Name: TRAIL MIX COOKIES
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups nuts and seeds, preferably raw (hazelnuts, cashews and pepitas or almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds); 1/2 cup old fashioned oats (rolled oats); 1 large egg; 1/4 cup melted butter; 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (packed); 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; Pinch of course sea salt, plus a generous pinch for the top of the cookies – preferably Maldon flaked salt; 1 cup assorted dried fruit, chopped if the fruit is large such as apricots, figs and dates; 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (milk or white chocolate are also good); 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Growing up in a rather large city in Australia, I was not a camper, or a hiker. Even though I do love the outdoors; especially if there’s a beach involved. So trail mix was not something I’d heard of until I moved to Canada. Unless it was homemade and contained one of the M & M’s chocolate family, I didn’t understand the allure of trail mix: raw, rancid nuts and raisins so dry they were inedible. Little about it appealed to me. Then I made these Trail Mix Cookies and I was hooked. Not only are they so good to eat but they’re loaded with fiber and contain very little butter or flour. And, they’re as easy AF to make.

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As I mention in the recipe below, the mixture is heavy with nuts and fruit and you think it might not all come together but it does as long as you measure the ingredients correctly, let the nuts and oats cool after toasting and use an ice cream scoop to measure.

That’s pretty much how the cookie jar looks the next day – just a few remnants of what was. This recipe has been modified from one I first saw on the Bon Appétit website. I loved the idea because who doesn’t love cookies and they were packed with good fiber, something sadly missing from the average western diet. Plus I have very few cookie recipes here on Fresh Hunger although the Raisin and Ginger Cornflake Cookies are really delish. And these Anzacs are my favorite cookie in the world. I do love cookies and want to share more of them on here. My problem is greed and when I make them I want to eat them all. Until next time groovers, enjoy these Trail Mix Cookies. Love, Lovoni xo

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TRAIL MIX COOKIES

Infinitely better than the often-rancid trail mix sold in individual packages. Truth be told, I was never a fan of trail mix unless I made my own. If you're going to eat trail mix, trust me, these cookies are it so from now on, if I’m to eat trail mix, it’s going to be in cookie form. Use whatever nuts, seeds and dried fruit you have on hand. I mix it up but have listed combinations I commonly use when making these cookies.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Baking

Servings: cookies

Calories: 291kcal

Author: Lovoni

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

1 1/2 cups nuts and seeds, preferably raw hazelnuts, cashews and pepitas or almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds
1/2 cup old fashioned oats rolled oats
1 large egg
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of course sea salt, plus a generous pinch for the top of the cookies – preferably Maldon flaked salt
1 cup assorted dried fruit, chopped if the fruit is large such as apricots, figs and dates I used cranberries or dates, apricots, golden raisins
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips milk or white chocolate are also good
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

Arrange the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) or 25° lower temp if your oven is fan-forced. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the nuts, seeds and oats on one of the baking sheets. Cook, stirring once during cooking, until the nuts are golden-brown; let cool for at least 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together the egg, butter, both sugars, vanilla, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Add the cooled nut mixture. Then the dried fruit mixture, the chocolate chips and the flour. Stir until the dried fruit and the nut mixture are well coated, this might take a little elbow grease. The mixture will look like there’s too many nuts and fruit but trust me, it works. At this stage you can cover the bowl really well so it doesn’t absorb any fridge odors, and chill it for 2 hours or up 3 days (obviously if you’re going to do this you are not going to preheat your oven until you are ready to bake the cookies). I don’t chill the mixture; I mix the dough and then bake the cookies immediately.
Using a standard ice cream scoop (#16), scoop 6 cookies onto each baking sheet. The cookies are quite large so you could use a smaller scoop for 14 to 16 cookies. Carefully flatten the top of each cookie to about 2 1/2-inch diameter. Sprinkle with a little salt. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden-brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets before removing to an air-tight jar. The cookies will keep for one week as long as they’re sealed. Makes 12 cookies.