Okay, sort of healthy. These are cookies, after all, which are a treat, a dessert, a small indulgence. Nonetheless, comparatively speaking, the cookie recipe I'm posting today--Ranger Toffee Cookies--is reasonably okay for you. As usual with any dessert, just don't eat the whole batch by yourself. Share. The recipe makes plenty. The cookies are similar to traditional ranger cookies with lots of oats, coconut, and crispy rice cereal in them. The cookies vary a bit in terms of the add-ins. These ranger cookies don't include nuts, as per my son's instructions. Instead, the ranger cookies feature toffee bits--chocolate coated or not, you choose. The cookies come out sweet, crispy, and with a definite caramel taste. They're quite good and quite addictive, so be forewarned.
Ranger Toffee Cookies -- Makes about 36
1/2 cup of butter, softened
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of oats (old fashioned)
3/4 cup of shredded coconut
1 cup of crisp rice cereal
2/3 cup of toffee bits, plain or chocolate coated
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars well. Add the egg and vanilla and beat them in well. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix just until they're combined (it's okay if a few white streaks remain). Stir in the oats and coconut, and then add the rice cereal and toffee bits. Stir until everything is well distributed. The dough will be stiff. Drop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Flatten the mounds with your hand or a wet cup into disks about 2 inches round. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown. For crisper cookies bake the dough a couple of minutes longer.
