Cookies are often a combination of unheatlhy ingredients (refined flour, butter, eggs, sugar, chocolate, etc.). Yet, if you do think of your cookie as a protein, fiber laden circular bar, you have a breakfast and snack winner that you can even serve your guests or post-workout boost. Even my bacon loving sister agreed: the chocolate cookies using the recipe bellow are delicious!
The secret as I try to do with anything I cook is to replace unhealthy ingredients with their healthier counter part. Of course, this takes quite a bit of research on my end -which also happens to be my favourite hobby.
Flour
How white wheat flour is processed is a topic I could go on and on about. You could use a local organic soft (or pastry) whole wheat flour flour to increase nutrition and fiber. There is however, several whole grain options to experiment with: Rye, Kamut, Quinoa (think protein). Of course, the gluten contents of each may vary and give you a dryer texture which you can adjust with mixing it with another flour or add a bit more of the wet ingredients.
For the recipe bellow I have grounded rolled oats and flaxseeds together -again, even my grain hating sister did not notice.
Did you know flaxseeds were a complete protein?
Sugar
Another refine good that will end up straight to your waist line and increase your chances of type 2 diabetes.
Thank fully enough, there is quite a few sweeteners substitute on the market, from date sugar to agave nectar.
Most will still affect your blood sugar level however expet for one: Stevia. It also has virtually NO CALORIES and is up to 30x sweeter than sugar -therefore a little goes a long way. Do try to get a powdered all natural stevia as some brands can mix this sweet herb wtih glycerin and other chemicals that will defy its purpose.
DO STAY AWAY from artificial sweetners as they do cause neurological damage!
The recipe bellow also uses dates for both sweetness, texture and fiber.
Dates are a great sweet addition to sweet tomato sauces, chutneys, without the need to add sugar.
Eggs
In our household, we now buy organic eggs yet I have also bought organic eggs whites which are rich in protein and very low calories.
I often make those cookies without the eggs yet if you cannot bring yourself to bake cookies without them, removing the yolk will reduce the calories and fat intake.
Butter
The possibilities are endless! A healthy high fat that add taste? I call for any natural nut butter you can find: Tahini, peanut, almond butter... you name it! Great protein intake as well.
Those of you with allergies can subsitute with seed butters (sunflower, tahini) or coconut butter. Coconut butter, despite the fact that it is a saturated fat is however a healthier one and contributes to lowering bad cholesterol.
Flavoring
One thing that will enhance the taste of your healthy cookies from yummy to heavenly decadence -flavor! Vanilla extract, grated ginger, cinnamon, coffee beans, nutmeg, anise, lemon rind, etc.
Cayenne will take your chocolate recipes up a notch and so will grounded coffee beans. I do try to use organic free-trade coffee beans and again, a little goes a long way.
You can do your own vanilla extract by grinding vanilla beans with rhum and letting it sit for a few weeks time.
Did you also know that cinnamon reduces blood sugar levels?
And how about some chai spices? Cardamon, cinnamon, clove, ginger and pepper cloves grounded into a fine powder makes delicious spiced cookies!
So there you have it, now for the recipe:
1/4 cup of Oatmeal
1/4 cup of Flax seed (you may omit the flax seed and use 1/2 cup of oatmeal or whole grain flour all together)
1/4 cup Soy or Almond milk
1 tablespoon of Natural organic peanut butter
4 Dried dates
1 teaspoon of Baking powder (or separately add 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar and 1/4 of baking soda, commercial baking powders often have aluminium which can be toxic to the human body).
Stevia to taste (I recommended adding 1/16 of a teaspoon and progressively add more)
1/8 Sea salt -if you do buy coarse sea salt, you may need to grind it with your whole grain flour to refine it's texture.
Optional: The white of 1-2 eggs
Optional: Sesame seeds,raw cocoa nibs, raisins, cranberries, pumpkin seeds or nuts.
Optional: For a chocolate cookie version add 1-2 teaspoon raw cocoa powder
Step 1: Ground all dry ingredients in the blender, including sea salt, until it all become a soft flour
Step 2: Combine, all wet ingredients (including dates, eggs white) and blend thereafter the dry ingredients -doing so before will have the dry ingredients wet before its time.
Step 3: Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
Step 4: Using a spoon or ice cream scooper, make balls and flatten each of them with a wet spatula, or hands onto a parchemin sheet.
*If you are adding egg white, the texture may just already be quite wet and therefore you can scoop the mixture directly on the sheet until you get the desired size -cooking it will flattened the cookie and give it a perfectly round shape.
Step 5: Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins or until golden and let cool. You can also place the parchemin sheet in the dehydrator for until desired texture.
Yields 5-6 small size cookies.
Adding 1 teaspoon of raw cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon coconut butter and 1 small banana to the mix above will create decadent chocolate version of these cookies!
Variation 2: Put the whole mix into a squared bake dish and cut in small squares to serve to guest!
