Okay, here's the thing. I am a MEASURER OF THE HEART. The recipe doesn't always turn out perfect, but ... it's more fun for me (and less dishes to wash🤣).

So, that's been my experience the last decade or so. But man, I have leaned into it a lot lately! I made Baby Guys 2nd birthday tractor cake and totally just started throwing things in the blender. It was abso-bloomin'-delicious. That's a post/recipe for another day.

Anyway, back to cookies! THIS recipe came about as I was making a treat to take to my sister who just had Baby #7. I had just made lots of mozzarella and was desperate to try to use up the whey.

I mean, whey is great for SO many things (especially for animals outdoors) but I wanted to find ways to use it in what I was making.

Sooooo, after a bit of experimentation ... this cookie dough became our lunch one day. (Okay, okay, not really. But ...)

NOTE: Because I don't use rennet to make my mozzarella, the whey I have is very acidic. Therefore, when I use it in these cookies, it is crucial to use baking SODA to balance out the acidity rather than baking powder.

Nobody likes a blog recipe that takes longer to read than to actually make the thing, so this will be nice and short.

Go make 'em!

The hardest part of this for me is actually getting measurements written down because my favorite measuring cup lives inside my heart.

Ingredients:

•1 cup unsalted butter, softened (or coconut oil)

•¾ cup coconut sugar (gives them deep, caramel chewiness)

•½ cup allulose sugar (or maple syrup or honey! If using maple syrup or honey, toss in an extra tablespoon or two of oats or flour to balance out the extra liquid)

•2 large eggs (duck eggs are great here!)

•1 tbsp vanilla extract

•¼ cup leftover mozzarella whey (or just milk)

•1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

•1 tsp baking soda (if using the whey, HAS to be soda, not powder)

•1 tsp ground cinnamon

•½ tsp sea salt

•3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

•1 ½ cups mini chocolate chips (or chopped up peanut butter cups)

Instructions:

(another fancy way to say,  "Intuitive thoughts you'll already have but I'll write down anyway")

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Cream together your butter and sugars, then beat in the eggs, vanilla, and whey.

3. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until combined.

4. Fold in the rolled oats and mini chocolate chips (plus that extra sprinkle of flour or oats if you opted for maple syrup/honey!).

5. Drop spoonfuls onto your baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 12 minutes ish.