Cooked split red lentils cleverly disguise themselves as oats in these easy yet festive cookies.
Ingredients
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry red lentils
1/4 cup (60 ml) butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (60 ml) canola oil
1/2 cup (125 ml) packed dark brown sugar
grated zest of an orange (optional)
1 large egg
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla
3/4 cup (185 ml) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (185 ml) old-fashioned or quick oats
1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda
1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt
6 oz white chocolate, roughly chopped
1/2 cup (125 ml) dried cranberries
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan, cover the lentils with water and bring to a simmer; cook for 8–10 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl beat the butter, oil, brown sugar and orange zest until creamy; beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the flour, oats, lentils, baking soda and salt and stir by hand until almost combined; add the white chocolate and cranberries and stir just until blended. Drop large spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 12–14 minutes, until set around the edges but still soft in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies.
PER COOKIE: 189 calories, 8.9 g fat (3.8 g saturated fat, 3.7 g monounsaturated fat, 1.4 g polyunsaturated fat), 19 mg cholesterol, 23.7 g carbohydrate, 3.2 g protein, 1.3 g fibre.
Originally published in ParentsCanada magazine, Nov/Dec 2016.
