Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Have you ever made cookies with a box of cake mix? I have made them many times and in many different ways. I like them because they are quick and easy. I also like them because you don't have to use butter to get a yummy cookie. Don't get me wrong, I love my chocolate chip cookies made with butter. However, they can be temper-mental since the butter has to be at just the right temperature to get a good dough. So, when I have to bring cookies somewhere and want to do an easy cookie, I do cake mix cookies. However, I don't like all the ingredients in cake mix, and I don't care for the refined flours in them either. 

So, this is my recipe for cake mix cookies from SCRATCH without the box of cake mix. Specifically, "Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies." Maybe kind of silly to make an easy cookie a little more complicated. But, I like it because it makes them a little bit healthier. In this recipe, the only "unhealthy" ingredient is the sugar. Everything else is pretty good for you and a little sugar every once in a while isn't so bad. And if you want, you could always use a boxed chocolate cake mix instead of making the cake mix yourself. 

Here are just a few of the ingredients I used. The applesauce is UNSWEETENED and the oil is COCONUT oil. 

 First, I prepare the chocolate cake mix. It is just some whole wheat white flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder,  baking soda, and salt all mixed together! See, not too hard. Right? (As a disclaimer, I have never used this cake mix to make a chocolate cake, just cookies).

 Then, I just add the rest of the ingredients to the cake mix. I start out by making my flax egg. It is a TBSP of ground flax whisked together with 3 TBSP of water and I let it sit for a few minutes. If you don't want to bother with a flax egg, you could use a regular egg. I haven't ever used a regular egg in this before, but it should work fine. Along with the flax egg, you add some coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla, and oats (I usually use quick oats, but rolled oats are fine too). You could also add some chocolate chips, nuts or other mix in if you like. I usually don't bother adding anything.

Once everything is in the bowl, mix it really well. I usually have to get my hands in there and mix it by hand. It may seem like it needs more liquid at first, but just keep mixing. Trust me! Once everything is well incorporated, the dough will look like this big clump in the picture above.

 Then, roll the dough and place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. You should be able to get 3 dozen good sized cookies. This cookie dough also freezes well, so you can place the balls of dough you don't need in a freezer bag to use another time!

Don't they look so good! And with whole wheat flour and oats, they aren't too sinful either! The applesauce makes this a soft, chewy cookie.  If you prefer a crunchy cookie, you can up the oil to 1/2 cup and use a 1/4 cup of water instead of the applesauce.

And here is the whole recipe:

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

2 C. soft whole wheat white flour (all purpose flour would also work)
1 C. cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 3/4 C. white sugar

1 C. oatmeal
1/4 C. coconut oil
1/2 C. unsweetened applesauce
1 flax egg
1 tsp vanilla
Chocolate chips or other mix in, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the first 6 ingredients to make the dry cake mix or use a boxed chocolate cake mix. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Form balls of dough and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. (Makes 3 dozen)

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

When it comes to breakfast, I have stayed away from cereals for the last couple years. After eating them almost every morning for breakfast for 20+ years, they have kind of lost their appeal.  I have gone through different phases when it comes to breakfast since giving up the cereal. I have done eggs, yogurt, oatmeal, etc for different periods of time. Currently, my usual breakfast is some toast with peanut butter made from home made whole wheat bread. It is simple, quick (provided that I already made the bread), and healthy.

But, one of my favorite treats to make myself for breakfast is Oatmeal Breakfast Bars. They are quick to throw together and only take 20 minutes to bake. Plus, they taste delicious and can be vegan, fat free, and sugar free (with the exception of the chocolate chips, which are totally optional). And they taste sooo good that I'll have them for breakfast and as a late night treat. 

My recipe is adapted from this: Healthied Up Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

Her recipe is pretty healthy and she also has a second version of the recipe that isn't so healthy for when you want something a little more indulgent.

I took her recipe one step further and use applesauce as the main sweetener. Success? I think so. It is still tasty and it makes it even healthier. This bar is hard to describe. It is not fluffy. It is chewy, moist and dense. Not really muffin like or quick bread like. I guess you'll just have to try it and see for yourself.

What makes this recipe quick is it is a one bowl recipe. Just throw everything in the bowl and mix it. The first ingredients are some regular rolled oats and whole wheat flour. I grind my own wheat and use soft white wheat from Wheat Montana.

 And here are the rest of the ingredients in the bowl. The applesauce is sugar free. The chocolate chips are not sugar free, but you could omit them or use sugar free ones. The red stuff is some freeze dried strawberries. This makes them extra yummy and even more healthy! 

 My freeze dried strawberries are from Thrive Life. They have a ton of freeze dried berries to choose from. I think you could easily use freeze dried raspberries or blueberries instead of the strawberries, or even do a combination. Amber Larson is my consultant and you can order from her here.

 Once it is all in the bowl, just give it a quick mix. My kids love the batter and since there are no eggs, you could totally eat it as just batter.

 Here it is all ready for the oven. I like to line my pan with foil for easy clean up. This recipe makes a small batch for an 8x8 pan. If you have a big family, you may want to double the recipe. 

 And here it is fresh out of the oven. This tastes good warm from the oven, cold, or even reheated in the microwave. 

 Here is my breakfast. I love topping this with a little peanut butter and a glass of water to wash it down. It would probably be even better with a glass of milk, but as part of my healthier diet I drink only water during the day and stay away from dairy.

So here is my recipe:

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

§  2 C. Whole Wheat Flour (you could also try all purpose or GF flours)

§  1/2 C. Rolled Oats 

§  1 C. unsweetened Apple Sauce

§  1 T. Ground Flax Seed

§  1/2 C. Almond Milk

§  3 t. Vanilla

§  1 t. baking powder

§  1/2 t. salt

§  1/2 -2/3 C. mix ins of choice (I did 1/4 C. choc. chips and 1/4 C. freeze dried berries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Line an 8x8 pan with tin foil and press batter into pan. Bake for 20 minutes. 

Be sure to let me know if you try it!