TWD: Honey-Wheat Cookies

I made this Tuesday with Dorie out of pure curiosity. After reading the title and ingredients I really wanted to see how these would taste and turn out. I was picturing an airy cake like little cookie with some great texture from the wheat germ. They were not what I was expecting, but they were still good and a fun make.



The Making
These cookies were a cinch to whip up. I had the batter finished in minutes and let it stiffen for a few hours in the fridge. These cookies do have wheat germ, which makes you think they are a healthy snack, however I must admit that the butter might not make it as healthy, but hey that is the part that makes it like a cookie. I used orange zest instead of lemon. I like the orange flavor quite a bit, but I think it would be great with the lemon.



The Tasting
The cookies were a bit more dense than I thought and perhaps a little dry. Not really bad dry. They tasted more like a heavy biscuit for dipping in hot chocolate. You can taste the butter flavor and it complimented the orange nicely. The wheat germ added some texture and a little nuttiness. My husband and I like them and our one year old liked them, but not our 6 and 3 yr. olds. They really aren't fans of anything citrusy and zest is way out of the question. When my 3 yr. old tasted the batter she first asked me if it had chocolate chips in it. So her expectation were set pretty high when she thought it was "cookie dough." After tasting it she said...."This is disgusting....Mom, I think we need to throw this in the garbage." I had to laugh a little. I baked them up anyway and Glenn and I enjoyed a few. While this was a fun different treat I may not repeat it again. Everyone has to like it or it causes me problems on the scale later.



If you are interested in making these little cookies you can get the recipe from Michelle of Flourchild.

My second baking adventure of the day was some whole wheat banana bread. I got this recipe from my friend Jill. My husband is not eating treats during the week right now so I am trying to keep my baking relatively healthy. These had less butter and had both wheat and oat flour as opposed to white flour. It was more dense than I thought and I had to bake it for longer to get it cooked through. But when it came out my kids ate a ton, so that was worth it to me. Here is the recipe if you are interested.



Banana Bread
This banana bread is moist and delicious with loads of banana flavor!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour (mix wheat, white, and or/ oat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
¼ cup applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.