Trail Mix Cookies

I got the Joy The Baker cookbook for my birthday. I already have a huge baking crush on Joy so I was excited to try a recipe. The first one I tried was these trail mix cookies and they are awesome! Vij described them as Craze-Amaze but that's probably more a function of Vij's crazy. They are a basic oatmeal cookie dough with whole wheat flour with trail mix and peanut butter chips mixed in. I used the Costco pre mixed trail mix (with m&ms, raisins, cashews, peanuts and almonds) and peanut butter chips. These cookies seem pretty healthy because of the amount of oats and the trail mix and are great on a bike ride :)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks/8oz) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated cane sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup (6oz) peanut butter chips

1 cup M&Ms

1 cup roasted and salted peanuts 

1/2 cup golden raisins

(**Instead of the last 3 ingredients I used 2 1/2 cups of trail mix)

Method

1.  Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside.

3.  In the bowl of an electric hand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment  (or using a good amount of elbow grease and a wooden spoon), cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 3 to 5 minutes).  Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for 1 minute between each addition.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl as necessary.  Beat in the vanilla until incorporated.

4.  Stop the mixer and add the flour mixture all at once.  Beat on low speed until just incorporated.  Then add the peanut butter chips, M&M’s, peanuts, and raisins.  Turn on mixer again and beat the additions at low speed until just incorporated.  Remove the bowl from the mixer, and finish incorporating (get those loose batter pieces at the bottom of the bowl), the cookie batter with a spatula.

5.  Using a cookie scoop, scoop out dough and place on prepared cookie sheet (if you don’t have a cookie scoop use a tablespoon, scoop out dough, and roll it between palms to make dough balls).

6.  Bake for about 13 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.