Nestum and oat cookies

The buzz word nowadays is "healthy". Everyone seems to be trying to eat more healthily, live more healthily and think more healthily (that is, as in think happy thoughts). On the last point, I believe that if we all learn to "let go" of the unimportant things in life (for example, the neighbour who does not bother to hold the lift door for us when he can clearly see that we are running for the lift, the driver on the road who refuses to let us move into his lane despite our having signalled, the colleague who "tai-chi" his/her work to us, the loud-mouthed old lady who forces her way and cuts queue without any apologies, etc), we would all be much happier and be more at peace with ourselves.

What could be more healthy than oats? It is believed that oats are not fattening and they aid in reducing one's cholesterol level. My mother is able to eat a bowl of instant oats mixed with hot water "neat" (that is, without adding any sugar, syrup, fruits, etc) - gosh....

I created my Nestum (a brand of cereal drink) and oat cookies inadvertently. Oh, I had every intention of baking such cookies. However, I was adventurous (or more likely foolhardy) enough to try and adapt a recipe that was actually meant for a type of cookie that would melt in one's mouth. Needless to say, halfway through the mixing of the cookie dough, I realised the folly of my ways. Improvising on the spot, I made some changes to the recipe and voila! My own Nestum and oat cookies!

Ingredients

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup butter (softened)

100g brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

100g peanut oil

2 eggs

1 tsp ground cinnamon

200g Nestum cereal

50g ground peanut

159g chopped peanuts

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Sift the plain flour and baking powder. Set aside.

3. Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

4. Add the salt and peanut oil to the butter and brown sugar. Mix well.

5. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well.

6. Add the Nestum cereal, ground cinnamon, ground peanuts and chopped peanuts and stir thoroughly.

7. Fold in the flour and mix well.

8. Shape the cookie into a round ball and flatten with the palm of your hand.

9. Place the cookies on a lined baking tray.

10. Bake at 180 degrees celsius for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

11. Cool thoroughly before storing in an air-tight container.

Tips

1. Instead of lining the baking tray with aluminium foil, I prefer to line the baking tray with baking paper. I use Glad Bake & Cooking Paper.

2. When you are shaping the cookie, you may find that the dough is crumbly. Be patient. I have found that it helps if I take a portion of the dough and squeeze it in the palm of one hand into a round ball. I then transfer the dough to the other palm and squeeze the dough again into a round ball. By this time, the dough would be more firm and you can then flatten the cookie with the palm of your hand before you place the cookie on the baking tray.