Not the standard oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe—these low sugar granola-like clusters are more closely related to granola bars than to traditional cookies. Like traditional cookies, they are delicious and addictive, like granola bars, they are healthy enough to make a great mid afternoon snack that will not lead to a spike in blood sugar.
Low Sugar Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 25 cookies:
Note: This recipe requires the use of parchment paper or else the egg whites will cause an impossible clean up job.
Ingredients
- 4 cups oatmeal – old fashioned – not quick
- 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs - medium size
- 2 egg whites – medium size
- grated rind from most of 1 orange
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup Ghirardelli 60% cacao chocolate chips
- 1 stick butter or butter substitute
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Parchment paper for cooking
Instructions
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- With large spoon, blend oatmeal, coconut, and orange rind.
- Melt brown sugar and butter for 30 seconds, either in a large measuring cup in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.
- Pour melted butter and sugar into blended dry ingredients.
- Add vanilla and cinnamon.
- Now add the two eggs and two egg whites into the mixture.
- Stir all of these ingredients until well blended.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir a few times until evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
- Spoon out 2” sized mixture on cookie sheets, leaving a small space between each. These do not spread while cooking so they may be placed closer together than many other cookies.
- With clean hands or using two forks, tidy up the edges and press the ingredients together a bit. This step keeps the cookies from becoming cereal.
- Bake for about 20 minutes on 325 degrees. You can also cook them a bit faster at 350 degrees, but be careful—they tend to overcook at the bottom. Stay close to the oven, and remove the cookies once the top of each one has turned golden brown.
The ingredients listed are fairly flexible—orange peel may be traded for lemon, and chocolate may be traded for carob. Dried fruits such as apricots and raisins may be added and extract of orange and coconut may be used in place of orange rind and shredded coconut. Nut lovers might add a sprinkling of chopped almonds.To suit those on sugar-free diets, prepare a batch with raisins instead of chocolate chips, and with slightly more orange flavor to replace the brown sugar.
For more suite101.com healthy dessert recipes, click here.
Eva Gordon - Eva Sage Gordon
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