Brownie Mix Cookies

This Sunday was a little different.  My husband was out of town assisting with the clean-up efforts of the Joplin, Missouri tornado.  He was numbered among 500+ volunteers donating their time, efforts, and supplies through Mormon Helping Hands (not to be confused with the unrelated Helping Hands 2nd hand store) this weekend to help this devastated city get back on their feet.  Yesterday he was assigned to a team patching roofs of homes that were still standing and today he was assigned to clean up a farm of several acres with many trees down needing to be chopped & moved and clearing debris of the many buildings that were destroyed.  A demonstration that "service is every bit as much a part of their religious identity as sitting in a pew." (Washington Post)

As a result, I did not have the help I usually have Sunday morning in getting 4 boys and myself ready for church, nor behavior control during church.  SO I resorted to what I have learned is the best method for boys: bribing the belly.  Yes, I bribed them with brownies for cooperation in preparing for church and good behavior while at church!  It was much easier than I thought it would be, and we all came home in one piece, just like any other Sunday, with not a hair out of place. 

Instead of making regular brownies, I decided to see if I could use my Brownie recipe to make cookies, just like I used to with the store bought mixes.  AND I could, so I am sharing.

Brownie Mix Cookies 

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup ground wild rice (use coffee/spice grinder if you don't have a grain grinder) 
1/4 cup ground flax  (use spice/coffee grinder)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp guar gum (NOT xanthan gum)
1/2 tsp salt

6 oz semi-melted chocolate chips

3/4 cups chopped pecans or favorite nut (optional)

*  *  *  *

1/2 cup melted Butter or Crisco
2 eggs (can be replaced with 2 TBSP water)

1 1/2 tsp mint extract (optional)

        

Note: If at all possible grind your wild rice in a grain grinder.  It is possible to use a coffee/spice grinder, but there will be some pieces that are not fully ground.  I recommend sifting out those pieces if you must use a spice grinder.


1) Combine 1st list of ingredients except pecans, mix well and then create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
2) Melt butter.
3) Place eggs, extract, and melted butter to the well in the dry ingredients. 
4) Form 1 1/2 TBSP drops on cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.