Homemade Apple Oatmeal-cookies

Hey guys it's Megan and for our first  blog I trialed these apple pie oatmeal cookies from http://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2015/01/03/apple-pie-oatmeal-cookies/.  In baking these I made some alterations that I'm here to share.  The fist thing I changed was using unsalted-butter instead of coconut oil.  Before making these cookies I did some research on the comparisons between the two.  Overall I found nothing considerably better about the coconut oil as it was higher in calories and fats, but it is personal opinion and you are welcome to use coconut oil if you like.  Another thing I decided to read on was the use of agave.  Before this I had no idea what agave was, but I have found out it is a sweetener that comes from a plant usually found in Southern U.S. and South America.  Upon my research  I found that during the process into agave nectar  the syrup losses many of its benefits making this healthy option not so healthy.  For this recipe I then decided to substitute  the agave with 3/4 cup of honey and 1/4 cup of water for the 1 cup of agave.  By doing this it would help to keep the more liquid texture of the original syrup.  With these few substitutions I went to work to try this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Instant oats (I used the McCann's imported quick cooking rolled oats)
• 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp melted unsalted butter 
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 honey with 1/4 cup water
• 3 small apple finely diced 

Directions:

1. Then whisk  together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl
2. In another bowl mix together the butter, eggs, and vanilla.  After that is mixed together, stir in the honey and water.  
3. Add the flour mixture to liquid mixture and stir it together.
4.  Take your apples and stir into you combined mixture.
5. Chill the batter for 30min( I forgot to do this step so this may have effected the outcome)
6. Heat the Oven to 325°F, then put the batter onto lined baking sheets.  I used a spoon to put them onto the sheet, and this made good sized cookies. After the oven is ready and your sheets are prepared put the cookies in for 13-15minutes.
7. Take out the cookies when done, let cool and enjoy!

Evaluation: This recipe made about 34 cookies, overall I thought these cookies were really fun and taste pretty good. Although I did forget to chill my batter for 30minutes,  they still turned out fine and I thought the butter and honey worked well. 

-Megan