We are reviving an old bonus recipe to become a permanent blog post, because we figured everyone needs more cookies in their lives. We show you how to take a basic cookie recipe and swap out different flours and sugars as well as add-ins like baking chips, dried fruit, nuts, flavoring extracts, etc.
From AnkarsrumUSA recipe developer, Carmi Adams:
The first recipe features whole wheat flour and natural sugars and comes from Ashley McCord. It is delicious. The two variations show you how to swap in alternate flours (all purpose or gluten-free), and I played around with the flavor profile of them to show how easy it is to substitute certain ingredients and end up with a completely different tasting cookie.
Let’s begin by discussing some of the ingredients and attachments used in the recipe. First up, Sucanat and Honey Granules. Sucanat is a substitute for brown sugar and is basically evaporated cane juice. Honey Granules (aka Sucanat with Honey) is the cane juice mixed with honey and then evaporated. If you don’t have these on hand, I give measurements for using regular and brown sugar in the all-purpose flour version.
Next up is soft wheat and the Grain & Spice Mill Attachment. While this attachment doesn’t grind flour fine enough for certain recipes, choosing a soft wheat berry and using it in recipes like these cookies, pancakes, waffles, and hearty quick breads actually works quite well. If milling your own flour isn’t your cup of tea, just substitute with whole wheat pastry flour, which is made from soft wheat. I am also a huge proponent of measuring out ingredients by weight when baking. This especially makes sense when you mill your own flour or flake your own oats. One cup of grain does not yield 1 cup of flour. BUT, 283 grams of wheat berries will give me 283 grams of flour. Also, freshly milled flour is extremely aerated, whereas flour that has been stored in a container for a few days (or sat on a grocery store shelf for weeks) is not. This can lead to wildly different results when measuring by cups.
And now on to the oats and the Flake Mill Attachment. Again, weighing out the oat groats will yield the same amount of freshly rolled oats. One note, if gluten intolerance is an issue, make sure your oat groats are sourced from a place that states that they are gluten-free. Otherwise, they could be cross-contaminated from other grains. The same goes for buying rolled oats if not flaking your own. Make sure the package says Gluten-Free if that is a concern.
For cookies like this recipe, we turn to the stainless steel bowl to help us out. There is a trick to creaming butter and sugar in this bowl with the roller/scraper. Here’s what I do: cream the butter and sugar on the highest speed for about a minute. Then scrape down the roller with the spatula that came with the Ankarsrum. It fits perfectly in the grooves of the roller. Next, adjust the speed down to medium high and finish creaming. The “room temperature” of my kitchen varies greatly from winter to summer. So, often in the hotter months I will decrease the creaming time by about a minute because the butter is really soft and I don’t want it to start liquifying as it is getting whipped in the mixer.
Next you add the dry ingredients at a low speed.
And then last but certainly not least, the oats and goodies get added in. This is why the stainless steel bowl is used. These ingredients can make the dough too chunky and/or stiff for the plastic whipping bowl and wire whisks to handle.
This cookie dough doesn’t need to chill before baking (except the gluten-free version), but you could certainly make it up in advance and stash it in the fridge for up to a couple days.
We hope you enjoy these tasty treats. Let us know if you have any questions or comments. Happy Baking!!
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
230 g. (1 cup/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
150 g. (1 cup) Sucanat
172 g. (1 cup) Honey Granules, aka Sucanat w/ Honey
2 large eggs, room temperature
5 g. (1 tsp.) vanilla extract
283 g. (2 1/2 cups) freshly milled soft wheat flour OR whole wheat pastry flour if not milling
250 g. (2 1/2 cups) fresh rolled oats OR old-fashioned rolled oats
4 g. (1 tsp.) baking soda
2 g. (1/2 tsp.) baking powder
2 g. (1/2 tsp.) kosher salt
150 g. (1 cup) dried cranberries
35 g. (1/2 cup) shredded coconut (optional)
75 g. (1/2 cup) chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350º. Line two baking or cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Assemble Ankarsrum with the Stainless Steel Bowl fitted with the dough roller and dough scraper. Add butter, sucanat and honey granules to the bowl and starting out of the lowest speed, turn machine on with the dough roller resting against the side of the bowl. Increase speed to the highest setting (8 o’clock) and let cream one minute. Turn off and scrape down roller with the spatula. Turn speed down to medium-high (4 o’clock) and cream 3 more minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue creaming until mixture is light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Turn machine to lowest speed and add baking powder, baking soda, salt and soft wheat flour. Once combined, add rolled oats, cranberries and optional ingredients if desired. Mix just until combined.
Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls or large cookie scoop onto cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet; remove to wire rack and cool completely. Store in an air tight container.
Yield: 4 dozen
Chef’s Note: Tips for freezing
Scoop dough onto a parchment lined or non-stick cookie sheet and place in freezer. Don’t worry about spacing because these are not going to be baked right away. Once frozen, transfer cookie dough balls into a plastic zip top bag and keep for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, remove directly from freezer and place onto desired cookie sheet and bake 12-14 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet; remove to wire rack and cool completely.
All-Purpose Flour and Regular Sugar Version
-Replace whole wheat flour with 300 g. (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
-Replace Sucanat with 160 g. (3/4 cup) brown sugar
-Replace Honey Granules with 171 g. (3/4 cup) sugar
-For a different flavor profile omit cranberries, shredded coconut and nuts. Replace with 132 g. (1 cup) cacao nibs and 163 g. (1 cup) toffee bits.
-Follow recipe instructions above.
Gluten-Free Version
-Replace whole wheat flour with 300 g. (2 1/2 cups) of a measure-for-measure/cup-for-cup gluten-free flour. This recipe was tested out with King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour.
-Add an extra pinch of salt.
-For a different flavor profile, omit cranberries and shredded coconut. Use almonds for the nuts and add 180 g. (1 cup) dried blueberries and the zest of 1 lemon.
-Follow recipe instructions above until cookie dough is fully mixed. Chill dough for at least an hour before baking. Increase baking time to 12-14 minutes.
