If you like soft chewy cookies chocked full of nuts, grain, oatmeal and fruit you will absolutely love Squirrel Cookies. As cookies go, they are even sort of healthy with all natural fruit, fiber, bran, grains, egg and honey.
As a wildlife rehaber I have discovered that young animals just like most children prefer sweets and treats to the more healthy food they need for a balanced diet. Raccoons, squirrels, opossums, deer and beaver all love cookies, so I created a cookie recipe for a healthy cookie that includes grains, dried fruit, honey, oats, almonds, walnuts and egg.
Unfortunately the cookies turned out so good that people would eat them as fast as I could make them. I had to start making double batches to assure the animals got their fair share.
I offer this recipe free of charge but would sure appreciate any donation you might consider so that I might make up another batch for the critters I take care of.
I encourage you to make your donation after you bake these treats as I'm sure the taste will inspire you to be generous.
UNCLE JIM’s SQUIRREL COOKIES
You will need:
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 stick soft butter
1-1/2 cups Oatmeal
1 cup Granola (preferably with dates and/or raisins)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1/2 cup dried plums (prunes) cut up into chunks
1/4 cup dried apricots
16 hungry squirrels
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix together first 7 ingredients until well blended then stir in nuts, fruit, Granola and oats.
Should be fairly dry and sticky, just enough to hold everything together. Spoon heaping teaspoons on ungreased baking sheet. You might have to push ingredients together after dumping on pan. Flatten slightly, they will not collapse much during cooking. If too dry to hold together you can add more soft butter and flour as needed until ingredients stick together.
Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown. They need to cool for 5-10 minutes before they can be removed from sheet with spatula without falling apart.
MAKES 16 two inch cookies