As I was getting out the ingredients to make my favorite oatmeal cookies the other day in preparation for my father-in-law's weekend visit, I thought, wow, the chickens really would like these.

Oats, walnuts, raisins...some of their favorite treats.  And cinnamon is great for respiratory health.

But of course some of the other ingredients aren't so good for them, so after baking up a batch of my signature Blueberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (I also use oats in my Chocolate Walnut Oatmeal Cookies too) , I set about creating a  healthy version for the chickens.

I substituted honey (which has great health benefits for chickens) for the sugars, omitted the salt, and substituted a combination of wheat flour, wheat germ and cornmeal for the white flour.

Of course, I left the star of the recipe, the oats, in the recipe. Not only nutritious for humans, oats are so good for chickens too.

The cookies baked up nicely and actually tasted pretty good ! But the real test came when I served up the girls a batch.  

However, as usual, they are little piggies very forgiving critics and as you can see, they loved them !

So next time you turn the oven on to bake some oatmeal cookies for your family, why not whip up a batch for your chickens!

Oatmeal Cookies for your Chickens 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  

In bowl of a stand mixer, beat oil and honey until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time.

Combine flour, wheat germ, cornmeal, baking soda and cinnamon and add slowly on low speed until incorporated. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts. 

Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet using a medium ice cream scoop. 

Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

Cool on cookie sheet for a minute or two and then remove to wire rack to cool completely. 

Serve as an occasional treat.These will freeze wonderfully also, so put any extras in the freezer for later.