Spelt, oat, fruit and nut cookies

These spelt cookies are usually available at breaktime on our workshops and we're often asked for the recipe. We're so lucky to have the most wonderful organic spelt flour grown and milled near the Baking School. I love to use it as much as possible. These cookies are so packed with goodness, they don't feel like an indulgence - just a healthy treat to keep you going when you're flagging between meals. You can use whatever dried fruit you like: raisins, cranberries, sultanas - even chopped dates or prunes. And you can choose to use all nuts, all seeds or, as I have done here, a combination of the two. Remember that seeds and nuts will be more flavourful if you toast them in a dry pan beforehand.

Spelt, oat, fruit & nut cookies
(makes 18-20 cookies)
 
We make these cookies with the wonderful wholemeal spelt we buy from our local miller, at Foster’s Mill, but you can use any flavoursome stoneground spelt or other favourite wholemeal flour. They are filled with oats, dried fruit and seeds or nuts, so make a great morning snack or ‘breakfast on the go’!  

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Ingredients:

125g wholemeal spelt (or other wholemeal flour)
100g jumbo oats 
100g regular oats 
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 
½ tsp salt 
100g butter, melted 
180g soft dark brown sugar 
1 large egg, beaten 
100g raisins or sultanas 
50g toasted pecans (or choice of nut), chopped
50g toasted pumpkin seeds  ​

Method:

Measure out your flour, oats, nuts, seeds, bicarb & salt in a bowl. In another bowl, mix the melted butter, brown sugar and dried fruit. Mixing your dried fruit with the butter ensures that your fruit does not get coated with dry flour in the final mix.

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Now add to the bowl of flour and other dry ingredients and mix until combined. Finally, add your beaten egg. Leaving the egg until last, allows your butter mixture to cool before the addition of raw egg. 

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Taking a small dessertspoon of dough, roll into a tight ball the size of a walnut. You may find wetting your hands with water or oil may help at this stage. Place on a couple of baking sheets with room for spreading between each ball. Press each gently down with the base of a glass or biscuit press until they are 5-6cm in diameter. 

Bake at 180 degrees C for about 15-18 minutes. Leave to cool a little on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. When cool, store in an airtight container. The biscuits, if stored well, will remain crisp and fresh for 2 weeks or more.