A couple of years ago, I created a training cookie for our old friend Marty, who had decided in his mid 40s to start competing in triathlons.
This new recipe was inspired by Dan Lepard’s blueberry and chocolate chip cookie, and is packed full of goodies, including dried fruit, chocolate, spelt and hazelnuts. It makes a hearty breakfast or lunch box cookie, and because of all the other ingredients, there ends up being only four grams of butter and just under six grams of brown sugar in each cookie.
Marty has some very specific requirements for his cookies. They have to be chewy rather than crunchy, otherwise they shatter when he eats them on the run. They must contain a mix of low and high GI ingredients, including chocolate. Finally, they have to taste good, and be easy to pack into the little box on the handlebars of his bike. He’s pretty happy with these!
Marty’s Triathlon Cookies II
(makes approximately 30 cookies)
- 125g unsalted butter
- 175g dark brown sugar
- 1 large (59g) egg
- 200g wholemeal spelt flour
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), sifted
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 75g rolled spelt
- 100g chocolate chips (see note)
- 75g dried blueberries
- 75g dried cranberries
- 50g finely chopped candied peel
- 50g blanched roasted hazelnuts, chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Notes:
- Any combination of fruit and nuts can be substituted for the ones listed above.
- Dan Lepard’s original recipe used rolled oats and wholemeal wheat flour, so either could be substituted if you can’t find spelt.
- If I’m baking these cookies for our own consumption, I use 70% dark chocolate, but if I’m baking them for Marty, I use Callebaut baking sticks (44% cacao), broken up into pieces. The latter keep their shape when baked, and are much less likely to melt in the heat of competition.
1. Preheat oven to 170C or 150C with fan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sifted bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Add the rolled spelt, chocolate, hazelnuts and dried fruit, and stir to combine.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until combined, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
3. Roll the dough into 4cm balls, and place them on a parchment lined baking tray. Flatten each cookie slightly and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. I find that 20 minutes gives a harder, chewier cookie which is how Marty prefers them.
4. Allow to cool on a wire rack. These cookies will keep for quite a while in an airtight container, or they can be sealed in thick plastic bags and frozen until needed.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
These look soooooo good! I much rather prefer chewy cookies too. I’ll have to give these a try.
Thanks Cat, hope you enjoy them! :)
This looks a good variation of the original! It’s amazing the weight of ‘extras’ you’ve managed to get into the basic cookie dough. Rolled spelt is a new ingredient to me, although spelt flour is available here. I like it’s unique flavour!
Thanks Suelle – the rolled spelt is a new find for us too, we picked it up at Harkola recently. Pete has been putting it into his muesli.
These are loaded with lots of good stuff! I’ve recently been keeping spelt flour in my kitchen for cookies, but I haven’t found rolled spelt or spelt flakes yet. Looks like you created the perfect cookie for your friend. Will have to try these soon. I’m always looking for new, healthy cookie recipes. Thank you!!
Melanie, thanks! These will work just as well with rolled oats and wholemeal (wheat) flour – the spelt flour does give them a lovely flavour though!
I ought to start training for triathlons if this is the kind of food you get to eat!!! I’d just need to find someone to bake them for me :-)
C, it really isn’t the usual sort of food for triathletes! I think most of them eat gel thingies, which are probably more performance enhancing, although I’m not sure they’re as tasty! I think you’d like these, and I’m sure you have some spelt flour at home.. :)
I don’t run, can I eat one anyway?
I’m eating one right now, with my big butt planted on the chair. :)
Brilliant. I am a triathlete and a regular reader of your blog. I’ll be making these over the weekend. I’ve started to get sick of my home made rolled oats and dried apricots muesili bars.
Thanks
Hi Greg, thanks for stopping by to leave a comment! I really hope you enjoy these – please come back and let me know what you think. When I make these for Marty, I leave out the candied peel – he’s not a fan – you really can make these to suit! :)
I’m just eating a Marty’s Triathlon Cookie straight from the oven that wife made … magnificent … still crumbly and a little too hot!. Out of necessity, because we couldn’t find any, she replaced the rolled spelt with rolled oats and dried blueberries with dried goji berries. And she made 60 with your measurements …. bonus! I’ll be taking some on future bike rides.
Thanks once again.
Greg, that’s fantastic, thanks so much for letting me know!! I’ve been eating the cookies for breakfast and they’re very filling – I find they stop my hunger straight away, which hopefully means they’re quite good in GI terms. I’ve never tried baking with goji berries, will look out for them next time! :)
I love that chocolate is one of the requirements! Yes like bagnidilucc said…can we eat them sitting still?
Absolutely. I had two for breakfast, sitting down. The chocolate was a pre-requisite, but we had to experiment a little to find a bake-stable choc that wouldn’t melt (Marty had one lot that got very gooey indeed!).
Looking very good, Celia, and while they may keep for quite a while in an airtight container I’m pretty sure they won’t keep for long in my kitchen.
Amanda, they’re actually quite filling, so I think they will last a while!
How yummy! I love finding that ‘just right’ recipe to meet special requirements. What a great friend you are! You better let us know how Marty goes in his competition, maybe this recipe shouldn’t have been shared as it might give the other competitors the edge!
Becca, I wish I’d kept the sms he sent me after the last competition – he usually sends his times followed by “cookie power!!”. :)
How are you with spelt, love?
Unfortunately Spelt is not one of my fans. I have been having a bit more sucess with Buckwheat though. At first we did not get along at all, but have been slowly warming to each other. I don’t know why but it gave me just as much problem as wheat- even though it’s related to rhubarb! I wish I could have spelt as it works so well for baking without losing anything through substituting. I think we should earn carbon credits for running things on “cookie power”!
Wow, these look yummy and with a nice wholesome bite. They’ve shot up the top of my to-do list. Thanks for sharing another fun creation.
Kind Regards,
Craig
Craig, thank you! They’re yummy, and quite filling – a bit like a muesli bar, I thought, as I was scoffing some for breakfast this morning…
Hehe and here I was just saying that one should never eat cookies for breakfast. Then you come along making the perfect breakfast cookie :P
See, I think you should always eat cookies for breakfast! Pete doesn’t agree though.. ;-)
Must say, I prefer a crispy cookie but these are super tempting with all those wonderful flavours. I hope I can source spelt when we get home.
:-) Mandy
Mandy, they really are quite nice made with rolled oats and regular wholemeal flour (or even plain flour) if you can’t! :)
That beats the vegemite on toast that I just had for breakfast!
I dunno, Anna, it takes a lot to beat Vegemite on toast.. ;-)
hopefully I don’t need to do triathlons to enjoy these! They look like something I could do for when I am on the road :)
Tandy, they’re very sturdy, so they pack very well! :)
I’ve never eaten a cookie for breakfast…
could be tempted by these though :D
Jo, you could even make these without cranberries and blueberries for the berry-averse man! :)
Do you have a special cookie for someone who whiles away his time under a shady tree with a glass of red wine and a pad and pen?
Oh yes, these will work for that too, Cosmo.. ;-)
I love cookies, especially soft chewy ones and they’re great when they’re warm. :) These sound great!
Akika, thanks for stopping by! They’re not really soft cookies though – they wouldn’t last in Marty’s bike bag if they were! :)
I have a strong sense to go running and to bake cookies….
phew, lucky I can ignore the first impulse!
They sound delicious Celia.
Thanks Brydie, thought they might appeal to you! :)
They look so good and chunky…like the fat ass comment…LOL
Sigh…it’s just getting bigger, Norma. :)