When you’re in need of a healthful treat to pack in the lunch box or just an after school treat you can feel good about serving, look no farther than these Nature Cookies.
A few years ago (ok, maybe it was a little longer than that) when I was in middle school, I went on a two and a half week camping trip with some of my classmates. We drove from Kentucky to Colorado to hike, camp and experience living in the wilderness. On our long daily walks through the mountains we would munch on bags of trail mix filled with seeds, dried fruit and nuts, which gave us the energy we needed to go all day and also kept us satisfied between meals. For whatever reason I called it “nature mix”, and I loved it.
When I started writing the Weelicious Lunches Cookbook I couldn’t get that memory out of my head and so I tried to put a fresh spin on the nature mix of my youth. I wanted to make a “healthy” cookie that kids could take to school, eat as a snack or even have for breakfast since it would be filled with all the same naturally sweet, crunchy foods that kept me going on those Colorado mountain trails. I figured packaging all those ingredients in a cookie would make it just as exciting to kids to eat as it did to their parents who knew they were sending their kids off to school with something good in their bellies.
I have made batches upon batches of these cookies for my family and friends over the past few years, and now the publisher of the Weelicious Lunches cookbook has graciously allowed me to share it on the site with you. I like to freeze what we don’t eat right away to slip into my kids’ lunch boxes in the morning or to warm up for them as an impromptu after dinner treat.
If you school is nut-free like ours, you can substitute pumpkin seeds for the walnuts which give it that added crunch. Either way, I’m very excited for you to try these naturally delicious cookies!
Nature Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup chocolate morsels
- 1/4 cup dried cherries
- greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and honey until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the raisins, walnuts, sunflower seeds, chocolate morsels, and dried cherries.
- Using a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon measure, drop the dough onto Silpat- or parchment-lined baking sheets. Using the back of the ice cream scoop or the palm of your hand, gently press the dough down into disks. (They won’t spread during baking.)
- Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- To make giant nature cookies, you can use a 1/4 cup measure and add 5 minutes to the baking time.
I made these gluten free by using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free whole grain oat flour. They turned out really well. Hard to eat just one!
5 star
I used 1/2 cup melted coconut oil and the batter came out a little dry so I added 2-3tablespoons of applesauce to the batter. It turned out good.
Score!
Another successful recipe that we all loved.
[…] They are called Nature Cookies. This is where I got the recipe from https://weelicious.com/2014/09/18/nature-cookies-recipe/ […]
I wish these didn’t have a stick of butter; they seem very unhealthy with that much.
These work beautifully at high altitude. 7000 ft. My kids loved these cookies. Thank you for the great recipie.
Do you have the nutritional information for this recipe?
I haven’t tested that in this recipe, but I think it would work out okay!
Would it be possible to use coconut oil rather than butter?
[…] from Weelicious Ingredients 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 3/4 cups old fashioned oats 1/4 cup flax meal 1/2 teaspoon […]
My 3yr old renamed these breakfast cookies as I’ve given them to her with her breakfast. These healthy little treats really encourage her to eat her other healthy parts of breakfast, too. Hubby and I eat them in place of toast with bacon and eggs or with just a side of fruit and our coffee. They really hold you over until your next meal. We altered recipe only because of our ingredients on hand. Did use some coconut flour because I ran out of flour, but probably should have increased liquid a little with that substitution. I’ve read mixed reviews on the safety of cooking with honey and don’t know where to find the best answer, so I used local maple syrup. Used a 2c mix of sliced almonds, unsweetened coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Didn’t have any dry fruit on hand like suggested in recipe, but that would make them perfect. THANK YOU for a great recipe that we all love!!!
These were great! I did a combination of coconut, sunflower seeds, chocolate chips and raisins. Probably not 2 cups of it, but it was so good! My 18 month old couldn’t get enough and the adults loved them as well. Once again, thank you for providing such great recipes for our family.