Chai-Spiced Oatmeal Granola Cookies

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chai-spiced oatmeal granola cookies | Recipe via DisplacedHousewife | loaded with chai-spiced granola + tart cherries

chai-spiced oatmeal granola cookies

I currently have so much to say that none of it will come out. You ever feel like you have so much to do that it makes it hard to do any one thing? You become immobilized? Yes? Well, that’s me this week. I just wrote a whole post on the myth of having it all and realized it was more Debbie Downer than I want to be today. So it’s not getting posted. If you would like to hear me ramble about how elusive this myth is, let me know in the notes below and perhaps I’ll post…I like to keep things lighter around here because damn, sometimes life is hard.

Let’s talk about something that always makes me happy: cookies. Better than just cookies are these cookies that are chewy, spiced and loaded with granola and cherries. I love it when I come across something that inspires. Chai granola is my current muse. The spices and texture instantly warm up and add personality to everything they touch. I fell hard in-love with Chai-Spiced Granola. The first thing I shoved it in was waffles…I swear that recipe is coming soon. Then I put it in cookies. These cookies. I knew I wanted brown butter for caramel notes. Granola for crunch. Cherries for sweetness and oatmeal for heartiness. Let’s eat cookies and not worry about anything on our to-do list today. How’s that sound?

Before We Get Started:

  • GRANOLA. I used my chai-spiced granola. But heck, if you don’t feel like making homemade granola I don’t want that to stop you from making these cookies. Use what you have on hand or whatever your favorite granola is. I will say, that homemade granola tends to have smaller clumps…big clumps will have a harder time settling into a cookie…just keep that in mind when picking your granola.
  • OIL. I love Sunflower Seed Oil. It’s so mild. It’s my favorite for salad dressings as well. But use any neutral-tasting oil that floats your boat.
  • BROWN SUGAR. I tested these with light brown sugar and I made them with dark muscovado sugar. Both totally worked for me…although the muscovado gives more personality. Go with whatever flavor is calling you.
  • FLOUR. I love to put white whole-wheat flour in cookies. It gives them this certain fluffiness that I love. However, in this cookie, it made them too dense so I went with all bread flour. If you want more fiber in your cookie, split the flour 50-50, 1 cup of bread flour and 1 cup of white whole-wheat flour. I have not made this cookie with all-purpose flour, because I’m just a complete believer in the chewiness that bread flour gives a cookie. So proceed with that in mind if you use all-purpose flour.
  • BAKING. I like these best when they’re slightly under-baked and left to cool on the cookie sheet. When baked to the point of looking completely done, they ended up too baked for my taste.

chai-spiced oatmeal granola cookies | Recipe via DisplacedHousewife | loaded with chai-spiced granola + tart cherries

chai-spiced granola oatmeal cookies | Recipe via DisplacedHousewife | loaded with chai-spiced granola + tart cherries

chai-spiced oatmeal granola cookies | Recipe via DisplacedHousewife | loaded with chai-spiced granola + tart cherries @displacedhousewife

| chai-spiced oatmeal granola cookies |

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seed oil, or other neutral oil
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed (I’ve used light brown sugar and dark muscovado…both work great)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 cup bread flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cups oatmeal (regular, not quick-cooking)
  • 1 cup chai-spiced granola (or your favorite granola)
  • 2 cup chopped dried tart cherries (raisins also worked great!)

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Make sure a rack is in the top third of the oven, this is where you’ll place your cookie sheets when baking.
  2. Let’s brown our butter first. Put one stick of butter in a small sauce pan and melt over medium heat. Once melted, crank up the heat to medium high. Stand by, stirring and watching. This isn’t the time to go and put your dry ingredients together. Watch yer butter. Small golden bits will start to settle on the bottom of the pan. Once this happens, take it off the heat and pour into a large bowl to cool a bit.
  3. Add the sunflower seed oil, muscovado (or brown) sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and eggs to the browned butter once it has slightly cooled. Whisk together until thoroughly blended. It will be thick and sludge like. Break up any large chunks of the muscovado if using.
  4. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger and salt.
  5. Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Throw in the oats, granola and dried cherries. Stir until just combined.
  6. I almost always have you throw your cookie dough in the fridge at this point…not necessary with this dough. Yay! Cookies sooner!
  7. Cover your baking sheets with either parchment paper or silpats.
  8. Gently roll about 2 tablespoons of dough into a nice ball. Don’t get crazy and futz with the dough too much, but make sure you have a nice little sphere and place on the baking sheet. Make sure there are about 2 inches between each dough ball, allowing space for spreading whilst baking.
  9. Place the baking sheet with the coated dough balls in the freezer for 10 minutes. You can skip this step…it will just help them hold their shape whilst they cook.
  10. Put the cookies in the oven for 11 minutes. I strongly urge you to cook one sheet of cookies at a time. If you really want to bake two sheets together, I suggest that you rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back mid-way through the baking time. You want them to come out of the oven when they look just barely cooked.
  11. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes (or until the cookies have set)  and then let the cookies finish cooling on a cooling rack.
| on my mind |
  • You guys, I’m on SnapChat. I’m not sure what I think about it. Well, maybe I am. I think it’s weird. And awkward. I’m constantly getting cut off…and it’s hard to shove anything of value in such a short time span. And you have to do the one thing that I am most challenged with: remember what I was saying. All that said, I hope you’ll join me. My name is displacedtaitai…displacedhousewife was too long. I’ve already signed up to do some FeedFeed takeovers, so stay tuned.
  • More cardamom recipes: brown butter muscovado snickerdoodles. Make these, memorize them, add them to your cookie repertoire. Chai Spiced Granola…yup, hope your headed over to make this right now so that you can make these cookies.
  • I made one test batch of these cookies with dark muscovado sugar. Stella said, ‘these taste like there’s muscovado in there.’ Dazzled with her palate.
  • Yay people! The Hatchery is giving a special offer for DisplacedHousewife followers. Sounds a bit cult-like, but we’ll take it. Either click here or on the banner above, use the coupon code DHW10 and get your first Hatchery box for $10.
  • Recently on DisplacedHousewife: Chai-Spiced GranolaThai Noodle SaladChocolate Rye Stout Cake + Marshmallow Whiskey MeringueTart Cherry Almond SconesHarissa Sliders with Feta-Harissa Secret Sauce, and Brown Butter Muscovado Snickerdoodles.
  • I have a very dear friend that writes bodice-ripper novels (which my dad would call ‘crotch-novels’). She just released How to Tame Beasts and Other Wild Things…if you’re in the mood for a naughty read…
  • Hope your week is amazing!! xo

