Honey Oatmeal Cookies

I've been wanting to start subsituting honey for sugar because of the health benefits and such. (there is so much more to read, but this is a good site to just break it all down) But I have been sort of hesitant, so I found this on the internet and thought it a great place to start. They seem a little soggy before baking, and I was surprised how well they turned out and made a really soft cookie. Some of them were really crumbly, they definatly need time to cool. They were way fast to make too. I think next time I make them I would add less brown sugar so they aren't so sweet. But that is personal preference.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup whole wheat flour(all-purpouse is good too)
1/2 teaspoon salt (i usually never add salt to my recipes)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (aka oatmeal)

I also added some cinnamon and vanilla

about 1/2 cup chopped dates or fig or raisins or currant or chocolate or cinnamon chips or chopped nuts, etc (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray (just for convenience).

2. Using a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter, brown sugar, honey, egg and water thoroughly.

3. Sift together the dry ingredients then stir in the oats. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix. Add any additional ingredients you've chosen.

4. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

I figured out the calories for these cookies:

If you make 21 cookies it is 70 calories per cookie, and only 1.9 g of fat.

Gingerbread cookies

Whatever you do, don't over bake these guys - they will dry right out. If anything under bake them just a shade (they will continue to bake for another couple of minutes once you pull them from the oven). Big cookies take longer to cook than tiny ones, keep that in mind as well.

4 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup dark natural cane sugar (i.e. muscavado), or alternately use a dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
2/3 cup organic unsulfured molasses (blackstrap)large grain sugar (turbinado) for decoration
popsicle sticks (optional)
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
In a large bowl by hand (or with an electric mixer) cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix again until light and creamy. Blend in the eggs one at a time and then the molasses. Add the flour mixture in two additions either by hand or on low speed. Divide the dough into two pieces, wrap each in plastic and chill for an hour or so.
Heat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the middle, and line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Set aside.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop roughly 1/8-inch thick and cut into gingerbread men (or other desired shapes). Transfer to baking sheets and arrange a popsicle stick underneath each (if desired), no need to press the stick aggressively into the dough, gently is fine – the cookies will bake right onto the sticks. Sprinkle with sugar (optional) and bake for 7 –10 minutes (for 3 – 4-inch cookies), less for smaller cookies, more for larger.
Makes about 3 dozen four-inch gingerbread men.

Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies

I got this recipe from the Oatmeal canister that we buy. I believe it is the Quaker Oats. Zack loves to help with this one!

2 sticks butter softened

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Beat the above until creamy then add:

1 1/2 c flour (white flour can be substituted for wheat, and no one can tell the difference)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 c oats

1 c raisins, boiled and drained

Bake 350 for 10-12 minutes, makes about 4 doz

You can also add cinnamon chips to this and omit the 1 tsp cinnamon.