What better excuse than the Olympics to bake these giant oatmeal cookies? These cookies are packed with wheat germ, dried fruit and nuts—all ingredients that athletes will love in a cookie recipe. Wheat germ is a great source of iron, niacin, thiamin, phosphorous, potassium, riboflavin and vitamin E.
The dough for this cookie is quite heavy, so it's best to use a sturdy electric mixer to prepare the dough. Remember to only prepare one batch of dough at a time to avoid putting a strain on the machine.
While the Olympic games may only take place once every four years, this cookie is tasty and healthy enough to bake year after year.
RECIPE
Gold Medal Olympic Cookies
Makes 15 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup wheat germ
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup dark raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat non-stick baking mats (see sources).
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, old-fashioned rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, to the creamed butter-and-sugar mixture. Beat to combine. Add the vanilla extract. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour mixture to the mixer in small increments, beating just until the flour is combined. Add the wheat germ, raisins, walnuts and pecans, and mix on low speed just until the ingredients are combined.
- Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, drop two scoops of dough, one on top of the other, to form the cookies. Each baking sheet should only hold about five cookies, spaced about 2 1/2 inches apart. Dampen palms of hands and use palms to push down the cookies into discs about 1/2-inch thick and 2 1/2 inches wide.
- Bake cookies for about 22 minutes, rotating pans between oven racks halfway through baking.
- Remove cookies from baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack.
SOURCES
Professional Silpat non-stick baking mats
$24.95 for a 16 1/4-inch-by-11 1/4-inch mat, $24.95 for a 13 3/4-by-12 3/4-inch mat
877-812-6235
Michael Vyskocil - Michael Vyskocil has been a feature writer for Recipes on Suite101.com since 2006. He currently serves as the Topic Editor for Recipes.
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