April 16, 2012 | Desserts
In my never ending quest to find a way to eat more vegetables and tolerate enjoy them, I can’t think of a better way to use winter squash than in a cookie. Paired with cinnamon and a good dose of freshly grated nutmeg (from the Caribbean), it seems too good to be true.
Food bloggers are often sent products to try out. When recently cleaning out my pantry I found a bag of this that had been sent to me to test. I liked the idea that it’s low in calories and high in fiber since I’ve recently read that sugar can cause the same kind of addiction as alcohol – the more you have it, the less it affects you and the more you crave it. So I went ahead and followed the package and substituted the Fibrelle one for one for sugar, thereby saving over 1000 sugar calories in this recipe. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that my cookies spread too much and are too crumbly. I also used light butter and that could very well be the culprit. And I used ground oats in place of white flour – could that cause them to fall apart?
I’ve told you over the years that I’m not really a pastry chef. My forte is cooking, not baking. But now that I finally had my wall oven lowered 8 inches so I can easily reach into it without burning myself, I’m itching to try new things. If you make these cookies the way I did, you’ll need to freeze them right after they are removed from the oven and they’ll hold together a bit better. If any of you try this recipe with real sugar and real butter, please do let me know your results – I’m guessing they’ll be better!
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1-2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 cups light butter (or softened regular butter)
- 2 cups Fibrelle Sugar Substitute (or sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ cups cooked winter squash, pureed
- 1½ to 2 cups whole wheat flour (depending on how wet your squash is)
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup raisins, optional
- Combine 2 cups oats with baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a food processor and process until finely ground. Combine butter and Fribelle in a mixer and mix on high until fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add eggs and squash and mix on low to incorporate. Slowly add ground oat mixture and whole wheat flour. Add remaining 3 cups oats and raisins, mixing just to combine. Cover batter and refrigerate until chilled and somewhat firm, preferably overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spoon rounded teaspoons of batter onto baking sheets lined with a silicone liner or parchment paper. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Let cool before handling. Cookies are best stored in the freezer.
Great idea. Maybe I will try this out with the kiddos at Cal-Wood.
Taste great and used flour,sugar, and even nuts. Love the idea of squash