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Comments

Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe

I love your comments, reviews and questions! If you love this recipe, please rate it when you leave a comment. Star ratings 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 help people discover my recipes. Your support means a lot, I look forward to chatting with you!

Rebecca xox

10 Comments

  • Laura | Tutti Dolci April 14, 2016 at 9:52 PM

    It’s coffee o’clock over here and all I need is a granola cookie (ok make it two!) to go with :).

    Reply
    • DisplacedHousewife April 15, 2016 at 3:49 PM

      Me too!!! I need to make more granola so I can have all this fun with it! xoxoxo

      Reply
  • Traci | Vanilla And Bean April 14, 2016 at 12:38 PM

    Rebecca, I want to hear everything you have to say. I am all ears. This week has had it’s highs and lows for me too. Too often, it’s easier for me to think about the lows, but I’m always trying to focus on the positive and only do what I can do about the hard stuff, ya know? But there’s not much a cookie can’t fix, especially a cookie like this! It’s funny how baked goods take on a character of their own and how one type of flour works for some, but not others. I need a pantry for all my flours, only! I imagine your pantry is the same! ha! Not on SnapChat. I feel like I don’t have time for one more thing, ya know? Haven’t even downloaded the app to check it out… but I’m leaning.. and hard. Thank you for these delectable cookies! xo

    Reply
    • DisplacedHousewife April 15, 2016 at 3:47 PM

      Traci, can I just tell you I love your comments. Here, on Instagram and on your blog…they’re always so thoughtful. Last week was toughhhh…but this week was better, as is always the case. It’s just hard to remember that things swing back up when you’re in a rough patch. I am flour obsessed and I think it so makes a difference. A friend of mine just gave me a 10 lb sack of flour from Costco…ours doesn’t have organic…I’m trying it out on my scones today. I find that scones are especially sensitive (success or failure-wise, to good flour). There is one brand, that will go un-mentioned that I have tried several times and it flops every, single. time. I highly recommend King Arthur and Trader Joe’s brand isn’t bad. I’ve actually been wondering if I should re-jigger my cookie recipes so that they use ap flour…but then I don’t think they’d be the cookies I like! I’m rambling at this point and need to get to work. Thanks for stopping in!! xoxo

      Reply
  • MB@Bourbon and Brown Sugar April 11, 2016 at 11:31 PM

    OK, I totally get that life is hard, but how hard could it be with a warm plate of these cookies to cheer you up? :) They look amazing!! Hang in there… trust me, I know the “can’t have it all” thing. I console myself by saying: “you can have it all, just not all at once.” But I’ve never been a particularly patient person… :) I wonder how these cookies would be with my Chocolate Granola with Mexican Spices? I may have to give it a try… tonight! Happy Monday Rebecca!

    Reply
    • DisplacedHousewife April 15, 2016 at 3:48 PM

      MB, how has it taken me so long to get back to you? YES, it would be so delicious with your chocolate granola…in fact I hope you make it!! I would cut back on the chai-spices in the cookie and amp up the cinnamon perhaps? What do you think? It sounds so delicious!!!! xoxo

      Reply
  • Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen April 11, 2016 at 8:53 PM

    OMG Rebecca! I want to grab like a dozen of these right off your baking sheet! They look sooo good! Anything with granola, count me in! And your chai spiced granola…even better! Have a great week!

    Reply
    • DisplacedHousewife April 11, 2016 at 8:57 PM

      Thank you Mary Ann!!! I’m pretty obsessed!!! Plus, I feel like these are kinda healthy since the granola is loaded with good stuff? And then the oatmeal? Are you with me?!?! xoxo

      Reply
  • Jamie K. April 11, 2016 at 8:35 PM

    These look delicious!!

    Reply