Asteroids do not concern me, Admiral. I want those cookies, not excuses.

For those who don’t know… or didn’t guess… I’m a nerd! But those of you who know me I’m sure are aware of this…I can’t imagine what clued you in. Can’t be the Star Wars cookie cutters or the perpetual references to Star Trek, nahhh. Must be the large Spock standup I have at home? Ah yes. Clearly that’s it. I fully embrace my nerdness, which is why all of you like to hang out with me… I make you giggle! (And most likely I feed you)

Anyway. Yesterday I was trolling through my piles upon piles of recipes to make… and THEN I remembered that I have wanted to make animal crackers for eons. Because I LOVE animal crackers. I was totally a Barnum’s kid, until one day I ate them and realized they weren’t as good as I remembered them. At that point, I switched over to more natural cookie/crackers to get my fix. But as I was munching through my Barbara’s animal cookies last night, I suddenly was seized by the desire to make my own! Why buy them when I could make them with things I already had on hand?

And so. I had a baketastic Friday and made animal cookies. Except there was one small fly in the ointment… I don’t, in fact, own animal cookie cutters. Oops. Hmm. What to do?!

Oh but wait.

I have something oh, so, SO much better.

Do you sense a disturbance in the Force?

Yes.

I do.

Wait for it…

I own Star Wars cookie cutters! That’s right. I warned you. Nerdspiration, right there: healthy animal cookies shaped like Star Wars characters?! It doesn’t get much better than that. Kira and I dubbed them Force Cookies. Because… you know, strong in the Force, those who eat them are! (This might perhaps be attributed to the whole grains and flax, but hey, the Force is more fun). Besides, it’s really fun to nibble off Yoda’s ears first, like I always liked to eat the legs that broke off into the bottom of the box. Oh wait. I still do. I have to fight my cat for the bits though, since he likes them too (he’s sort of like a mini-Chewbacca… always thinking with his stomach! But so am I, so who am I to judge)… The Force is strong with these cookies ;)

Whole Wheat-Flax Force Cookies

If you have animal cookie shapes, that’s fab too… I just needed an excuse to use my Star Wars cookie cutters. Anything on the small side is fine! I’d like to experiment and see if I can’t make a peanut butter version to add a little protein… watch this space for further developments! These cookies are lightly sweet and perfect when you want a bit of sweet but not full on dessert. They make great snacks (especially with Biscoff spread, ahem.. what isn’t?!). I got 22 cookies. Slightly adapted from The Cilantropist, here!

• 1.25 c whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 c ground flaxseed (I like Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 4 tbsp Earth Balance (or butter, your call)
• 1/3 c sugar (I used turbinado)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine flour, flaxseed, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a mediumish bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until combined. Add in egg and vanilla, and continue mixing. Add in the dry ingredients, hopefully in 2 additions (keep the mixer on low). Once the flour is just incorporated, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and form into a flat disk. Stick into a plastic baggie (or wrap in plastic wrap, if you have it), and toss into the fridge to chill for about 2 hours or overnight. I left mine just about 2 hours.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or wax paper, which is what I used).

Once chilled, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. I found that mine didn’t crack too much, and was fine with a little flour dusted on top (and on me, naturally… how is it that flour never seems to stay where I put it?!). Roll out to about 1/8 inch thick. Go nuts with your cookie cutters, rinse, repeat, until you’ve used all your dough. Since the dough is rather delicate, I found that using a pastry scraper (or other flat metal surface) to transfer the cookies to the cookie sheet was effective. Pastry scrapers are great since they have a nice sharp edge. Transfer all cookies to the prepped cookie sheet, and chill again in the fridge for half an hour.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Bake the cookies for about 7 minutes, until lightly browned and puffyish (bake them longer, if you want crunchy cookies—I took mine out at 7 and they’re a bit softer and chewier: perfect!). Let cool a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Remember, the Force will be with you… always (as long as you eat my cookies) :)