Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don’t think you can find a chocolate chip cookie that isn’t going to be just a little bad for you – what is the fun of eating cookies of any kind if they aren’t sweet, chewy, and yummy.  I have tried some of the “health nut” cookies out there sans flour or sugar or chocolate (carob instead) and they just leave a blank taste in your mouth.  I am no baker, but I love to cook.  The reason I can’t bake is I don’t follow recipes well.  Baking is an art – a precise art – and I am among the many that just doesn’t have the patience for it.

 

What I do have patience for is a good cookie. If I can bake that cookie at home and make it a little healthy, than I am a happy woman.  Today I had a craving for some home baked cookies and went out and selected a lovely bag of chocolate chips.  I got home and looked at the recipe on the bag.  It suggested using cups and cups of sugar along with lots of butter and flour.  I thought it might be fun to try making the recipe but with some changes.  Most of the ingredients I already had collecting dust in my kitchen – so if you have them hiding around, try this recipe out and see how you like it.  I thought it turned out pretty well.

 

My Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 c ROOM TEMPERATURE butter

1/4 c vegetable oil

1Tablespoon honey

2/3 c sugar

2/3 c brown sugar

1 Tablespoon yogurt (vanilla if you have it)

2 teaspoons vanilla (only use 1 teaspoon if you used vanilla yogurt)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

dash of salt

1 bag of chocolate chips

1 1/4 c whole-wheat flour

1 c white flour

2 c oats (don’t leave these out!)

 

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Start out by mixing ROOM TEMPERATURE butter, oil, honey, yogurt, vanilla, and sugars in a bowl.  If you have a hand mixer, mix at high speed for a minute or so.  If you are hand blending, do it until your arms are sore.  You want it to look nice and smooth, and a little fluffy.  Add in eggs and mix again.  Make sure everything is mixed up well.  Add in the flour 1/2 c at a time and mix well by hand.  Don’t use the hand mixer because it will make a big mess.  Keep mixing until all flour is added.  Add in the oats the same as the flour.  Mix in the chocolate chips and get ready to bake.

I like to line a baking sheet with parchment paper, but if you don’t want to get fancy, you can put cookies straight onto a sheet pan.  Use a big spoon and scoop out onto pan and then press them down with the back of the spoon.  They wont spread much, so you can put them fairly close together.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until as brown and crispy as you like.  Let cool and eat!

Now I’m not saying that you can eat all these cookies and not gain a pound, but by reducing the amount of butter, sugar, and white flour, it helps a little bit.  By adding oats, you get a good amount of fiber.  If you don’t like oats, this recipe will change your mind.  You really don’t taste them at all, but they create the needed texture and a bit of crunch around the edges of the cookie.  These cookies are light and fluffy, but crisp and chewy – the perfect combination if you ask me!