Granola Grabbers

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Hello and happy new year! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and that your new years are off to a great start!

So, I’ll cut to the chase.  I had a challenge and being the competitive individual that I am, I whole-heartedly embraced the challenged and I feel that I came out victorious in the end!

Here’s the deal. My dad encouraged me to “find a recipe for granola cookies.” What?! Was my initial reaction. I had no idea that people would want to put granola in a cookie and then eat it! I was flabbergasted, but curious, so I kept that thought in the back of my head.

Over the nice, long holiday break, I indulged myself in one of my favorite pastimes…reading cookbooks, specially baking cookbooks. I have LOVED my Dorie Greenspan Baking: From My Home to Yours since I first purchased it in 2009 at Homegoods and I’ve been a huge fan of every single recipe that I’ve made out of that book! The dark chocolate biscotti are like heaven on earth and the recipe that I’ll feature today was scrumptious!

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 While flipping through my book, I came across a “granola grabbers” recipe and I had to peel my chin off of the floor! What the heck?! Dorie has a recipe that features granola in a cookie?! WHAT?! I was SO excited to make these and I was so thrilled that they turned out so well.  The man who was behind the granola cookie request enjoyed two cookies fresh out of the oven (a record for him!). He has the greatest self-control of anyone I know and always limits himself to a bite or two of any freshly-baked cookie. I have no idea how we’re related! HAHA.

Anyhoo, the backstory is this. Every year, my aunt makes delicious granola (her secret recipe!) and gives it to all of her nieces, nephews, and siblings as gifts. Every year, I enjoy the granola, but there’s so much of it that come March, I still have lots of granola to work my way through. Therefore, a granola cookie requiring 3 cups of homemade granola is the PERFECT solution.

cute granola tin from my aunt! 

look at all those raisins and walnuts!

So, here goes. The perfect granola cookie recipe. I added more raisins because I love raisins. My sister suggested that white chocolate would be a delicious addition and I whole-heartedly agree. We didn’t have any on hand, but white chocolate is most definitely making its way into our next batch! I’m thinking that it might be best melted and drizzled on top of each cookie. I can see it now…white chocolate granola grabbers. Yummers!

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Granola Grabbers

adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Granola Grabbers Recipe featured in Baking: From My Home to Yours

Ingredients:

3 cups granola without fruit (mine had a few raisins and walnuts)

3/4 cup moist, plump raisins (I used dark)

1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened

1/3 cup wheat germ

1 and 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 375º. 

Place granola, raisins, coconut, and wheat germ in a medium sized bowl.

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat for 2 minutes. Add egg and salt and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and beat for a 15 seconds to make sure that everything is incorporated. 

Turn mixer to low and add flour. Then add granola mixture and blend until incorporated.

Turn mixer off, remove paddle attachment and scoop cookies, by rounded tablespoon onto a lined (either by parchment or silicone baking sheet) cookie sheet. Bake for 11 minutes, or until tops of cookies are golden brown. 

Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes, and then remove them from the sheet and allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm or cooled. Store in an airtight container for up to one week. 

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I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as we did! :-) Happy new year! xoxo