Wheat Germ Cookies

Although they contain what germ, they are by no means "health cookies."

I must first confess that the best part of the cookie is probably the dough.... and as often as I sample the dough before baking cookies I have never been sick from it. The only time I've ever come close to sick is from eating too much of a slice and bake log when I was younger. If there are a lot of eggs I usually use caution and only take one lick - which I feel is my job since I am going to be feeding whatever I am baking to people. I wouldn't want it to be gross or anything. Self sacrifice... remember, it is very important to practice this while baking.

I've been meaning to make a cookie like this for a while. There is a chain of bakeries here in the city that serves a very similar cookie (though 3x the size and loaded with calories) and this is my first attempt to recreate it. I know the basics, wheat germ, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. From here I went in search of a cookie recipe that held its body, meaning it wasn't going to melt down into a thin crisp while baking. I came across a healthy-ish cookie recipe that was supposed to contain lots of seeds and coconut. Never anywhere did it mention chocolate! I forgive them for it and have turned that recipe into this new one for the collection. It's not quite like the one at Specialties, but it's definitely a good start. It is good. Plain and simple. It has a bit of crunch on the outside and plenty of chewy, chocolatey, goodness on the inside. (we give thanks to the wheat germ for texture). I also usually don't make large cookies. I have a great little scoop which produces uniformity but this time I decided to overflow it... they were definitely uniform in a big way. Next time I might play with the amount of wheat germ in the batter just to see if I can get closer to the giant tasty bakery cookie. I'll be sure to let you know the outcome!

Chocolate Chip Wheat Germ Cookies

1/2 C butter

3/4 C brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 T canola oil

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 C old fashioned oats

1 C wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 C toasted wheat germ (sprinkle on baking sheet and bake at 350* for about 5-6 mins)

(1 T water see instructions)

3/4 C semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375*. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in egg, beat 1 minute. Add in vanilla and oil and mix thoroughly, then add the salt.

Whisk together the dry ingredients and add them in thirds to the wet mix. If dough doesn't seem like it will come together add up to 1 T water. Mix in the chocolate chips. Scoop heaping tablespoons onto a silpat lined baking sheet. Lightly flatten the tops a little. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Yields 2 dozen large cookies.