Very Versatile Cookie Batter

Matt really likes to be able to have fresh cookies every day.  There are a few problems with this though, number 1 it's time consuming to make cookies every day, and number 2 cookies just aren't very healthy.  So I have become determined to find a way to make it easy to make fresh cookies every day that are at least somewhat healthy.  After going through many cookie recipes here is what I have come up with, and yes, they are "Matt" approved.  I just love cooking and baking for Matt, he does so many special things for me and cooking is one of the special things that I can do for him.  So for all of you out there who like baking for your man, here is a very versatile cookie recipe.

Marvelous Make Ahead Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup all-puprose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp seasoning of your choice (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc.) You don't have to use seasoning.
1 large egg
3/4 packed brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla, or any other flavoring that goes with the cookie you are making. (almond, rum, etc.)
1/2 cup oats, quick-cooking or old-fashioned (not instant)
1/2 cup of your favorite baking chips (chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, etc.)
1/3 cup dried fruit of your choice (cherries, blueberries, raisins, craisins, etc.)
1/4 chopped nuts of your choice (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.)  These are optional as well.

Preparation 

1. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 375 degrees.

2.  Whisk flour, wheat germ, baking soda, salt and your seasoning choice in a small bowl.  Whisk egg, brown sugar, oil and your chosen flavoring in a large bowl.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; stir to combine.  Add oats, baking chips of your choice, and the dried fruit of your choice; stir just to combine.  Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto an un-greased baking sheet ( I line mine with parchment paper), 1 1/2 inches apart.  (You don't have to worry about these cookies spreading  too much.

3.  Bake the cookies until puffed and barely golden around the edges, switching the pan back to front halfway through the 8 to 10 minutes.  Cool on the pan for 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  (I don't have a wire rack right now, so I cut up brown paper bags and just let the cookies cool on the bag, it works just fine.)

Now, when I make this cookie dough batter, I only cook six cookies at a time, so they are fresh every day.  I do this by scooping out all the dough with a cookie dough scooper into a casserole dish lined with parchment paper.  Be sure that the scoops of cookie dough do not touch each other in the dish, but they can be pretty close.  Next I cover up the dish with the cookie dough in it, and place it in the freezer.  The next day, the cookie dough balls will be frozen, and I place them all in a ziploc bag.  When I want to bake cookies for the day, I simply take them out of the freezer, and place however many frozen cookie dough balls that I want to make on to the cookie sheet and bake them.  They bake perfect both before they are frozen and after they are frozen.  This is an amazing cookie dough recipe and it saves me so much time, and it makes Matt very happy.

Another great thing about this recipe is that it is very versatile.  You can pretty much create your own cookie by switching up what I like to call the add-ins (seasonings, flavorings, baking chips, dried fruits and nuts.) So far I have made it with dried blueberries, white chocolate chips, and almond extract for one cookie and mini semisweet chocolate chips, dried cherries, vanilla extract, and chopped almonds for another cookie.  The flavor possibilities seem endless with this basic somewhat healthy cookie batter.

Oh, if any of you are interested, here are the approximate nutritional values for this cookie.  (approximate because you will be creating your own flavors with different add-ins.)

Per Cookie:  115 Calories; 4 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 9 mg Cholesterol; 17 g Carbohydrates; 2 g Protein; 1 g Fiber; 84 mg Sodium; 38 mg Potassium