March 11: Apple Chip Oat Cookies

Apple Chip Oat Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (10 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups minus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup dried apple chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and place a rack in the center. Have ready two ungreased baking sheets.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice together in a bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in the oats, wheat germ, walnuts, and apple chips.
4. Shape the dough into 32 balls a little over 1 inch in diameter. Arrange about 2 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets, and press down slightly. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies appear set. Let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry ingredients

Addition of vanilla, lemon zest and egg

Addition of flour mixture

Addition of oats, wheat germ and walnuts

Thoughts: Apple chips by themselves are pretty gross. However the taste is masked in the cookie. It tastes more like a spice cookie. This first batch pictured came out a little darker than I would like at 10 minutes bake time. So in subsequent batches, I baked them for 9 minutes and was much happier. By the way, wheat germ is expensive for the 1 tablespoon that was needed ($4.19!).