Wheels of Steel Cookies

winkki's Note:

A tasty way to get a lot of fiber. A nurse friend gave us this recipe when one of our children was having problems keeping everything 'moving along.' They are nicknamed "Roto-Rooter Cookies," and for good reason! I quickly learned to limit dh and the other kids to a few cookies apiece. That was hard, though, because they really are yummy little creations, kind of a super-powered oatmeal cookie. It's also a very forgiving recipe...if you are missing some of the fruit, seeds, etc, just adjust other amounts around to your taste/pantry items. I've made it with and without the final step of rolling in sesame seeds; both ways work, though the toasted sesame taste is nice. When dd was really having trouble, I also substitued prune juice for the liquid milk. You may add up to 1-2 c of mixed fruit, seeds, etc as the last ingredients, but don't have to; may need to adjust liquid a bit depending upon what you choose. Basic recipe makes a lot; I've never had any trouble halving it.

• Total Time: 42 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 96 cookies

• 1 cup butter or 1 cup margarine
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• ½ cup wheat germ
• 1 cup non-fat powdered milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons liquid milk
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups raisins
• ½ cup sunflower seed
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 -2 cup sesame seeds or 1 -2 cup dried figs or 1 -2 cup dried apricots or 1 -2 cup flax seeds or 1 -2 cup ground flax seeds or 1 -2 cup nuts or 1 -2 cup chopped prunes or 1 -2 cup oat bran or 1 -2 cup carob chips (total combined amount etc) (optional)
• ½-1 cup sesame seed (optional)

Directions:

1. Cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
2. Combine flour, wheat germ, dry milk, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; stir together lightly.
3. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture; stir.
4. Add together liquid milk, oats, raisins, sunflower seeds, coconut, and chopped dates; mix well.
5. If desired, combine optional ingredients equal to 1-2 cups and add to oat& seed mixture; mix well.
6. Depending upon what you add, you may want to increase the liquid a bit to make sure everything holds together.
7. Add oat& seed mixture to flour/creamed mixture combo; mix well.
8. Roll dough into 1-2" balls; yield will vary by size of cookies.
9. Press rolled dough into a pattie shape and press into sesame seeds, if desired.
10. Bake on greased cookie sheet for approx 12 min at 375F.
11. Watch closely to avoid scorching, especially if rolled in seeds.
12. Store in airtight container.

Reviews

[Dorel]

I halved the recipe. I used figs, dried apricots, raisins, wheat germ, coconut, oats and lots of sunflower seeds. I didn't use any choc chips or carob chips.I found my dough to sticky for rolling so I used a cookie scoop and then flattened them. I got about 35 cookies and baked for 12 min. but I found the bottoms a little too brown on the first batch so I lowered the temp. to 350 for the rest. I didn't use any sesame seeds. I am eating them now and they are very good. Thanks Winkki for the great recipe.

[Molly53]

When the chef tells you that their recipe makes a lot of cookies, you should probably believe them. This one over-ran my mixer's largest bowl and I had to move it to my huge tupperware bowl and finish it by hand. I followed the recipe quantities as written and ended up with something like 14 dozen (which is a HUGE quantity for the two of us). The next time we make them, I'll make sure to halve the recipe for a more normal sized batch. I doubled up on the sunflower seeds because I like them (Winkki said that this recipe is very forgiving of substitutions), subbed quinoa seeds for the sesame seeds (because I had them on hand), and butter scotch chips for the carob (for the same reason). I also found that the cookies turned out better baked (for me, anyway) if they were baked at 350° for a minute or so longer than the recipe calls for.

[firewalker56]

I used to make a similar recipe when my kids were small. Recently my daughter who is grown and in an intense accelerated college program asked me if i remembered them and would I make them again? Apparently the stress was slowin things down....I put flax and poppy seed in these. If they are too sticky, refrigerate them for a couple of hours or overnight.