It’s hard to see the spinkles in this photo, but they’re there, I swear. The kids are super excited about them.

*We’ve been out of vanilla for a while, so I keep subbing in various zests. These cookies are lovely with orange, but I’d bet they’d be great with lemon, almond or vanilla.

Chewy Oatmeal Cutouts from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking via Shiny Cooking

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temp
• 2 Tsp orange zest (or lemon, or vanilla extract, or 1/2 tsp almond extract)1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 c (10 oz)flour (could probably replace more of it with whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup (2 1/4 oz) of regular or white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oats (4 oz) lightly ground in the blender (blending makes the cookies much easier to cut and give them a finer texture)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/ tsp salt
• egg white for egg wash, if desired

Cream butter, sugar and zest (if using) until light and fluffy, scraping down occasionally to make sure butter and sugar are fully incorporated (3 min.). Beat in extract (if using) eggs one at a time (1 min.) again, scraping down for full incorporation.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and beat at a low speed until dough forms a ball. Press dough into 2 disks, wrap in a cereal bag (or cellophane or whatnot)  and refrigerate at least a half hour, 1 or more is better. Preheat oven to 350*. Roll out one disk a scant 1/4 inch thick and cut into desired shapes. Transfer cookies to baking sheets (I put silpat on mine, but I’m not sure it’s necessary). If desired, whisk egg white with 1 tsp of water. Brush a thin coat of egg wash on the cookies and decorate as desired (SPRINKLES!!!!). Bake for 9-11 minutes. Gather scraps and re-refridgerate. Repeat rolling process for second disk. Re-roll scraps, and repeat cut-out process, or cut into diamonds. Remember, rolling cookie dough more than twice may result in tough cookies.

I recalled an unusual little cookie, a recipe I had seen many times in my mom’s wonderful collected cookbook. She actually has several of these binders, each labeled with it’s major food category, filled with newspaper clippings, recipes pulled off the back of boxes, and note cards from friends. I admit, the only one I’ve ever actually opened is the one labeled “Cookies, Pies, Cakes and Treats.” Now, the problem with this particular cookie recipe is that I could only recall the image of it, not the recipe itself, along with a very vague memory of this unusual, delightful cookie. An Almond-Sesame Cookie. Not recalling her recipe, and not wanting to call her to give me the recipe over the phone, I scanned the internet. I sat in front of the computer disappointed. None of the recipes offered what I was looking for, either lacking almond or sesame punch.

What’s a girl to do with a little bowl of extract and no recipes to suit her fancy? Make something up. When served the cookies for dessert, Tom looked up and said, “This is a keeper.” The next day we were at my mom’s house, so I pulled out her sweets binder. It felt good to see all those recipes I had looked at so many times as a kid, all in their proper places.  I quickly found her  ”Chinese Almond Cookie” recipe, written out in her hand. The ingredient list was almost the same (her’s had cornmeal which gave it an interesting texture as I recall), but the proportions were significantly different. So here’s my version.

Almond Sesame Cookies

Use the greater quantity of sugar if you’re looking for something very cookie like. The smaller quantity has a sweetness similar to a store bought granola bar: plenty sweet for me. One website included instructions to shape the dough into ovals about 2 inches in length. I think I’ll try that next time for a more interesting look. *Also, I might try moistening my hands when shaping the dough to improve sesame seed adhesion.

•            3/4 cup sesame seeds

•            1 1/4cups all-purpose flour

•            3/4 cup almond meal

•            1/2 to 3/4 cup turbinado (or light brown) sugar, depending on desired sweetness

•            5 tablespoons butter, softened/melted (doesn’t really matter!)

•            2 tablespoons water

•            1 teaspoon baking powder

•            1 teaspoon almond extract

•            1/4 teaspoon salt

•            1 egg

Preheat oven to 350°. On a cookie sheet while the oven preheats, toast sesame seeds until golden brown, about 15 min, or until preheat is complete. Set aside. Measure remaining ingredients into a large mixing bowl. With hand-held or stand mixer at low speed, beat until well blended, occasionally scraping bowl. With spoon, stir in a generous 1/4 cup sesame seeds.

