Apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies

This combines all of my favourite things into one cookie; hearty oats, cinnamon, apples, walnuts and raisins. All hail, the oatmeal cookie!

  Crisp around the edges, and chewy in the middle. The apple comes out soft and tender, the crunch of the walnuts, along with brown sugar and cinnamon; these are especially best eaten when warm.

I made quite a few changes to this recipe. I subbed in whole wheat flour completely, and my dad did not even suspect it! He is really the picky taste-tester, he will straight forwardly say whether he likes it "Wah! Very good ah!" or if he finds it mediocre "Ok lah." He had some wholemeal spaghetti and he really did not like it.

Second of all, I upped up the amount of oats to 1 and 3/4 cup and I spiced it up with more cinnamon. I also coated some walnuts with honey, and toasted them for about 5 minutes.

Apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies

Adapted slightly from Joy the baker

Makes: 18-24 cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar *
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
1 and 1/2 to 3/4 cup oats, old fashioned or quick cooking
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted. Coat with a teaspoon of honey if desired.
1 medium apple, peeled, diced small
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Notes:
* Optional add ins: raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips.
* Reduced the white sugar to 1/4 cup.
* I shaped my cookie balls quite big, so they took quite a while to bake, more than 20 minutes. Careful that these do spread, so don't put them too near to each other.

Method

1. Place a rack in the centre and upper third of the oven. Preheat to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) and line two baking trays with parchment paper/baking paper and set aside.

2. Peel and dice the apple into small cubes. Toss with lemon juice.

3. Beat the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment (or by hand). Beat until creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Add the egg and beat for another minute, and then add vanilla extract.

5. Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

6. Add the dry mixture into the butter and egg mixture, beating on low speed until just incorporated. Stir in the mix-ins.

7. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 10 to 13 minutes or until they've reached your desired done-ness. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.