Recipe: Muesli Snacking Cookies — Snack Recipes from The Kitchn |Cooking With Amanda

I've always been a huge fan of oatmeal raisin cookies. I'm enamored by the chewy texture the oats lend each bite and the fact that they're a bit more substantial than just eating a regular cookie.

In an attempt to make them even more delicious and healthy, I took my regular oatmeal cookie recipe and switched up some of the ingredients — nut butter in place of regular butter, honey instead of sugar, and a natural-style muesli mix for the oats and raisins. A touch of whole wheat flour and ground cinnamon later and I'd created my ideal snacking cookie.

These cookies have loads of flavor and texture thanks to the mixture of nuts and seeds already in the muesli. A bonus was that there were toasted barley flakes in my muesli mix, too, giving the cookies little, crispy pieces in each bite. When you shop for your muesli, I recommend looking for this on the ingredient list!

I've been keeping my cookies in individual sandwich bags for a super speedy grab-and-go snack. They don't disintegrate into a crumble when stuffed into my textbook-filled backpack. Plus the combination of protein and fiber in them keeps my energy levels up and hunger levels down for the rest of the afternoon, making that hour before lunch break a little more bearable.

Luckily the recipe is really easy to make — one pot and one wooden spoon are all that's required to prepare the dough (little washing up!) and one batch makes enough cookies to last you well through the week. Although, you may find yourself making multiple batches within days of each other, as I did, because they're just so delicious!

Muesli Cookies

Makes 16 cookies

1/2 cup natural nut or seed butter (no salt or sugar added)
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 3/4 cup unsweetened muesli
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium pot over medium heat, melt together the nut butter and honey until smooth. Remove from heat and use a wooden spoon to stir in the cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Once the mixture has cooled a little, quickly beat in the egg. Add the muesli, flour and baking powder to the pot and stir together until combined.

Take about 2 heaped tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball and flatten slightly onto the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough, spacing the flattened balls about 1 inch apart. (They barely spread when baked.)

Bake until golden brown underneath, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.