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Outrageous Oat Bran Cookies
May 20th, 2009 Madhuram Posted in Cookies | 
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In my previous post I had written about how I miss few things in Canada and how I was a little disappointed. I think I have to take back my words now, because I have discovered few amazing things here. I’m sure I’m going to find more interesting stuff once I start exploring the place. Last week we had been to a mall and found a store called Bulk Barn. From where I was looking I was able to see only the name of the store in big letters and big packets of bird food. With the name and the bird food I thought it was some pet store where they were selling pet supplies in bulk and was thinking of skipping it. But I turned back again and marched towards the store and I’m so glad I did it or else I would have missed something very amazing. It’s a grocery store where supplies are sold in bulk and not in ready to go packs, so you can decide to buy how much you want. Also they have an unbelievable selection of specialty flours/grains, baking supplies, nuts, candies and many more. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I was able to find a lot of stuff which was not easily accessible to me in US as well.
Another exciting find was the community center in our area. It’s just 7 minutes walk from our home. It has a decent size library (not much in the cooking section but a lot of materials for my son) and also a fitness center with reasonable prices. There are a couple of parks and walking trails also nearby. I’m loving it here!
Now coming to today’s recipe, while grocery shopping last week I found oat bran and wheat bran in the store. Back in US these and similar items were available but was either costly or I had to make a special trip to the health food store. So I did not get a chance to use oat bran. When I saw it here I immediately grabbed a pack of each. I didn’t know what I was going to do but bought it anyway. Here I have to mention something, I’m a shopaholic. Not that I buy countless dresses and shoes (I used to be one back in India) but I love to buy grocery supplies and cookbooks. While browsing the web for recipes using oat bran I found this recipe. I have tweaked it little bit to suit our taste.
Yield: 44 cookies.
2 In a big bowl combine together the flours, bran, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda and raisins (if using) and set aside.
3 In a medium bowl, blend together butter and sugars until creamy.
4 Add applesauce and vanilla and mix until well blended. If you use an electric beater to mix the applesauce it may look curdled, but don’t worry.
5 To the wet ingredients add the dry ingredients and mix well.
6 Drop the dough by tablespoon on prepared baking sheets. Lightly spray the tablespoon with non stick spray, so that the dough will drop easily. Use a butter knife to scoop out the dough from the tablespoon.
7 The baking time mentioned in the recipe is 8-10 minutes. The cookies look very even after 9 minutes but I removed them out anyway. After it cooled we tasted it and felt that it required further baking. So baked again for another 3 minutes. This time it had a nice golden brown color. Leave it in the baking sheet itself for a minute and then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
2 I’m not a cinnamon fan, so I used very little of it. I think the earthy smell of the whole wheat flour can be overcome by using considerable amount of cinnamon (about 1 teaspoon).
3 If oat bran is not available, you could also use coarsely powdered quick cooking oats.
4 Using non hydrogenated margarine or any vegan butter will make these cookies even more healthy by cutting back on saturated fat and cholesterol.
5 Usually I bake the entire batch on the same day and the cookies vanish in no time. So this time I decided to freeze the dough. I baked only 20 cookies. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and drop tablespoonful of the remaining dough onto the sheet. Cover it loosely with another parchment/wax paper and freeze it for an hour or until it is firm enough. Then transfer the frozen cookie dough to a Ziploc bag and write down the name of the cookie and date when it was prepared and put it back in the freezer. I read that the dough keeps good anywhere between 1 month to 3 months. Thawing of the dough is not necessary while baking it. Just bake for additional 2-3 minutes. In this recipe it would be around 13-15 minutes.
Update: I baked the frozen cookie dough and it was even better than the fresh ones. I baked it for 16 minutes at 350F, switched off the oven but kept the baking sheet in the oven itself for another 10 minutes. The cookies had a very nice golden brown color. They were crisp on the outside and soft in the middle.
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May 30th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Hi, dear Madhuram. I, too, love Bulk Barn. It is great for spices, too. I can buy 5 or 6 spices for less than $1, and due to the high turnover, they are very fresh.
If you are near Toronto (I’m not too far away), there are some great Indian grocery stores and other wonderful Asian stores to buy hard-to-find items.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:29 am
These cookies look professional. I have never used oats but have been wanting to try it for a long time now.
May 28th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
This recipes is simply awesome. The way you have described the taste, I can almost smell them…really I must make them sometime
May 27th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
These cookies look good, but why do you call them outrageous? Couldn’t figure that one out.
Have stock of both oat bran and wheat bran. That’s probably a sign.
Btw, I’ve found that using a little more of flax seeds tends to give a discernible taste and smell.
The site from which I tried these had named it Outrageous and I went with it thinking that it would create a curiosity and it did!
May 26th, 2009 at 3:37 am
Thanks for the clarification Madhu.I am yet to open my oat bran.
May 25th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I just made these this afternoon – wow! i love them! we’ve had oat flour and oat bran just sitting in our pantry and you posted this recipe just in time! i used oat flour instead of all purpose flour and used less sugar, i should have added more applesauce,because the cookies needed to be a touch moist.i will definitely make them again
That was very quick Divya. I’m also happy to know that oat flour works well in this recipe. I have not baked with oat flour earlier but have some and was looking for recipes.
May 25th, 2009 at 6:58 am
You have a great blog running here with an amazing list of recipes. I loved browzing through them. I will definitely come back for more. Meanwhile I have blogrolled you
Thanks Samahita. I’ll check yours too.
May 24th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Madhuram, Bulk barn is one of my favorite shop too. Walmart supercentres, Sobeys, Dominion, Price Chopper, Loblaws, Foodbasic, and many of the Chinese/Asain food stores are the other grocery stores that usually I go to and easily get a large variety of food products/grocery in quite reasonable rates.
; less option of locally grown foods and the lack of farmers markets in every locality, etc. Otherwise its a beautiful place with all sorts of convenience.
The only few things about Canada that I still dislike is the harsh winter weather
That’s true Mona. I have not seen Sobeys and Dominion as of now. Food Basics definitely seems to be cheaper than the Superstore/Loblaws near my place. I have not yet explored the Oriental stores yet but located a good one recently. Yes winter is definitely going to be difficult. I have lived in Winnipeg before and it was cruel.
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:43 am
beautiful pic (the first one). do send it in for click cookies if you can.