighter than your typical “Everything Cookie” recipe you find online, which are most often riddled with butter and oil. Mine are all about the ingredients, which as you can see, include just about everything from my cupboards.
Melissa’s Jumble of Joy Cookies
[makes 3 dozen, depending on size]
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 whole egg and 1 egg white
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Splenda
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups oats
1 cup Rice Krispie cereal
1 cup chocolate and peanut butter mix chips
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup coconut flakes
1/3 cup broken up pretzel pieces
~Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
~In a large bowl, combine butter, applesauce, egg, egg white, baking powder, salt, vanilla, brown sugar and splenda. Incorporate flours. Carefully mix in all other ingredients (I just use a fork, being careful to not crumble the cereal and pretzels).
~Dollop onto parchment-lined baking sheet. They do not spread out much, so keep them generally flat and make the dollop the size of the cookies you want to have after they’re baked. Bake for approximately 10 min. Enjoy!
On a separate note, this Saturday will mark the 2 week countdown until the Bentonville Half Marathon! And, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I won’t be drinking beer, but maybe I’ll consider green food coloring in my Pinot Grigio tonight.
