School House Cookies

Submitted by Dee514

"The first time I had these cookies, I was in rural Vermont, at a crafts festival. The craftsman served them in his shop as a refreshment to visitors, along with rhubarb punch. The cookies were very yummy, so I asked him for the recipe. He went upstairs, and returned with his wife's very old hand written cook book which was opened to the page with the "schoolhouse cookies". He told me that the recipe was made up by one of the local schoolhouse's teachers as a nutritious snack for the younger children. I usually make them with a combination of chopped walnuts OR pecans and the sunflower seeds (about half and half of each) and sometimes substitute chopped dried apricots or dates for the raisins. They are a very chewy cookie, good with milk or coffee :) You could also add cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. to your preferences."

 

• Ready In: 27mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Yields: 36 Cookies (approx)

ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup margarine (or butter)
• 3⁄4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1 1⁄2 cups rolled oats
• 3⁄4 cup raisins
• 1⁄2 cup roasted sunflower seeds (your preference) or 1/2 cup chopped nuts (your preference)
• 1 -4 tablespoon water (if necessary)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, cream sugar and margarine.
3. Add egg, vanilla and salt, beat well.
4. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, wheat germ and oats.
5. With a fork, stir dry ingredients into other ingredients, blend well adding a tablespoon or more of water if necessary to hold ingredients together.
6. Drop by teaspoonsfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.
7. Flatten cookies slightly, and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Reviews

[Jodi5158]

I just was not wowed. I think I will try them again, maybe not using the wheat germ and using more rolled oats as one reviewer suggested.

 

[Swiss Chocolate]

I've made these cookies twice, and although I like the healthy ingredients and great taste of these cookies, I've had trouble with the texture. Even after adding water, it was still crumbly. I tried rolling some of it into a roll and then cutting it after baking, which made it a little easier, but they still didn't stay together very well. The taste is great though, and I've tried some different combinations by halving the mixture and adding chocolate chips instead of raisins to some. I've also used both walnuts and almonds.

 

[chn12153]

These are so quick and easy to cook, and the kids (aged 5 and 9) love making them. I didn't have any wheatgerm, so added an extra cup of rolled oats instead. The kids don't like nuts/seeds/raisins (though I will try to sneak some in another time!), so I just added 100g of finely chopped plain chocolate - not quite so healthy, but very delicious! I didn't need to add any water. Thanks for a great recipe!

 

[Stephanie43]

These cookies are very good! I did need to follow the recipe's suggestion of adding a little bit of water at the end to make the dough come together. And I added about 1/4 of a cup of chocolate chips. My children loved them, and they are so healthy.