Healthy Apricot and Date Cookies

These cookies were yummy! They were cakey and delicious and my kids gobbled them up. :)

Ingredients:
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. old-fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
scant 1/2 c. brown sugar (1/3 c. might have been sufficient?)
1 egg
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbps. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. chopped dried apricots and dates

Directions:
1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl, then mix the two together.
3. Stir in the daets and apricots.
4. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Farm Girl Granola

I'm reposting this granola recipe from my other website Everyday Art. It's a great recipe, and worthy of sharing twice! :)

I've been making homemade granola for as long as I can remember, and I've tried a lot of different recipes, but this is the recipe that I've stuck with lately.  

I don't even know where I got it--it's just this random recipe in my recipe box called "Farm Girl Granola" and we all love it.

 

It's the perfect amount of sweetness, crunch and wholesome goodness. My second-second favorite recipe is a dry-roast granola that has much much less oil, but honestly, there's just something yummy about roasting everything in some good-quality oil. I used to always make the dry-roast variety, but lately it's been farm-girl all the way. :) 

I also really like this recipe because so far it has with-stood all my massive amounts of tweaking. I never really make it the same way twice, and somehow it always turns out yummy.

Without further ado, here is your favorite granola recipe:

Farm Girl Granola

8 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

2 c. chopped nuts and seeds (almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.)

1 c. flaked or shaved coconut

3/4 c. oil

3/4 to 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. honey/molasses combination, depending on your own taste preferences

1 Tbsp. vanilla

Optional additions to add to the last 8-10 minutes of roasting:

dried fruit

wheat germ

roasted sunflower seeds

spices--cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, etc.

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix the oats, nuts and seeds, and the coconut together in a large bowl.
3. Mix the oil, sugar, honey/molasses, and vanilla together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.
4. Mix the oat mixture with the oil/sugar mixture. Spread onto two large jelly-roll pans or rimmed cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 8-10 minutes. You may need to rotate the pans around if they are browing unevenly, or if you are lucky enough to have a convection oven, then just stir and don't bother rotating the pans.
6. Add any of the additional add-ins you wish during the last few minutes of roasting.

Hope you enjoy your granola! It really is a wonderful recipe and you really can't screw it up (as long as you don't burn it in the oven!). It's wonderful using any of the listed combinations above, but my favorite is slivered almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds along with dried cranberries. I've thought about adding some orange peel for the holidays....