salted maple granola cookies

Salted Maple Granola Ingredients

• 3 cups old-fashion rolled oats
• 2/3 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
• ½ chopped pecans
• ½ cup sliced almonds
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ½ cup melted coconut oil
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup chopped dried cherries

Cookie Ingredients

• 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temp, plus more for greasing the baking sheets
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs (room temp)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-2 1/2 cups Granola, recipe above
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Steps to make the Salted Granola

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, pecans, almonds, and sunflower seeds.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add to the oat mixture and toss together.
4. Spread the granola on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Bake for 15 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye on the granola as it can burn easily.
5. Remove from the oven and transfer the warm toasted granola to a large bowl and stir in the dried cherries and let cool.

**Store the granola in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for 2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.

Steps to make the Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Grab a large mixing bowl and hand mixer (you can use a standing mixer of course), mix together the dark brown sugar and room temp butter until small peaks start to form (The mixture should get thicker as you add in the air). Next, mix/add in the vanilla extract. Add the eggs 1 at a time. Make sure you are getting all the excess mixture off the sides of the mixing bowl as you mix all the ingredients together with the mixer.

3. In a separate bowl; combine together the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in 2 to 3 batches and combine as you add the mixture together. Using a rubber spatula mix in the Granola, and white chocolate chips until just combined.

4. Use your cookie scooper (or ice cream scooper) drop portions of dough onto greased baking sheets; place them about 2 inches apart. Bake until dark and chewy, 10-12 minutes. If you'd like a crispier cookie, just cook a little longer!  If you are making bigger cookies your cook time may vary. I suggest around 12-14 minutes.

Optional: Top cookies with flaky sea salt before allowing to cool

Let the cookies cool slightly on the baking sheets, and then transfer them to a plate for serving.

Adapted Recipes from Chrissy Teigen "Cravings: Hungry for More" and REE DRUMMOND