In Search of Healthy Cookies
Anyone who’s spent any time with my son Ezra in the last six months has heard about his favorite food: “Hookies!” (The rest of us call them cookies.)
Ezra turns to me at least a dozen times each day and says with the utmost seriousness: “I need a hookie.” Dog, Bear, Turtle, and Seal eat a lot of hookies when we play make-believe. And as Ezra spins the steering wheel on the jungle gym at the park, he invariably explains, “I’m going to get some hookies.”
Back when I was pregnant and scarfing down organic salads, wild salmon, wheat germ smoothies and the like, I never imagined how many cookies this child of mine would eat. But he loves them. He really does. And as much as I’d like to see him develop a fondness for say, alfalfa sprouts and endive, I can’t help but enjoy seeing the sheer pleasure this boy gets from a cookie. Oh yes, he delights in them that much.
I have a couple of favorite cookie recipes, which are easy to make and produce cookies that are tasty and as healthy as cookies can be. They are in heavy rotation around here these days, and I will share them below. Oh please say you also have a favorite healthy cookie recipe you’d be willing to pass on.
Honey Peanut Butter Cookies
(From Laurel’s Kitchen)
- 1 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 cup honey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
Cream peanut butter and honey together. Stir in egg and vanilla. Sift together salt, soda, and flour, and stir in peanut butter mixture.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto oiled cookie sheets. Mash each cookie slightly with the back of a fork.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-12 minutes. They burn easily, so keep a close eye on them.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
(From Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair)
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
Combine oats, flour, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.
In a separate bowl mix together maple syrup, butter, and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to dry mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts and chips. With moist hands form dough into 3-inch cookies and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Do you make healthy and tasty cookies? Will you share a favorite recipe? (Links to blogs or online recipes more than welcome.)
Those recipes sound really good!
Have you ever substituted other kinds of nut butters for peanut butter in the first recipe? (My significant other is allergic to peanuts.)
Yes! I’ve substituted almond butter, and they’re also really good.
They look good! My suggestion for making them a bit healthier — cut out the animal products (eggs, butter) to reduce the saturated fat and reduce their impact on the environment. Vegan cookies are delicious and healthy. I have lots of favorite recipes but I would always start with anarchist cookies (they’re anarchist because they’re free): http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Anarchist_Oatmeal_Cookies
Thanks for the recipe, Leo! It looks delicious. I’m definitely going to try it.
I often substitute coconut oil for butter in the second recipe. (I usually substitute it at 3/4 c. coconut oil to 1 c. butter.) It gives the cookies a nice coconut flavor.
For anyone who wants to replace the egg in the first recipe, here’s a simple egg replacement:
1 egg = 1 tbs. baking powder + 1 tsp. baking soda + 1 tbs. flour + 2 tbs. water, Whisk together until smooth.
Leo, that recipe sounds delicious! I think I might add some vegan chocolate chips to it when I make it. 🙂
Yum … even better!
My little ones adore sweets, and I do admit – it must be genetically passed down from me.
I often tell my kids why it’s good to stay away from sugary foods, explaining about the damage that too much sugar can do to teeth, digestion, etc. They’re pretty sharp, and pick up the message quickly. Now my five year old often says, “Mama, I’ve almost stopped liking cookies. I almost don’t want them at all anymore!”. My three-year-old chimes in with “Yeah, they almost don’t taste very good…”. Well, until those almosts become reality (which won’t be soon, something tell me), we’ll be trying out your recipes – thank you!
Thank you for these. I always forget about Laurels Kitchen when preparing to make sweets.
Thankyou! I’ve been in the mood for cookies recently – off to try the peanut butter and honey ones.. x
Made them. Thgeir delicious! Maybe a little too delicious 😉
It looks like were going to eat the whole batch in a day if were not careful. Thanks