Even though I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, there are so many times after dinner, I find myself craving something sweet. And almost all of these times my fridge isn’t stocked with ice cream. One such day, I rummaged through my kitchen, trying to find ingredients I could salvage a recipe out of and came up with brookies! 

Brookies are the perfect combination of cookies and brownies; soft and chewy like a brownie yet perfectly baked like cookies. I’m quite proud of this recipe because I used a reference recipe from Masterchef Australia, made use of all my leftover granola and oats and everything from my kitchen without having to buy anything extra. If you have granola/oats that you picked up hoping to eat healthier food but never really did that, this is the perfect chance to use those! You can make various versions of these brookies: sugar-free, gluten-free, soft and chewy, chocolate, filled with nuts etc. If you have granola or oats that already have sugar/inclusions, go ahead and make this recipe without sugar! The sugar already present in it is enough to make the brookies sweet. 

• Cooking skills required: Mixing!
• Equipment/Utensils required: Oven, blender (optional)  
• Items needed other than the basic stocked items: Baking powder (optional) 
• Prep Time: 10 mins.
• Cooking Time: 10-15 mins in the oven
• Serving size: 6 large brookies
• Cost per brookie: $0.30

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups Granola/Oats/Cereal: Any of these that may or may not have sugar, inclusions, chocolate etc. 
2. 1/3rd cup sugar (Optional for sugar-free brookies) 
3. 1 whole egg
4. 1/3rd cup milk
5. 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
6. 1/2 cup flour: Whole wheat flour or multipurpose flour. (Optional for gluten-free brookies)
7. 1 teaspoon oil/melted butter
8. 1 teaspoon optional ingredients: Nuts, raisins, dried fruits, vanilla extract, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips. 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Take 2 cups of oats/granola/cereal: Blend it if too chunky or if you like really fine particle cookies.
3. Add 1.5 teaspoon of baking powder. You can skip this step if you do not have baking powder handy.
4. Add 1 teaspoon of salt
5. Add 1/2 cup of flour. If you wish to make gluten-free brookies, skip this step and add 1/2 cup of oats/granola.
6. Mix all the dry ingredients.
7. Add 1 egg.
8. Add 1/3 cup of milk
9. If you are using granola with inclusions (raisins, berries etc) and it is already sweet, you can skip step 10 . If you want sugar free brookies, you can skip step 10 too.
10. Add 1/3 cup sugar
11. Add 1 tablespoon of optional inclusions:  Nuts, raisins, dried fruits, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips
12. Add 1 teaspoon oil/melted butter.
13. Mix all the ingredients to form a semi-solid mass. You should be able to make shapes using the batter. 
14. If too dry, add milk tablespoon by tablespoon.
15. If too runny, add oat/granola/plain flour tablespoon by tablespoon
16. If you have trouble forming shapes,at the end, add a little more oil or butter for easy shape forming.
17. Brush tray with oil/butter
18. Place brookies (play around with the shapes by hand or cookie cutters) on the tray. They rise and expand quite a bit, so make sure to space them well.
19. Bake at 375 F for 10-15 mins.
20. Serve hot with syrups/chocolate sauce/ice cream or eat as is!

Calories: 124-194 calories per brookie

1. Gluten-free brookies (No flour, with sugar)= 192 calories
2. Sugar-free brookies (No added sugar, with flour)=124 calories

The oats and flour combined are about 130 calories. The sugar is about 42 calories. The milk and eggs are about 100 calories.

Serving suggestions: These brookies have a very low amount of fat and hardly any cholesterol in them. Since granola/oats are used, the brookies are high in fiber, a good source of protein and have a moderate amount of sugar.

Suggestions: Everybody likes their brownies and cookies a certain way. Mix the batter according to how soft you want your brookies. They taste great with inclusions. The granola I used had dried berries, and I did not have to add any sugar. The result was soft berry brookies that were just the right amount of sweet. Brookies make a great snack or a midnight meal. It also tastes great with chocolate syrup on it.