I know that even being a daycare kid, I always envisioned that all the kids who were lucky enough to ride the bus home entered into a house that smelled heavenly, why? Because their Mom had baked them their favorite cookies for a treat after a hard day at school and of course that cookie would be served with a tall glass of cold milk. Apparently, I watched too much NickAtNite when I was a kid, but this is honestly what I thought that all kids came home to. So, now that I am in the position of picking healthy and exciting after school snacks for my daughters, I don’t mind baking their favorite cookies, but I also wanted a healthier option.

Enter an episode of “Good Eats” and the fascinating host, Alton Brown. He makes oatmeal cookies  where he actually uses toasted oats and then grinds them down to make oat flour, instead of bleached white flour. How cool is that?! You can even make it better for you and your kiddos by substituting Splenda for the sugar and applesauce for the butter. Since I am not a huge raisin fan, we use other dried fruits like cranberries, and for those special occasions we add butterscotch chips, yum! This cookie is also amazing with dried apples, walnuts, and almonds; basically this is a cookie you can add so much to that is never gets boring! It is also one cookie I feel no guilt about eating because it is chock full of oats, which are so amazing for the digestive track.  If you would like to try this awesome recipe check it out here.