Recipes
Use these recipes as guidelines. Try them out,
then make them your own. Use the provided tips + variations to fit your preferences or pack in the nutrition. Tweak them to suit your lifestyle or swap out ingredients to make them allergy-friendly. I’ve taken out the nutrient guesswork by adding whole food ingredients with extra vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants & omega-3s.
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Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
June 30, 2010 by Melanie Zook
Healthy Oatmeal Cookies, you ask? Don’t get me wrong. These are still cookies & best enjoyed as an occasional indulgence. But the added nutrition from the whole wheat flour, walnuts, oats, and dark chocolate chips certainly doesn’t hurt. Even a portion of the butter is substituted with applesauce (& see the Variations, below, for even more healthy options).
Ingredients
½ cup organic unsalted butter, softened (preferably organic; see Variations, below, if you wish to replace all the butter & white sugar)
½ cup (+ a little extra) applesauce
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup white sugar (I use fair trade, organic evaporated cane juice, available at BJs/Costco.)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1¼ cups whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
3 ½ cups quick-cooking oats (but old-fashioned will work well too)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Method
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, applesauce, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven (they won’t be golden brown). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Variations
Try replacing all of the butter with ½ cup pureed pumpkin + ¼ cup organic (so non-GMO) canola oil. While I’m not against butter, a little extra vitamin A + fiber (+ omega-3s from the canola oil) gives them a nutrient-rich boost. I needed to add a bit more whole wheat flour (about ½ cup), but they turned out great. There was a slight pumpkin flavor, but it combined well with the oatmeal, walnuts & chocolate.
You could omit the white sugar, especially if using applesauce & pureed pumpkin, and adding dried fruit.
And/or skip the chocolate altogether (gasp!) and substitute a mix of dried cranberries, raisins & golden raisins.
If you give these a try, and find an additional way to tweak them to make them healthier, boost their nutrition, etc., do tell!
