A Keeper of An In-Flight Snack
In just a few hours, I’m boarding a jet plane for a cross-country adventure to DC, my old stomping grounds. Other than a good read and a pair of warm socks for the ride, I’ve made room in my carry-on for some of my favorite sky-high vittles.
Lulu's coffee break. Photo by Kim O'Donnel.
Although a sandwich is nice, and so is dried fruit, the thing that really keeps me grounded in a flying bus is a batch of Lulu’s Cookies.
More of a biscuit than a cookie, these seeded, raisin-y and choco chip-studded gems are this long-haul traveler’s best pal. Boasting four kinds of seeds (including the newly beloved heart-healthy flax), these little morsels are like mini energy bars, but without being too sweet or cloying. Its nutritional virtues are many, including no dairy or eggs, and no, you won’t break a tooth on the first bite.
Once on the ground, Lulu transitions well, into breakfast on the run, a post-workout snack or a schoolhouse lunchbox treat. The fuss-free dough (no mixer required) freezes beautifully, by the way, to satisfy future cravings (and there will be).
P.S. Who’s Lulu? That’s me during my tenure as a diner waitress in Philadelphia. Lulu was so enthralled by Peter Reinhart’s “Energy Cookies” that she wanted to share the love and began selling them as “Lulu’s Cookies” at Silk City in Philadelphia.
Lulu’s Cookies
Adapted (and originally published as “Energy Cookies”) from “Brother Juniper’s Bread Book: Slow Rise as Method and Metaphor” by Brother Peter Reinhart
Ingredients
1/2 cup each sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and sesame seeds
2 tablespoons flax seeds
4 cups all-purpose flour (In the past, I’ve substituted white spelt flour; my preference is to do half all-purpose, half spelt)
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup hot water
1 cup neutral-flavored vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (up to 3/4 cup if you prefer)
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast seeds on a baking sheet until the sesame seeds turn a golden color, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn seeds.
Remove seeds from oven and allow to cool thoroughly.
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt.
Soak raisins in hot water for about 15 minutes. Drain, but reserve raisin water.
Add raisin water to dry mixture, plus canola oil and honey. With a rubber spatula, stir until combined. Add cooled seeds and stir to combine, then add raisins and chocolate chips. Resist the urge to overmix.
Form teaspoon-sized patties onto a cookie sheet, preferably lined with parchment paper.
Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Don’t overbake; the cookies will turn into rocks.
Makes about 50 cookies.
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Kim — assuming other dried fruit like chopped apricots or dried cherries would also be OK here? Don’t love raisins though I am tolerating them better in my old age. – Eliz
Etindc, I think dried cherries would work great here. Dried currants, too! Give it a whirl, let me know how it goes, and I’ll add to recipe.
In response to another comment. See in context »This sounds like a delicious recipe, and I’d love to do it before I fly, but honestly I don’t have the time usually. I bring granola bars and such, and when the airline offers snacks for free, I usually hoard as many as possible to sustain myself through a cross-country flight.