I was getting ready for our Topsail Trip this summer and made a batch of these cookies for our road trip down. The journey usually takes 12 hours on average for us. I always look forward to the road trip. My mom always says it is not always the destination but the journey it takes to reach the destination. I love this piece of advice,  and I learn the older I get the more I find truth to the quote.

We make a lot of memories on our drive down and back to Topsail. We put on various xm stations (90 on 9, The Blend, Highway, Y2K Country) and hit the cruise control. We usually get lost along the way but we always find new markets, cars for sale, or antique stores along the way. We laugh about getting lost later.

To fuel our journey,  we pack our car with a lot of snacks so we don’t have to stop as much.  Plus it saves us some money to spend later ….. on another vacation (hehe). My husband always says more than half of what I pack is food. Which is true and I guess because that is the dietitian in me.

I did make one healthy swap on these cookies and it was to incorporate more whole grain by using whole wheat flour. Next time I will try and decrease the saturated fat and sugar content by using unsweetened applesauce.

This recipe yields: 36 rather large cookies (when you use a number 40 cookie scoop)

Ingredients:

2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

2 egg

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp (soften)

3 cups Old fashioned Oats

1 1/2 cups of raisins or your favorite dried fruit

Tools for the job: 

2 half sheet cookie sheets: Line with Parchment paper

#40 cookie scoop

Oven : Preheat to 350 degrees.

Directions:

1. In a large glass bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a bowl attached to a stand mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy, add the sugar and cream the two together. Add in the eggs one at a time and lastly add in the vanilla.
3. Gently add in the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix on low until incorporated. Caution not to over mix.
4. Lastly fold in the oats and raisins.
5. Use a number 40 cookie scoop to portion out the goodies on the parchment lined pan.
6. Make sure to keep the cookies about 2 inches apart from one another.
7. Bake for 11-12 minutes on 350 degrees.
8. Remove from pan right away and allow to cool on wire rack.