Holy C-O-W! Healthy Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Cookies.

Summer is coming to an end. In nine days I will be heading back to school. Living in a dorm, it will be very hard to find time to cook! But I will be able to do plenty of baking! I was very lucky to get a job at a local bakery where I will be trained to do everything and I couldn't be more excited. Shank's Bakery in Harrisonburg, VA started as a booth in the Farmer's Market and finally expanded to a permanent spot 5 years ago. Last year, an upperclassman got a birthday cake from Shank's and introduced me to the bakery. This summer, I decided that I didn't want to go another whole year (almost) entirely without baking and so I contacted the bakery. A couple weeks later, I was hired! I am so excited to get a taste of a baker's life.
Since the countdown to move-in is on, my family had some final baked goods requests. My mom is a super health nut and is always searching for healthy treats. This was the perfect cookie for her. Dark Chocolate, Oatmeal, and toasted Walnuts come together to create an amazing cookie that you wouldn't believe is healthy.



Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut (C-O-W) Cookies
adapted from the Superfood recipe in Health Magazine

Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup pastry or all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (or just regular whole wheat flour or substitute 2/3 c AP instead of a whole wheat variety)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a double boiler, melt butter in a large stainless bowl. Remove from heat and mix in brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, oats and salt.
Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix well.
Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Fold in walnuts and chocolate.



Spoon dough onto a cookie sheet by tablespoon-fulls. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.
If you want to save some cookies for later, place the tablespoon fulls of dough on wax paper and freeze until dry. Remove to ziploc bag and store in freezer. When you're ready to bake don't thaw but bake for a few more minutes if needed.

Enjoy!