Clementine Cookies with Craisins and Chia

CLEMENTINE COOKIES WITH CRAISINS & CHIA

The other day, I made some cookies with Bob's Red Mill Muesli.  I loved adding the wholesome Muesli to the cookies but that recipe needed a bit of work.  My observation was that the cookie dough was very wet.  I looked at the recipe on the Bob's Red Mill website and see others also found the dough to be too wet.  I decided to give this recipe another try but I put my own twist on the cookies.  I wanted to try an orange-cranberry version and they turned out great.  I used what I had on hand which included some chia seed, the zest of some little clementines (mandarin orange or a naval orange would also work), and some reduced sugar Craisins.  I also increased the amount of flour from 3/4 cup to 1 cup and that solved the problem of the dough being too wet.

Clementine Cookies with Craisins and Chia

1 cup white whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional/can be omitted)
2/3 cups applesauce, unsweetened
3/4 cup brown sugar, not packed, measured loosely
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli
1/2 cup Craisins, I used the reduced sugar variety
finely grated zest from two clementines or two mandarin oranges (Halos or Cuties) or the finely grated zest from naval orange; I recommend a Microplane grater to zest the citrus peel

Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients including flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and chia seed (if using).

In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients including applesauce, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, orange zest. 

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients all at once and stir until nearly combined; add in the Craisins and the Muesli and stir just until combined.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes.  Makes 28 to 30 cookies.