Rick Martinez’s Pantry Party Cookies

Rick Martínez
Rick Martínez
Born in Austin, Texas and currently residing in Mazatlán, Mexico, Rick Martinez graduated from the French Culinary Institute, is a regular contributor to The New York Times and Food52, and is the host of the hit show Pruébalo on the Babish Culinary Universe network, which has nearly 10 million subscribers. As the host of Food52’s Sweet Heat, Rick won an IACP award for best food series. He also served as the Senior Food Editor at Bon Appetit, where his work earned him a nomination for a prestigious James Beard Award in 2020. After building a career in the predominantly white world of food media, Rick speaks openly about the pressures he’s felt to have his work conform to white Americans’ assumptions of Mexican culture and cuisines, which led to struggles in him finding and embracing his own identity. As he shares in the introduction to Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico, the journey of writing his debut book is what finally led him to self-acceptance and true happiness.
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updated Jan 21, 2021
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Pantry Party Cookies

These chewy cookies are a total mix-and-match situation, stuffed with granola, nuts, seeds, chocolate, coconut, and dried fruit.

Makes18-20 cookies

Prep40 minutes

Cook36 minutes to 42 minutes

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Credit: Photo: Ghazalle Badiozamani; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk

This recipe is part of our Quarantine Cookies package, featuring 16 of our favorite bakers and their best cookie for 2020. Check out all the amazing cookies here, and sign up here to receive one cookie recipe per day, for 20 days, straight to your inbox.

Cookie emergencies are real. There’s no time to run to the store for 1/4 cup of this or a pinch of that. That’s why I made this cookie using only what was in my house the day I developed this recipe. The butter is always frozen and waiting patiently. I have more sugar than I will ever admit to. There are chocolate bars in the fridge. And I keep nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and granola in the pantry for morning yogurt bowls. So, I pulled everything out and decided what I wanted to eat: chocolate, cranberry, almonds, and coconut. Yum!

Oatmeal seemed boring, so I looked at my granola, and funny enough all the same stuff was in the granola plus more. Since I really like this granola, I thought sure, I’ll put that in too. And the puffed amaranth, which I’m really into at the moment. You probably don’t have any, but I’m sure you have some kind of seed. I like seeds in cookies because of the little specks on top — it adds mystery! And a little extra texture. But, use what you have. All you have to do is swap out your favorite nut, seed, granola, and dried fruit. Since this is all stuff that you already own and like, chances are you’re going to love this cookie.

Credit: Photo: Ghazalle Badiozamani; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk

Tester’s Note

If your pantry is packed with partially filled pouches of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits from a year of stress-baking, you’ve arrived at the right recipe. These bakery-style sweets are full of tasty mix-ins — like an oatmeal raisin cookie that’s had a major glow-up. Coconut flakes, oat-packed granola, and brown sugar give the cookies a satisfying chewy texture, and I prefer to skip the pan-banging step to keep the cookies standing tall and thick. Seeds — I went with chia seeds — add a surprising texture and pretty speckled appearance to the cookies. Make these cookies look picture-perfect by reserving a few pieces of dried fruit and chocolate to press into the top of the dough just before baking. — Patty Catalano, Contributing Editor

Comments

Pantry Party Cookies

These chewy cookies are a total mix-and-match situation, stuffed with granola, nuts, seeds, chocolate, coconut, and dried fruit.

Prep time 40 minutes

Cook time 36 minutes to 42 minutes

Makes 18-20 cookies

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks

    (8 ounces) unsalted butter

  • 2

    large eggs

  • 2 cups

    all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon

    baking soda

  • 1 cup

    granola

  • 1 cup

    shredded sweetened or unsweetened coconut

  • 1 cup

    almonds or your favorite nut, toasted and coarsely chopped

  • 1 cup

    chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

  • 1/2 cup

    puffed amaranth, or 1/4 cup sesame, chia or flax seeds

  • 1/2 cup

    dried cranberries or your favorite dried fruit, chopped if large

  • 1 cup

    packed light or dark brown sugar

  • 1/2 cup

    granulated sugar

  • 1 3/4 teaspoon

    Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 1 1/4 teaspoons Morton kosher salt

  • 2 teaspoons

    vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Place 2 sticks unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if mixing by hand or with an electric hand mixer). Let the butter and 2 large eggs sit out at room temperature until the butter is softened.

  2. Arrange 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds and heat the oven to 375ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

  3. Place 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon baking soda in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Place 1 cup granola, 1 cup coconut, 1 cup toasted and chopped nuts, 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup puffed amaranth or 1/4 cup seeds, and 1/2 cup dried fruit in a second medium bowl and stir until evenly incorporated.

  4. Add 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1 3/4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt to the butter. Beat with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and beat on high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until just incorporated. Add the granola mixture and mix on low speed until evenly distributed. 

  5. Scoop 1 1/2-ounce portions of the dough (about 3 tablespoons each) and place on the baking sheets, 9 per sheet with at least 2 inches of space between each.

  6. Bake until the cookies are deep golden around the edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Pull them out of the oven and holding the baking sheet a few inches above a heat and shatterproof surface like the grates of your stove, drop the tray down to lightly flatten the cookies. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat baking the remaining cookie dough if needed, reusing the parchment and baking sheets.

Recipe Notes

Storage: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.

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baked goods
Cookie
Dessert
Ingredient
Make Ahead
sweets