Cinnamon Oatmeal Cut Out Cookie

I  made these cookies last year instead of my cardamon cut-out cookies. But I love cardamon so I couldn't imagine my Christmas without a cookie with cardamon so I made a little change to the original recipe so that I could have cardamom.  I have to say I am not sure which I like better these or the Cardamom Cut-Out Cookies. These were a really good cut-out cookie.... flaky and buttery such great flavor. They even have some healthy elements to them. 

Cinnamon Oatmeal Cut Out Cookies 
adapted from King Arthur Flour's Chewy Oatmeal Decorating Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (King Arthur's recipe has ginger)
2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I only use Unbleached All-Purpose flour now)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, traditional or white wheat
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
cinnamon sugar 

To prepare the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter and sugar, then add the egg, vanilla, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cardamom, beating until smooth. Beat in the flours and oats. The original recipe warns that the mixture may look dry at first but then it will come together - I didn't have that problem. It was pretty moist all the way through the mixing process. Divide the dough into two pieces, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

To shape the cookies: Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a circle about 14" in diameter. Use your favorite cutters to cut out cookies, re-rolling and cutting the scraps. Place the cutout cookies on lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets; set them fairly close together, as they don’t spread.

To bake the cookies: Bake the cookies for about 9 to 10 minutes: the shorter amount of time will make softer cookies, the longer amount of time, crisper cookies. Remove the cookies from the oven, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and transfer to a rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough. 

Yield: 6 1/2 dozen 2 ½" cookies.

NOTES:
* I wish I had ran the oats through my food processor just a little bit. Maybe just 2 pulses. Because in cutting the cookies out through the oats was difficult at times. And so the stars didn't have clean edges. I think having the oats in smaller pieces would have helped that. But you don't want oat flour you want oats so that is why I say only 2 pulses. Maybe only one. I just feel it would be easier if they were in a little smaller pieces. But they still turned out good and I even if I don't have time or the food processor thing doesn't work - then I would still make these cookies as they are very good. 

* These cookies are great for high altitude cooking. The oats and whole wheat flour helps hold them together. They don't spread at all. 

* They weren't good to ship at least not loosely in a container. They broke. We shipped some to Master's parents and I think I included some in a package to my sister and brother-in-law. But Master's parents told use that the stars didn't make it. As I said above they were light and flaky. Although they weren't crumbly. I just feel it was to being jostled so much in shipping they broke. But they aren't fragile cookies just in normal conditions (such as sitting in a cookie jar and being eaten because they are so good).

These cookies were really good. I loved that they had whole wheat and oats in them. And I will be making them again this year. I might be trying different spices in them and possibly drizzling them with some dark chocolate.