Baking is for perfectionists, as the cliché goes. Well, that cliché is wrong. Some things about baking should be exact, like liquid to dry ratios and amounts of baking soda. You know, the chemistry stuff. But, while I'm not going to fuss with a kouign-amann dough, other recipes leave plenty of room for playing around: muffins, quick bread, brownies, and, now, these absurdly simple (and totally healthyish) granola cookies.
These cookies are so easy because they avoid all the hard stuff about baking. Nothing needs to be exactly measured. There's no flour, no butter, no wet and dry mixes, no baking powder or baking soda. The whole recipe requires one bowl and one sheet tray, and the result is a million times more satisfying than all the dry, crumbly, little cookies that find their way into my life this time of year.
So now you're asking: What is in these magical cookies? Nuts. Lots of nuts. Also seeds, coconut flakes, and oats. (Before you're like, Ewwww, bird food! let me assure you that there's sugar too.) The recipe calls for certain amounts of pecans, almonds, pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes, and old-fashioned oats, but you can absolutely tweak depending on your preferences and what you have on hand. All that stuff gets roasted on a sheet pan with some coconut oil like you're making granola because, well, you're making granola. Meanwhile, two egg whites get whisked with ⅔ cups of sugar, which, c'mon, that's not even that much sugar considering this is dessert.
It only takes about 10 minutes for the granola to get all toasty and fragrant. If you read the recipe correctly, you'll let the granola cool. If you're me, you'll pour the granola right into the whisked egg mixture and worry that you ruined everything. Guess what, though? It's totally fine. Just scoop ¼ cup dollops of "dough" back on to the sheet tray and get them back into the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.
When they're golden at the edges, they're done. And you're done! You've made cookies. You're a baking champ. Everyone will be impressed, and no one will know that they're eating the easiest—and maybe even the healthiest—cookies of all time.
