This year January has taken its cue from Christmas with gluttonous ease. Rather than observing an abstemious month of little or no alcohol, fewer desserts, low-fat-this and diet-that, we’ve eaten and drunk our way round London, Paris and Yorkshire. A birthday was celebrated several times over with rounds of cake and cocktails, an anniversary with an epic ice cream pie (more on that next week, just you wait) and Paris passed by in a blur of macarons, garlic butter and a Paris Brest the size of a tyre (albeit an elegant, pastry cream-filled one). Today we’re not going completely cold turkey, but these Apple, Maple & Walnut Cookies are at least a step in the right direction.
A meal for me never feels quite complete until I’ve had some sort of dessert, so I’m always looking for what I think of as ‘school night treats’ – something to satisfy my sweet tooth without being laden with too much butter, sugar or cream. These little cookies fit the bill perfectly, inspired by a breakfast I’ve been enjoying lately – porridge with grated apple, walnuts, wheatgerm and a drizzle of maple syrup. Combined in cookie form, the flavours work beautifully, creating something crisp at the edges, tender in the middle and not too sweet.
Another criterion of school night treats is that they don’t involve too much fuss and these cookies couldn’t be simpler to make. I use two bowls to separate the wet and dry ingredients but you could easily combine everything in one to save on washing up. Five minutes mixing, ten minutes baking and you’ve got a batch of freshly baked cookies that contain enough good-for-you ingredients you could even eat them for breakfast. Cookies for breakfast: that’s about as close as we’re going to get to a diet round here.
- 75g rolled oats
- 50g spelt flour
- 25g wheatgerm
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- scraping nutmeg
- pinch salt
- 60g walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 small eating apple
- 75g maple syrup
- 60ml groundnut oil
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line two baking trays with baking parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, wheatgerm, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the walnuts.
- In a separate bowl, grate the apple (I don't bother peeling) then add the maple syrup and oil.
- Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Scoop heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto your prepared trays, leaving space between each one as they will expand slightly as they bake.
- Bake 10 - 12 minutes until golden at the edges and still slightly soft in the middle. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the trays before storing in an airtight container.
I love the idea of ‘school night treats’ + these cookies fit the bill perfectly.
Oooh I have apples and oats at home that are crying out to be made into these! Would it work with buckwheat flour rather than spelt? Have a big bag of it left over, and not sure what to do with it! xxx
I think buckwheat should work. It has quite a pronounced flavour so your biscuits might taste slightly more nutty/grassy, but there isn’t a huge amount of flour in them so I think you’ll be fine. It’s also fantastic for buckwheat crepes, like they make in France – try them on pancake day! x
Such a simple cookie! I just love the flavour 🙂
Ooh, these look so very good. The texture looks absolutely perfect and the flavors sound divine — and I’m with Kathryn, I so love the idea of school night treats!
School night treats are the best (actually I lie, weekend treats are better, but they’re still good)
These look great, I too like to have something sweet after supper so that I don’t go scrabbling around for the childrens’ chocolate to eat. Love the look of these, my daughter is allergic to nuts though so would you sub the nuts for more oats or more flour?
No need to replace the nuts, just leave them out! Or add chocolate chips?
I’m the same way, I always like to end a meal with a little something sweet.
These cookies sound so wholesome and delicious. I’M meant to be giving up chocolate in march… these are on the list for then!
These look like the perfect weeknight treat! It’s been far too long since I’ve used apples in cookies and I’ve got a bag of wheatgerm that isn’t getting any younger, so now I know what I’m making this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!
Try the wheatgerm in any kind of cookies – it adds such a lovely nuttiness. I also put mine in porridge if you’re thinking of ways to use it up!
I love how easy these sound to make! I love a sweet treat after dinner, pukkas liquorice and cinnamon tea usually staves of my sugar cravings but I will have to try these next time I want something more substantial!
They’d be delicious with a cup of cinnamon tea too 😉 x
A thousand times yes to cookies for breakfast – these sound like the perfect little treat!
Do you know the calories in these please?
I’m afraid I don’t tend to count calories so I have no idea…sorry!
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