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I love healthy recipes. When they are delicious. And flavorful. And easy.
I don’t like healthy recipes when I don’t understand the ingredient list because of all the substitutions. When they taste like cardboard. Or rubber. Or artificial ingredients.
So, today, I want to make cookies. Healthy ones. Tasty ones. And sometimes, I think in our quest to make things healthier, we cut out all the fat and all the sugar, and we’re left with something unpleasant to eat. Well, that’s no good.
I don’t think you can’t make fat free, sugar free cookies and expect them to always taste good (of course, if you disagree, please share! I would love someone to prove me wrong). Each ingredient adds a little bit to the cookie, and although we can alter recipes, I do not think we can do without certain ingredients.
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So, here is my recipe. I think this recipe has balance. Taste. Texture. Health. Simplicity. They do not compromise taste or texture even though they use smaller amounts and different kinds of fats and sugar and use whole wheat flour and oats instead of white flour.
After all, what is the point of making cookies that end up tasting like burnt toast? So enjoy these without feeling guilty, but of course, always in moderation!
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Healthier Cherry-Chocolate Cookies
Makes about 24-28 cookies
Dry Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/4 cup nonfat milk
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup Dark Chocolate Chips or Chunks
½ cup dried cherries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. One at a time, beat in the oil, egg, vanilla, then milk. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and cherries.
Drop by rounded teaspoon onto cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes or until browned around the edges.
My roommate makes 'healthy' cookies with oats and apple sauce and bananas but they are usually taste more like cake. I'm excited to try this recipe (hopefully this weekend for Mother's day).
ReplyDeleteHUGS!
Human bodies do need fats and sugars to survive so cutting them all out never makes sense to me. Balance as you do with these cookies makes sense.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the recipe and the idea behind them.
You did a grand job of lightening it without taking out all the flavors - they look heavenly.
ReplyDeleteA little fat is important for us to live...and you achieved a wonderful balanced with these!
ReplyDeleteI almost always add oats as well to my cookies in an attempt to be healthier. It is is good to know I'm not the only one.
ReplyDeleteHi, I agree with your concept and I too look for that perfect balance. This recipe looks great and I'm going to make it. I've been looking for something sweet lately and this will do it for me.
ReplyDeleteI do have a question, which my sister the "cook" always poses to me, about the 1/4 cup of oil -- does that amount of oil make the cookie too moist, or does the whole wheat flour need it more so than white flour?
Thanks so much for sharing.
Joanne