Oatmeal, Apple, Date & Almond Cookies!

(makes 18 large cookies)
Inspired by the coffee cart @ uni

I am a self-confessed addict to freshly baked goods, especially cookies. These are my 'healthy' cookies. Oats, fruit, nuts - lots of fibre, fat, chunky, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside = a perfect cookie! Originally I used a bit more butter and double the sugar but have now halved this since having kids (9 years later in 2020), for their sake moreso than anything else and it's still delicious :)

Prep time: 20 min

Cooking time: 10-15 min

Ingredients:

120 g butter, room temperature 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

2  eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 ½ cups plain flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

3 cups rolled oats

¾ apple, finely diced

10 dates, finely chopped

50g diced almonds

50g dark chocolate (optional)

*Actually, all the ingredients are easily changeable, just depends on what you feel like!*

  

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2-3 trays with baking paper.

2. Beat the butter and sugars until creamy and smooth (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until incorporated. Stir in the rolled oats, apples, almonds, dates and chocolate.

4. Roll a handful of cookie batter into a ball and flatten until about 1cm thick. Place six large or 8 medium cookies on each baking sheet. 
NB. They do not expand a lot.

5. Bake the cookies for about 12 -15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges but still a little soft in the centres. 

6. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. These cookies will keep for several days.