Friday's Recipe...Homemade Energy Cookies

Autumn is here so lets break out the cinnamon, peanut butter, and brown sugar... it's time for baking! And what's better to bake than homemade energy bars to help us get through our long Saturday ride. While I would much rather prefer a think gooey chocolate brownie, these energy cookies will taste much better than the store bought variety, and will also be a healthy treat. So enjoy and start baking!

One change suggestion.... use crunchy peanut butter instead!!!!!

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Cream the butter, sugar, molasses, and peanut butter in a large bowl. Blend in the eggs and vanilla. Mix the flour, wheat germ, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, until evenly blended.
2. Stir in the oats, raisins, choc chips, and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
4. Shape dough into large balls using 1/4 cup of dough per cookie. Place on greased cookie sheets, leaving 3 inches between them. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. When done, the tops will still be soft to the touch. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.