From our miller and queen of our online store (the one who writes the quotes on all the boxes!), Lydia:

I grew up reading cookbooks and baking for a large family, so I was always modifying recipes according to available ingredients and everyone’s dietary preferences. Some substitutions were more successful than others, but my baked goods were almost always polished off quickly. I’ve always loved a good, hearty cookie, and I found this recipe in one of my dad’s cookbooks while I was in high school. The sour cherries were added on a whim—we had many fruit trees and berry bushes, and we picked, pitted, froze, and cooked fruit all summer long. I took some out of the freezer, chopped them up, and added two kinds of chocolate. Since it was the low-fat ‘90s, I was obliged to cut some of the butter with yogurt. Here, it makes for a magical consistency, soft, a little chewy, and a little cakey. Sometimes I would hide them in the freezer and then eat them on a hot day when no one was looking, since nothing was safe from my little sisters.

Recently, I revisited this recipe when nothing was living up to my ideal oatmeal cookie. I often use bread flour in heartier cookies to get the structure I’m looking for, and I thought our Appalachian White Whole Wheat Bread flour would be a nice complement, with some crisp sturdiness and a mild flavor that wouldn’t overpower the fruit. The stoneground flour and thick oats help soak up some of the moisture from the yogurt and berries and end up with just enough chewiness. I also added NC Malt flour for another hint of earthy flavor, but if you don’t have it, make these cookies anyway. While I am currently eyeing the ripening fruit on a neighborhood cherry tree, I used frozen raspberries from the grocery store. You can use whatever is convenient, though frozen fruit mixes in a little more easily without liquifying.

These cookies are a great accompaniment to any summer adventure, especially just sitting on the porch with a great read!

Raspberry-Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from Elizabeth Cohen’s The Colossal Cookie Cookbook

Yield: 18 large cookies

1 stick (113g) butter

1 cup (260g) brown sugar (packed)

2 eggs

½ cup (120g) plain yogurt

1 Tb. vanilla extract

2 cups (300g) Appalachian White Whole Wheat Bread flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 Tb. (28g) NC Malt flour, optional (may need additional 2 Tb. bread flour if omitting)

3 ½ cups (340g) rolled oats

1 ½ cups (about 185g) fresh or frozen raspberries (or sour cherries, pitted and roughly chopped)

10 oz. (1 bag) chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 360 degrees.

In a large bowl, gently cream the butter and brown sugar with a rubber spatula. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix thoroughly. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and malt, mixing until most of flour is incorporated. Add the oats and chocolate; mix well. As gently as possible, fold in fruit.

Pack dough into a 1/3 cup measure to scoop. Evenly space six cookies on a parchment-lined sheet to bake. Bake cookies approximately 14-16 minutes, or until just slightly wet-looking in the center. Check a few minutes early, as ovens vary, and you don’t want to overbake these. Cool on baking sheet, then store covered at room temperature (or in the freezer for a summer treat or to ration). These cookies won’t last long, because of the high moisture content, but that shouldn’t be a problem!

Lydia's Raspberry- Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies