Oatmeal and Carrot Breakfast Cookies

5 oz (1 cup) whole wheat pastry flour
5 oz (1 cup) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
Fruit, Oat and Veggie Mixture:
1 1/2 cups grated carrot*---(10 oz before peeling and trimming) use the finest holes on your box grater and pack them in
1 cup your choice very finely chopped dried fruit--we used cranberries and apples
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts--optional
Wet ingredients:
3/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients together, set aside.
Mix all fruit/veggie ingredients together, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about
5 minutes. Add eggs, scrape bowl well, and continue to beat until mixture
is thick, ribbony and very pale, another 3-4 minutes. Add vanilla and applesauce.
Turn mixer to low speed, and add Dry ingredients, mixing until just blended.
Remove mixer or beaters, and stir in fruit and oat mixture by hand until well-incorporated.
Chill one hour at least. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350.
To form bars, lightly grease your hands with oil. (The kids can help out here! It's very sticky!)
Shape gently into three inch by one inch logs. You can also drop them by spoonfuls to make cookies, but they'll cook faster.
Bake 15-20 minutes, until just starting to brown. Remove to cool on rack, and store at room temperature. Makes about 16 bars.


Number of Servings: 18

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user GMTBILLINGS.