Sweet Melissa Sundays: Granola Breakfast Cookies

This week I got to pick our Sweet Melissa Sundays selection: Granola Breakfast Cookies. I was so excited to get my turn to pick a recipe but I don't do well with lots of options, I always have a hard time making up my mind! I saw Lorelei's post about starting SMS and I jumped on it so I got an early pick -- this meant lots of choices. However, when I got the book I had made a list of the recipes that I wanted to try right away and these cookies were on that list. So, it ended up coming down to a close battle between these cookies and the Strawberry Muffins with Fresh Lemon and Rosemary. Yup, both breakfast picks because I am always, always, always looking for things to have for breakfast. I chose the cookies because then I could make the Cherry Almond Granola and that was also on the list.


Speaking of lists, I'm a big list-maker -- I always have been. My mom makes so much fun of me and my lists. She's one of those incredible people who can automatically file everything in her head. Not me. I have running lists for everything in my life. So, of course, when I get a cookbook, I put a sticky note on the inside cover with the list of the recipes that I want to make soon on it. I love sticky notes too and don't even get me started on the glories of the sticky flags for books. Any time that I'm reading for school I have a package of flags next to me. And in a couple of weeks, at the end of the semester when I've returned my library books, I'll have a big stack of flags to use next semester. I'm slightly obsessed with them.

Back to the cookies. So, it's a little stressful to pick a recipe because I selfishly wanted people to like the recipe that I picked. Last week the apple turnovers were a huge hit and as I was eating them I found myself thinking that there's probably no way that my granola cookies were going to come close to the greatness of the turnovers. And, they didn't. But that's ok because turnovers and granola are two different beasts. It's hard to compare the trail food aspect of granola with the delicate loveliness of puff pastry with sweetened cheese and apples inside.

The cookies are interesting because they're made with whole wheat flour, I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat (because that's what I had more of and I hoard my KA special flours), honey, and molasses. There's absolutely no refined sugar in these cookies, which is kind of cool. I was a little worried about the molasses. I mean, I love ginersnaps and gingerbread and those both use molasses -- but there are a lot of other spices to balance out the molasses fIavor in those baked goods. My brother walked past me one time when I had some molasses out for cooking and he commented on how awful it smells. From then on we always joked that you can't say molasses without saying a** because it smells so bad. I know, I know it's the sulfer. So, in an effort to curb the molasses flavor I upped the cinnamon to a teaspoon and I used 1/2 a teaspoon of Penzey's Baking Spice too. Before I give my verdict on the cookies, I'll just say that I loved the granola and I ate it on yogurt for breakfast every morning until I baked these cookies. And the verdict on the cookies? Well, I like them but when I had the first one for breakfast I thought to myself, I think that I must just prefer to eat my granola with yogurt. So, I've been making sort of breakfast sundaes with the cookies as a base and I like that. I do think that they're a great option for a quick breakfast and they're healthier than most muffins so I'm a fan. I think that in the future I will add more granola because I'd like them to be crunchier and I'll probably try using Steen's Cane Syrup in place of the molasses.

When I posted my TWD Rewind Granola Grabbers, Nancy, of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs, asked about a taste-off between the Granola Grabbers and the Granola Breakfast Cookies. Now, if you don't read her blog then you should know that Nancy does amazing taste-offs on her blog. She's very organized and uses great empirical methods when she does these taste-offs. Me, not so much. I'm much too haphazard and I'd need to have a sticky note with my observations while I was making and tasting the cookies. However, I'll offer up these comments as the posts are right next to eachother. The granola grabbers are much more like the traditional cookie because of the butter, sugar, AP flour aspect. They're very nutty, crunchy, and delicious and of course, the chocolate and cherries seals the deal for me. That said, I personally wouldn't eat them for breakfast. The Granola Breakfast Cookies are very chewy and dense and have a very distinct honey flavor. When I was making dessert the other night, Dudley pointed out that I still had a lot of cookies and I had to explain that those were not dessert cookies. So, while I prefer the granola grabbers, that's my sweet tooth talking and I like these cookies for breakfast.

Thanks to everyone who baked along with me this week! I know that it's a really hectic time for a lot of people and thank you for taking the time to bake these cookies. Next week, Strawbery Shortcakes. I made them last night and they're sooooo very good!

Granola Breakfast Cookies
page 36, The Sweet Melissa Baking Book
makes 2 dozen cookies

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup of clover honey
1/4 cup of molasses
1 large egg
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups of Cherry Almond Granola (recipe on page 34 of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book)

BEFORE YOU START:
Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, honey, & molasses until smooth. Add the egg and whisk until incorporated.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, & baking soda.
3. Add the flour mixture to the honey mixture all at once and stir until combined. Stir in the granola. (At this point the dough can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.)
4. Drop the batter 2 inches apart by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets (12 on each sheet). Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Do not overbake. The cookies should be nice and chewy when cool. Remove to a rack to cool on the sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to the rack.

The cookies will keep layered between wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days, or frozen for up to 3 weeks.