I developed this recipe with my mother in mind, after she told her Facebook friends about a recipe she had just followed for some healthier cookies. She likened the results to eating sawdust! Apparently they were very dry and tasteless, and deemed to have been a total waste of time and ingredients.
So for my parents and anyone else wanting to bake cookies that are as good-for-you as a cookie can be, while still tasting like a treat, here is a recipe. They are oatmeal based and include fruit, nuts and dark chocolate chips. The fats used are Coconut and Peanut Oils (though melted unsalted butter would work too but won’t be as healthy). For an extra kick of fibre, the flour used is whole wheat and there’s also some oat bran in there.
Be forewarned that when you form the dough into cookies, you might think you’ve done something wrong, because they don’t stick together very well. That’s because we’ve used as little fat as necessary. But don’t worry, they bake up tender and nice. You’ll just have to use your hands and form the cookies, pressing the mounds together. Of course, you can increase the fat but that will defeat the intention of baking a cookie that is as healthy as possible.
Healthier Cookies : Fruit, Nut and Chocolate Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup oat bran (not bran cereal, just plain bran. It looks like small flakes.)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (= room temperature)
- 1/2 cup peanut oil
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups rolled oats (organic if you can find them)
- 1/3 cup chopped raw almonds
- 1/3 chopped dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Move your two oven racks into the slots that are closest to the middle of your oven (assuming you’ll be baking two trays of cookies at a time, one on each rack). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, bran, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a second larger bowl, mix oils and sugars together with a hand mixer or whisk until very smooth. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing in between.
Stir dry ingredients into wet ones, mixing until just blended (avoid stirring any more than you have to.)
Stir in rolled oats, almonds, cranberries, raisins and chocolate chips.
Form dough into cookies by rolling about 1 1/2 tablespoon amounts lightly in the the palms of your hands (like you’re making a snowball) pressing in the fruit, nuts and chocolate. Place on cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. (They won’t spread much so they can be quite close together.)
Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until golden.
Description
Almond Cranberry oatmeal cookies
Ingredients part 2
Instructions part 2
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Ingredients part 3
Instructions part 3
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If you make some I hope you like them. I promise the thought of sawdust will be far from your mind as you enjoy these! I’m planning on making a batch this weekend. Speaking of which, I hope you have a very good one!
xo loulou
