12 Days of Holiday Cookies: Cherry Berry Oatmeal Holiday Cookies

By , SparkPeople Blogger
With Thanksgiving behind us, the sweet tooth pushes aside pies for another seasonal treat: cookies! Thankfully, it's simple enough to boost the nutrition of your cookies and other baked goods, and we have no shortage of good recipes. That's why, for the first 12 days of December, we're sharing our favorite cookies recipes with our readers.

Serve these Cherry Berry Oatmeal Holiday Cookies with a hot cup of tea.

Oatmeal cookies are a great way to increase fiber and add bulk to your diet while enjoying something sweet. These cookies have a little holiday touch with the addition of dried cherries, blueberries and cranberries. The acid in the berries replaces the usual sweetness of raisins and also helps to soften the oat flour. Each cookie offers 1 1/2 grams of fiber and very little saturated fat. If you choose to use unsalted butter instead of the smart balance margarine, you would want to add 1/4 t kosher or sea salt to the recipe.

Ingredients:
  • 2 1/2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup oat flour
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 tablespoons flaxseed, ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons Smart Balance margarine 50/50 blend solid bars
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup apple butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3/4 cup cherry-berry blend (dried cherries, dried blueberries and dried cranberries)


Nutrition Info:
Calories: 76.4
Fat: 2.1 g
Find full nutrition info here.

Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  • Stir together the oats, flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and ground flaxseed. In a separate bowl, use a wooden spoon and cream together the smart balance margarine and oil until well blended. Add the brown sugar and mix until fluffy; this will take 3-4 minutes. Add the egg white, apple butter, vanilla and the berry blend. Add the dry ingredients until a dough forms. You may refrigerate the dough at this point for up to 24 hours.

  • Drop the cookie dough onto baking sheet either lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet liner. Each cookie should be about 2 tablespoons of dough. Moisten your hands with water and lightly shape the dough into a 2 inch round.

  • Bake the cookies for 7 minutes. If you are baking 2 trays of cookies, switch the position and rotate the pans so that the cookies will bake evenly. Then bake until they are lightly brown about another 7-9 minutes. (Bake 14-16 minutes total.) Remove from pans carefully and let cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container.

Yields 40 2-inch cookies

TIP: Oatmeal cookies are a great way to increase fiber and add bulk to your diet while enjoying something sweet. These cookies have a little holiday touch with the addition of dried cherries, blueberries and cranberries.

This recipe was created by Patricia Huller C.C.E., M.Ed., a culinary instructor and healthy baking expert from Cincinnati State's Midwest Culinary Institute, especially for SparkRecipes.

Members who subscribe to SparkPeople's Recipe of the Day Newsletter receive one new cookie/dessert recipe each day, beginning December 1, to help them prepare for holiday parties and gift exchanges. We're also sharing them here because, well, who doesn't love good (and somewhat healthy) cookies?

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Will you make this recipe? Which dried berry do you prefer?