Dad's kitchen sink cookies (my version of)

Saw this recipe in the National Post this past weekend: Dad's kitchen sink cookies from Eat What You Want for Father's Day by Gaby Dalkin.

It sounded interesting so I decided to make them. Upon reading the ingredient list I thought good grief these are sweet. So I cut back on the sugar which called for 1 cup brown and 1 cup white sugar. I used 3/4 cup brown and 1/2 cup white. I also cut out the M&Ms as there was also a cup of chocolate chips in them. The fruits were apricots and cranberries, which are also laden with sugar. That is a lot of sugar. One of my bugaboos about sugar is that gobs of of sugar does not make something taste better. For instance, I find most commercial cereals way too sweet. Which is why I make my own granola. Homemade also tastes way better. (Will post recipe next time I make it.)

So these cookies as I made them, still have 1 1/4 cups of sugar plus a cup of chocolate chips, 1 cup of apricots and 1 cup of sweetened cranberries. That's enough sugar. They were good but not spectacular. Now I also substituted the butter with margarine, which I realize reduces the buttery taste which I love. Next time I'll try exchanging the 3/4 butter with peanut butter. Will report back later once I try that.

UPDATE: For some reason these cookies taste better than when I first made them. I orginally thought they were kind of boring. I froze them, and thawed out they are actually pretty darned good. Still too sweet, so I think the sugar could be dropped by another 1/4 cup maybe.

Ingredients I used:

1 cup (225 g/2 sticks) unsalted butter margarine
1 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 3/4 cup (220 g) packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla extract
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups (225 g) old-fashioned oats, pulverized in a blender for 30 seconds until smooth
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) kosher salt
1 cup (200 g) M&M’s
1 cup (175 g) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (140 g) dried cranberries
1 cup (130 g) chopped dried apricots

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2
In a large stand mixer (I used a hand mixer), cream together the butter and both sugars for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula in between additions. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate.

I baked for about 12 minutes until they started to brown.

Rhubarb strawberry crisp

3 cups rhubarb, cut into small pieces
3 cups strawberries, cut into small pieces
1 cup sugar
1 1⁄3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup old fashioned oats
1⁄2 cup butter

In a large bowl combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, 1/3 cup flour and cinnamon. Put into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

In another bowl combine with brown sugar, oats. Cut butter into flour mixture. Sprinkle over rhubarb/strawberry mixture pat gently.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes in preheated oven.