Using a scant 2 teaspoons of dough for each cookie, roll into a ball and press into remaining toasted sesame seeds*. Place cookies about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Store in tightly covered container for up to 1 week.

Well, it’s a great recipe, but it has 1 cup of sugar, which is the main ingredient we try to avoid in this house, so I’ve been slowly reducing it. A half cup provides enough sweetness, but since sugar is important for moisture and cohesion, I have been tinkering with the recipe in other ways to compensate. I perused online for a trailmix cookie recipe and found one that included 1/2 tsp of baking soda dissolved in 1 tbsp of hot water. Wondering if that might do the trick, the kiddos and I set to work on a batch of cookies.

But wait. I forgot. We ran out of cinnamon a few days ago. Grrrrrr. What’s an oatmeal cookie without a little cinnamon? Plus, cinnamon speaks to your tastebuds as if it’s sweetness, thereby allowing you to reduce the sugar content without totally sacrificing flavor. What’s a girl to do without cinnamon? Dorie Greenspan published the recipe for this amazing Spiced Cranberry Bunt cake in the November 2008 issue of Bon Appetit where she introduced me to Chinese 5 Spice*, and aromatic combination of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and other spices. Since then, I’ve used it here and there to add ore interesting flavor than cinnamon alone.

Using 5 spice, I knew I had to be choose my nuts and fruits wisely. Thinking about the fruit, nuts and seeds I had, I thought a Turkish/Middle East inspired cookie with apricots and pistachios might work out well. Of course you could always replace the 5 spice with cinnamon and have a quite traditional (only healthier) oatmeal.

Also, sorry about the lack of pictures. Imagine an oatmeal cookie, not totally flat, not a puffy little cake cookie, but a nice normal one. Now imagine it a few shades darker because of the spice and molasses. There’s your picture.

*I bought my 5 spice in bulk where I could get just a spoonful for a few cents, just in case I didn’t like it. I’ve been back for more. Twice.

Turkish Spice Trail Mix Cookies (makes about 30 and are probably healthier than most granola bars)

2/3 c. white whole wheat (or unbleached all purpose) flour
1 1/3 c. oats (preferably old fashioned)
1/4-1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled (in a big enough bowl or pan to mix the following 7 ingredients)
1/2 c. sugar (or 1/2 c. dark brown sugar and omit the molasses, but I’m “frugal”)
1 egg, room temp
1 T. blackstrap molasses
2 T applesauce (or just do 6 tbsp melted butter)
1/2 tsp 5 spice powder (or cinnamon)
1/4 tsp powdered ginger (my ginger loving friend might have liked 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tbsp hot water
1 1/2 cups “stuff”
We did chopped apricots, golden raisins, toasted almonds, pecans, pistachios and sunflower seeds.
The variations are endless: sesame seeds, dried cherries, coconut, chocolate chips, or the classic raisins and walnuts)
2 tbsp chopped candied ginger, optional

Preheat the oven to 325*. If using raw nuts and seeds, place them on a baking sheet in the oven to toast for 15 min or until fragrant. Remove and allow to cool. The oven does not have to be preheated for this.

In the mean time, in a small bowl, pour hot water over the dried fruit & candied ginger, if using (this helps plump them). Mix the flour, oats and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Mix the sugar into the butter. Beat in the egg. Add the molasses, applesauce, 5 spice (or cinnamon), ginger and vanilla. Stir until blended.

Dissolve the baking soda into the fruit and water mixture. Stir the sugar/egg mixture into the oat mixture until combined. Add the fruit, water, baking soda, nuts and other “stuff” and mix until evenly distributed. Drop tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and flatten a little. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 12-14 min, rotating halfway through baking. Allow to cool 5 min, then remove to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

P.S. My wonderful aunt asked about a diabetic friendly oatmeal cookie recipe just as I was preparing to type this. One might try replacing the sugar and applesauce (maybe the molasses too) with 1/3 cup agave nectar. It has a lower glycemic index than sugar.