You would think I was gearing up for a marathon or something with these cookies! They are the old fashioned Quaker cookies amped up to be a lot more hearty and actually more nutritional (even if just a little bit!). Basically it is a way to get yourself, your kids, etc. to eat more fiber in a sneaky way. My niece won’t go near nuts or dried fruit, and she gobbled these up none the wiser!

This is a great recipe to manipulate depending what it is in your cupboard- you could use any type of nut or dried fruit and sub in carob chips, white chocolate or milk chocolate. The possibilities are endless!

Trail Mix Style Oatmeal Cookies
½ lb butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
3 cups oats
1 11oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ 11oz bag of butterscotch chips
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue to beat them until well combined.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Sift them together and add them to the butter and the sugar. Mix together until just combined, and then add the oats, chips, coconut, cranberries and walnuts.

Drop these onto a greased cookie sheet or silpat lined cookie sheet. I just put 8 scoops of dough at a time, as they spread. Bake them 10-12 minutes, and let them cool a few minutes before eating.