Spiced Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

I did not appreciate my mother enough growing up. She would make dinner from scratch every night and more often than not it would include dessert. I didn't realize at the time how much work and planning went into it. I loved all her homemade goodies and am so glad I grew up watching someone cook. I learned to cook from her...she would let my sister and I make cookies on our own when we were just 8 and 10 years old and always welcomed our company in the kitchen.

The upside is I learned to cook, the downside is I still love dessert at the end of the day. Something sweet to top of my evening meal. To minimize the damage to my health I am always looking to include whole grains and cut back on the oil and sugar as much as possible in my dessert recipies. This way I can indulge and still feel great. It's a win-win.

These Spiced Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies are just the right blend of good and good for you.

Spiced Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oats
1/2 cup natural sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raw shelled sunflower seeds

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl (the flour through the allspice). Mix the wet ingredients together in a mixing cup (from the oil to the vanilla). Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well to combine. Finally, add the cranberries and sunflower seeds and fold them in. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes. Really watch them, because once they start to caramelize they can burn quickly.

These were great with milk, really chewy and rich with the tangy cranberries.

Makes 18 cookies
Nutritional info from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 31 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 113 Calories from Fat 42

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4.6g 7%

Saturated Fat 0.6g 3%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 120mg 5%

Total Carbohydrates 17.0g 6%

Dietary Fiber 1.1g 5%

Sugars 8.4g

Protein 1.8g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 3% • Iron 4%

Nutrition Grade C

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet