I was recently commissioned by a friend to make cookies for a meeting to which he was supposed to bring refreshments. The only difficulty was that it was a morning meeting, and he wanted more breakfast-themed cookies. We chatted about it and came up with a few ideas, which I will be posting individually.
The first, most obvious, idea was oatmeal cookies... oatmeal is a breakfast food, and therefore so are oatmeal cookies. This is my logic, and it has served me well all my life. I threw in maple syrup for good measure. The caveat is that these are not super maple-y. If you want a stronger maple flavor you could probably throw in 1/2 tsp maple extract. I didn't simply because I don't have it on hand.
Please do use real maple syrup. I'm not generally fanatical about foods, but there are a few things I absolutely detest: hydrogenated margarine, artificial vanilla and fake maple syrup. This unholy triumvirate may well lead to the decline and fall of Western civilization, if you ask me.
Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Beat together until totally mixed:
1/2 C (1 stick) butter
1/2 C brown sugar
Add in and beat until mixed:
1 egg/egg replacer*
2 tbsp maple syrup (preferably grade B for more maple flavor)
In separate bowl combine:
1 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture, stir until mixed.
Add:
1/2 C oats
1/2 C cinnamon chips (sold by Hershey's)
1/4 C raisins (optional)
Stir until blended.
Roll dough into 1-2" balls. Because of the raisins and chips the balls might not be perfectly circular, that's fine.
Squish the balls a little with a fork or your fingers so that they are flat on top, then bake at 350F for ten minutes.
Nom cookies. Not to be arrogant or anything, but I honestly believe this is one of the finest recipes I've ever developed. They really are good.
*Note: I used egg replacer powder and omitted the water. If you're using a real egg you may have to add just a couple of tablespoons of flour to make up for the extra liquid. Only do this if the dough seems really sticky.
