So. For some strange reason, I've been craving baked goods - chocolaty cookies specifically - for the last, oh, 2 or 3 weeks. I don't know why because I'm not one to usually crave chocolate but there you have it. Problem is, cookies don't really fit into my clean eating diet so I've been trying to fight it, but I'm done fighting. I resorted to a healthy-ish recipe for "Best-ever Chocolate Cookies" from a hospital calendar my mom requested a little while back with a number of substitutions and tweaks because a) I was out of a few ingredients (namely brown sugar and oat bran) and b) I wanted to try baking with spelt flour, which aside from being a rich source of niacin and other minerals, also has fewer calories than whole wheat flour.Anyway, they taste AWESOME! They don't taste "healthy" at all! Here's the original recipe which is credited to The Dieticians of Canada with notes on my substitutions:
Best-Ever Chocolate Cookies
Makes: ~42 cookies (1 per serving)
Preheat Oven: 350F (180C)
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour (I used the aforementioned spelt this time but whole wheat the last time)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I used all natural sea salt - I know, la-di-da)
2 eggs
1 cup margarine or butter, softened (I used butter this time around - I went half-butter, half-organic applesauce last time but I was all out of the latter tonight)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (no brown sugar but found this tip on a substitution)
1 1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1 cup bran cereal, not flakes (I was short a full cup but had wheatgerm and flaxseed meal so went 1/3 each)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips (not a fan of white chocolate so used semi-sweet)
optional: ~3/4 cup chopped walnuts*
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. (I didn't sift - I actually don't own a sifter - and they turned out just fine)
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, margarine and brown sugar. Fold in flour mixture. Stir in oats, bran cereal and chocolate chips.
3. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls (15mL) about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, onto ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes or until just crisp. Let cool on baking sheets on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove to rack to cool completely.
* I like the texture of nuts in my cookies and chocolate and walnuts are a great combo in my book
Per Serving:
94 Calories
2.1 g Fat
0.3 g Saturated Fat
44mg Sodium
18g Carbohydrates
3g Fiber
2g Protein
