Happy Holidays Athletes! It’s been a minute since I’ve seen you. I’ve had some trials and tribulations, but I am pushing through during this festive time of year to put smiles on faces and nutrients in our belly. Oh, speaking of belly and bowl-full-of-jelly, it’s not too late to make a batch of Santas favorite cookies. My recipe is so easy and takes less than 20 minutes to bake. It’s a perfect family activity for Christmas Eve.
This is such a fun idea for an already delicious oatmeal snack, and if you are new to Smash Mallow, I am excited to introduce you to this original magical spin on this beloved fluffy treat the marshmallow. Peppermint Bark is a wonderful winter candy. Chocolate infused with a fresh candy cane smooch of flavor screams holiday cheer.
So I decided to put these classic flavors into my fave oatmeal cookie recipe. Yup! I did that. Candy Cane Smash Mallows and Dark Chocolate chopped up and sprinkled into my cookie dough make a melt in your mouth X-mas show stopper. I do feel it’s my duty and in the spirit of giving the gift of health, the oats and flour fall on the low glycemic scale. Plus, marshmallows are a gluten-free treat making the essential mix of this cookie on the “healthier” side of the treat-O-meter. Good for Santa’s heart and gut cause of the fiber count. #santaigotyourback
Cookie Dough:
1 Cup Whole Oats
1/2 Cup Spelt Flour or Whole Wheat or a combo.
1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon/ Ground
1/4 Nutmeg
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Ghee or your fave butter
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla
Splash of Maple Syrup
Dark Chocolate (any kind at 70% or more, roughly chopped)
Making the dough:
Mix dry ingredients with fork or sifter so it can be ready to go while creaming the sugar and butter.
Next, cream the sugar and ghee. I start by mashing granules into the butter with a fork, and this begins to soften. Once all the sugar is in the butter, I use a wooden spoon to finish the cream process, and it will turn into a lighter brown and look like whipped butter. You should get a good arm pump from the combining, and you’re welcome, you have now earned your cookie for the day.
Combine ALL of the wet ingredients.
In portions add the dry to wet and mix.
No need to overdo it, we are not looking for whipped, so mix to combine thoroughly and then stop.
Add Oats and combine either by hand or wooden spoon.
Here is where a portion is subject to interpretation. Big cookies or small, this recipe should give you 14 cookies if you scoop a tiny bit larger then the size of a tablespoon.
Bake at 315- (always remember that ovens can produce different temperatures and cook times can vary.) I suggest doing a bake test
For 8 minutes and the cookies will begin to spread and that’s when I carefully place the chopped Smash Mallow and Chocolate pieces towards the center of each cookie.
Finish baking around another 8 minutes and then you can give it a final turn on the cookie sheet for maybe 5 minutes more. I eyeball those lil cookies as they bake, but some of my batches have turned out crispy, and some have been almost oatmeal- cake type texture.
Baking is a science and things like butter being too soft, adding less butter, change the ratio of Spelt flour to Whole grain, little things like this can change hie the cookie transforms. With cookies, it’s sort of, well, not a big deal but if you were doing a cupcake, I would be more responsible as far as following directions go.
This cookie recipe is hard to fuck up so don’t stress if you are not a “baker” I’m so not one and my cookies taste amazing! People have said so. Haha!
Thank you all for sticking with me so far, through the ups and downs. I appreciate this gift I get, and that is the opportunity to share my life with you through my passion for food and fitness.
I wish you happy, healthy, holidays and a New Year filled with kindness and love,
xo Jessi xo
