Cookies for dinner

My kids thought it was a little silly when we had soft pretzels for dinner. Last night when I offered them cookies as a side dish, they thought I had gone off the deep end. So did my husband.

But it was no joke. I put together dinner chock full of vegetables that were busting out of my refrigerator veggie drawer and realized I needed a grain to go along with it all. And while cous cous or rice might have gone a lot better with the lentil stew, mashed cauliflower and roasted brussel sprouts, I needed something that would bribe my kids to eat these dishes.

Check out what’s in these cookies, and you’ll see who had the last laugh.

COOKIES FOR DINNER
2 cups whole wheat flour
1t baking powder
1/2t salt
1/2 cup oats
1/2t cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1/4 cup neutral oil
1/4 cup milk
1t vanilla
1/4 cup roughly chopped apricots and/or dates
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chocolate chips and or chopped almonds

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the sugar, almond butter, honey, egg, oil, milk and vanilla in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in the fruit and nuts. Drop cookies on a tray and bake for 12 minutes at 350.