Blueberry and White Chocolate Chunk Ginger Cookies

HAPPY SWEET TOOTH TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm back behind the oven and ready to bake! Since the last time you were subjected to my novice baking skills I have gained an actual apron, dual ovens to do twice the baking and my very own "baking station." So here's the deal ladies....how many times in life do you get the chance to have a home-ec teacher come in and organize your kitchen for you? Organizing the kitchen during our move was something I would've stressed about and avoided because I would've wanted it to be "perfect." Whatever that means. ;) MIL to the rescue!!! Not only did she help me move the entire kitchen from our rent house to the new place, but she also unpacked and helped me figure out where to put everything for easiest access (this may sound silly but I really do lack the common sense necessary to makes things convenient). Welcome to "the baking station." ....

This Tuesday's treat goes along with January's theme, healthy eating! This recipe caught my eye while doing a quick google search for low fat/healthy cookie recipes. Anything with blueberries and white chocolate mixed together is a friend of mine. A friend indeed, these do not taste like "diet cookies"....no sirree.

Ingredients:


*1 cup all-purpose flour
*1/4 cup wheat germ
*1/2 teaspoon baking soda
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
*1 large egg
*3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
*1/3 cup canola oil
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*1/2 cup oats, quick-cooking or old-fashioned (not instant)
*2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
*1/3 cup dried blueberries
*1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped


Directions:

1. Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 375°F.
2. Whisk flour, wheat germ, baking soda, salt and ground ginger in a small bowl. Whisk egg, brown sugar, oil and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; stir to combine. Add oats, chocolate, blueberries and crystallized ginger; stir just to combine.

   

3. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto 2 ungreased baking sheets, 1 1/2 inches apart.

4. Bake the cookies until puffed and barely golden around the edges, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the pans for 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Confession time. When I read step #4 I rolled my eyes. Really recipe?? Really? You want me to put the cookie sheet that close to the heating element and you also want me to switch and flip the cookie sheets halfway through? Really? Don't you know I'm trying to talk to cable tech support simultaneously? After much consideration I decided to follow the directions and put two pans in at once instead of baking them separately. I switched the pans at four minutes and removed then after another four minutes. They turned out perfect! Easy to mix up, short baking time! The perfect (and unusual) low fat cookie!

If you are as challenged in the grocery aisles as I am then you may as well just start looking for an employee to help you the moment you walk through the door. I, instead, searched for a good ten minutes up and down the aisles multiple times trying to use my super hero powers staring at the shelves hoping that the ingredient I was desperately looking for would appear. Alas, I needed help. We hunted down the elusive wheat germ and the dried blueberries. But this is only after I spilled the fresh blueberries which then reminded me that the recipe did not call for fresh which then led me to imagine how big of a mess that would've been. Aha, my cookies ingredients were flying in the basket and I was almost done with my hunt for strange ingredients. But no help could solve the case of the missing crystallized ginger. Word on the street is that this so called crystallized ginger is not in high demand. That would explain why I've NEVER EVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING. It sounds magical but my cookies did without it and turned out just fine. But I'm still a tad curious though about how it would've changed the taste....after all it called for 1/4 cup. Eh. Whole Foods, where are you?!?!?!

Meet my new friends Mr Wheat Germ and Mrs. Dried Blueberry

I must warn you, it's highly unsafe to leave them sitting nearby the computer. Three have disappeared in a matter of minutes. Someone come and take them away NOW!!!  And take this extra pack of dried blueberries and jar of wheat germ with you while you're at it. Besides making another batch of these cookies, I doubt I'll be using them...ever! ;) Oh yeah, one more thing.....ENJOY!!