Not-for-the-Birds Millet Cookies

From the Culinate Kitchen collection

Introduction

Though a staple grain in Asia, millet in the U.S. is most commonly found in bird seed. The original recipe comes from Jan, a teacher at my daughter’s school, via my daughter, who described them as “amazing.” It’s true; millet adds a pleasing crunch. I’ve fooled around with the recipe, decreasing the sugar, substituting butter for margarine, and altering the stir-ins to my taste.

These cookies are best eaten within a couple days of making them.

Ingredients

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease two large cookie sheets (or line them with Silpat mats).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Mix in the vanilla and eggs. In a medium-size bowl, mix both flours, baking soda, and salt. Gradually blend the flour mixture into the butter-sugar-egg mixture. Fold in the millet, chocolate chips, dried fruit, and nuts, stirring until the millet (and other ingredients) are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
3. Scoop large (soup-spoon size) spoonfuls of batter onto the prepared cookie sheets, 12 to 15 per sheet, leaving ample room around each cookie. With the back of the spoon, gently press down the cookies into ½-inch-thick disks.
4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, checking them at 10 minutes. Once the cookies are done, allow them to rest on the sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a rack to cool completely. Prepare another batch for baking.

This content is from the Culinate Kitchen collection.